Spurgeon: “There will be no millennial reign without the King. . . no rule of righteousness except from the appearing of the righteous Lord. . . Paul does not paint the future with rose-colour: he is no smooth-tongued prophet of a golden age, into which this dull earth may be imagined to be glowing. There are sanguine brethren who are looking forward to everything growing better and better and better, until, at last, this present age ripens into a millennium. They will not be able to sustain their hopes, for Scripture gives them no solid basis to rest upon."

This is neither pessimism nor optimism. It's taking the whole counsel of Scripture seriously. Christ is building His church marvelously in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, and it will be so until the Day of the LORD comes. Don't be swayed by naive optimists nor by doomsayer pessimists. Hold fast to the Scriptures, enjoy life to the glory of God, pursue holiness, raise godly families, build up the church and advance the Gospel, let come what may. "Our redemption draweth nigh."-BA Purtle