The doctrine of civilisations

1. A civilisation begins a period of human history with believers only, or with innocent persons only, and terminates with a cataclysmic judgement. In the cataclysmic judgement the entire population of the world is destroyed, except for believers, and believers begin the next civilisation. So a civilisation is like a dispensation in that it is a period of history, but it has different termini with the exception of the Millennium.

2. Each civilisation has its own climate, its own environment and characteristics within the species - that is, man has a different life span in each civilisation, weather is different in each civilisation, animals are different; but each species remains, there is no transmutation. We have the pre-diluvian civilisation — the civilisation before the flood. It started with two people, man and woman in innocence; it terminates with a cataclysm, the flood. The second civilisation is called the post-diluvian civilisation. It begins with eight believers - Noah plus seven. It includes the Age of Israel, the Church Age, the Rapture of the Church, the Tribulation and the second advent. So it begins with believers only and it ends with the baptism of fire by which all unbelievers are removed from the world and cast into fire. Then the third civilisation is the Millennium, the reign of Jesus Christ for a thousand years. it begins with believers only. These are the “wheat”; the tares are removed. This is perfect environment at the end of which there is another great cataclysm, the destruction of the universe, the removal of the unbelieving population of the Millennium which is cast into the lake of fire with the devil and his angels. The final civilisation is the eternal one — believers only.

3. The first civilisation is called antediluvian or pre-diluvian. It began with Adam in innocence and concludes with the universal flood which destroyed all the population of the earth but eight people.

4. The second civilisation is post-diluvian. It began with Noah’s family — all believers — and concludes with the second advent judgement of the baptism of fire. In this manner all of the unbelievers on the earth are removed at one time. That is the fulfilment of Matthew 25 — “Two shall be in the field; one shall be taken, the other left.” The earth will be repopulated by the believers who remain.

5. The third civilisation is the Millennium which begins with Tribulational saints who survive the Tribulation — they are alive at the second advent — and it concludes with a rebellion led by Satan personally: the Gog and Magog revolution, at the end of which is the last judgement and the earth is destroyed by fire.

6. The fourth civilisation is eternal in nature, it has no end. Therefore it is believers only in resurrection bodies. It begins with the new heavens, the new earth and the new Jerusalem. It has no termination, there will never again be unbelievers in a civilisation.

7. Each civilisation begins with a divine blessing and terminates with a divine judgement, except the past which has no termination and there is no end to divine blessing for believers in resurrection bodies.