Charles Haddon Spurgeon, while being a gifted preacher, was not without his flaws. He apparently had a dramatic flair that offended many; pacing the platform, acting out biblical stories, and filling his sermons with sentimental tales of dying children, grieving parents, and repentant harlots. Referred to as "the pulpit buffoon," Spurgeon replied, "I am perhaps vulgar, but it is not intentional, save that I must and will make people listen. My firm conviction is that we have had enough polite preachers."
Spurgeon was apparently an energetic and oratorical individual. As gifted as he was at preaching, nevertheless he was not God. Everything he spoke or wrote was not golden, nor was it the Gospel truth. Even Spurgeon held to some erroneous beliefs, such as his position on baptism and his belief in a millennial kingdom and restoration of national Israel.
Spurgeon believed in two separate physical resurrections separated by 1,000 years based on Revelation 20:1-5. The resurrection of the just first, and the resurrection of the unjust last.
We expect a reigning Christ on earth; that seems to us to be very plain, and put so literally that we dare not spiritualise it. We anticipate a first and second resurrection; a first resurrection of the righteous, and a second resurrection of the ungodly, who shall be judged, condemned, and punished for ever by the sentence of the great King.1
You have perhaps imagined that all men will rise at the same moment; that the trump of the archangel will break open every grave at the same instant, and sound in the ear of every sleeper at the identical moment. Such I do not think is the testimony of the Word of God. I think that the Word of God teaches, and teaches indisputably, that the saints shall rise first. And be the interval of time whatever it may, whether the thousand years are literal years, or a very long period of time, I am not now about to determine; I have nothing to do except with the fact that there are two resurrections, a resurrection of the just, and afterwards of the unjust,—a time when the saints of God shall rise, an after time when the wicked shall rise to the resurrection of damnation.2
Despite his giftedness at preaching, Spurgeon apparently failed to pay attention to the entire context of Revelation 20 and to compare the whole of Scripture. Let us look at the various fatally systemic flaws of Spurgeon's view (Pre-Millennialism).
Resurrection of Just → Millennial Reign → Resurrection of Unjust
First problem: When does Christ's judgment take place? Before or after the millennial reign? If before, then how do men escape His judgment? If after, what was the point in coming and waiting?
Second problem: After the 1,000 years, only unjust individuals are resurrected. Does that mean that there were no just individuals living during this time period? What happened to this kingdom of righteousness?
Third problem: Does nobody die during the millennial reign? If so, this sounds awfully similar to the age to come, which is eternity. Only in the age to come does nobody die.
The first sentence of the second citation is in stark contrast to the words of Christ in John 5:28-29, where He said, "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,
and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of
life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment."
To imagine that there are two separate resurrections here is
problematic to the judgment seen in Matthew 25:31-46. Two separate
resurrections separated by 1,000 years would require two days of the Lord and two judgments. Scripture only ever mentions one judgment!
When Christ returns, He is coming as Judge. He will judge both the living and the dead. In order to do so, the dead have to be resurrected. Resurrection reverses the power of death. Both the just and unjust will be resurrected and changed. In order to be tormented for all eternity, one's body needs to be immortal and imperishable. Sin and death will be defeated at Christ's Second Coming and all will be judged. Separating all of this creates a huge problem.
According to Matthew 25:31, after Christ returns in His glory, He executes judgment by separating the sheep from the goats. You cannot do this if everyone is not accounted for. Job 14:12 says that man will be resurrected when “the heavens be no more.” Jesus said “Heaven and earth will pass away…but of that day…no one knows…but the Father alone” (Matt. 24:25-26). In 2 Peter 3:10-12, Peter states that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.” Jesus declares four times in John 6:38-40, 44-45 and 54 that the righteous will be resurrected “on the last day.” First Corinthians 15:23-26, 50-54 states the same truth: “But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end.” In John 11:24, Martha acknowledged that Lazarus, a Jew, would be resurrected “on the last day.” Jesus stated in John 5:28-29 that there is “a” resurrection of “both” the just and unjust. Daniel 12:2 concurs with this truth, as does Acts 24:15. One resurrection! Not two!
When Christ returns, He is coming as Judge. He will judge both the living and the dead. In order to do so, the dead have to be resurrected. Resurrection reverses the power of death. Both the just and unjust will be resurrected and changed. In order to be tormented for all eternity, one's body needs to be immortal and imperishable. Sin and death will be defeated at Christ's Second Coming and all will be judged. Separating all of this creates a huge problem.
According to Matthew 25:31, after Christ returns in His glory, He executes judgment by separating the sheep from the goats. You cannot do this if everyone is not accounted for. Job 14:12 says that man will be resurrected when “the heavens be no more.” Jesus said “Heaven and earth will pass away…but of that day…no one knows…but the Father alone” (Matt. 24:25-26). In 2 Peter 3:10-12, Peter states that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.” Jesus declares four times in John 6:38-40, 44-45 and 54 that the righteous will be resurrected “on the last day.” First Corinthians 15:23-26, 50-54 states the same truth: “But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end.” In John 11:24, Martha acknowledged that Lazarus, a Jew, would be resurrected “on the last day.” Jesus stated in John 5:28-29 that there is “a” resurrection of “both” the just and unjust. Daniel 12:2 concurs with this truth, as does Acts 24:15. One resurrection! Not two!
A plain reading of Revelation 20:1-5 would seem to support Spurgeon's theories. However, he apparently missed verse 6, 14, and 21:8. In verse 4, who does John see sitting on thrones in judgment, reigning with Christ? "The souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God." Not bodies! Souls! They are not reigning with Christ on Earth. As Anthony Hoekema points out,
"There is no indication in these verses that John is describing an earthly millennial reign. The scene…is set in heaven. Nothing is said in verses 4-6 about the earth, about Palestine as the center of this reign, or about the Jews. Nothing is said here about believers who are still on earth during this millennial reign – the vision deals exclusively with believers who have died. This millennial reign is not something to be looked for in the future; it is going on now, and will be until Christ returns."3
In verse 5, it says, "The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed." That sounds like a second resurrection of the unjust. But what does verse 6 say? "Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power." The second death has no power over those who participated in the first resurrection. What is the second death? Verse 14 says, "This is the second death, the lake of fire." Revelation 21:8 says that all sinners will "have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." The lake of fire, then, is the second death. What kind of death is this? Physical? Or spiritual? It is spiritual! The first death is physical. If the second death has no power over those of the first resurrection, what kind of resurrection is it? Physical? Or Spiritual? It is spiritual! It is the new birth! The second resurrection is physical.
In Psalm 50:10 we are told that God owns the cattle on 1,000 hills. Is this literal or symbolic? Does He not own the cattle on the 1,001st hill? To the 2,000th hill? In Deuteronomy 7:9 we are told that God extends mercy to 1,000 generations. Is this literal or symbolic? Does He not extend mercy to the 1,001st generation? To the 2,000th generation? So what does “1,000” represent in these passages? What does “1,000” represent in Revelation 20:1-5?
“And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.” (Rev. 20:1-5)
In Jude, Michael the archangel would not dare bring an accusation against Satan. Obviously Satan was created as a more powerful being than Michael was. Therefore, you need someone with more authority and more power in order to deal with Satan. Michael concurred with this by saying, “The Lord rebuke you.” If we look elsewhere in Scripture, we find that it is the Lord Jesus who has keys in his possession (Rev. 1:18; 3:7). This “angel” is either none other than the Lord Jesus Himself or, which is more likely, an angel to whom He has given the key to. Now, is the “key” in his hand a literal key or a symbolic key? When Jesus handed the keys to the kingdom over to Peter in Matthew 16:19, were they literal keys or symbolic keys? What did they look like? How did Peter use them? When Jesus spoke of a “key of knowledge” in Luke 11:52, was this a literal key or a symbolic key? Would Matthew 23:13 provide an answer?
Is the “bottomless pit” literal or symbolic? If it is literal, we would need a pit that goes from here straight through to China. Is the “great chain” literal or symbolic? In Mark 5:1-20, the demon-possessed man could not even be bound by literal chains. Since angels do not have physical bodies, what good would a literal chain do? 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 inform us of demons that have been put in everlasting chains. Once again, since demons do not have physical bodies, can these be literal chains? “Dragon” is clearly symbolic because the text goes on to tell us who it is.
So, since everything we have just looked at is obviously symbolic, it stands to reason that the “1,000 years” is also symbolic. There is no reason or justification for interpreting it as a literal 1,000 years. To do so would do violence to the text. If everything before and after is symbolic, we cannot pick one aspect of the text and decide to translate it as being literal. That is poor hermeneutics and exegesis. We must be consistent. The 1,000 years is symbolic for a long period of time. Period. It is a hyberbole—a rhetorical figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated.
Just because Spurgeon held to a particular belief does not make it true or biblical! Spurgeon is not God!
The only way that Jews can be saved is by incorporation into the Church. Jews were the first members of the Church, so interpreters who look at the Church like it is some kind of bad word are in the wrong. It was the true Israel (believing Jews) who first made up membership of the Church. Then believing Gentiles were added in with them. The Church is the only body, the only nation, of God's true covenant people. The New Covenant was not just made with Israel and Judah (the north and south kingdoms). Everything written in the New Covenant is what every Christian experiences, whether Jew or Gentile. There are not two New Covenants; there is only one New Covenant, and it applies to God's true people—believing Jews and believing Gentiles alike. Any theology that separates the Church from the end of things is an aberrant, heretical, and godless theology. Restoration Theology wants to see a distinction between Israel and the Church, but salvation offers no such distinction. The Church comes out of all that was Israel and consists of true Israel (believing Jews). Christianity is not a new religion. Its foundations were Judaism (without all the Pharisaical additions and false interpretations). Jesus and the Apostles corrected the misinterpretations and shaped the Church around its true religion. The twelve added nothing to what Paul was doing. The first 5,000+ members of the Church were Jewish. The old practices under the Law have been done away with. There is no returning to them. They were types and shadows. The Church is the new temple of God. God does not dwell in places built by human hands, but within us. The promises were for Christ and all who belong to Him, having a faith like Abraham's. To deny all this is to be willfully ignorant (dumb on purpose). The entire New Testament makes it painfully obvious.
1 Charles Spurgeon, "Things to Come," MTP, 15:329.
2 Charles Spurgeon, "The First Resurrection," MTP, 7:346.
3 Anthony Hoekema, The Bible and the Future, 235.