The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1910-07-02
NECESSITY FOR
MILLENNIUM
By REV. I. c. RUSSELL
Pastor Breeklyn Tabsrnasle
broeklyn. NY.

Respecting two matters there can b
no question::
1. That the early church thoroughly
believed in q millennial kingdom.
hoped for 1t. prayed for it-"Thy
Kingdom come; thy will be done ON
earth as It is done in Heaven"
2. It is equally certain that today the
doctrine Of the millennium Is tabooed
as "out Of date"-out of harmony with
the views of the higher critics and ev-
olutionists, who are filling practically
all the chairs In our colleges and the
majority Of the pulpits Of Christendom.
The present day concept of the
Church OF Christ Is that God planted
It amongst men as leaven in batch OF
dough with the intent that It should
propagate itself until the entire mass
would be leavened.
The two views are so radically oppo,
site that none should confuse them In
their minds. II one Is right. the other
is wrong. II one is Scriptural, the
other Ia unscriptural. The safe, the
proper, the right course Is to go back
and take up afresh the doctrine OF the
millennium-the doctrine that the
faithful Of the church now being tried
and tested will constitute the glorious
Kingdom Of Gods dear Son after their
change from earthly to spirit condif
lions In the First Resurrection" q
Corinthians. 15:42-44.
Christian people have been fooling
themselves long enough" Yes. 1t is as
absolutely irrational to think Of con.
verting the world, as 1t Is unscrip,
tural to believe that God ever gave US
that impossible commission. The Uni!
ted States census reports show that
there are twice as many heather tor
day as there were century ago. The
word heather carries to many q very
wrong impression. Many noble-heart.
ed Christians have gone as mission
aries to the heather wholly unpre-
pared for what they met--intelligent
reasoning ability. etc. They found
that the heather were full Of ques-
lions, logical questions, too. which
they as Christians had never thought
of, and which they were wholly un-
prepared to answer. Comparatively
few of the missionaries are able to
hold their own in argument with In.
telligent people In India, China and
Japan. There Is no danger of their
converting those people. There Is
more danger Of their losing their own
faith In the Bible, because OF their
misapprehension of some Of its teach
ings-respecting the mission of the
church. the hope of the church and
the hope of the world!
Missionaries are thus handicapped
Full of commendable zeal they leave
our shores to tell the heather that
their forefathers have gone to eternal
torment and that they are going there.
too unless they accept Christ. It Is
rude awakening to be asked where
hell Is? and why God should have
condemned them and their forefathers
to such horrible eternity? and how
this could be true and yet he be Q
God OF pity, compassion, lover Tho
heather ask, Why the different de-
nominations-the different theories OF
the terms of salvation-by water, By
election, by free grace, by joining the
church, etc. The missionary, wholly
unable to answer the adult native,
gathers children about him, starts q
school and does all he is able. per-
haps, to justify his presence in for
eign land--helping the sick and doing
many other acts Of kindness which are
very commendable, whether from re-
ligious or humanitarian standpoint.
Next let us note that the millennium
Itself Is an absolute necessity for tho
world, according to the statistics Of
the world-wise. Many college profess
sors and d. DIS are inclined to speak
glibly of the second coming of Christ
being far in the future-"5O, 900 years
yet" say some. But evidently these
learned gentlemen have not used their
educational advantages in connection
with such statements. Any school boy
can figure up what the population Of
the earth would be 1000 years from
now. taking the present population az
per the census at sixteen hundred mil
lion and the ratio Of increase az
shown by the census reports at s per
cent. In ten years. The total would
show 3.375.3 $4,000 900 population for
the year 1900 A. D.-more than 1000
for each person now living.
/ What would humanity do II the
earth were crowded to that extent?
Where would the necessary food, fuel
and clothing be found? Computing all
the tillable portion Of the earth at
twenty-five million square miles or six
teen billion acres would give but one
acre for the support Of 210 people. or
less than Ave square yards each. At
the close Of second such period.
5000 A. d., at the same rate, there
would be ten persons for each square
foot of standing room. In other
woris they would stand Is deep on
each others heads. What shall we
think Of the wisdom that tells US that
the millennium IL $4,000 years ofR7
The answer is found In Isaiah's proph-
ecy (29;14).
Are we asked how the millennium II
at once introduced would avert the dif-
- =