As the Apostle Paul reveals above, what I will present here is my understanding. But on this side of eternity, I can only share what I believe the Spriit has revealed to me.
With that said, allow me to state that I stand in agreement with Charles H. Spurgeon, and that my position is one of historical pre-millennialism:
Second Coming of Christ
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Rapture of the Church
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Resurrection
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Nature of the Millennium
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Historic Pre- millennial- ism
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Prior to the start of the millennial kingdom
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At the end of the tribulation period
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2 Resurrections: the just at Christ's return; the unjust at the end of the millennium
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Culmination of the church age. Christ will rule and reign over the world thru the agency of the church.
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I will summarize a few of Spurgeon's sermon's which I believe document his position:
We know that Christ was really, personally, and physically here on earth. But it is not quite so clear to some persons that he is to come, really, personally, and literally the second time. . . Now, we believe that the Christ who shall sit on the throne of his father David, and whose feet shall stand upon
On June 13, 1869, he told his congregation:
We are to expect the literal advent of Jesus Christ, for he himself by his angel told us, "This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner [emphasis his] as ye have seen him go into heaven," which must mean literally and in person.
If I read the word aright, and it is honest to admit that there is much room for difference of opinion here, the day will come, when the Lord Jesus will descend from heaven with a shout, with the trump of the archangel and the voice of God. Some think that this descent of the Lord will be post-millennial — that is, after the thousand years of his reign. I cannot think so. I conceive that the advent will be pre-millennial; that he will come first; and then will come the millennium as the result of his personal reign upon earthThere is, moreover, to be a reign of Christ. I cannot read the Scriptures without perceiving that there is to be a millennial reign, as I believe, upon the earth, and that there shall be new heavens and new earth wherein dwell righteousness.
Jesus is not coming in a sort of mythical, misty, hazy way, he is literally and actually coming, and he will literally and actually call upon you to give an account of your stewardship. Therefore, now, to-day, literally not symbolically, personally and not by deputy, go out through that portion of the world which you can reach, and preach the gospel to every creature according as you have opportunity.
Notice that this reaping comes first, and I think it comes first in order of time. If I read the Scriptures aright, there are to be two resurrections, and the first will be the resurrection of the righteous; for it is written, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power."
For further reading of Spurgeon, I would recommend the following site:
http://www.spurgeon.org/eschat.htm
This, therefore, is in stark contrast to many modern teachings following the belief of dispensational pre-millennialism (as taught by John MacArthur among others):
Second Coming of Christ
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Rapture of the Church
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Resurrection
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Nature of the Millennium
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Dispen- sational Premillen- nialism
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Prior to the start of the millennial kingdom
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Just prior to the beginning of the tribulation period (although in modern times some, such as Moo, have opted for a post-tribulational rapture; but this was unknown in Spurgeon's day).
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2 Resurrections, with the 1st in 3 phases: Christ as the "firstfruits"; Church saints at the rapture; OT & tribulation saints at the 2nd coming. The Unjust at the end of the millennium
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Culmination of God's promises to
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The Dispensational Pre-Millennialism does, in my opinion, propose some challenges:
The theory presented by the dispensational pre-millennialists is that during the tribulation, the raptured saints will be involved in the wedding feast of the bride (in Heaven); then after the tribulation is over, the saints will return with Christ.
First, where and under what conditions does the Bible tell us the wedding feast will take place? Let's start in Isaiah 25:
Isaiah 25:6-8
6 Inwill spread a wonderful feast
for all the people of the world.
It will be a delicious banquet
with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat.
7 There he will remove the cloud of gloom,
the shadow of death that hangs over the earth.
8 He will swallow up death forever![b]
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears.
He will remove forever all insults and mockery
against his land and people.
The Lord has spoken!
Footnotes:
- Isaiah 25:6 Hebrew On this mountain; also in 25:10.
- Isaiah 25:8 Greek version reads Death is swallowed up in victory. Compare 1 Cor 15:54.
This seems to confirm what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 23:
Psalm 23:5
5 You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
Again, Revelation 19, in my opinion, appears to be after the tribulation period:
Revelation 19:6-9
New Living Translation (NLT)6 Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder:
“Praise the Lord!
For the Lord our God,[a] the Almighty, reigns.
7 Let us be glad and rejoice,
and let us give honor to him.
For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb,
and his bride has prepared herself.
8 She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.”
For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.
9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”
Finally, if the wedding feast does not occur until Christ physically returns, when the righteous are raised on the last day, who then returns with Christ on that day?
Jude 1:14
New Living Translation (NLT)
14 Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones I note that the KJV and NKJV are the only versions that change the ending from holy ones to: saints.
Now, if Jude was truly quoting from the pseudepigrapha work of the Book of Enoch, then, according to the translations of that work, the correct wording would be: "holy ones".
But what do other scriptures state?
Matthew 25:31
New Living Translation (NLT)
The Final Judgment
31 “But when the Son of Man[a] comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne.
Mark 8:38
New Living Translation (NLT)
38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Matthew 16:27
New Living Translation (NLT)
27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.
Daniel 7:10
New Living Translation (NLT)
10 and a river of fire was pouring out,
flowing from his presence.
Millions of angels ministered to him;
many millions stood to attend him.
Then the court began its session,
and the books were opened.
And, if the resurrection of the righteous dead truly comes upon the physical return of Christ, then the following passage seems to make much more sense:
Matthew 24:30-31
New Living Translation (NLT)
30 And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.[a] 31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world[b]—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.I hope I have been able to convey my understanding of some of the things yet to come...but...
12 Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.[c] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. (1 Corinthians 13:12)
May you be blessed by His abundant grace and receive peace!
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