Bear with me while I point out what to me and many more seems utterly ridiculous, namely, your conclusion as to the meaning of the coming of Christ. For example, you state that for a thousand years the world will be given up to Satan and his followers, all the wicked dead to be raised again, after telling us at other times that the wicked have only natural life.
If the Present Truth had ever contained any such incoherent teaching as you attribute to it, "utterly ridiculous" would be a very mild term to apply to it; but the trouble arises from a too hasty reading of what was doubtless only a partial statement of the case.
Several times there have been passing allusions to certain events connected with the coming of the Lord and the end of the world, when the main topic was something else; and it is doubtless to this that the misunderstanding is due. I will therefore give a detailed, though necessarily brief, presentation of the Scripture statements on this subject, and you can judge for yourself.
In the first place we must accept the Scriptures as true, and as meaning just what they say. When Christ says, "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself," (John 14:2-3) we must believe that He will actually come again as really as He was here once. In like manner, when we read that the disciples saw Jesus taken up from the midst of them, and that they watched Him till a cloud received Him out of their sight, and that "While they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven," (Acts 1:10-11) we must believe that He will come personally and visibly in the clouds of heaven.
We have now before us the fact that He will come again, the reason why He will come, and something as to the manner of His coming; next we will learn something about what will take place when He comes. "The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
And this: "Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
Now the case is clear as regards the righteous at the coming of the Lord: the dead are raised, and all, both living and dead, are changed to immortality, and caught up to meet the Lord in the air, evermore to dwell with Him, and to follow Him whithersoever He goes.
But what about the wicked? Here is where you have fallen into error. You have assumed that the wicked dead will be raised at the same time that the righteous are; but this is a great mistake. It is true that "there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust," (Acts 24:15) but not all at the same time. In Revelation 19:11-21; 20:1-15 we have the whole story told, and I will ask you to read it just now. I might summarize it, but I wish you to see the connected account exactly as it stands in the Bible: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of Kings, And Lord of Lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." (Revelation 19:11-21) "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand, And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection; on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. 7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beset and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that eat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small end great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea, gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:1-15)
Please note carefully the order of events in the sacred narrative. First, we have Christ coming to earth with all the armies of heaven. (Revelation 19:11-15; Compare 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 and Habakkuk 3:3-16) The wicked who have survived the seven last plagues will be consumed with the Spirit of His mouth, and destroyed with the brightness of His coming. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:8)
But this does not bring to view the final destruction of the wicked, because all the fowls of the air are called together to feed on their flesh. (Revelation 19:17-21)
At the same time the righteous dead are raised immortal, and the righteous living are in like manner changed by the same glory that destroys the wicked, "This is the first resurrection." (Revelation 20:5)
From the foregoing scriptures it is evident that the earth will thus be divested of all its inhabitants, for the righteous being taken to heaven, and the wicked slain, there will be no men left. Even so says the prophet: "I cannot hold my peace, because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. (Compare with the scriptures already quoted) Destruction upon destruction is cried, for the whole land is spoiled; suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains as in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? ... I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; (Compare Genesis 1:2) and the heavens, and they had no light. I behold the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I behold, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger. For thus has the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end." (Jeremiah 4:19-21,23-27)
You have of course noted that the resurrection of the wicked does not take place until a thousand years after the resurrection of the righteous, (See Revelation 20:4-6) and during this thousand years the earth is in a chaotic state, as in the beginning. This is "the millennium," for it is the only place where a thousand-year period is mentioned in the Bible.
Will there be no inhabitants on the desolate earth? Yes, Satan and his angels, but no man. This will constitute the binding of Satan; for to be confined to the earth, reduced to a bottomless pit,--"the deep" of Genesis 1:2,--with no people on whom to exercise his wiles, and nothing to do but to contemplate the ruin that his rule has caused, will be a most terrible bondage for his active, restless spirit. He will see the full development of his kingdom--a desolate prison.
At the close of the thousand years of the earth's desolation, during which time the saints will be in heaven, sitting in judgment, the wicked will be raised, and then will Satan be loosed from his bondage for a little season. He will go out to deceive them, making them believe that they can capture the holy city, the New Jerusalem, which in the meantime has come down from God out of heaven. Then will the final destruction of the wicked, together with Satan and his angels, take place, in the lake of fire which will cleanse and renew the earth. "The elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness." (2 Peter 3:12-13) "For evildoers shall be cutoff; but those that wait upon the Lord shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, you shall diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." (Psalm 37:9-11)
This is the case in outline, as nearly in the language of Scripture as it can be given. It is not our opinion, but God's Word, and our only conclusion in the matter is that it is true.--Present Truth, August 29, 1901.