9. The limitations of Earths great Week.
We are well aware that in broaching this
point we shall probably evoke the criticism of honored brethren and be charged
with "setting a date" for the Return of our Lord. Nevertheless, we feel
constrained to set down our honest convictions, only asking our readers to
examine in the light of Holy Writ what we now advance tentatively and not
dogmatically.
In ancient times it was commonly held by Jewish
rabbis before our Lord's first advent, and by many of the most eminent of the
church fathers afterwards, that the Creation week of Genesis one defined the
limits of earth's history. Before we proceed with our argument we shall first
quote from three who lived in the second and third centuries, not that we
appeal to them as authorities, but simply to show that the view was commonly
held in the century which immediately followed the apostles and before
the Blessed Hope was lost.
In the thirteenth chapter of the apocryphal
Epistle of Barnabas, written about 150 A.D., we read - "God made in six days
the works of His hands, and He finished them the seventh day, and He rested the
seventh day and sanctified it. Consider, my children, what this signifies: He
finished them in six days. The meaning of it is this: that in six thousand
years the Lord will bring all things to an end. For with Him one day is a
thousand years, as Himself testifieth. Therefore, children, in six days,
that is, in six thousand years - Shall all things be accomplished. And what is
that He saith, And He rested the seventh day? He meaneth this: that when His
Son shall come, and abolish the season of the wicked one, and judge the
ungodly, and shall change the sun, moon and stars, then He shall
gloriously rest in that seventh day. ** Behold, He will then truly sanctify it
with blessed rest, when we (having received the righteous promise, when
iniquity shall be no more, all things being renewed by the Lord) shall be able
to sanctify it, being ourselves first made holy."
Next we quote from the writings of the
distinguished Irenaeus who was a disciple of Polycarp, who, in turn, was a
disciple of John the apostle. It has been said that "for learning,
steadfastness and zeal, he was amongst the most renowned of the early fathers."
Consider then his testimony - "In whatever number of days the world was
created, in the same number of thousands of years it will come to its
consummation. God, on the sixth day, finished the works which He made; and
God rested on the seventh day from all His works. This is a history of the
past and a prophecy of the future; for a day with the Lord is as a thousand
years." Similarly, Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, who was martyred in the year
258, wrote - "In the Divine arrangement of the world, seven days were at first
employed, and in them seven thousand years were included."
It may be objected to the above quotations that
they are merely the opinions and speculations of fallible men, and that their
views find no warrant in the Word of God. It is true that they were the
beliefs of eminent saints, beliefs which were shared by many of God's people in
ancient times, and it is also true that this appeal to antiquity is no proof of
the authenticity of the view we now advocate; but to say that it is has no
warrant in God's Word is more than we are prepared to admit, yea, as we
shall seek to show there is not a little in the Scriptures which seems to
countenance and confirm it.
First, we would appeal to the Septenary system
of the sacred calendar of Israel. Here we cannot do better than quote from
the late Dr. Johnson - "Through the whole Scripture, both of the Old and New
Testaments, there is a striking typical representation of some great and
important Sabbath, as a great septenary that has not yet taken place, and which
evidently appears to be the Millenarian Septenary, as the great Sabbath of the
whole earth. God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it. In the Decalogue
this peculiar distinguishment of the seventh day, or weekly sabbath, was most
solemnly renewed. Every seventh year was appointed a sabbatical year. And the
commencement of the year of jubilee which was every fiftieth year, was to be
fixed by the running of a septenary of sabbatical years. "Thou shalt number
seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years, and the space of
the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years" (Lev.
25:8). The number seven, because used in Scripture to complete all the sacred
divisions of times, was regarded by the Jews as the symbol of perfection, and
is used in this sense in Scripture. The question then arises, Is it to be
supposed that all these events, which are interwoven with the Mosaic
dispensation, which was itself symbolical or typical, and which are introduced
into the New Testament, and abound so much in the Book of Revelation, have no
antetype to correspond to them? - no great sabbatical septenary to which they
all point and in which they all shall be accomplished? Is it not highly
probable that they are all typical of the seventh millenary of the earth, which
is the great Sabbath?" To which we answer, we certainly believe so.
Second; God is a God of order. In Scripture, in
creation and in history, we find innumerable evidences that God works according
to a mathematical plan. Numerical design is stamped upon all His
handiwork. This fact is so freely recognized that we need not pause to
illustrate. What we would now ask is, Is it likely that in His great
dispensational plan He has departed from His general rule? We cannot believe
it. But we are not left to bare conjecture. That part of God's age plan which
is already before us gives plain intimation that He who knows the end from the
beginning and has "framed the ages" (Heb. 1:2-Greek) has appointed symmetrical
lines to the main divisions and the limits of the world's history. From Adam
to Abraham there were two thousand years. From Abraham to the Divine
incarnation there was another two thousand years. May there not be another two
thousands years then between the first and the second advents? We firmly
believe there will be. God's ways in the past foreshadow His dealings in the
future, for He changeth not. That the proportions of the present dispensation
will correspond with the preceding two great divisions of the world's time we
shall seek to demonstrate in our next argument.
Third; we would here call attention to a
statement made in connection with the resurrection of Lazarus. In John 11:6,7
we learn that "When He had heard therefore that he (Lazarus) was sick, He
abode two days still in the same place where He was. Then after that saith
He to His disciples, Let us go into Judea again." Why are we told the exact
length of time our Lord remained away from Judea after that He received word of
Lazarus' sickness? There must be some good reason for the record of this fact.
There is nothing superfluous or meaningless in God's Word. We believe that
there is a deeper meaning to this than appears on the surface. Before we
suggest what this meaning is, let us note another important word in this
connection. In John 11:17 we read "Then when Jesus came, He found that he
(Lazarus) had lain in the grave four days already." Again, we ask, Why
this information concerning the precise number of days that Lazarus had lain in
the grave? Is the answer far to seek? Did not Lazarus typify the
condition of man at that time? - the time of the first advent, the time "when
Jesus came." In what condition did the Son of God find the one who had been
made in His own image? He found him dead - dead in trespasses and sins.
And how long had man been in this state? According to God's estimate of time -
a thousand years as a day - exactly four days, for there can be little
doubt that from Adam to Christ was just that length of time. Here then is the
key to the "two days" of verse 6. Lazarus not only represented the natural man
in his spiritually dead condition, but as the one whom "Jesus loved" he
typified the nation of Israel, and just as Christ, after abiding for two days
outside the land, said "Let us go into Judea again" and there,
and then, raised Lazarus, so after two thousand years absence from the earth,
our Lord shall return to Judea and restore Israel to life. "A fanciful
supposition" says someone. Not at all, is our reply. Our conclusion is in
perfect harmony with the express testimony of Scripture. Listen, "After two
days will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall
live in His sight" (Hosa 6:2)!
If further proof be required to show that our
Lord will be absent from the earth "two days" (two thousand years) we have
another typical hint in John 4:43,45 - "Now after two days He departed
thence, and went into Galilee. ** Then when He was come into Galilee, the
Galileans received Him," and then follows the record of the healing of
the nobleman's son. Who can fail to see in this dispensational picture which
will be realized in the millennium! As John 11 presents our Lord's return to
Judea after an interval of "two days" which is followed, typically, by
the restoration of Israel, so here, in John 4, after "two days" our Lord comes
into Galilee "of the Gentiles" which is followed, typically, by
their "healing"! The same time-mark is found in John 2:1. It was on `the
third day" - after "two days" that "there was a marriage in Cana of
Galilee," where the wine (symbol of joy, see Ps. 104:15) is provided by Christ
- the "best" kept till "the last" and where He "manifested forth His
glory" (vs. 11) - how perfect the type! - which clearly pictures another
millennial scene, and this also is on "the third day" - the "third"
after two days absence from the earth! Still other illustrations might be
adduced but these are sufficient. "Four days" from Adam to the first advent,
"two days" of absence, making a total of six (6,000 years) and then the Lord
returns to usher in the "seventh day," the Millennium, when the sick will be
healed, the dead raised, the wine provided, and the glory of Christ fully
manifested.
Fourth; in 2 Pet. 3:8 we read, "But, beloved, be
not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand
years, and a thousand years as one day." Two things here are to be
particularly noted. First, the immediate context of these words directly
connects them with the second advent of Christ! In verses 3 and 4 the
apostle tells us that in the last days "scoffers" should ask, "Where is the
promise of His coming?" to which they add, "for since the fathers fell
asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."
The force of this is obvious: men will point to the world around and declare
that everything is stable and prosperous, refusing to see any indications of
the approaching doom of Christendom. In reply the apostle declares, "For this
they willingly are ignorant of, that by the Word of God the heavens
which were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the
heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store,
reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."
Having silenced the objection of the "scoffers," the apostle now addresses
himself to the saints, saying, "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one
thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years
as a day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance." Thus we see that these words are
directly connected with the subject of our Lord's return. In the second place,
observe the words, "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing."
The "be not ignorant" is in apposition to the "this they (the "scoffers")
willingly are ignorant of" (vs. 5). The "this one thing" calls attention to
the importance of what he was about to say. God forbid that His people
today should be "willingly ignorant of" what He has been pleased to make
known to us. If, then, Scripture distinctly tells us that "one day is with the
Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day," are we not fully
justified in concluding that the six days' work of Genesis one foreshadowed six
thousand years of human toil and labor, and that the seventh day, the Sabbath,
which God "blessed" and "sanctified" and on which He "rested from all His work"
typified that dispensation of blessing which shall follow the six thousand
years of human effort, a dispensation over which the Prince of Peace shall
preside, and a dispensation which will last exactly "a thousand
years"!
Fifth; as we have pointed out in an earlier
chapter, the Transfiguration upon the holy mount was a seventh day scene.
Matthew says, "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John
his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was
transfigured before them" (Matt. 17:1,2). Luke says, "And it came to pass
about an eight days after these sayings. He took Peter and John and
James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as He prayed, the fashion of
His countenance was altered, and His rainment was white and glistering" (Luke
9:28, 29). Why these time-marks? The "transfiguration" was a
spectacular setting forth of the leading features and characteristics of the
millennial kingdom, and the fact that the Gospels present this as a
seventh day scene certainly seems to add weight to the conclusion that
the Millennium will follow six thousand years (six days) of human toil and
labor, and thus be the antitypical fulfillment of the seventh day of Gen.
2:3.
Sixth; the Millennium is distinctly termed "a
Sabbath-keeping" - Heb. 4:9.
Seventh, whatever may be thought of what we have
advanced above, personally, we know of nothing whatever in Scripture which
contradicts it. It is true that Acts 1:7 is often appealed to but it is
clear from 1 Thess. 5:1-7 that it will not bear the construction that is
frequently placed upon it. We may be considered "fanciful," but if so, we are
fanciful in company with a goodly and godly number - "Luther entertained it.
Melancthon wrote it on the fly-leaf of his Bible, as a matter not to be
disputed. Thousands of divines since his time have received it as part of
their faith. And when we come, to place together certain statements of the
Scriptures, there seems to me to be a weight of testimony in its favor
sufficient to warrant us in regarding it as sacred truth. Look at these
sentences: -
"In six days the Lord made heaven and earth."
"On the seventh day He rested and was
refreshed."
"One day is with the Lord as a thousand
years."
"There remaineth therefore a keeping of Sabbath
to the people of God." (Quoted from "The Last Times" by J. A. Seiss).
What then is the practical value of this
computation? This, that it furnishes us with another proof that the coming of
the Lord draweth nigh. No doubt there is Divine design about the present
confusion in human chronology. It is impossible for us to ascertain with
certainty the precise year of grace in which we are now living. But it is
almost certain, as certain as any human calculation can be, that the year 5900
A.M. was passed considerably more than a decade ago, and therefore less than a
century is now required to complete the sixth millennium. The end of the sixth
day is nigh at hand, and as we know that the Tribulation period which follows
the Rapture will last at least seven years and probably much longer, then the
descent of Christ into the air to catch up His saints to Himself is that much
nearer still. Let it be distinctly understood that the period of "two days"
when our Lord is absent, has to do with His absence from the earth and
that His coming back to the earth at the close of the 6000 years to usher in
the Millennium follows some years after the first stage of His
second advent, so that in no sense are we "fixing a date" for the coming of
Christ for His saints - the date of that event is absolutely "hidden in God."
Yet, as we say, we know that the approximate time this must be very
near,because at the close of the present century (and how far this
century has progressed we cannot say for certain) the Millennium itself will
begin, and before that arrives there is the Tribulation period which may last
forty or even seventy years. Consider now -