The doctrine of the millennium and the second advent of Christ Jesus, has been a very important one in the Christian church. The ancient Christians were animated by a contempt for their present existence, and by a just confidence of immortality, of which the doubtful and imperfect faith of modern ages cannot give us any adequate notion. In the primitive church, the influence of truth was powerfully strengthened by an opinion, which, however much it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, has not been found agreeable to experience. It was universally believed, that the end of the world and the kingdom of heaven were at hand.[240:1] The near approach of this wonderful event had been predicted, as we have seen, by the Apostles; the tradition of it was preserved by their earliest disciples, and those who believed that the discourses attributed to Jesus were really uttered by him, were obliged to expect the second and glorious coming of the "Son of Man" in the clouds, before that generation was totally extinguished which had beheld his humble condition upon earth, and which might still witness the calamities of the Jews under Vespasian or Hadrian. The revolution of seventeen centuries has instructed us not to press too closely the mysterious language of prophecy and revelation; but as long as this error was permitted to subsist in the church, it was productive of the most salutary effects on the faith and practice of Christians, who lived in the awful expectation of that moment when the globe itself and all the various races of mankind, should tremble at the appearance of their divine judge. This expectation was countenanced—as we have seen—by the twenty-fourth chapter of St. Matthew, and by the first epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians. Erasmus (one of the most vigorous promoters of the Reformation) removes the difficulty by the help of allegory and metaphor; and the learned Grotius (a learned theologian of the 16th century) ventures to insinuate, that, for wise purposes, the pious deception was permitted to take place.

The ancient and popular doctrine of the millennium was intimately connected with the second coming of Christ Jesus. As the works of the creation had been fixed in six days, their duration in the present state, according to a tradition which was attributed to the prophet Elijah, was fixed to six thousand years.[240:2] By the same analogy it was inferred, that this long period of labor and contention, which had now almost elapsed, would be succeeded by a joyful Sabbath of a thousand years, and that Christ Jesus, with the triumphant band of the saints and the elect who had escaped death, or who had been miraculously revived, would reign upon earth until the time appointed for the last and general resurrection. So pleasing was this hope to the mind of the believers, that the "New Jerusalem," the seat of this blissful kingdom, was quickly adorned with all the gayest colors of the imagination. A felicity consisting only of pure and spiritual pleasure would have been too refined for its inhabitants, who were still supposed to possess their human nature and senses. A "Garden of Eden," with the amusements of the pastoral life, was no longer suited to the advanced state of society which prevailed under the Roman empire. A city was therefore erected of gold and precious stones, and a supernatural plenty of corn and wine was bestowed on the adjacent territory; in the free enjoyment of whose spontaneous productions, the happy and benevolent people were never to be restrained by any jealous laws of exclusive property. Most of these pictures were borrowed from a misrepresentation of Isaiah, Daniel, and the Apocalypse. One of the grossest images may be found in Irenæus (l. v.) the disciple of Papias, who had seen the Apostle St. John. Though it might not be universally received, it appears to have been the reigning sentiment of the orthodox believers; and it seems so well adapted to the desires and apprehensions of mankind, that it must have contributed in a very considerable degree to the progress of the Christian faith. But when the edifice of the church was almost completed, the temporary support was laid aside. The doctrine of Christ Jesus' reign upon earth was at first treated as a profound allegory, was considered by degrees as a doubtful and useless opinion, and was at length rejected as the absurd invention of heresy and fanaticism. But although this doctrine had been "laid aside," and "rejected," it was again resurrected, and is alive and rife at the present day, even among those who stand as the leaders of the orthodox faith.

The expectation of the "last day" in the year 1000 A. D., reinvested the doctrine with a transitory importance; but it lost all credit again when the hopes so keenly excited by the crusades faded away before the stern reality of Saracenic success, and the predictions of the "Everlasting Gospel," a work of Joachim de Floris, a Franciscan abbot, remained unfulfilled.[241:1]

At the period of the Reformation, millenarianism once more experienced a partial revival, because it was not a difficult matter to apply some of its symbolism to the papacy. The Pope, for example, was Antichrist—a belief still adhered to by some extreme Protestants. Yet the doctrine was not adopted by the great body of the reformers, but by some fanatical sects, such as the Anabaptists, and by the Theosophists of the seventeenth century.

During the civil and religious wars in France and England, when great excitement prevailed, it was also prominent. The "Fifth Monarchy Men" of Cromwell's time were millenarians of the most exaggerated and dangerous sort. Their peculiar tenet was that the millennium had come, and that they were the saints who were to inherit the earth. The excesses of the French Roman Catholic Mystics and Quietists terminated in chiliastic[242:1] views. Among the Protestants it was during the "Thirty Years' War" that the most enthusiastic and learned chiliasts flourished. The awful suffering and wide-spread desolation of that time led pious hearts to solace themselves with the hope of a peaceful and glorious future. Since then the penchant which has sprung up for expounding the prophetical books of the Bible, and particularly the Apocalypse, with a view to present events, has given the doctrine a faint semi-theological life, very different, however, from the earnest faith of the first Christians.

Among the foremost chiliastic teachers of modern centuries are to be mentioned Ezechiel Meth, Paul Felgenhauer, Bishop Comenius, Professor Jurien, Seraris, Poiret, J. Mede; while Thomas Burnet and William Whiston endeavored to give chiliasm a geological foundation, but without finding much favor. Latterly, especially since the rise and extension of missionary enterprise, the opinion has obtained a wide currency, that after the conversion of the whole world to Christianity, a blissful and glorious era will ensue; but not much stress—except by extreme literalists—is now laid on the nature or duration of this far-off felicity.

Great eagerness, and not a little ingenuity have been exhibited by many persons in fixing a date for the commencement of the millennium. The celebrated theologian, Johann Albrecht Bengel, who, in the eighteenth century, revived an earnest interest in the subject amongst orthodox Protestants, asserted from a study of the prophecies that the millennium would begin in 1836. This date was long popular. Swedenborg held that the last judgment took place in 1757, and that the new church, or "Church of the New Jerusalem," as his followers designate themselves—in other words, the millennial era—then began.

In America, considerable agitation was excited by the preaching of one William Miller, who fixed the second advent of Christ Jesus about 1843. Of late years, the most noted English millenarian was Dr. John Cumming, who placed the end of the present dispensation in 1866 or 1867; but as that time passed without any millennial symptoms, he modified his original views considerably, before he died, and conjectured that the beginning of the millennium would not differ so much after all from the years immediately preceding it, as people commonly suppose.

FOOTNOTES:

CHAPTER XXV.

Paul also, in his "Epistle to the Romans" (or some other person who has interpolated the passage), tells us that:

Again, in his "Epistle to Timothy,"[244:3] he says:

The writer of the "Gospel according to St. Matthew," also describes Christ Jesus as judge at the last day.[244:5]

Now, the question arises, is this doctrine original with Christianity? To this we must answer no. It was taught, for ages before the time of Christ Jesus or Christianity, that the Supreme Being—whether "Brahmá," "Zeruâné Akeréné," "Jupiter," or "Yahweh,"[244:6]—was not to be the judge at the last day, but that their sons were to hold this position.

The sectarians of Buddha taught that he (who was the Son of God (Brahmá) and the Holy Virgin Maya), is to be the judge of the dead.[244:7]

According to the religion of the Hindoos, Crishna (who was the Son of God, and the Holy Virgin Devaki), is to be the judge at the last day.[245:1] And Yama is the god of the departed spirits, and the judge of the dead, according to the Vedas.[245:2]

Osiris, the Egyptian "Saviour" and son of the "Immaculate Virgin" Neith or Nout, was believed by the ancient Egyptians to be the judge of the dead.[245:3] He is represented on Egyptian monuments, seated on his throne of judgment, bearing a staff, and carrying the crux ansata, or cross with a handle.[245:4] St. Andrew's cross is upon his breast. His throne is in checkers, to denote the good and evil over which he presides, or to indicate the good and evil who appear before him as the judge.[245:5]

Among the many hieroglyphic titles which accompany his figure in these sculptures, and in many other places on the walls of temples and tombs, are "Lord of Life," "The Eternal Ruler," "Manifester of Good," "Revealer of Truth," "Full of Goodness and Truth," &c.[245:6]

Mr. Bonwick, speaking of the Egyptian belief in the last judgment, says:

Prof. Carpenter, referring to the Egyptian Bible—which is by far the most ancient of all holy books[245:8]—says:

According to the religion of the Persians, it is Ormuzd, "The First Born of the Eternal One," who is judge of the dead. He had the title of "The All-Seeing," and "The Just Judge."[245:10]

Zeruâné Akeréné is the name of him who corresponds to "God the Father" among other nations. He was the "One Supreme essence," the "Invisible and Incomprehensible."[245:11]

Among the ancient Greeks, it was Aeacus—Son of the Most High God—who was to be judge of the dead.[245:12]

The Christian Emperor Constantine, in his oration to the clergy, speaking of the ancient poets of Greece, says:

Strange as it may seem, "there are no examples of Christ Jesus conceived as judge, or the last judgment, in the early art of Christianity."[246:2]

The author from whom we quote the above, says, "It would be difficult to define the cause of this, though many may be conjectured."[246:3]

Would it be unreasonable to "conjecture" that the early Christians did not teach this doctrine, but that it was imbibed, in after years, with many other heathen ideas?

FOOTNOTES:

CHAPTER XXVI.

Again:

In the "Epistle to the Colossians," we read that:

Again, in the "Epistle to the Hebrews," we are told that:

Samuel Johnson, D. O. Allen,[247:5] and Thomas Maurice,[247:6] tell us that, according to the religion of the Hindoos, it is Crishna, the Son, and the second person in the ever blessed Trinity,[247:7] "who is the origin and end of all the worlds; all this universe, came into being through him, the eternal maker."[247:8]

In the holy book of the Hindoos, called the "Bhagvat Geeta," may be found the following words of Crishna, addressed to his "beloved disciple" Ar-jouan:

In Lecture VII., entitled: "Of the Principles of Nature, and the Vital Spirit," he also says:

Again, in Lecture IX., entitled, "Of the Chief of Secrets and Prince of Science," Crishna says:

In Lecture X., entitled, "Of the diversity of the Divine Nature," he says:

Innumerable texts, similar to these, might be produced from the Hindoo Scriptures, but these we deem sufficient to show, in the words of Samuel Johnson quoted above, that, "According to the religion of the Hindoos, it is Crishna who is the origin and the end of all the worlds;" and that "all this universe came into being through him, the Eternal Maker." The Chinese believed in One Supreme God, to whose honor they burnt incense, but of whom they had no image. This "God the Father" was not the Creator, according to their theology or mythology; but they had another god, of whom they had statues or idols, called Natigai, who was the god of all terrestrial things; in fact, God, the Creator of this world—inferior or subordinate to the Supreme Being—from whom they petition for fine weather, or whatever else they want—a sort of mediator.[248:4]

Lanthu, who was born of a "pure, spotless virgin," is believed by his followers or disciples to be the Creator of all things;[248:5] and Taou, a deified hero, who is mentioned about 560 B. C., is believed by some sects and affirmed by their books, to be "the original source and first productive cause of all things."[248:6]

In the Chaldean oracles, the doctrine of the "Only Begotten Son," I A O, as Creator, is plainly taught.

According to ancient Persian mythology, there is one supreme essence, invisible and incomprehensible, named "Zeruâné Akeréné" which signifies "unlimited time," or "the eternal." From him emanated Ormuzd, the "King of Light," the "First-born of the Eternal One," &c. Now, this "First-born of the Eternal One" is he by whom all things were made, all things came into being through him; he is the Creator.[249:1]

A large portion of the Zend-Avesta—the Persian Sacred Book or Bible—is filled with prayers to Ormuzd, God's First-Born. The following are samples: