Will There Be a Millennium?

It gives me great pleasure to send this book forth on a timely mission. Before creation God had an ideal plan to be brought into existence, including man, who was the crowning work of all His creation. Man was made in the likeness of God, Holy, Spiritual, and Immortal. Being made in the image of God made him capable of fulfilling the purpose of God, which included living on the high plain of holiness, enjoying the ideals of the Garden of Eden, walking and talking with God, communing and fellowshipping with Deity. This heavenly companionship was in the mind and plan of God before the world and its occupants were ever brought into existence. Following creation of the world, and all living creatures, including man, the Bible says, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold it was very good.”

Immediately the devil, the arch enemy of God, and all good moved to disrupt and destroy the plan and purpose of God for mankind. He succeeded in accomplishing disobedience, causing Adam and Eve to sin, which resulted in them being driven from the Garden of Eden, with all of its blessing and glory, and plunging the entire human race into, and under the power and dominion of sin.

God, through his mercy and wisdom inaugurated a plan to recover man out of this awful state. As soon as this was in effect, the devil again put his machinery to work, and instituted a way to keep man from accepting and being a part of God’s restoration move.

He knew that man was incurably religious, and that to deceive and mislead him he would have to form something that had the appearance of God in it. So he began a movement in heathen nations, namely Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome that had an idea of a future golden age of the world when evil would be suppressed. The later Jewish conception of such a period was colored by these views of a similar period held by the nations about them.

Because of a literal interpretation of the Messianic prophecies the Jews generally expected the Messiah to establish an earthly kingdom. Jesus disappointed those carnal hopes, which resulted in the Jews rejecting Christ, consenting to, and crucifying Him.

Consequently, the advocates of the theory of a literal kingdom, and reign on earth, concentrated in a more energetic way to gather and form Jewish fabulous, unwritten tradition, carnal misapprehensions, pretended visions, superstitions, and vain imaginations, and to arrest the thinking, deceive, and mislead, not only those of the first century, but for all time to come.

In essence, it is a concerted effort to get all peoples of the world to reject Christ, and His plan of Redemption in this life, and look to the future for something that will never come. During the last few years millions of volumes have been printed and circulated over the world, teaching the people to look to, and hope for a better future, when Christ shall establish His kingdom and offer superior means of grace and blessings to mankind.

Great stress is being laid by visionists on suppositional prophecies, and literalizing pictures of supposed future events that will never come to pass. To those who do not know the Scripture, this is serving to bring a dreadful fear and disturbance of soul and mind, which is robbing many Christians of their rightful inheritance of present victory, comfort and peace.

Millions today are adhering to such teaching, and being deceived with a vain hope. Our love for Christ, His truth, for the many precious souls thus deceived, and for the many more who may come under the influence of such wicked doctrines, prompts us to lift our voice, and pen the following lines in the name of Jesus.

No matter how fascinating a thing is, how beautiful and pleasing to the taste, there can be no real benefit derived from holding the same if it be a creation of fancy, or the wrong interpretation of the Scripture, nor is God in any way pleased or glorified in anyone holding an erroneous hope.

Scattered throughout the book will be found some choice selections from the pens of a few great theologians and historians, whom we esteem very highly, “for their works sake.” We pray this volume may be blest of God in turning many minds from vain speculation to Jesus Christ, the crucified Son of God, to His present and eternal plan of salvation.

Yours in Him,

Lawrence J. Chesnut, B.Th. D.D.