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An address delivered at the Prophetic Conference in the Centennial Baptist Church, Brooklyn ,N.Y. November 1890
By Clarence Larkin (1850-1924)
The common belief today, which is the belief of postmillennialists, is that the Gospel is to be preached to all nations, until
the whole world shall be converted to Christ, and then shall follow a universal reign of righteousness and peace, called the
Millennium, followed by a short season of awful wickedness and apostasy, to close which Christ shall come, and there
shall be a simultaneous resurrection of the righteous and the wicked to be instantly followed by a general judgment; that
the world is then to be destroyed by fire, that Christ shall then surrender up all to God, and that God shall then be all in all.
Premillennialists, on the other hand, believe that the world, instead of growing better, will grow worse and worse, until
Christ shall come and raise the righteous dead and translate the living saints, and having gathered them before his judgment
seat in the air, reward them according to their works. The Jews are then to be gathered back to their land, along with the
lost ten tribes, all in an uncoverted state. Antichrist then sets up his kingdom, enters into a league with restored Israel, and
when he gets them in his power, acts the traitor and subjects them to such an awful persecution that it is called in
Matthew's gospel and the Apocalypse, "The Great Tribulation." After a short period this persecution is ended by the
revelation of Jesus Christ with His Saints, and the "Man of Sin" is destroyed by the brightness of His coming. The beast
and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire, and Satan is bound and cast into the bottomless pit. The living nations
on earth are then summoned to judgment. the "Goat" nations are destroyed, and the"'Sheep" nations, along with Christ's
brethren, the Jews, become the nations over which Christ establishes His earthly dominion. The government is a
"Theocracy," with Christ as King and His saints as coadjutors. Then follows a thousand years of Millennial glory, after
which, Satan is loosed from the pit, deceives the outlying nations, Gog and Magog, gathers them to battle, and they are
destroyed by fire from Heaven. Satan is then cast into the lake of fire, the earth is renovated by fire, God's people being
preserved in some way during the operation, and then caused to inhabit the new earth. Then the wicked dead are raised,
the fallen angels are summoned from Tartarus, the books are opened and the Judgment of "the Great White Throne" is set;
ending with all those whose names are not written in the Book of Life being cast into the lake of fire. Then follow the
eternal ages. From the foregoing it will be seen that premillennialists do not consider the resurrection and judgment days as
days of twenty-four hours, but as periods, extending over at least a thousand years. They recognize at least two
resurrections, those of the righteous and the wicked, a thousand years apart; and they expect four judgments: first, of the
righteous in Christ, for their sins; second, of the righteous for their works when Christ comes and removes His Church;
third, a judgment of nations; and fourth, the judgment of the wicked dead, known as the "final judgment."
The premillennial view of the second advent is no new doctrine. It dates back to the days of the prophets, and is largely
the subject of their prophecies. Particularly is this so of the prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel Daniel, Zechariah and Malachi, who
prophesied during the period from 700 to 400 B.C. It was clearly taught by Christ, and firmly held by the Apostles and the
early Church. It is a common, yet wholly erroneous impression, that the premillennial faith is based mainly, if not solely,
on a disputed passage of the Apocalypse (Rev. 20:4-6). The fact is that the main question at issue (whether Christ's return
will precede or follow the Millennium) antedates the Apocalypse, and would have been a question of no less interest and
importance through this dispensation if the Apocalypse had never been written. The Old Testament prophets, in plain
language, and in glowing terms, foretold an era or age of universal righteousness and peace on this earth, under the reign
of Messiah the Prince. (See Joel 3:18; Amos 9;13; Micah 4:3,4; Jer. 31:34; Hab. 2:14; Daniel 7:13-27.)
That the disciples were not mistaken in their idea of such an earthly kingdom, rules over by the promised Messiah, is
evident from the fact that Jesus never reproved them for holding such a view. And after His resurrection, and previous to
His ascension when they asked Him if He would at that time restore the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6), He did not say, "You
are mistaken in your idea of a temporal kingdom; the kingdom I came to set up as predicted by the prophets is a spiritual
kingdom." But He said, "It is not for you to know the times and seasons." After Christ's ascension the disciples fully
apprehended the matter of "the kingdom," their sermons and epistles were full of exhortations to wait for His return.
They lived and acted in the firm conviction that He might return at any time, and establish His kingdom and until that
kingdom was set up on the earth, they did not look for a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, that promised a reign
of earthly righteousness and peace. The Apostolic Church was premillennial in its teaching and belief.
The Origin Of Postmillennialsm
For over two hundred years no other idea than that of the premillennial return of Christ was entertained by the primitive
Church. The writings of the Church Fathers abound in evidence of the fact. But about 250 A.D., Origen, one of the
fathers, conceived the idea that the words of Scripture were but the husk in which were were hid the kernel of Scripture
truth. At once he began to allegorize and spiritualize Scripture, and thus founded that school of interpreters from which the
Church and the Bible have suffered so much. As time went on, the prophetic portions of the Word of God became a
sealed book, and ignorance, like the gloom of night, settled down upon all Christendom, and innumerable errors prowled
through the midnight blackness, threatening the utter extinction of the Gospel. But amid the gloom God was not without
witnesses to the truth. The Waldenses, Paulicians and other sects, believed in the premillennial return of the Lord.
But that doctrine was not the only one that was eclipsed during the "dark ages;" the doctrine of justification by faith
disappeared in the thick darkness, and star after star went out. But the gloom was not eternal. When the fulness of time
was come, that "Morning Star of the Reformation," John Wycliffe arose and was followed by Luther, and Calvin and
Knox and with the resurrection of the doctrine of justification by faith, the doctrine of the premillennial return of the Lord
was revived. When the persecution aroused by the Reformation ceased, the time of peace and prosperity became as it
always has been in the history of the Church, a time of peril. Rationalism refused to believe that the world was ripening for
judgment and a new way of interpreting the prophecies appeared. Daniel Whitby, in the early part of the eighteenth century
propounded the theory which is generally held at the present time by those who are not expecting the Lord's return till
after the Millennium. He taught that the Millennium was not a reign of persons raised from the dead, but of the Church
flourishing gloriously for a thousand years after the conversion and restoration of the Jews to their own land; and then
Christ would come the second time.
Thus, postmillennialsm, as advocated in our day is not yet two hundred years old, while premillennialsm dates back to the
days of Isaiah and Daniel. (The Christian Herald and Signs of Our Times, Dec. 3, 1890, pp. 774-775).
[Used by permission from The Baptist Pillar--Canada's only true Baptist paper.]
By Clarence Larkin (1850-1924)
The common belief today, which is the belief of postmillennialists, is that the Gospel is to be preached to all nations, until
the whole world shall be converted to Christ, and then shall follow a universal reign of righteousness and peace, called the
Millennium, followed by a short season of awful wickedness and apostasy, to close which Christ shall come, and there
shall be a simultaneous resurrection of the righteous and the wicked to be instantly followed by a general judgment; that
the world is then to be destroyed by fire, that Christ shall then surrender up all to God, and that God shall then be all in all.
Premillennialists, on the other hand, believe that the world, instead of growing better, will grow worse and worse, until
Christ shall come and raise the righteous dead and translate the living saints, and having gathered them before his judgment
seat in the air, reward them according to their works. The Jews are then to be gathered back to their land, along with the
lost ten tribes, all in an uncoverted state. Antichrist then sets up his kingdom, enters into a league with restored Israel, and
when he gets them in his power, acts the traitor and subjects them to such an awful persecution that it is called in
Matthew's gospel and the Apocalypse, "The Great Tribulation." After a short period this persecution is ended by the
revelation of Jesus Christ with His Saints, and the "Man of Sin" is destroyed by the brightness of His coming. The beast
and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire, and Satan is bound and cast into the bottomless pit. The living nations
on earth are then summoned to judgment. the "Goat" nations are destroyed, and the"'Sheep" nations, along with Christ's
brethren, the Jews, become the nations over which Christ establishes His earthly dominion. The government is a
"Theocracy," with Christ as King and His saints as coadjutors. Then follows a thousand years of Millennial glory, after
which, Satan is loosed from the pit, deceives the outlying nations, Gog and Magog, gathers them to battle, and they are
destroyed by fire from Heaven. Satan is then cast into the lake of fire, the earth is renovated by fire, God's people being
preserved in some way during the operation, and then caused to inhabit the new earth. Then the wicked dead are raised,
the fallen angels are summoned from Tartarus, the books are opened and the Judgment of "the Great White Throne" is set;
ending with all those whose names are not written in the Book of Life being cast into the lake of fire. Then follow the
eternal ages. From the foregoing it will be seen that premillennialists do not consider the resurrection and judgment days as
days of twenty-four hours, but as periods, extending over at least a thousand years. They recognize at least two
resurrections, those of the righteous and the wicked, a thousand years apart; and they expect four judgments: first, of the
righteous in Christ, for their sins; second, of the righteous for their works when Christ comes and removes His Church;
third, a judgment of nations; and fourth, the judgment of the wicked dead, known as the "final judgment."
The premillennial view of the second advent is no new doctrine. It dates back to the days of the prophets, and is largely
the subject of their prophecies. Particularly is this so of the prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel Daniel, Zechariah and Malachi, who
prophesied during the period from 700 to 400 B.C. It was clearly taught by Christ, and firmly held by the Apostles and the
early Church. It is a common, yet wholly erroneous impression, that the premillennial faith is based mainly, if not solely,
on a disputed passage of the Apocalypse (Rev. 20:4-6). The fact is that the main question at issue (whether Christ's return
will precede or follow the Millennium) antedates the Apocalypse, and would have been a question of no less interest and
importance through this dispensation if the Apocalypse had never been written. The Old Testament prophets, in plain
language, and in glowing terms, foretold an era or age of universal righteousness and peace on this earth, under the reign
of Messiah the Prince. (See Joel 3:18; Amos 9;13; Micah 4:3,4; Jer. 31:34; Hab. 2:14; Daniel 7:13-27.)
That the disciples were not mistaken in their idea of such an earthly kingdom, rules over by the promised Messiah, is
evident from the fact that Jesus never reproved them for holding such a view. And after His resurrection, and previous to
His ascension when they asked Him if He would at that time restore the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6), He did not say, "You
are mistaken in your idea of a temporal kingdom; the kingdom I came to set up as predicted by the prophets is a spiritual
kingdom." But He said, "It is not for you to know the times and seasons." After Christ's ascension the disciples fully
apprehended the matter of "the kingdom," their sermons and epistles were full of exhortations to wait for His return.
They lived and acted in the firm conviction that He might return at any time, and establish His kingdom and until that
kingdom was set up on the earth, they did not look for a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, that promised a reign
of earthly righteousness and peace. The Apostolic Church was premillennial in its teaching and belief.
The Origin Of Postmillennialsm
For over two hundred years no other idea than that of the premillennial return of Christ was entertained by the primitive
Church. The writings of the Church Fathers abound in evidence of the fact. But about 250 A.D., Origen, one of the
fathers, conceived the idea that the words of Scripture were but the husk in which were were hid the kernel of Scripture
truth. At once he began to allegorize and spiritualize Scripture, and thus founded that school of interpreters from which the
Church and the Bible have suffered so much. As time went on, the prophetic portions of the Word of God became a
sealed book, and ignorance, like the gloom of night, settled down upon all Christendom, and innumerable errors prowled
through the midnight blackness, threatening the utter extinction of the Gospel. But amid the gloom God was not without
witnesses to the truth. The Waldenses, Paulicians and other sects, believed in the premillennial return of the Lord.
But that doctrine was not the only one that was eclipsed during the "dark ages;" the doctrine of justification by faith
disappeared in the thick darkness, and star after star went out. But the gloom was not eternal. When the fulness of time
was come, that "Morning Star of the Reformation," John Wycliffe arose and was followed by Luther, and Calvin and
Knox and with the resurrection of the doctrine of justification by faith, the doctrine of the premillennial return of the Lord
was revived. When the persecution aroused by the Reformation ceased, the time of peace and prosperity became as it
always has been in the history of the Church, a time of peril. Rationalism refused to believe that the world was ripening for
judgment and a new way of interpreting the prophecies appeared. Daniel Whitby, in the early part of the eighteenth century
propounded the theory which is generally held at the present time by those who are not expecting the Lord's return till
after the Millennium. He taught that the Millennium was not a reign of persons raised from the dead, but of the Church
flourishing gloriously for a thousand years after the conversion and restoration of the Jews to their own land; and then
Christ would come the second time.
Thus, postmillennialsm, as advocated in our day is not yet two hundred years old, while premillennialsm dates back to the
days of Isaiah and Daniel. (The Christian Herald and Signs of Our Times, Dec. 3, 1890, pp. 774-775).
[Used by permission from The Baptist Pillar--Canada's only true Baptist paper.]
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