Midnight – Mincing

Midnight

mid'-nit (chatsoth laylah, "middle of the night" (Exodus 11:4; Job 34:20; Psalms 119:62), chatsi ha-laylah, "the half of the night" (Exodus 12:29; Judges 16:3; Ruth 3:8), tokh ha-laylah, "the division of the night" and hence, the middle point (1 Kings 3:20); meses nuktos (Matthew 25:6), or meson tes nuktos, "the middle of the night" (Acts 27:27), mesonuktios, "midnight"; Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek, mesonuktion (Acts 16:25, etc.)): In the period before the exile midnight does not seem to have been very accurately determined. The division of the night was into three watches, the middle one of which included midnight. In New Testament times the four-watch division was used where midnight must have been more or less accurately determined.

See TIME; WATCH.

H. Porter

Midrash

mid'-rash (midhrash): The Hebrew word corresponding to the King James Version "story" and the Revised Version (British and American) "commentary" in 2 Chronicles 13:22; 2 Chronicles 24:27. A midrash is properly a story developed for purposes of edification.

See COMMENTARY.

Midwife

mid'-wif (meyalledheth): Those who in patriarchal times attended mothers at childbirth are so named in Genesis 35:17; Genesis 38:28; Exodus 1:15–22. Such attendants were probably then (1 Samuel 4:20), as they usually are now, the older female relatives and friends of the mother. The duties which they had to perform are enumerated in Ezekiel 16:4: division of the cord, washing the infant in water, salting with salt and swathing in swaddling clothes. During the Egyptian bondage there were two midwives who attended the Hebrew women; from their names, they were probably Hebrews, certainly they were not Egyptians. From this passage it appears that they used a certain double-round form of birthstool called 'obhnayim, concerning which there are several rabbinical comments. It probably was like the kuru elwiladeh, or "birth-seat," still used by the Egyptian fellahin. I have not found any record of its use among the Palestinian fellahin. There is a curious passage in the Talmud (Cotah 2 b) in which it is said that the two midwives had different duties, Shiphrah being the one who dressed the infant, Puah, the one who whispered to it. One Jewish commentator on this supposes that Puah used artificial respiration by blowing into the child's mouth. The midwives must have had considerable skill, as a case like that of Tamar required some amount of operative manipulation.

The English word means originally the woman who is "with the mother" (compare "the women that stood by," in 1 Samuel 4:20), but very early became applied to those who gave skilled assistance, as in Raynold's Birth of Mankind, 1565.

Alexander Macalister

Migdal-Eder

mig-dal-e-der.

See EDER.

Migdal-El

mig'-dal-el (mighdal-'el; Codex Vaticanus Megalaareim; Codex Alexandrinus Magdalieoram): The name, which means "tower of God," occurs between Iron and Horem in the list of the fenced cities of Naphtali (Joshua 19:38). Eusebius, Onomasticon places it 9 miles from Dora (Tanturah), on the way to Ptolemais, which points to Athlit. But this is far from the territory of Naphtali. It is probably to be identified with either Khirbet Mejdel, 3 miles North of Qedes, or Mejdel Islim, 5 miles farther to the Northwest.

Migdal-Gad

mig'-dal-gad (mighdalgadh, "tower of Gad"): One of a group of 16 cities of Judah situated in the "lowland" (Joshua 15:37). Of these, only Lachish, Eglon, Beth-dagon and Naamah have been identified with any certainty. This would indicate a site in the Philistine plain, and the modern flourishing town of Mejdel, 2 1/2 miles Northeast of Ashkelon, appears to be a possible identification. It is the most important town in the district which is named after it Nahiet el-Mejdel. It must, however, be admitted that it is difficult to see how Judah could have held a site so close to the great Philistine strongholds. It is very probable that Mejdel ("tower") is the tower mentioned in Josephus, BJ, III, ii, 3, as close to Ashkelon, and it or Migdalgad (or both if they are the same sites) may be identical with the Magtal of the Tell el-Amarna Letters (Petrie, Hist. Egypt, II, 329). For Mejdel see Palestine Exploration Fund, II, 410, Sh XVI.

E. W. G. Masterman

Migdol

mig'-dol, mig'-dol (mighdol; Magdolon): This name ("the tower") is applied to two places on the east frontier of Egypt.

1. Exodus 14:2; Numbers 33:7:

In Exodus 14:2; Numbers 33:7, the Hebrew camp, on the march from Etham after they had "turned" (apparently to the South), is defined as `facing Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon.' It is thus to be sought (see EXODUS) West of the Bitter Lakes, and may have been a watchtower on the spur of Jebel 'Ataqah. Israel was supposed to be "entangled in the land," and shut in in the "wilderness," between this range and the Bitter Lakes, then forming the head of the Red Sea. The exact site is unknown. In about 385 AD, Silvia, traveling from Clysma (Suez), was shown the sites above mentioned on her way to Heroopolis, but none of these names now survive.

2. Jeremiah 44:1; 46:14:

In Jeremiah 44:1; Jeremiah 46:14, a Migdol is noticed with Memphis, and with Tahpanhes Septuagint "Taphnas"), this latter being supposed to be the Daphnai of Greek writers, now Tell Defeneh, West of Qantarah. The same place is probably intended in Ezekiel 29:10; Ezekiel 30:6 (compare 30:15-18), the borders of Egypt being defined as reaching "from Migdol to Syene" (see the Revised Version margin), as understood by the Septuagint translators. The Antonine Itinerary places Migdol 12 miles South of Pelusium, and the site appears to have been at or near Tell es Samut, the Egyptian name, according to Brugsch (Hist, II, 351), being Samut. This Migdol was thus apparently a "watchtower" on the main road along the coast from Palestine, which is called (Exodus 13:17) "the way of the land of the Philistines," entering Egypt near Daphnai.

These Sites Not Identical.

We are specially told that this was not the route taken at the exodus, and this Migdol cannot therefore be the same as (1), though Brugsch, in consequence of a theory as to the exodus which has not been accepted by other scholars, has confused the two sites, as apparently does the Antonine Itinerary when placing Pithom on the same route leading to Zoan. Brugsch (Geography, III, 19) supposes the Egyptian town name Pa-Ma'kal (with the determinative for "wall" added) to stand for Migdol, but the prefix "Pa-" ("city") seems to show that this word is purely native, and not Semitic, to say nothing of philological objections. This town may, however, have lain in the required direction, according to a scribe's report of the time of Seti II (or about 1230 BC).

As much confusion has been created by quoting this report as illustrative of the exodus, the actual words according to Brugsch's translation may be given (History, II, 132): "I set out from the hall of the royal palace on the 9th day of Epiphi, in the evening, after the two servants. I arrived at the fortress Thuku (T-k-u) on the 10th of Epiphi. I was informed that the men had resolved to take their way toward the South. On the 12th I reached Khetam. There I was informed that grooms who had come from the neighborhood (of the "sedge city") reported that the fugitives had already passed the rampart (Anbu or "wall"), to the North of the Ma'ktal of King Seti Minepthah." As to the position of this "wall," see SHUR.

C. R. Conder

Mijamin

mij'-a-min (miyamin; the King James Version Miamin):

(1) One of those who had married foreign wives (Ezra 10:25). He is also called Maelus (1 Esdras 9:26).

(2) The one to whom fell the lot for the 6th priestly course (1 Chronicles 24:9). His family returned with Zerubbabel and Joshua (Nehemiah 12:5).

(3) A signatory of the Covenant (Nehemiah 10:7).

Mikloth

mik'-loth, mik'-loth (miqloth):

(1) A Benjamite, son of Jeiel (1 Chronicles 8:32; 1 Chronicles 9:37,1 Chronicles 9:38). A comparison of the two passages shows that the name Mikloth has been dropped at the end of 1 Chronicles 8:31.

(2) An officer designated "the ruler," appointed in the priestly course for the 2nd month (1 Chronicles 27:4).

Mikneiah

mik-ne'-ya, mik-ni'-a (miqneydhu): A Levite doorkeeper (1 Chronicles 15:18).

Milalai

mil-a-la'-i, mil'-a-li (milalay): A Levite musician (Nehemiah 12:36).

Milcah

mil'-ka (milkah; Melcha):

(1) Daughter of Haran, wife of Nahor, and grandmother of Rebekah (Genesis 11:29; Genesis 22:20–23; Genesis 24:15,Genesis 24:24,Genesis 24:47).

(2) Daughter of Zelophehad (Numbers 26:33; Numbers 27:1; Numbers 36:11; Joshua 17:3). Many recent authorities are of opinion that Milcah is an abbreviation of Bethmilcah, and is a geographical rather than a personal name.

Milcom

mil'-kom, mil'-kom. See MOLECH.

Mildew

mil'-du (yeraqon; Septuagint usually ikteros, literally, "jaundice"): In the 5 passages where it occurs it is associated with shiddaphon, "blasting" (Deuteronomy 28:22; 1 Kings 8:37; 2 Chronicles 6:28; Amos 4:9; Haggai 2:17). In Jeremiah 30:6, the same word is translated "paleness," the yellow color of one with abdominal disease. The root-meaning is "greenish yellow"; compare the Arabic yarqan, meaning both "jaundice" and "blight." Mildrew or "rust" in grain is due to a special fungus, Puccinia graminis, whose life is divided between the barberry and cereals. Many other varieties of fungi which flourish upon other plants are also designated "mildew."

See BLASTING.

E. W. G. Masterman

Mile

mil (milion, Latin mille passus, milia passuum): A thousand paces, equal to 1,618 English yards. (Matthew 5:41).

See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

Miletus

mi-le'-tus (Miletos): A famous early Ionian Greek city on the coast of Caria, near the mouth of the Meander River, which, according to Acts 20:15–21:1, and 2 Timothy 4:20 (the King James Version "Miletum"), Paul twice visited. In the earliest times it was a prominent trading post, and it is said that 75 colonies were founded by its merchants. Among them were Abydos, Cyzicus and Sinope. In 494 BC, the city was taken by the Persians; it was recovered by Alexander the Great, but after his time it rapidly declined, yet it continued to exist until long after the Christian era. In the history of early Christianity it plays but a little part. The Meander brings down a considerable amount of sediment which it has deposited at its mouth, naturally altering the coast line. The gulf into which the river flows has thus been nearly filled with the deposit. In the ancient gulf stood a little island called Lade; the island now appears as a mound in the marshy malarial plain, and Palatia, the modern village which stands on the site of Miletus, is 6 miles from the coast. Without taking into account the great changes in the coast line it would be difficult to understand Acts 20:15–21, for in the days of Paul, Ephesus could be reached from Miletus by land only by making a long detour about the head of the gulf. To go directly from one of these cities to the other, one would have been obliged to cross the gulf by boat and then continue by land. This is what Paul's messenger probably did. The direct journey may now be made by land. Miletus has been so ruined that its plan can no longer be made out. Practically the only remaining object of unusual interest is theater, the largest in Asia Minor, which was not built in a hollow of the hillside, as most ancient theaters were, but in the open field.

E. J. Banks

Milk

milk (chalabh; gala; Latin lac (2 Esdras 2:19; 8:10)): The fluid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals for the nourishment of their young. The word is used in the Bible of that of human beings (Isaiah 28:9) as well as of that of the lower animals (Exodus 23:19). As a food it ranked next in importance to bread (Ecclesiasticus 39:26). Palestine is frequently described as a land "flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8,Exodus 3:17; Numbers 13:27; Deuteronomy 6:3; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6,Ezekiel 20:15). Milk was among the first things set before the weary traveler (Genesis 18:8). In fact, it was considered a luxury (Judges 5:25; Song of Songs 5:1). The people used the milk of kine and also that of sheep (Deuteronomy 32:14), and especially that of goats (Proverbs 27:27). It was received in pails ('atinim, Job 21:24), and kept in leather bottles (no'dh, Judges 4:19), where it turned sour quickly in the warm climate of Palestine before being poured out thickly like a melting substance (nathakh; compare Job 10:10). Cheese of various kinds was made from it (gebhinah and charitse he-chalabh, literally, "cuts of milk"); or the curds (chem'ah) were eaten with bread, and possibly also made into butter by churning (Proverbs 30:33). See FOOD, II. It is possible that milk was used for seething other substances; at least the Israelites were strictly forbidden to seethe a kid in its mother's milk (Exodus 23:19; Exodus 34:26; Deuteronomy 14:21), and by a very general interpretation of these passages Jews have come to abstain from the use of mixtures of meat and milk of all kinds.

Figuratively the word is used

(1) of abundance (Genesis 49:12);

(2) of a loved one's charms (Song of Songs 4:11);

(3) of blessings (Isaiah 55:1; Joel 3:18);

(4) of the (spiritual) food of immature people (1 Corinthians 3:2; Hebrews 5:12,Hebrews 5:13);

(5) of purity (1 Peter 2:2).

Nathan Isaacs

Mill; Millstone

mil, mil'-ston (recheh; mulos, mulon): The two most primitive methods of grinding grain were

(1) by pounding it in a mortar, and

(2) by rubbing it between two stones.

In Numbers 11:8 both methods are mentioned as used for rendering the manna more fit for cooking. Numerous examples of both mill and mortar have been found in ancient excavations. Bliss and Macalister in their excavations at Gezer and other places have found specimens of what is called the saddle-quern or mill, which consists of two stones. The "nether" stone, always made of hard lava or basalt from the district of the Hauran, was a large heavy slab varying in length from 1 1/2 ft. to 2 3/4 ft., and in width from 10 inches to 1 1/3 ft. Its upper surface was hollowed out slightly, which made it look a little like a saddle and may have suggested the name of "riding millstone" applied by the Hebrews to the upper stone which rested on it (Judges 9:53). The "upper stone" or "rider" was much smaller, 4 inches to 8 in. long and 2 3/4 inches to 6 inches wide, and of varying shapes. This could be seized with the two hands and rubbed back and forth over the nether stone much the same as clothes are scrubbed on a wash-board. Such a stone could be used as a weapon (Judges 9:53; 2 Samuel 11:21), or given as a pledge (Deuteronomy 24:6).

Macalister goes so far as to say that "the rotary handquern in the form used in modern Palestine and in remote European regions, such as the Hebrides, is quite unknown throughout the whole history, even down to the time of Christ" (Excavations at Gezer). The same writer, however, describes some mills belonging to the 3rd and 4th Sere periods which are much like the present rotary quern, except smaller (4 inches to 6 inches in diameter), and with no provision for a turning handle. Schumacher describes these as paint grinders. The only perforated upper millstones found in the excavations at Gezer belong to the early Arabic period.

If the above assertions are substantiated then we must alter somewhat the familiar picture of the two women at the mill (Matthew 24:41), commonly illustrated by photographs of the mills still used in modern Palestine These latter consist of two stone discs each 18 inches to 20 inches in diameter, usually made of Hauran basalt. The upper one is perforated in the center to allow it to rotate on a wooden peg fixed in the nether stone, and near the circumference of the upper stone is fixed a wooden handle for turning it. The grain to be ground is fed into the central hole on the upper stone and gradually works down between the stones. As the grain is reduced to flour, it flies out from between the stones on to a cloth or skin placed underneath the mill. To make the flour fine it is reground and sifted. Larger stones 4 ft. to 5 ft. in diameter, working on the principle of the handmill, are still used for grinding sesame seed. These are turned by asses or mules. Another form of mill, which is possibly referred to in Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42; Revelation 18:21,Revelation 18:22, consisted of a conical nether stone on which "rode" a second stone like a hollowed-out capstan. The upper stone was probably turned with handspikes in much the same way as an old-fashioned ship's capstan was turned. The material to be ground was fed into the upper cone which formed the hopper and from which it was delivered to the grinding surfaces between the "rider" and the nether stone. This form of mill must have been known in late Biblical times, because many examples of the upper stone dating from the Greek-Roman period have been found. One may be seen in the museum of the Syrian Protestant College at Beirut. Another large one lies among the ruins at Petra, etc. In Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42, the mill is described as a mulos onikos, literally, a mill turned by an ass, hence, a great millstone. It is not at all unlikely that the writers have confused the meaning of onos (chamor), a term commonly applied to the upper millstone of a handmill, thinking it referred instead to the animal which turned the mill. This explanation would make Christ's words of condemnation more applicable. The upper millstone of a handmill would be more than sufficient to sink the condemned, and the punishment would be more easily carried out. A few years from now handmills will have disappeared from the Syrian households, for the more modern gristmills turned by water or other motor power are rapidly replacing them.

See CRAFTS, II, 8.

Figuratively:

(1) Of firmness and undaunted courage (Job 41:24). "The heart of hot-blooded animals is liable to sudden contractions and expansions, producing rapid alternations of sensations; not so the heart of the great saurians" (Canon Cook, at the place).

(2) To "grind the face of the poor" (Isaiah 3:15) is cruelly to oppress and afflict them.

(3) The ceasing of the sound of the millstone was a sign of desolation (Jeremiah 25:10; Revelation 18:22).

James A. Patch

Millennium, Postmillennial View

See ESCHATOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.

Millennium, Premillennial View

mi-len'-i-um

Divergent Views--Scope of Article I. THE TEACHING OF JESUS

The Millennium Not before the Advent

(1) Parable of the Wheat and Tares

(2) Parable of the Pounds

II. TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES

1. Expectation of the Advent

2. Possibility of Survival--Its Implications

3. Prophecy of "Man of Sin"

4. No Room for Millennium

5. Harmony of Christ and Apostles

LITERATURE

Divergent Views--Scope of Article:

The great majority of evangelical Christians believe that the kingdom of God shall have universal sway over the earth, and that righteousness and peace and the knowledge of the Lord shall everywhere prevail. This happy time is commonly called the Millennium, or the thousand years' reign. Divergent views are entertained as to how it is to be brought about. Many honest and faithful men hold that it will be introduced by the agencies now at work, mainly by the preaching of the gospel of Christ and the extension of the church over the world. An increasing number of men equally honest teach that the Millennium will be established by the visible advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. The aim of this brief article is to set forth some of the Scriptural grounds on which this latter view rests. No reference will be made to objections, to counter-objections and interpretations; the single point, namely, that the Millennium succeeds the second coming of Jesus Christ, that it does not precede it, will be rigidly adhered to. Those who hold this view believe that neither Christ nor His apostles taught, on fair principles of interpretation, that the Millennium must come before His advent.

I. The Teaching of Jesus.

The Lord Jesus said nothing about world-wide conversion in His instructions to His disciples touching their mission (Matthew 28:19,Matthew 28:20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46–48; Acts 1:8).

The Millennium Not before the Advent:

They were to be His witnesses and carry His message to the race, but He does not promise the race will receive their testimony, or that men will generally accept His salvation. On the contrary, He explicitly forewarns them that they shall be hated of all men, that sufferings and persecutions shall be their lot, but if they are faithful to the end their reward will be glorious. But world-wide evangelism does not mean world-wide conversion. The universal offer of salvation does not pledge its universal acceptance. In His instructions and predictions the Lord does not let fall a hint that their world-wide mission will result in world-wide conversion, or that thereby the longed-for Millennium will be ushered in. But there is a time to come when the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters the sea, when teaching shall no longer be needed, for all shall know Him from the least to the greatest. Our dispensation, accordingly, cannot be the last, for the effects stated in that are not contemplated in the instructions and the results of this. To the direct revelation of Christ on the subject we now turn. In two parables He explicitly announces the general character and the consummation of the gospel age, and these we are briefly to examine.

(1) Parable of the Wheat and Tares (Matthew 13:24-30,36-43).

Happily we are not left to discover the meaning and scope of this parable. We enjoy the immense advantage of having our Lord's own interpretation of it. Out of His Divine explanation certain most important facts emerge:

(a) The parable covers the whole period between the first and second advents of the Saviour. The Sower is Christ Himself. He began the good work; He opened the new era.

(b) The field is the world. Christ's work is no longer confined to a single nation or people as once; it contemplates the entire race.

(c) His people, the redeemed, begotten by His word and Spirit, are the good seed. Through them the gospel of His grace is to be propagated throughout the whole world.

(d) The devil is also a sower. He is the foul counterfeiter of God 's work. He sowed the tares, the sons of the evil one.

(e) The tares are not wicked men in general, but a particular class of wicked brought into close and contaminating association with the children of God. "Within the territory of the visible church the tares are deposited" (Dr. David Brown). It is the corruption of Christendom that is meant, a gigantic fact to which we cannot shut our eyes.

(f) The mischief, once done, cannot be corrected. "Let both grow together until the harvest." Christendom once corrupted remains so to the end.

(g) The harvest is the consummation of the age. This is the culmination of our age; it terminates with the advent and judgment of the Son of God. He will send forth His angels who will "gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire ..... Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."

Here, then, we have the beginning, progress and consummation of our age. Christ Himself introduced it, and it was distinguished for its purity and its excellence. But the glorious system of truth was soon marred by the cunning craftiness of Satan. No after-vigilance or earnestness on the part of the servants could repair the fatal damage. They were forbidden to attempt the removal of the tares, for by so doing they would endanger the good grain, so intermixed had the two become! The expulsion of the tares is left for angels' hands in the day of the harvest. This is our Lord's picture of our age: a Zizanian field wherein good and bad, children of God and children of the evil one, live side by side down to the harvest which is the end. In spite of all efforts to correct and reform, the corruption of Christendom remains, nay, grows apace. To expel the vast crop of false doctrine, false professors, false teachers, is now as it has been for centuries an impossibility. Christ's solemn words hold down to the final consummation, "Let both grow together until the harvest." In such conditions a millennium of universal righteousness and knowledge of the Lord seems impossible until the separation takes place at the harvest.

(2) Parable of the Pounds (Luke 19:11-27).

Jesus was on His last journey to Jerusalem, and near the city. The multitude was eager, expectant. They supposed the Kingdom of God was immediately to appear. The parable was spoken to correct this mistake and to reveal certain vital features of it. "A certain nobleman went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return." There is little difficulty in grasping the main teaching of this suggestive narrative. The nobleman is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; the far country is heaven; the kingdom He goes to receive is the Messianic kingdom, for the victorious establishment of which all God's people long and pray. The servants are those who sustain responsible relation to the Lord because of the trust committed to them. The rebellious citizens are those who refuse subjection to His will and defy His authority. His return is His second coming. The parable spans the whole period between His ascension and His advent. It measures across our entire age. It tells of Christ's going away, it describes the conduct of His servants and of the citizens during His absence; it foretells His return and the reckoning that is to follow. Mark the words, "And it came to pass, when he was come back again, having received the kingdom." It is in heaven He receives the investiture of the kingdom (Revelation 5:6). It is on earth that He administers it. The phrase, "having received the kingdom," cannot by any dexterity of exegesis be made to denote the end of time or the end of the Millennium, or of His receiving it at the end of the world; it is then He delivers it up to God, even the Father (2 Corinthians 8:1–3:21).

The order and sequence of events as traced by the Lord disclose the same fact made prominent in the parable of the Wheat and Tares, namely, that during the whole period between His ascension and His return there is no place for a Millennium of world-wide righteousness and prosperity. But Scripture warrants the belief that such blessedness is surely to fill the earth, and if so, it must be realized after Christ's second coming.

II. Teaching of the Apostles.

1. Expectation of the Advent:

There is no unmistakable evidence that the apostles expected a thousand years of prosperity and peace during Christ's absence in heaven. In Acts 1:11 we read that the heavenly visitants said to the apostles, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven?" This attitude of the men of Galilee became the permanent attitude of the primitive church. It was that of the uplifted gaze. Paul's exultant words respecting the Thessalonians might well be applied to all believers of that ancient time, that they "turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven" (1 Thessalonians 1:9,1 Thessalonians 1:10). It is the prominent theme of the New Testament epistles. In the New Testament it is mentioned 318 t. One verse in every thirty, we are told, is occupied with it. It is found shining with a glad hope in the first letters Paul wrote, those to the Thessalonians. It is found in the last he wrote, the second to Timothy, gleaming with the bright anticipation of the crown he was to receive at the Redeemer's appearing. James quickens the flagging courage, and reanimates the drooping spirits of believers with this trumpet peal: "Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand" (5:8). Peter exhorts to all holy conversation and godliness by the like motive: "Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God" (2 Peter 3:12 margin). Amid the deepening gloom and the gathering storms of the last days, Jude 1:14 cheers us with the words of Enoch, the seventh from Adam, `Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon .... the ungodly.' John closes the Canon with the majestic words, "Behold, he cometh with the clouds," "Behold, I come quickly." These men, speaking by the Spirit of the living God, know there can be no reign of universal righteousness, no deliverance of groaning creation, no redemption of the body, no binding of Satan, and no Millennium while the tares grow side by side with the wheat; while the ungodly world flings its defiant shout after the retiring nobleman, "We will not have this man to reign over us"; and while Satan, that strong, fierce spirit, loose in this age, deceives, leads captive, devours and ruins as he lists. Therefore the passionate longing and the assurance of nearing deliverance at the coming of Christ fill so large a place in the faith and the life of the primitive disciples.

2. Possibility of Survival--Its Implications:

In 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Paul speaks of himself and others who may survive till the Lord's coming: "Then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air" (compare 1 Corinthians 15:51,1 Corinthians 15:52).

This implies fairly that the apostle did not know that long ages would elapse between his own day and Christ's advent. There was to his mind the possibility of His coming in his lifetime; in fact, he seems to have an expectation that he would not pass through the gates of death at all, that he would live to see the Lord in His glorious return, for the day and the hour of the advent is absolutely concealed even from inspired men. The inference is perfectly legitimate that Paul and his fellow-disciples did not anticipate that a thousand years should intervene between them and the coming.

3. Prophecy of the "Man of Sin":

Furthermore, the Thessalonians had fallen into a serious mistake (2 Thessalonians 2:1–2). By a false spirit, or by a forged epistle as from Paul, they were led to believe that "the day of the Lord is now present" (English Revised Version), 2 Thessalonians 2:2. The apostle sets them right about this solemn matter. He assures them that some things must precede that day, namely, "the falling away," or apostasy, and the appearing of a powerful adversary, whom he calls "the Man of Sin," and describes as "the Son of Perdition." Neither the one nor the other of these two, the apostasy and the Man of Sin, was then present. But the road was fast getting ready for them. There was the "mystery of lawlessness" already at work at the time, and although a certain restraint held it in check, nevertheless when the check was removed it would at once precipitate the apostasy, and it would issue in the advent of the Man of Sin, and he should be brought to nought by the personal coming of Jesus Christ. This appears to be the import of the passage.

Here was the appropriate place to settle forever for these saints and for all others the question of a long period to intervene before the Saviour's advent. How easy and natural it would have been for Paul to write, "Brethren, there is to be first a time of universal blessedness for the world, the Millennium, and after that there will be an apostasy and the revelation of the Man of Sin whom Christ will destroy by the brightness of His coming." But Paul intimated nothing of the sort. Instead, he distinctly says that the mystery of lawlessness is already working, that it will issue in "the falling away," and then shall appear the great adversary, the Lawless One, who shall meet his doom by the advent of Christ. The mystery of lawlessness, however, is held in restraint, we are told. May it not be possible that the check shall be taken off, then the Millennium succeed, and after that the apostasy and the Son of Perdition? No, for its removal is immediately followed by the coming of the great foe, the Antichrist. For this foe has both an apocalypse and a parousia like Christ Himself. Hence, the lifting of the restraint is sudden, by no means a prolonged process.

4. No Room for Millennium:

The apostle speaks of the commencement, progress, and close of a certain period. It had commenced when he wrote. Its close is at the coming of Christ. What intervenes? The continuance of the evil secretly at work in the body of professing Christians, and its progress from the incipient state to the maturity of daring wickedness which will be exhibited in the Man of Sin. This condition of things fills up the whole period, if we accept Paul's teaching as that of inspired truth. There appears to be no place for a Millennium within the limits which the apostle here sets. The only escape from this conclusion, as it seems to us, is, to deny that the coming of Christ is His actual, personal second coming. But the two words, epiphaneia and parousia, which elsewhere are used separately to denote His advent, are here employed to give "graphic vividness" and certainty to the event, and hence, they peremptorily forbid a figurative interpretation. The conclusion seems unavoidable that there can be no Millennium on this side of the advent of Christ.

5. Harmony of Christ and Apostles:

Our Lord's Olivet prophecy (Matthew 24:1–51; Matthew 25:1–46; Mark 13:1–37; Luke 21:1–38) accords fully with the teaching of the apostles on the subject. In that discourse He foretells wars, commotions among the nations, Jerusalem's capture and the destruction of the temple, Israel's exile, Christians persecuted while bearing their testimony throughout the world, cosmic convulsions, unparalleled tribulation and sufferings which terminate only with His advent. From the day this great prophecy was spoken down to the hour of His actual coming He offers no hope of a Millennium. He opens no place for a thousand years of blessedness for the earth.

These are some of the grounds on which Biblical students known as Premillennialists rest their belief touching the coming of the Lord and the Millennial reign.

LITERATURE.

Premillenarian: H. Bonar, The Coming of the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus; Wood, The Last Things; Guinness, The Approaching End of the Age; Seiss, The Last Times; Gordon, Ecce Venit; Premillennial Essays; Peters, The Theocratic Kingdom; West, The Thousand Years in Both Testaments; Trotter, Plain Papers on Prophetic Subjects; Brookes, Maranatha; Andrews, Christianity and Antichristianity; Kellogg, Predition and Fulfillment.

William G. Moorehead

Millet

mil'-et, mil'-it (dochan; kegchros): One of the ingredients of the prophet's bread (Ezekiel 4:9). The Arabic equivalent is dukhn, the common millet, Panicum miliaceum, an annual grass 3 or 4 ft. high with a much-branched nodding panicle. Its seeds arc as small as mustard seeds and are used largely for feeding small birds, but are sometimes ground to flour and mixed with other cereals for making bread. The Italian millet, setaria Italica, known as Bengal grass, is also called in Arabic dukhn, and has a similar seed. A somewhat similar grain, much more widely cultivated as a summer crop, is the Indian millet--also called "Egyptian maize"--the Sorghum annuum. This is known as dhurah in Arabic, and the seed as dhurah beida, "white dourra." It is a very important crop, as it, like the common millet, grows and matures without any rain. It is an important breadstuff among the poor.

Both the common millet and the dourra were cultivated in Egypt in very ancient times; the Hebrew dochan was certainly the first, but may include all three varieties.

E. W. G. Masterman

Millo

mil'-o. (millo generally interpreted to mean a "filling," e.g. a solid tower or an earth embankment; in Judges 9:6,Revelation 9:7; 2 Kings 12:20, we get beth millo', translated in English Versions of the Bible "House of Millo," which Winckler thinks may have been the original Jebusite temple-shrine of Jerusalem (see BETH-MILLO); Septuagint reads Bethmaalon, also Maalon and oikos Maallon):

1. Old Testament References

It is generally supposed that "The Millo" was some kind of fortress or other defense, but many speculations have been made regarding its position. In 2 Samuel 5:9, we read that David built round about from the Millo and inward, or (in the Septuagint, Septuagint) "he fortified it, the city, round about from the Millo and his house" (compare 1 Chronicles 11:8). In connection with Solomon's strengthening of the fortifications, there are several references to Millo. In 1 Kings 9:15, Solomon raised a levy "to build the house of Yahweh, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem," etc.; in 9:24, "Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo"; in 1 Kings 11:27, Solomon "built Millo, and repaired the breach of the city of David his father." At a later time Hezekiah "took courage, and built up all the wall that was broken down, and raised it up to the towers, and the other wall without, and strengthened Millo in the city of David" (2 Chronicles 32:5; 2 Kings 12:20); Joash was slain by his servants "at the house of Millo, on the way that goeth down to Silla," but possibly this may have been in Shechem (compare Judges 9:6).

2. Identical with the Akra Site:

The mention of the site in the days of David and the reference to it in connection with the city of David (1 Kings 11:27) point to some part of the southeastern hill South of the temple. It is suggestive that Millo is in Septuagint always translated by "Akra." It seems to the present writer very probable that it was a fortress crowning the hill on which at a later time stood the Syrian Akra, which hill, if we are to believe Josephus (BJ, V, iv, 1, etc.), was cut down because its commanding situation dominated the temple. This hill cannot have been the site of Zion afterward known as "David's Burg" (City of David), because the tombs of the Judean kings were within its walls, and that alone would have made the complete leveling of the site impossible, but whereas the Jebusite fortress was probably not far from Gihon, this fortified summit may have been, as Watson suggests for the Akra, as far north as where the present Al Aqsa mosque is situated. In David's time it may have been an isolated and detached fort guarding the north approach, but if it was originally a Jebusite high place (Winckler) partly of sun-dried brick like similar constructions in Babylonia, the account of its being leveled would be much more credible. The importance of this site in the days of Solomon is fully explicable if this was the citadel guarding the newly built temple and royal palaces.

Dr. G.A. Smith is inclined to think that Millo may have been a fortress "off the south end of Ophel, to retain and protect the old pool," and Vincent suggests that the site of Millo is that now occupied by the great causeway connecting the Western and Eastern hills along which runs the Tariq bab es silsileh.

E. W. G. Masterman

Millstone

mil'-ston.

See MILL.

Mina

mi'-na.

See MANEH.

Mincing

min'-sing (Taphaph): "Taking short steps," "walking trippingly." Only in Isaiah 3:16, "walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling (a jingling of the metal anklets) with their feet." Compare OHL.