Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1916-01-21
WORLD PEACE
WILL NOT COME

under the blow of a cataclysmlc
gtrUggle, and while the pro-
gress OF mankind" is taking up
toward destruction at an appall-
ing rate, there are some relig-
ious leaders and statesmen who
persist in talking world peace
and predict the beginning OF the
millennium at the close Of this
war. This Utopian's dream will
never be realized. Lasting, uni
versal peace will never come be-
tween the nations of this world.
The word millennium" sig
nifies a thousand years, without
any reference whatever to the
character of the period, whether
good or bad. 1t means simply
and only thousand years. In
six verses in Rev. 20, this express
sion, "a thousand years." is
used. 1t is a period in which
Christ will reign with the just
of all ages after they have been
raised from the dead at the first
resurrection.
Destruction, not conversion,
awaits tho world at the very
time when popular religious
teachers cherist, the delusive
hope of the good time coming.
They see no danger, and brand
rs fanatical alarmists those who
obey the prophetic injunction,
"Blow we the trumpet in Zion,
and sound an alarp1 in my holy
mountain; let all the inhabitants
of the land tremble; for the day
of the Lord cometh, it is nigh at
hand" But" says the Apostle
Paul, when they shall say,
peace and safety, then sudden
destruction cometh upon them"
The millennial reign with
Christ brought to view in Rev.
20, is not on this earth, but in
heaven, for when the righteous
dead are raised at his second
coming { 1Cor. Is: 22-24, at
the last trump Il Cor. 15, 15:51-
54) ,.they are caught up to meet
the Lord in the air Il Thess.
4:15-1O, and are taken to
heaven, where Christ is John
14:1-3). Thus the saints shall
live and reign with Christ in
heaven during the thousand
years after the first resurrec-
ton, or the resurrection of the
lust. But it should be remem-
bered that when Christ comes
the second time and gives life
TO the righteous, at the same
time the brightness and glory OF
his presence consume all the
wicked, so that the earth is de-
Dorulated and left desolate.
This will be Clearly seen by a
comparison of 2 Thes. 1919 with
Rev. 6:14-17; Rev. 19:11-21: lisa.
1863; lisa. PALS; Jer. 25:31-
33: Zeph. 1:14-1S; and Jer. 4:19-
81.
When the living wicked are
consumed by the burning glory
of the coming of Christ, and the
blessed and holy" are taken to
heaven to reign with Christ a
thousand years, the earth. left
desolute and uninhabited, is
called "the bottomless pit" into
which Satan is cast and con-
fned. In this 'desolated earth
he remains bound for a thous-
and years. In the beginning the
earth was without form and
void" that is. it was in a chaotic,
empty, desolate condition; and
this will be its condition again
during the millennium. Satan,
confined in this earth during the
millennium, and having no one
to tempt and deceive, is said to
be bound with u chain. This
chain is a chain Of circumstan-
ces, circumstances which not
only limit his operations, but alb
solutely take away his oppor-
tunities to deceive and destroy
souls.
But when the wicked dead are
raised at the end Of the thous-
and years, as we are informed in
the first clause Of Rev. 20:5,
Satan is said to be ''loosed out
of his prison, and shall go out to
deceive the nations which are
in the four quarters of the
EARTH" as In verses seven and
eight.
After Satan and all his rebel
host meet their fate in the lake
of fire which envelops the earth,
a new earth appears. with the
New Jerusalem as its capital
city, Rev. 20:9-15; Rev. 21:1-5.
This will fulfill Isaiah 65:17-19
to which Peter refers in 2 Peter
3:t0-13. This In brief, is the