J3 5j^ a o^ i:a. ^^ i:a. "^i^ OF THK AT PRINCETON, N. J. SAMUEL AaNE\V, OF PHILADELPHIA, PA. ez '^ Q4i. 'y^rt:t^'/d'^£^y$g^. BV 601 .B523 1851 Biden, James. The true church, showing what is the ture church THE TRUE CHURCH. THE TRUE CHURCH W^nt w tljE €xm Cfiurrlj. THE INGATHBKING OF THE JEWS TO THE CHURCH ; IN WHAT MANNER AND WHBN ; THE COURSE OF THB CHURCH ; THE. PAST, THB PRESENT, AND THE FUTURE. BY JAMES BIDEN. LONDON: ARTHUR HALL, VIRTUE, AND Co., 25, PATERNOSTER ROW. 185L LOKbOS : I HADDOX, PRINTER, CASTLE STREET, FfWSBUfty, ADDRESS. The two first parts of this book and the foregoing introduction were published last year anonymously, I did not withhold my name from fear or false shame. I like to go through the world quietly, and wished to be useful unseen, and then believed that I was acting up to the point of duty by publishing my opinions without declaring their author. I do not now think so, and acting under the advice of those whose opinion I value, to this book I now attach my name. * I published a thousand copies of the book issued last year, few of which sold. I promul- gated a great fundamental truth, but this ishared the fate of all great truths. Only one b IV ADDRESS. public writer of the day, as far as I know, took any notice of the book, who did me the favour to say it was earnestly written: he kindly overlooked its faults^ but expressed a doubt about its leading feature. In the current literature my book passed as a straw upon the stream. My present book puts forth some very important additional truths. It is hoped that the many truths will excite attention. At the least, they ought. Truths are truths, though mankind do not perceive them. The blood flowed in spite of the doctors, though for so long time tbey would not have it so. The leading truth is not quite new to Christian men. It has been before deduced from the general tenor of Scripture doctrines. The announcement, that the new Jerusalem is the Scriptural declaration of it, is new. The book now presented has many imper- fections, and exhibits the little learning of the writer. Perhapfe, also, a better arrangement is desirable. The first part was written, and intended to be published as a pamphlet. As it passed through the press the second part suggessted itself, and the two together were ADDRESS. V published in the form of a small book. Having assumed at first the form it bears, I thought it better to continue it. Some defects exhibit a seemino: want of arrano-ement. When I besian, I had not the slio-htest idea the book would swell to its present size. I began with only the leading idea, that the true church on earth is scripturally described as the new Jerusalem. Some recognized defects shall be removed in any future edition, and the subject perhaps rendered more luminous, it may be by being published in the form of chapters. I am anxious my book should obtain the attention of all, but especially of eminent men. The want of learning it exhibits may repulse them, and they may be led thereby to thrust it aside. Let them not forget that truth is an inestimable jewel, and is not the less truth though it be found in lowly and humble com- pany. My labours have been pleasurable: though entered upon with distrust of my own powers, I have been cheered with encouragement and aid. I am conscious of Divine help. Be all praise to God, to whom alone it is due. VI ADDRESS. While declarins^ a conciousness of encourag'e- ment and aid, let me guard against what would be a lamentable error. The book is not in- fallible. I believe God's blessing to be upon it, and I think it contains but little error. But all human compositions have errors, and when left to pursue out my own thoughts, most likely errors will be found to have crept in. In essentials I do not think there are errors. I am not disposed to correct mere typical errors which do not interfere with the sense. I point to two errors of composition, because they render obscure the meaning. At page 170, for 99 read 157. In many places, for temporal read national, or, denominational. INTRODUCTION, I HAVE not been moved to the publication of this small book from any vain desire to be- come an author. I have believed myself to be in possession of some truths mankind has not yet received, and a sense of duty has urged me to their publication. These assumed truths are:— That the church, about which all the sacred writers are so full, is no other than the church set up in figure by the Holy Spirit in St. John's Revelation; that this church is a spiritual body on earth, as well as in heaven ; and that the members of this church, without reference to creeds or sects, are the faithful followers of the God Christ; that the Jews are to form a part of VI INTRODUCTION. this church, the Jerusalem to which they are to return being the new Jerusalem ; and that they are to be instrumental in promoting the prosperity and advancement of this church. These truths are advocated in the following pages. It is probable that all that I have advanced may not be true. It would be miraculous if it were. Setting aside the fact, that the learned, and the unlearned, the gentle and the simple, the wise and the foolish, are all alike subject to the general law of man's fallibility, and tak- ing into consideration only the nature of my avocations, and their continued claim upon my time and attention, it would be remarkable if I do not advance some unsound opinion. I seek earnestly not to do so — truth being my polar star, and God's glory my aim and end ; and I shall not think I have lived in vain, if I remove but the smallest obstacle to the advancement of His kingdom upon earth. In one instance I believe I have advanced a wrong opinion. I think I may have misinter- preted an important scriptural prophecy. I regret I discovered my mistake too late to expunge it. I have nullified the eiTor as soon after committed as I could, and indeed hope I have turned it to a profitable purpose. INTRODUCTION. VU I have made some remarks with reference to the evils to be found in our national church. They are sins resulting greatly from the con- struction and constitution of the church of England, following too closely as she does the construction and character of the Romish church. In alluding to them, I mean no attack upon individuals ; it is the system, and the temptations arising from the system, that I deprecate. The remarks I have made may seem to militate against some observations at the outset, which will be found in the first paragraph. I can only say, that I am a sin- cere member of the national church. From old associations, from past delights in her communion, and from long attendance upon her services, I am truly attached to her. I am not a defender of her faults; I delight in her communions and in her liturgy. Her form of prayer I think stamped with a divine seal; and I prefer the aid which it oiFers to devotion, to the extempore effusions of a presiding pas- tor; there is in it a fulness that meets the wants, and soothes the distresses, and awakens the sympathies, and excites the devotional feel- ings of all. I have made some remarks with regard to cathedral appointments; I was not aware, when viii INTRODUCTION. I wrote them, that the present number of pre- bends will be reduced. Under a recent law, as the present possessors die off, the revenues and patronage annexed to the stalls are vested in the ecclesiastical commissioners; and this arrangement continues until a few prebends only in each chapter are left. Four, I believe, is the number ultimately to be attached to each cathedral. This is a movement in the right direction. May the commissioners do their duty ! Of this their acts leave room for doubt, or they would not bestow from the funds com- ing into their hands so much upon episcopal, and so little upon the more worthy claimants, because more necessitous,— the working clergy. CONTENTS PAET T. PACK. 1 Preliminary remarks , The meanings of the word " church " The church as spoken of by the sacred writers The Romish church not the true chiirch The true church, the « New Jerusalem " The New Jerusalem describes a church on earth . 20 The prophetical writings have reference to the church— the « New Jerusalem " . • ►« The Saviour's ministry opposed to formalism . .63 PAET 11. THE JEWS' RETURN, or ingathering to the church. Preliminary remarks . , ^ «.2 vili CONTENTS. PAGI. The opinion, that the Jews will inhabit the terrritorial city Jerusalem, erroneous . . . .88 The Jews will be ingathered to the church, the ^' New Jerusalem " . . . • . .90 Shown by the writings of Isaiah . . .90 By the writings of Ezekiel . . . .97 The type of the promised possession of the holy land examined . . . , . .107 The city of Ezekiel's vision identical with the city of St. John's vision . . . . . .119 The writings of Jeremiah examined . . .127 The time and manner of the ingathering of the Jews . 133 The writings of Zechariah examined . . .153 Remarks on Genesis xlix. 10 . . . .170 The writings of the prophet Micah examined . . 177 PART III. THE COURSE OF THE CHURCH. Preliminary remarks . . . . .194 Premillennialists wrong . , . , .199 The millennial, not a period for universal reception of true religion ...... 202 CONTENTS. IX Daniel's prophecies considered . . . . The meaning of the " daily sacrifice," a key to under- stand Daniel .... Recapitulation of Daniel's prophecies The true character of the Revelation to St. John National churches symbolized as candlesticks The four beasts and four and twenty elders The seven seals . The first seal The second The third The fourth The fifth . The sixth The seventh THE WOMAN clothed with the sun, &c. THE GREAT RED DRAGON THE BEAST from the sea THE BEAST coming up out of the earth THE SCARLET-COLOURED BEAST The general features of the three beasts derived from common source, Paganism The number and name of the Pagan Papal beast The duration of the power of the Pagan Papal beast PAGE. 203 235 245 249 252 254 2fi5 267 269 270 272 274 274 282 291 315 326 388 341 347 357 365 X CONTENTS. PAGE. THE REFORMATION . . . .372 The mighty angel coming down from heaven with the open book in his hand ..... 376 The temple of God . . . . .390 The court without the temple . . . .391 The two witnesses ..... 402 An explanation of the latter portion of the 11th chapter of the Revelation , . . . .415 The prophetic forty and two months . . .427 THE FALSE PROPHET . . . .428 GOG AND MAGOG 432 THE GREAT WHITE THRONE . . .435 Popular error upon the subject of a fixed final day of judgment . . . . . .440 No reference to a judgment by the law of righteousness . 444 The spiritually dead tried out of the books . .450 Moses' account of the Creation in harmony with Geolo- gical facts . . . . , .456 THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH . 466 THE HOLY CITY, NEW JERUSALEM . . 467 The characteristic feature of the city of Ezekiel's vision explained . , . . ^ .473 THE MILLENNIAL PERIOD . '. . 487 Priests of God and of Christ . . , .501 CONTENTS. XI Absolution The devil cast into the lake of fire The false prophet overthrown THE DISTANT FUTURE The sixth vial The seventh vial . The supper of the great God After God's judgment upon Pagans, the work completed by missionary efforts The church prepared as the bride adorned PAQB. 525 530 533 588 539 542 547 566 582 THE TRUE CHURCH. At the present time much controversy is taking place in reference to the church. This is chiefly, if not wholly, on the part of members of the established Church of England. I am a member of that church and strongly attached to her, and, therefore, any bias I may possess, may be fairly expected to rest with her. In the remarks which I shall make to illustrate what I conceive to be the true church, it will at once be understood, that I do not make them as an enemy of the established national Church of England. Thanks be to God 1 tliis is not now a perse- cuting age. With what horror do we read of the doings of that period in which persecution revelled! and how easily do we now discover B ^ THE TEUE CHURCH. that persecution resulted not from true religion, but from the absence of it ; and may we not look forward to a period when a higher tone of religious sentiment shall prevail that will throw the sight back to past and present times, with wonder at the dissensions about non-essentials. In this controversial age men are eagerly seek- ing after truth. In a religious sense some hope to find it in unity of church government, thinking it to be God's scheme for the regeneration of mankind, and hoping thereby to avoid dissen- sions begot by the varied diiferences in religious opinions. While this is the case, there is an earnest desire for peace. The benevolence of the Christian religion, so much a fundamental and prominent feature of it, has not been wholly inefficacious, and on all sides it is to be hoped religious controversy is giving way to a desire for Christian brotherhood. Christian men are desirous of living on the great truths of Chris- tianity, and nourishing themselves on the food Christian charities supply, and not to set up Christian doctrines as stumbling-blocks and occasions of falling. It is my purpose to avoid as much as possible disputed points of church government or church doctrines. I shall simply say to those who are so earnest to join a church whose unity under THE TRUE CHURCH, 6 a temporal head lasted so long as was needful to God's purposes, that attention to formalities does not constitute piety. To my mind piety consists in a cheerful and ready obedience to God's will, arising from an earnest love to him, and a constant watchfulness to overcome the evil in our nature, and restore it to the likeness in which it was created. That some mode of worship is needful, and that stated periods be fixed for that worship as essentially necessary to our fallen nature is certain. It is one of the first laws promulgated to fallen man, to keep the sabbath holy; and under the old dispensation, fixed rules for the decent and proper observance of this wor- ship were given. Under the new dispensation, it was not so, and man has been left much to his own guidance in this particular. I do not mean there are no guides — I mean the rule of the one was observance of ceremonials, the other the neglect of them. If man were re- deemed from the curse, and restored to his original purity, these stated periods of devotion would not be necessary, as the devotedness of man would be constant and uninterrupted, and the light of God's countenance would dwell in man's heart continually. To the pure in heart all things are pure. In the absence of this b2 4 THE TRUE CHURCH. purity, it is needful to seek, at God's throne, God's grace and benediction, to make us pure. So likewise, church ordinances are needful, and especially the two sacraments of baptism and the eucharist. These are needful as means to an end, and the two latter as the appointed means, will form principal features in every mode of bringing man to his God. In this present dispensation, that God did not desire the setting up a perfect scheme of tem- poral church government, I think is apparent in the fact that no decided scheme was given. Man has deduced schemes, but each and all of these are open to cavil. My time has been passed in commercial pur- suits, and I am unused to composition, and therefore, unable to express my thoughts either copiously or elegantly. I do not seek therefore, to entrap by words ; I strive to be perspicuous, as wishing to convey to mankind, a subject of the deepest importance — a subject involving the relation of man to God, and man to fellow man. I am all but indifferent to the effect of this production, viewed as a literary effort, making no pretensions to literary accomplish- ments. I am deeply interested as to the effect it may have upon the opinions of mankind ; and so, through their opinions, to their practices. THE TRUE CHUECH. 5 It may be, that not much will be effected by this small publication. Others more competent, may take up what I have began, and the full blaze of light be shed abroad upon a yet benighted world. In adolescence, at the early dawn of reason, when impressions are received by a cursory and general view of things, hoAV much are we struck by the diversities we find in the various modes of religious worship. We con- clude at once, that as they are so diversified, it is not possible they can all be right, and there- fore all are wrong. How great a mistake do we herein commit. Though so various, the end and the object are the same — the setting up a church which has for its head the great living God; and God and the Lamb are the light thereof. And herein we see the mercy and justice of God, which youth is so apt to question arising out of the diversities he finds in the various modes of worship. Though a palpable scheme of temporal church government has not been given, God governs his people by immutable laws. The laws he has promulgated are essential to man's being. Without them man is worse than the brutes that perish; inasmuch as they perish, but man lives on, a wretched, outcast, miserable 6 THE TEUE CHUECH. creature. With them if man obey, they will lead to all peace and joy and happiness. To obey them is to offer God all praise and all glory, and this is piety. These laws may be summed up in the words of Jesus our Saviour, *^ Love to God, and love to man." Among many members of the national Church of England, there is a craving for unity in church government and church doctrines. Unity is engaging the attention of some of the best of her followers. Its desirableness seems plain ; but whether it is desirable, is question- able in the present state of mankind. A time may arrive when the simplicity of gospel truths shall be felt and acknowledged, and unity in this sense desired and acted upon. I am now referring to the unity sought for by its advocates. Unity of the several temporal churches under a temporal head, and unity of church doctrines and church practices. Unity undoubtedly there is of "the church" — God's church, as contradistinguished to any one of the several temporal churches, and which church is spoken of by St. Paul as " without spot or blemish, or any such thing," and as being " the body of Christ." That God, as governor of the world, is supreme in all things no one will pretend to THE TRUE CHURCH. 7 doubt, and that what He permits is permitted for wise ends ; and though oftentimes perplex- ing to discover harmony in seeming discord, yet undoubtedly there is harmony, and all things work together for good — let us try to discover this harmony. Satan, though wily, and wicked, and ever restless, and active, and watchful for opportunities, is yet working within the prescribed limits set by an Almighty — were Satan not permitted an influence, this would not be a probationary state. And in this world of trial mankind are not fitted to live in a perfect scheme of unity of action. The diversity of human character arising out of every conceivable cause unfits them to think alike upon any on^ subject. Unity of thought and action has not been God's purpose. As mankind are constituted, perhaps apathy would have been the result of no incitements to discussion. A plain and palpable scheme of church government may have been withheld for this reason. Or, it may be that with us, as with the Jews of old, we should observe the forms, and lose sight of the spirit of the laws; trusting to observances rather than the weightier matters of judgment and of mercy. The temporal churches united soon after their formation under a temporal head, served 8 THE TRUE CHURCH. a purpose ; and, in the state mankind were at that period, a great purpose. The great mass sunk in profound ignorance, could only receive a direction and an impulse from a directing head. But when mankind became better instructed, and the mighty influence of the press had been brought to bear upon them so that they may receive their instructions direct from God's word, the necessity for this unity no longer existed, and, as a natural consequence, it broke up. God so meant it. He foresaw the directing power would be abused, and that the father of lies would offer delusions, " that when God did call, none did answer ; when he spake, none did hear; but they did evil before his eyes, and choose that in which he delighted not." In the dark ages, when the temporal churches took on the form of unity, God's church still survived. The grossest errors crept into the Romish church; but they were continually protested against, and many faithful Christians survived the pollutions of that church. This is evidenced by the continual striving of God's people amidst the surrounding darkness. God's church ever has been and ever will be upheld. "The gates of hell shall not prevail against her." Many are now contending upon various THE TEUE CHURCH. . 9 matters connected with temporal church gov- ernment and doctrines ; as though these were of the very highest moment. Some are earnest for sujDremacy, uniting under one worldly head the whole Christian community. Some for primacy, giving to the elected head no higher power than to rally around him tlie chief ecclesiastics to assist in consultations. Some contending against the existence of primacy, desiring to overthrow the episcopal form, and urging the propriety of Presbyterianism. Others again for a more simple form; and each and all of these forms split up into innumerable sections. Each section differing from another, in some doctrine or some practice ; and each claiming for its loved dogma, inherent right. Amid the various disputed points of Christian faith setting up every varied form of temporal church, it is refreshing to be enabled to believe there is a true church, simple in form, grand and majestic in extent, and having for its temple the great living God, and to which all are earnestly invited, and in which may be found the stream of living waters, proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb, and of which all who are so minded may partake. " The Spirit and the Bride say Come ; and let him that heareth say Come ; and let him that B 5 iO THE TEUE CHURCH. is athirst Come; aad whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." It is not within my pro-vince, nor is it my intention, to go into the several disputed points of faith. These are all beside the mark in try- ing to arrive at a conclusion with regard to the true church. In settling the order and arrangement of a temporal church, or in cor- recting any errors into which she may have fallen, they are legitimate points of inquiry and discussion. I shall attempt to show what the true church is ; and if I make this clearly to appear, it will be seen that these disputed points have little, if any relation to her. And if there be truth in the opinion herein pro- pounded, these disputed points will soon be made to take their proper subordinate place in every temporal church. Before we proceed to do so, it will be well to understand the several meanings of the word church, for upon the complex character given to it have arisen many of the misconceptions of God's intentions. The word church is employed to convey three distinct meanings. In its lowest sense it is used to designate a building set apart for religious purposes. In its next sense it is used as a community of professing Christians. In THE TRUE CHURCH. 11 its highest sense it is used as a term for the " city of God, the holy Jerusalem, the bride, the Lamb's wife." In the two latter senses, it is used in the holy scriptures, and it is with it in regard to these two meanings we have to do. I shall attempt to show that when used in the sense of a community of professing Christians, unity is not found to exist. And then I shall attempt to show, that when unity is found, a holy comprehensive unity, the word in the higher sense is used, or language employed implying the same thing. As applied in the sense of a community of professing Christians, the word church is found in the book of Eevelation ; the first three chapters and the last two convey intelligibly a great deal with reference to the church. The first three contain much about the word church ? or, as it is there applied, to the then existing several temporal churches. We find that, in St. John's time, unity was far from existing in them ; in fact, the reverse is shown. Each had its predominating or prominent faults, for which each is rebuked; in some thino-s com- mended, in others reproved — reproved for holding false doctrines, and committing wicked practices ; showing that neither of these could 12 THE TRUE CHUECH. be the true church, for, as St. Paul says to the Ephesiaus, it should be " holy and without blemish." We meet with the word applied again in the same sense — the 16th verse of the last chapter of the Revelation, wherein the Lord Jesus says, "I have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches,'' — the temporal churches — to testify to them the things recorded in the book of Hevelation. Among these the things of the bride, the Lamb's wife, that great city the holy Jerusalem, the true church. It is used in the same sense by the apostle Paul, v«lien writing to or of the temporal churches then established. And we find in all these writings continued exhortations, show- ing, in these several churches, a want of unity ; proving that, individually, they were not branches of, or collectively the true church; not collectively the church of which David sang so sweetly, and Isaiah prophesied such great things. There is an instance wherein it would ap- pear, at the first glance, that the word church, applied to a visible community of persons, in whom unity is found: and this community is the germ or nucleus from which the several churches afterward took their rise. I allude to the description in the second chapter of the THE TRUE CHURCH. 13 Acts, the first great gathering of a Christiau people; and the description of which is con- cluded by the words — " And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." Undoubtedly this looks as though the church was a visible, united body of faithful men. But if we examine the preceding parts of this de- scription, I think we shall come to the con- clusion, that the church here spoken of is not the whole body of baptized persons. We read — " Then they that gladly received his word were baptized; and the same day were added unto them about three thousand souls."* Observe, " unto them," that is, unto the baptiz- ed, the three thousand were added. Now, that these aU were not added to the church after- wards mentioned may be gathered from this fact, that the Lord added to the church such as should be saved; that all that were baptized were not saved we know, for we are soon after told of the fate of Ananias and Sapphira. We may therefore conclude, that the church here mentioned did not mean the whole body of per- sons who were baptized ; what is meant to be conveyed, is, that the Lord, whose kingdom on earth had been promoted and strengthened by his coming, was adding to " His church " daily such as should be saved. * Acts ii. 41. 14 THE TRUE CHURCH. Having shown that the scriptures, when speaking of temporal churches, do not mean a holy, sanctified unity, governed by a temporal head, such a unity not being found in the early ages of Christianity (or, indeed, in any age of Christianity) ; but when describing any of these churches they imply the reverse, I shall proceed to direct attention to the church — the church, spoken of by the prophets, by Solomon, by David, by St. Paul, and finally by St. John, and in which unity is found. This church is spoken of by these several sacred writers in terms such as these : — " Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion." " Out of Sion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined." " Thou art all fair, my love ; there is no spot in thee." " That he might present it to himself a glo- rious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing ; but that it should be holy and without blemish." " Jerusalem is built as a city that is at unity with itself." Can the faultless unity of character that is assigned by the sacred writers to the church, be said of any one of the temporal churches? THE THUE CHTTHCH. 15 How easy would it be to show, that each and all fall very short of it. That the Komish church, the mother she claims to be of other temporal churches, cannot lay claim to this faultless character is very cer- tain; it is not needful to refer to her sale of indulgences, her pretended power of absolu- tion, and her saint worship ; but we need only refer to the metropolitan British papal bishop's late address, to show her awful apostacy from the truth ; wherein the pope is made to usurp the place of the Saviour, and is awfully desig- nated the centre of spiritual life — a mere man the centre of spiritual life. He may be a vile and low creature, as he has been — he may be an Alexander VI. Oh ! fatal and blasphemous error ! That the darkness of night is upon a church that puts forth such a sentiment is plain to every Christian mind. I know that this pre-eminence for the pope is claimed upon mis- interpreted scripture ; — that the power of the keys, and to bind and to loose, is claimed for him as the successor of Peter. That this power was granted to Peter is undeniable; — Peter possessed and exercised it, as was wit- nessed in the fate of Ananias and Sapphira. That it was not granted to his successors is cer- tain, not only because it is not stated to be 16 THE TRUE CHUECH. granted them, but because they have never possessed it ; and " God is not a man that he should lie." I know that Komanists couple an after-pro- mise of our Saviour — to be with his disciples *^ to the end of the world ;" and they claim, upon this ground, a promise of the power com- mitted to Peter to be continued to the whole ministry, his assumed successors. But the two promises have no connection, the one w^as ful- filled as we have seen; the other is fulfilled, inasmuch as the church is built upon the foun- dation of the apostles, Jesus himself being the chief corner-stone ; and united as they are in this holy building, they are ever together. They are also ever together, the apostles form- ing a portion, or being members of the true church, or Zion ; and Jesus, the bridegroom, is ever with his espoused wife, the church. The dread of schism has much terror for some minds. Schism is a word but seldom met with in holy scripture ; but it is met with, and we find it in St. Paul's description of the Chris- tian body, wherein, having described the varied members of this body, and advised the giving more abundant honour to those members which the more needed it, he tells the Corinthians to give this honour, " that there may be no schism THE TRUE CHUECH. 17 in the body."'* Scliism then is not the departure from a temporal churchy but the breaking away from this body — the dislocation of a member from the united members forming a whole, of which Christ is the head. "For now are we many members, yet but one body." As St. John has been made to delineate the church more plainly and more fully, though in figurative language, than the other sacred writers, we will proceed to examine his de- scription, " And I John saw the holy city, new Jeru- salem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying. Behold the tabernacle of God is with men ; and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them."f The description of the holy city by St. John has been held by all commentators to describe the heavenly state of the church triumphant, and as having no reference to the church on earth. In differing from the good and able men who have written upon this subject, I do so with great diffidence, knowing that if their powers could not attain to another interpreta- tion, my own impressions were probably erro- ♦ 2 Cor. xii. 25. f Rev. xxi. 2. 18 THE TRUE CHUECH. neous. I have been for some time impressed with the opinion I hold, and have hitherto with- held the expression of this opinion, having been desirous to have it confirmed or disproved by more enlarged scriptural knowledge. I approach the subject with reverential awe, and pray the Almighty that he will direct my doings ; that if it be his purpose that His church should be a corporate visible body, he will graciously permit me to see this. But if it be otherwise, if His kingdom be a purely spiritual kingdom, and His church here on earth a purely spiritual church, that He will vouchsafe a greater portion of spiritual light to guide and direct me, that in His light I may see light ; and the light which is granted His church may be granted me, that neither " the light of the sun or of the moon" may be needed, but the «f glory of God and the Lamb " may give light. I will proceed to give my reasons for believ- ing that the church described by St. John, is emphatically " the church," the only true church. That it has much to do with this lower world, and that it is the church about which all the sacred writers have written so much. I have much to regret that one so feeble should be employed in the work. But if the THE TEUE CHURCH. W reasons put forth are based on truths God will overrule the weakness of the agent m their promulgation. Weakness and insufficiency in man is no bar to the fulfilment of God's pur- poses. " He will rule, be the people never so unquiet." A bright vision of beauty presents itself as coming over this now benighted world. It may be the creation of a hopeful temperament, it may be of a faint knowledge of God's pure and holy character, and what this world ought to be^ and would become, if the principles and practices of Christ, as taught and exhibited by Him, could be brought to bear with full effect upon the minds and dispositions of mankind. It may be the dawn presenting itself of the promised real- ity. It may foreshadow the approaching period, when God's laws shall be recognized and acted upon; when his light shall be shed abroad to lighten the world ; when man shall no longer worry fellow man for difference of non-essential opinions ; and when sin and shame, the united products of ignorance and evil, shall be well nigh banished from God-loving nations, and Christian people. I proceed to give my reasons for believing that the description given by St. John in the last two chapters of the Kevelation, is a 20 THE TRUE CHUECH. description of the true church, and that this church has reference to this lower world. First, I shall examine the internal evidence Avithin the description ; then I shall show that this is the church referred to by David, and by St. Paul, and more particularly prophesied of by Isaiah, and other of the prophets. St. John says:* "I John saw the holy city coming down from God out of heaven." We perceive by this expression, that the holy city is not wholly in heaven, but coming down from God out of heaven; and again, in another part, it is said, " descending out of heaven," plainly inti- mating that she descends to earth. And in the next verse it is said, " Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them ; and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." Now what can be understood by this latter, but its literal meaning ? And in further confirmation, if we refer to the former chapter, we shall find that when the reign of the saints with Christ for the thousand years is expired, Satan is again to be loosed and to go out to deceive the nations, and (Gog and Magog as they are called) his followers, are to go up on the breadth of the earth, and to compass the camp of the saints about, and "the beloved city."t Here * Rev. xxi. 2. f Rev. xx. 9. THE TRUE CHURCH. 2! then is a plain intimation that the beloved city is upon earth — for the followers of Satan, Gog and Magog, have no place in heaven, for " fire is to come down out of heaven and devour them."* Let us further examine the character of this the beloved city. The description shows it to be both in heaven and on earth. " The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it." The throne of God is in heaven, this proclaims it there. "And proceeding from the throne is the river of water of life, and on either side of the river is the tree of life; and this tree bare twelve manner of fruits, yielding her fruit every month ; and the leaves of this tree are for the healing of the nations." This latter descrip- tion would give it a place upon earth. For observe, the water of life and the tree of life are within the walls of the city ; and this tree of life yields her fruit every month. What is* meant by yielding her fruit every month — is not the fruit yielded ? the souls of the redeemed which drink of the water of life, and so give fruit to the tree of life ; and how could this water of life be partaken of but within the city wherein is the water ? And how could it be partaken by those, the dead small and great standing before God to be judged for the past ? * Rev. XX. 9. 22 THE TRUE CHURCH. Observe also, that the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. What is to be understood by this expression ? Is it not that the foliage or sheddings of the tree of life, representing some of God's people, shall pour balm into the wounds of nations, and these be instruments of peace and good to the nations ? And if this be a true interpretation, then this city in which is this tree of life has much to do with man on this earth. In the latter part of the last chapter, is an invite to partake of the water of life, "And the Spirit and the bride say Come ; and let him that heareth say Come ; and let him that is athirst come ; and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. That this invite is to mankind on earth is palpable. And most comprehensive and persuasive it is ; " The Spi- rit " of God, " and the bride " — the church - — say Come, " and let him that heareth " — all of every nation and every hue — respond and say, " Come," and let him whose soul is parched with the fever of sin and " is athirst say. Come," "and let all who will, take of the water of life freely." I deem this invite to be very significant. For would not the invite be plainly fallacious and without meaning, if the power were gone of choosing or refusing — "And who- THE TRUE CHURCH. 23 soever will, let him take of the water of life freely." That this is an invite to man in a probationary state is certain. This invite would be useless to the dead who are to be judged every man according to their work. And recol- lect they are invited to partake of that which is within the walls of the holy city — and they must enter through the gates which are shut neither night or day, while yet they have the power to slake their thirst ; " Blessed are they that do God's commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches." I think I have said sufficient to prove that the holy city is not alone in heaven. I will now show from the writings of David and St. Paul, that the purity of character assigned to the church, can alone have reference to this church — " The streets of which are of pure gold," — intimating its unalloyed character. Now what does the favoured and holy David say with regard to this church? Let us exa- mine his ever-beautiful Psalms, xlvi. " There is a river the streams whereof shall make glad 24 THE TRUE CHUECH. the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most high. God is in the midst of her ; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early." 1. " Out of Zion, the per- fection of beauty, God hath shined." Ixxxvii. " His foundation is in the holy mountains. The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the Hio-hest himself shall establish her. The Lord shall count when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there : all my springs are in thee,'''' cxxii. "Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem : they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces." xv. " Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle ? who shall dwell in thy holy hill ? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour ; in whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth THE TRUE CHURCH. 25 them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not." In reading the Psalms of David, one thing particularly strikes me — the absence of an advocacy of ceremonials, and a constant, unde- viating, earnest love of God. In these respects there is a striking similitude to the general character of St. John's holy city — in which God and the Lamb are the chief objects. They give their glory to lighten the holy city, and the " Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it ;" and " the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it : and his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face : and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there : and they need no candle, neither light of the sun ; for the Lord God giveth them light." I think it will be apparent to every candid reader, that the descriptions given, taken from the Psalms, will not apply to any temporal church, and it will be palpable they apply only to a spiritual church on earth, to whom God is the light and the temple ; and if the church described by St. John be carefully examined, it will be found to coincide with the descrip- tions of David ; — that he had within his mental eye precisely the church which the angel made c 26 THE TRUE CHURCH. known to St. John — that church of purity and holiness, of unity and stability ; of justice to all who make God the centre of their hopes and thoughts, who dwell in his presence, and nestle in his love, and are content at all times to abide his will. " God is a spirit," and is worshipped by our spiritual will; and the absence of this can never be compensated by outward observances. St. Paul says to the Ephesians, (i. 22,) " And gave him to be head over all things to the church which is his body, the fulness of him that fiUeth all in all." Again, (v. 27,) "That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that it should be holy and without blemish." In the examples I have given, both from David and St. Paul, there is a striking simili- tude in two things with St. John's church, or holy city — in the intimate communion of God and the church, and the purity and holiness of the church. There is likewise another striking similitude ; St. John by the angel describes the holy city as the spouse of the Lamb ; and St. Paul, in very marked language, calls the church the spouse of Christ, — " For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church."* * Eph. V. 23. THE TEUE CHUECH. 27 The whole book of Isaiah is full of the majesty, and purity, and holiness of this church. " Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come unto thee the uncircumcised and the unclean." lii. "Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down ; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." xxxiii. 20, 24. " Arise, shine ; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people : but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee." Ix. And after follow in the same chapter, these remarkable predictions : " And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee : for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. Therefore thy gates shall be open continually ; they shall not be shut day nor night ; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that C 2 28 THE TRUE CHURCH. their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish ; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted." Compare these predictions with the holy city of St. John. " And the nations of them which are saved, shall walk in the light of it : and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day ; for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it." " For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burn- eth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteous- ness, and all kings thy glory : and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken ; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Plephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee : and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the THE TRUE CHURCH. 29 bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusa- lem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night : ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies ; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured : but they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the Lord ; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness. Go through, go through the gates ; prepare ye the way of the people ; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones ; lift up a standard for the people. Be- hold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his re- ward is with him, and his work before him. And they shall call them. The holy people. The redeemed of the Lord : and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken." Isa. Ixii. How beautiful is the whole of this chapter of Isaiah, and how graphically does it portray the character of the holy city, and of its intimate 30 THE TRUE CHURCH. connection with the people of the earth. Every verse deserves comment, and a sermon may be preached upon every line; and each sermon would go' to prove the truth of the establish- ment of God's church — the holy Jerusalem upon earth. " And the Gentiles shall see thy right- eousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, (Cln-istians,) which the mouth of the Lord shall name." Not only are the Gentiles to see the righteousness of this holy city, and wliich proclaims it to be of this earth — but watchmen are to be set upon her walls, which are never to hold their peace day nor night : they that make mention of the Lord are not to keep silence, they are to give God no rest; like Jacob, they are to wrestle with him, until he establish and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Isaiah explains in a remarkable manner, by his predictions, two characteristics of the holy Jerusalem. St. John says, — " And I saw a new heaven and a new earth : for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away : and there was no more sea." Here are two striking character- istics, a new heaven and earth, and no more sea. I will take the last to explain first, because the understanding it will help to explain the THE TRUE CHURCH. 31 new heaven and new earth. St. John says, in this new heaven and new earth there was no more sea. Now what is meant by the expres- sion, " no more sea ? " Let us refer to the 60th chapter of Isaiah, and it will be explained. It commences, — "Arise, shine; for thy hght is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee : thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." We see here then the expression the sea, mean- ing the Gentiles. And we must recollect, St. John is describing the church in her most ad- vanced state, prepared as a bride — and when she is thus prepared and fitted to be the spouse of Christ, we may look to the Gentile world being absorbed into the Christian, and then will there "be no more sea." Understanding therefore, there is to be no more sea in this new creation, points to the new creation as not a physical or material change, but a religious and spiritual. 32 THE TEUE CHURCH. We perceive then that this vision, though ma- terial to the sight of St. John, was figurative, to indicate a spiritual and not a physical change. The creation of a new heaven and a new earth was descriptive of a great religious and spiritual creation. Whereas before, all but the merest speck was sunk in heathen darkness, and the earth was the abode of the dark spirits of the evil one. Now was the new earth to receive the spirits of the just, and a new heaven was to be opened to the hopes of a then sunken and gloomy world. The description of the holy city, following so immediately the description of a judgaient when the heavens and the earth flee away from the face of God, and the dead small and great stand before him, and a new heaven and new earth are seen, is one reason, among others, why commentators have supposed St. John's de- scription to refer wholly to a hereafter state. That it does not refer wholly to the heavenly state of departed souls, I think very plain, — "And he carried me away in the Spirit, to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God." It appears that the closing labour of the Holy Spirit, in delineat- ing the true church, is the peroration or close THE TRUE CHURCH. 33 of what the tendency and scope of the whole scriptm^es is intended to set up ; that the whole plan is to bring man back to a knowledge of his God, which knowledge he had forfeited, and from which he is kept by the blinding nature of sin. It is to speak home to him the great truth, that God is the centre of spiritual life ; that this God is a pure and holy God, and delights only in that which is pure and holy ' and that purity consists in the absence of injustice, and cruelty, and violence, and false- hood ; in the seeking not our own, but the good of others ; in delighting to learn, and to know, and to do God's will. That the rites and cere- monies of the Jewish people were given them as sensible signs to alFect thereby the inner man, they being incapable, surrounded as they were by heathen rites and pollutions, of per- ceiving the object sought by the teaching of the Lord without these aids. That under the new state of things at our Lord's coming, what was needed of man was plainly told him — the being born again, and that sacrifices and obla- tions the Lord delighted not in ; but to serve and to walk humbly with his God was the end sought ; that man may conform himself to God's nature, that he may be restored to the image in which he was created. This then, the making c5 34 THE TRUE CHURCH. God all in all, the living only in his light, has been the great end and object of all God's deal- ing's with man from the fall of Adam to the present hour, — this it is which fills every page of holy writ. God, foreseeing that Satan's wiles would lead men away from the true end of God's will, as revealed in the scope of the inspired scripture, set up a standard and a model of God's abode, and of what was required of all who would dwell there ; that they should make God their only light, and that from him alone proceeds every good, and that without Him we should be the slaves of Satan, " the unbelieving and the abominable, and murderers, and whore- mongers, and idolaters, and liars." Isaiah has said so much with reo;ard to this holy city, that if we read his prophetical writ- ings carefully, we shall not fail to discover, that the espoused church of Christ is the Zion, the holy mountain, the holy city, the New Jeru- salem ; and that this church has been set up on earth ; that she has been gradually developing herself, and the time I think is arriving, when she is fitting herself " to be the bride adorned for her husband." She had existence under the Jewish dispensation ; she gave birth to her children at the new creation, when our Lord gave to the Gentile, or heathen world, a new THE TRUE CHURCH. 35 heaven and a new earth. And for the past eighteen hundred years she has been gradually developing her fair proportions, until, in ma- tured charms and enlarged figure, she is pre- paring herself as a bride adorned for her husband. We perceive then that this vision, though material to the sight of St. John, was figurative^ to indicate a spiritual, and not a physical, change. The creation of a new heaven and a new earth was descriptive of a great religious and spiritual creation. Isaiah, in his last two chapters, throws very great light upon this subject ; we will proceed to examine them. Before we do so it will be well to bear in mind, that the holy city, the new Jerusalem, Zion, the holy mountain, are synonymous terms. The 65th chapter begins, " I am sought of them that asked not for me ; I said. Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name." It then goes on to condemn the Jews, and threatens them with punishment. " Ye are they that forsake my holy mountain, therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter; be- cause when I called ye did not answer ; when I spake ye did not hear; but did evil before 36 THE TRUE CHURCH. mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I de- lighted not. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; behold my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty ; behold my ser- vants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed; behold my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit. And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen ; for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name (Christians) ; that he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth, and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth ; be- cause the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes. For be- hold, I create new heavens and a new earth ; and the former shall not be remembered nor come into mind." Here then, in similar lan- guage to that employed by St. John, is pre- dicted that remarkable change which took place at the coming of our Lord and Saviour. When a new creation took place, by a light that was to dispel heathen darkness, and the Gentiles were to be called to a knowledge of their true God, " He was to be sought of them that asked not for him, that he who blesseth THE TRUE CHURCH. 37 himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth, and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth ;" not as here- tofore, by their several heathen gods, but by the eternal God. Thus a neAV heaven and a new earth were then given to this world, at that time sunk in deep and profound darkness. The Jew alone having but an imperfect know- ledge of God, and he forming but a little speck in the great wilderness; and all around this little speck a deep and unfathomable gloom. The new creation changed this dreary scene ; " But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create, for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy." Remark, Je- rusalem a rejoicing, at this new creation ; this eternal city is put prominently forward. The great distinctive marks between the old and the new creations may be perceived by a slight sketch of them. Whereas the Jewish was one of violence, so the Christian dispensation was foretold by Isaiah to be one of peace. War and bloodshed prevailed in the former, peace and submission was to prevail in the latter ; — spoliation and extermination in that, charity and brotherly love in this. And this remarkable distinction does not arise from any difference in the con- stitutional characteristics of the men of the 38 THE TRUE CHURCH. former, as compared with tlie men of the latter period. We find men now as then, rush eagerly to conflict, and the bad passions which excited then excite now. The difference lay in the teaching; in the one, the teaching was to smite, in the other to submit. The descendants of Noah attempted to build a tower whose top should reach to heaven. " They said. Go to, let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven ; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." They attempted to gain heaven by their own strength and their own power, and thought by building a tower thereto, they should prevent themselves being scattered abroad upon the face of earth. "And the Lord said. Behold the people is one, and they have all one language ; and this they begin to do : and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence, upon the face of the earth." These descendants of Noah, the wicked inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, and who built Babylon and Nineveh, the Lord punished in many ways ; and by giving their possessions to the descend- ants of the faithful Abraham, whom the Lord of all the descendants of Noah only blessed, and said unto him, " Get thee out of thy country. THE TRUE CHURCH. 39 and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee : and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great ; and thou shalt be a blessing ; I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee : and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." The descendants of Noah, excepting those through the favoured man, Abraham, became, when scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, the heathen world, debased by every vice, sunk in darkness, and worshipping gods of their own creating, and forgetful altogether of the true God who had carried their parents in safety over the rising and swelling waters of the deluge. For their many offences God punished them, and through the Jews, the descendants of Abraham, he despoiled them, and laid waste their cities, and smote them ; and we shall find that God through Moses instructed them so to do. Deut. xx. " When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them ; for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and 40 THE TRUE CHURCH. speak unto the people, and shall say unto them. Hear, 0 Israel; ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies : let not your hearts faint ; fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them : for the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people. When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it : and when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword." We find in Numb. ch. xxxi. similar instructions given. " And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying. Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites. And Moses spake unto the people, saying. Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the Lord of Midian. And thev warred aojainst the THE TRUE CHURCH. 41 Midianites, and slew all the males. And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire. And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts. And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and the cap- tains over hundreds, which came from the battle. And Moses said unto them. Have ye saved all the women alive ? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him." Of this violence which reigned throughout the earth under the Jewish, we have examples after the introduction of the Christian dispensa- tion. Old things were not easily worn out. The new have been long in obtaining strength. The old were exhibited in the feudal laws and the system of raising black mail upon neigh- bours ; a time when every man went armed to 42 THE TEUE CHURCH. the teeth. Contrast now, the new as they were taught, and as they are gradually gaining strength and obtaining hold upon the opinions and practices of men. Matt. V. 38—48. « Ye have heard that it hath been said. An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth : but I say unto you. That ye resist not evil ; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee ; and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said. Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy. (This was the old law.) But I say unto you. Love your enemies, ('The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock ; ' those by nature enemies, shall live in peace,) bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you. THE TRUE CHUECH. 43 what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." And in conformity with this teaching, our Saviour, when asked by^the lawyer. Master, which is the 2:reat commandment in the laAV ? and having answered him, and being asked which is the second, replied, " And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Remark, the second is like unto the first ; that is, that the one necessarily implies the other. That if a man does not love his neighbour, he cannot love his God. Love is the fulfilling of the law ; and without love to his neighbour, no man can " be perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect." We read, in Matt. xxv. 34—46, " Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand. Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world : for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me in : naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, and ye visited me : I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying. Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee ? or thirsty, and gave thee drink ? 44 THE TRUE CHUECH. when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in ? or naked and clothed thee ? or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily, I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, pre- pared for the devil and his angels : for I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me not in : naked, and ye clothed me not : sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or atliirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee ? Then shall he answer them, saying, Yerily, I say unto you. Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." We cannot but be struck with the extraordi- nary surprise here manifested by both parties, evinced by the question ; — " Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee ? or thirsty, and gave thee drink ? " Both the good and the THE TEUE CHURCH. 45 bad evince the same want of knowledge of what a beneficent God requires of his creatures. And our Saviour puts forth charity, which compre- hends every virtue, (faith and hope being parts of it,) in this forcible manner, to teach man the great difference between the old and the new things. This new creation is to be one of peace. The former earth was full of violence, the rule of this is to be one of peace. St. John says, "Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow or cry- ing, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away." And as descriptive of the peaceable state of this king- dom, Isaiah goes on to predict throughout the rest of the chapter, " And I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in my people, and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. And they shall build houses and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build and another inhabit ; they shall not plant and another eat ; for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect 46 THE TRUE CHURCH. shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble ; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass before they call, I will answer ; and while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed toge- ther, and the lion shall eat straw like the bul- lock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord." In this figurative language Isaiah foretells the peaceable character of this new creation. That whereas, before, blood- shed and violence prevailed, for the Jews were sometimes ordered to smite hip and thigh, so now the scene was to be changed, and peace be incul- cated and prevail. It is true that bloodshed and violence have not been driven from the earth, but a great change in this respect took place at the new creation. Before, ^violence was the rule, and no man was safe to enjoy the work of his own hands : after the new creation, peace was the rule ; and when this rule fully obtains, and the great laws taught by Jesus shall be felt in their full force, then will peace be extended to the earth " like a river" flowing in all the deep calm of its majestic waters. And observe that this peace is predicted to the Jerusa- THE TEUE CHURCH. 47 lein, that the people of this holy city shall enjoy it. It is not said that those who will not come to the holy mountain shall enjoy this peace. It is predicted otherwise of them ; — they are to be numbered to the sword, and are to bow down to the slaughter — these also are not to possess the work of their own hands ; it is said that God's servants shall eat, but these shall be hungry. It is not over the face of the habit- able globe that peace is to prevail — we are told " they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain." So that it is to the members of this holy mountain, the holy city, that peace is promised. In another respect was there a new creation. The former state was either ignorance of God on the part of the Gentiles, and they excluded, by the privileges of the Jews, from participation in the knowledge of God ; or, on the part of the Jews, a belief that the observance of ordinances was a serving of God, and vain oblations a fitting offering. On the part of the heathens, the former state was ignorance of God, worshipping idols and gods of their own creating, and prevented by the exclusive privileges of the Jews from being made acquainted with the true God and wor- shipping him. Under the new dispensation, 48 THE TEUE CHURCH. this state of things was changed. At the open- ing of the Christian dispensation a new creation took place. To the Gentiles a new earth was offered, and to them was opened a new heaven. The true God w^as to be made known to them, and instead of the heaven which their benighted notions created, — a new heaven, the true hea- ven, was to be opened to them. To them there- fore, especially a new heaven and a new earth were created. A new heaven, as we have shown ; a new earth, in the peaceable state that was offered them from the violence which before prevailed. On the part of the Jews, the former state was the observance of ordinances, and the offer- ing of oblations. On these they grounded their hopes of salvation ; (Eom. x. 3,) " For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteous- ness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." These vain hopes at the new creation were to be swept away. The Jews were taught no longer to look to the observance of the ceremonial law, but to look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith ; " (ver. 9,) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the THE TRUE CHURCH. 49 dead, thou shalt be saved." So that instead of trusting to their vain offerings, they were to trust in the Lord Jesus. To them, therefore, was there a new earth, — new in being free from the galling yoke of the bondage of the law, and made free " with the freedom wherewith Christ hath made us free." And a new heaven the result of this new faith ; not the heaven which they vainly hoped to gain by the observance of ceremonies, but the new heaven which was offered by Christ as resulting from faith in him ; producing to the changed heart, to whom all things are new, that heaven wherein dwell righteousness, and peace, and joy. That the growth of this new creation would be slow, was foreseen by Isaiah, In the next chap- ter, the 8th verse, it is said, " Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day ? or shall a nation be born at once ? " We may gather from this, that at the new creation there was but the nucleus of a nation — "As soon as Zion tra- vailed she brought forth her children : " she began to be delivered of them ; but her progeny was not numerous, and a nation of them was not born at once. We know how few they were at the commencement of the Christian dispensation : the number of nominal Christians were few; the number of the sons and D 50 THE TRUE CHURCH. daughters of Zion, the faithful followers of Christ, were still less. And many ages have been needed, for their numbers to be sufficiently great, to raise them to the designation of a nation. The bringing to the birth was after the deli- very of the man child. We are told in a pre- vious verse, " Before she travailed she brought forth ; before her pain came she was delivered of a man child." In reference to this predic- tion, which marks distinctly the period of this new creation, St. John, in the 12th ch. of Reve- lation, says, "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven ; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars ; and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand, two hundred, and threescore days." That this woman, under another figure, represents there- fore the Zion is plain, and the same idea prevails in both, that a lengthened period would elapse before any considerable advancement would be THE TRUE CHURCH. 51 made in the new creation. It is not my pur- pose to determine the chronology of St. John's vision of the woman's duration in the wilderness, either its beginning or its ending. I point to it only to show that under different figures the same idea obtains. With regard to the symbols here employed, they appear to differ in one feature. Isaiah has it, — that " before she travailed, before her pain came, she was deli- vered of a man child." St. John — " And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And she brought forth a man child." I do not know that I can recon- cile this apparent difference. Isaiah's prediction we fully comprehend ; his description explains itself. Zion brought forth a man child before the delivery of her children. The man child was both God and man. And the man child, said to come forth of Zion, was the God of Zion, and he appeared in the likeness of man, and came forth of Zion in his assumed humanity, and her children she afterward gave birth to. St. John does not so explain it; but as the woman is not supposed to have fled into the wilderness until the sixth century ; in the interval, from the birth of the man cliild to her flight into the wilderness, she may have given birth to the children. We read afterward — d2 52 THE TRUE CHURCH. "There was war in heaven between Michael and the dragon. And the dragon, that old serpent, called the devil, was cast out. And a loud voice saying, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ, for the accuser of our hre- thren is cast down." This last expression shows the brethren to have been born. St. John only has not described their birth after that of the man child. It will be well to examine more attentively the whole of the 66th chapter of Isaiah ; it throws upon the subject of this city, Jerusalem, great additional light. The prophet begins this chapter by declaring God's great authority and power : " Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool ; where is the house that ye build unto me ? and where is the place of my rest?" — alluding to the chosen place of God's rest. " For all those things (the things of the earth) hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord : but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man ; he that sacrificeth a lamb as if he cut off a dog's neck ; he that offereth an oblation as if he THE TRUE CHURCH. 53 offered swine's blood ; he that burneth incense as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations." After expostulating with the Jews for pretensions to holiness, on account of these sacrifices and oblations, and for their inattentions to God's warnings, then follows ; " I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them ; because when I called none did answer, when I spake they did not hear ; but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not. Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word ; your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said. Let the Lord be glori- fied." The self-righteous Jews that hated their brethren, the poor and of contrite spirit, that trembled at the word of God, and whom they cast out under the pretence, " Let the Lord be glorified," are told, " He shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed." Then follows this, remarkable language, again fixing, in this chapter, the period and the character of the new creation predicted in the preceding^ " A voice of noise from the city," what city ? can this be other than the holy city ? "A voice from the temple," what temple? can this be other than the Lord who is himself the tem- 54 THE TEUE CHURCH. pie?* "A voice of the Lord that rendereth re- compence to his enemies. Before she travailed she brought forth ; before her pain came she was delivered of a man child." And now we come to that portion which predicts the slow progress of God's true church. "Who hath heard such a thing ? Who hath seen such things ? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day?" (observe, the earth, pointing to the new crea- tion:) " or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth and shut the womb ? saith thy God." How descriptive are these last words of that slow and gradual progress which God's church would make; and how do they foretell and explain, that the children of Zion came into being when she travailed, but that a nation of them should not be born at once; that the holy city would not be adorned, at the onset, as a bride is adorned for her husband, but, as in all God's works, there would be the gradual progression to maturity, — first the bud? then the bursting into leaf and stem, then the developed tree. And now what is the language that follows * Rev. xxi. 22, THE TRUE CHURCH. 55 this predicted progression ? " Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her ; rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her ; that ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. " She is to shine forth with abun- dant glory, and give consolation and succour to all who love her." For thus saith the Lord: Behold I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream;" (observe, "the glory of the Gentiles,'''' marking distinctly the nature and character of the new creation:) "then shall ye be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you ; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.'' That there may be no mistake as to where they are to be comforted, they are distinctly told, " in Jerusalem." And in which Jerusalem? It cannot mean the earthly city, Jerusalem ! The Gentiles can receive no comfort there ; it must therefore mean the new Jerusalem, the holy city. Isaiah proceeds, "And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the Lord shall be known towards his servants, and his indignation towards his enemies." Then God 56 THE TEUE CHURCH. threatens "to plead with all flesh," and to punish the guilty; then a promise is made to gather all nations, and tongues, and countries, — " And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord, out of all nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts ;" to where? " To my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord." Here is another allusion to the purity of this holy city ; it is compared to a clean vessel. And now how does the prophet conclude? Attend; this is important, as showing the character of the new creation. "For as the new heavens and the new earth which I shall make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord." What can more clearly and emphatically declare, that this new creation, this heavenly city, Jerusalem, has much of its abiding place on this earth ? — " from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh" " come to worship before me, saith the Lord," — come to this holy mountain to worship. The whole of the prophetical writings are THE TRUE CHURCH. 57 full of this church — this heavenly Jerusalem. And we cannot open scarcely one of* them, but we are sure to alight upon something in allusion thereto. I will point your attention to some of them — they will not be many. I think I need not multiply the proofe that this Jerusalem is the true and only true church. Joel, in his 2nd chapter, begins, " Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain." The prophet then threatens with God's judgments, and promises, upon repentance, that whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered; "for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call." And in similar language in the next chapter : *' So shall you know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain ; then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more." And he concludes the two last verses, after threats to Egypt and to Edom : " But Judah shall dwell for ever at Jerusalem, from generation to gene- ration. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed, for the Lord dwelleth in Zion." I shall show hereafter that Judah, or the Jewish people, who, it is pronounced, shall dwell for ever at Jerusalem, will not dwell at d5 58 THE TRUE CHURCH. the earthly city, but in the new Jerusalem, the spiritual city. And Joel is meaning in this instance, the spiritual city. Micah, in the 4th chapter, writes: "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the liills; and people shall flow into it. And many nations shall come, and say. Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths : for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." Here we have a very plain intimation of the spiritual city, Jerusalem. It shall be exalted above the mountains, and above the hills, and people shall flow into it. And the law shall go forth of it, and the word of the Lord. In the last days, the mountain of the Lord shall be established on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills. What may this mean? what cannot it mean, but that God's mountain, or church, shall be established upon the temporal mountains or churches, and be exalted above the hills — the lesser temporal churches ? And then do we understand how the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem; and hereby are we assured THE TRUE CHURCH. 59 that the new Jerusalem, in the last days, shall be seen, and known, and recognized upon earth. Zechariah, in the 1st chapter, after giving his description of the vision of the horses, writes : " Then said I, O my lord, what are these ? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show thee what these be. And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said. These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and behold all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." How descriptive of the sleep of death, spiritually considered, that reigned over the earth previously to the new creation. " Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem, and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years ? And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me, with good words and comfortable words. So the angel that communed with me said unto me. Cry thou, saying. Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased 60 THE TRUE CHURCH. with the heathen that are at ease : for I was but a little displeased, and they helped for- ward the affliction. Therefore thus saith the Lord; 1 am returned to Jerusalem with mercies; my house shall he built in it, saith the Lord of hosts ; and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad ; and the Lord shall yet com- fort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem." We have here an intimation of where God's house shall be. It shall be built within Jerusa- lem. This answers to the description given by Ezekiel of the temple within the city of his vision. And it is declared of this temple, " This is the most holy place." The city of Ezekiel's vision is the holy city. For though the de- scription is filled up with all the detail of parts, and mixed up with Jewish ceremonials, yet in essentials they agree. They agree in living waters issuing out, and in the number of gates being equal, and these gates being appropriated each to one of the twelve tribes. Zechariah, after mentioning of four horns which scatter Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem, " so that no man could hold up his head ;" proceeds with the 2nd chapter : — " I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and THE TRUE CHURCH. 61 behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me. To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof. And, behold, the angel that talked with me, went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein : for I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the hea- ven, saith the Lord. Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you : for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants : and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion : for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people ; 62 THE TRUE CHUECH. and I will dwell in the midst of tliee ; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord : for he is raised up out of his holy habitation." In all this that has been quoted from the prophet Zechariah, wherein so much is said of the city Jerusalem, he cannot mean the earthly city ; something more than this is intended. He says, " My cities, through pros- perity, shall yet be spread abroad; and many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee." And this will be, when the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion, and shall choose Jerusalem again. I will refer to one other only, and that written at an earlier period, to show that God's scheme was perfect from the beginning. Man schemes and breaks up, and re-arranges and sets up new schemes, and alters and adopts and rejects ; and a vestige of the first can scarcely be seen in the last : with God this is not so. One uniform consistent whole reigns through all his works, both in the material and the spiritual worlds ; and we find this consist- ency to obtain in his holy word. As we have THE TRUE CHURCH. 63 seen in the later prophets, so we find it in earlier writings; in Kings for instance, the 1st book, ch. xi. 36, "And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there." Having produced so much from the sacred writers, I will briefly advert to the general tendency of the ministry of our Saviour. We shall find it to be eminently practical, incul- cating purity of heart and honesty of intention, and these arising out of earnest love to God. The doctrinal is lost sight of in the practical ; the practical, not in the observance of rites and ceremonies, for the Jews were repeatedly reproved and condemned, for holding in esteem these, or attaching undue value to them. The whole course of God's dealing is condemnatory of attaching value to them. They begat, as is always evident they still do, self-righteousness, and this will be ever the case if we attach importance to our doings. An entire dependence on the Mediator's merits, and a confidence in the atonement which he has made, and in the regeneration by the washing of his blood, and an entire dependence on God's love, produce a healthy tone of spirit ; and this is, and ever will be, weakened by self-righteousness. The dread 64 THE TRUE CHURCH. of self short-comings will take place of the dread of offending a God-loving parent; and, knowing and feeling our weakness and insufficiency, a constant dread will usurp the place of confiding love. If we rest on his love we cannot long be cast down. The anchorite commits the fault of fancying a merit in serving God. There is a blessing, and a great and inestimable blessing, in serving God; but the great God, who governs the illimitable creation, is not a being before whom we should present our fancied merits. A cheerful and contented heart, contented with all God's dealings, and bowing with reverence, even under the lifted rod, is the best sacrifice and the best offering. " If I were hungry I would not tell thee, for the world is mine and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer unto God thanks- giving, and pay thy vows unto the Most High : and call upon me in the day of trouble ; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." * Examine Christ's first sermon on the mount, and what do we find is its characteristic? Is it not an inculcation of purity of heart, and of honest intention and doing? Not at all a re- ference to specific doctrinal points, or a guid- ance as to particular observances. So again in * Psalm 1. 12—14. THE TRUE CHURCH. 65 the answer given to the lawyer ; " What is the first and great commandment ?" The answer is, " Love the Lord your God, with all your heart and all your strength." And the question that follows, " What is the next ?" And the answer comprehends, with the first given, the whole Christian law, " Love your neighbour as your- self." In these answers we see no reference to doctrinal points or matters of religious faith, but the two great leading characteristics of the church, the heavenly Jerusalem, of which we are told, " the Lord God and the Lamb are the temple and the light." And then again we are told, that only the impure of heart, the wicked and the vile, those who do not and can- not love either God or their neighbour, are excluded. W^e find throughout the whole ministry of our Saviour, that doctrinal points are not insisted upon, " For this man spake not as other men ; " and we shall find, if we examine the sermon on the mount, or any of his dis- courses, or any of the parables, the end and aim in all is, purity of heart, and an earnest advocacy of all that is benevolent and holy; not in the strict observance of a ritual or formulary, though Christ submitted to observe the Jewish laws, — " Sufier it to be so now : for 66 THE TRUE CHURCH. thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." But he taught afterward the removal of Jewish rites, and men were made " free with the free- dom wherewith Christ hath made us free." The doctrinal is not advocated, but a change of heart ; an earnest appeal to love God and man, *'to put oiF the old man which is corrupt accord- ing to the flesh, and put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." In this last quotation we see an illustration of the new creation — the new man is created in righteousness and true holiness. Let us examine the sermon on the mount. I do not mean, examine each individual expres- sion ; each would require a sermon. I mean, examine the general tendency of the whole ; it will be found eminently practical. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are they that mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are the peace-makers, blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad. Ye are the salt of the earth ; ye are the light of the world." And then follows this remarkable expression : " A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid ; " so that these people who are THE TRUE CHURCH. 67 the salt of the earth, who are the light of the world, are likened to " a city set on an hill," as St. John has it, " The kings (the salt) of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it, and they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it." Of the like character of what I have quoted is the whole sermon. Herein our Lord teaches us how to pray. And what majesty, and simpli- city, and fulness, are found in this most beau- tiful of all beautiful prayers ! How comforting is it, after offering the prayers our own minds supply, to use this affecting, and touching, and heart-inspiring address. How does it fill our being by its amplitude ! and yet how simple ; and though so simple, yet so full and all- sufficient. And so with God's church. What majesty, what amplitude, and yet what simpli- city. All is unity, and that unity centred in the living God. I will conclude my remarks upon the Lord's sermon by quoting the latter part of it. "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit ; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Where- 68 THE TRUE CHURCH. fore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day. Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name ? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works ? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you : depart from me, ye that work iniquity." It is not, you will observe, those who do not believe this or that doctrine, but those "that work iniquity." " The dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." I cannot leave this part of my subject without making some remarks upon the Lord's prayer, as significant of the general tenor of our Lord's teaching. The first petition is that " God's name be hallow^ed." The next is that "his kingdom come ; " and then, " thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." These three petitions have reference to one and the same object — the exaltation of God's kingdom on earth ; that, as in heaven, so on earth, God should dwell supreme in every heart ; then would God's will be done on earth, his kingdom be established, and God's awful and holy name be hallowed THE TRUE CHUHCH. 69 here. And let me ask, What is God's will ? we are told, " Love God with all our heart and all our strength, and our neighbour as ourself." Then follow simple petitions for the necessities of our beings, finishing with a declaration that these petitions are put forth because " God's is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." Now does it not strike every heart that this petition so suitable to all, and so needful to all of every caste and every hue, is greatly opposed to the nice distinctions and the many barriers which man raises by his doctrinal dissensions, and to the varied ordinances of the many temporal churches? That a new heaven and new earth were to be the result of our Saviour's mission will, I think, be apparent, if we reflect upon the state of mankind when he entered upon his ministrv. I have before alluded to it, but it will not be amiss again to revert to it. Before his appear- ance in the likeness of man, God was only known to the Jews, and to them in a very im- perfect manner. As a God of love, and govern- ing by laws which are to raise man's being to an exaltation to fit him for the presence of Deity, they did not at all comprehend him. Now and then was raised up a favoured one ^ho understood this ; David, for ip<4+f»T><>o. wa? 70 THE TRUE CHURCH. raised above his fellows, and had clearer lights than were manifested to others. He had glimpses of the beauty of God's church, and God's laws ; but the great mass of the Jews were very ignorant of these things. And though they had been so lovingly dealt with, they were a stiff-necked people, proud of the distinction granted to them, and believing that holiness was shown in the observance of God's ordinances. Ordinances needful to them to mark them from surrounding heathen nations, and as the chosen of God, and proper by them to be observed. But herein they erred ; observance of ceremonies was mistaken for submission to God. The light which should have shone upon them, of God's purity and holiness, of his justice, his mercy, and his great loving-kindness, was feeble indeed. And this light had been altogether denied the heathen nations. They were sunk in the deepest gloom. They were surrounded by chaotic darkness. The light that was to lighten the world, when, in the language of St. John as also of Isaiah, the new earth and the new heavens were created, burst forth with bright splendour, but mankind have been long in discovering all its brightness ; it has been too bright for their darkened souls. THE TRUE CHURCH. 71 The tender love of Christ towards the chil- dren of the holy city is beautifully illustrated in his touching remark : "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children as a hen gather eth her chickens, but thou wouldest not." And though this was spoken of the material and earthly city, yet this city was typical of the heavenly Jerusalem. At the coming of our Saviour, the language of St. John the Baptist throws some light on the new creation : — " Eepent ye, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." He could not mean that the judgment for admission to heaven was at hand, but that the kingdom of heaven was about descending to man, and that its coming was close at hand. I think I have shown that the new Jerusalem describes the church, about which all the sacred writers are so full. That she is the only church that can lay claim to the pure and holy character assigned, "the church." It is true she is a church triumphant ; but she is a church triumphant on earth, and all are members who make God and the Lamb the centre of their hopes and joys, and who have purified themselves in the stream which ever flows out from God's throne. I have mentioned that this church had existence during the Jewish dispensation. That she gave birth 72 THE TEUE CHURCH. to many children when the new heaven and new earth were created at the calling of the Gentiles, and that she has been, and still is, preparing herself " to be adorned as a bride for her hus- band," in the enlarged character she has been and is gradually developing. I have proved this to be the church from the inspired writings, by the unity, purity, and holiness assigned to the church, and by the fact that she is distinctly stated therein to be the spouse of Christ and the Lamb. And I have shown that she has her abiding place on earth, that here is the chief sphere of her operations. After all that has been advanced in reference to this pure and holy church, will it be con- tended, or can it be with any show of truth, that any temporal church can come up to the character assigned her ? The claim is sacrilege ; the assumption of it criminal. That the church has been so fully and beautifully depicted at the close of the holy scriptures, has not been without design. God does nothing without a purpose ; and it may be that the delineation has been placed there, permanently throughout all ages, as a guide to bring back the misled temporal churches from their wanderings ; the majesty and simplicity of this being ever a model and guide. That THE TRUE CHURCH. 73 God and the Lamb seated on their throne in the midst, should be ever placed as the chief objects in every temporal church ; that they should ever be the living temple. And ordi- nances are not mentioned in St. John's descrip- tion ; that these, and temporal churches should be ever subsidiary. They should be only means to the great end. In the new creation is a new heaven and a new earth. Our earth is called the lower world; but is there not one vast world around, above, below ? and does not God inhabit all ? " If I climb up into heaven, thou art there ; if I go down into hell, thou art there ; if I take the wings of the morning and fly into the uttermost parts of the earth, even there art thou also." Heaven may have its abiding place on this globe, as likely as in other parts of the illimitable crea- tion. It is not place that makes the heaven, it is the presence of God ; and when he shines on the heart, every place is heaven. What more beautiful than this earth to the eye of sense ? And with a vision opened by an Almighty power to take in the whole of this beauteous scene, and with a soul fitted to grasp the infi- nite with the finite, how well could this portion of God's creation be made a heaven. And if amid God's works, celestial beings fill the E 7'4 THE TRUE CHURCH. ethereal space, why not dwell amid the motions and the bright path of this our own bright orb? This earth is filled with spiritual life ! Are we not all spiritual beings ? Does not each know himself to be a spirit ? Clogged and weighed down, it is true, by the flesh; but, united as each spirit is to the tenement that holds it, yet do we each, and all, know that we are spirits. Do not the wicked know what a hell the spirit here may dwell in ? And do not the rescued and the pure, by God's love made pure, out of the living stream from his throne, know what a heaven the spirit here may enjoy? Those who have passed from death unto life, can well this marvellous, this mighty, truth aver. These thoughts will help us to realize the new heaven and new earth, when the great change commenced from Judaism to Chris- tianity. May that change move onward in its mighty object until this earth shall be fitted as the abode of God, and his church reign here, " prepared as the bride adorned for her husband." If the sentiments here put forth are based on truth, what should practically result from them? The effects should be manifold. They should teach us that ceremonies are vain, and were abolished at the end of the first or Jewish dispensation ; that sacraments are secondary, or THE TRUE CHURCH. 75 helps to our weak natures ; and that God, the triune God, is all in all; and that man's regenera- tion can only be effected, and his image restored to the likeness in which it was created, by living to God, and by purifying ourselves in His blood, or, in other words, the blood of the Lamb, even as God is pure ; and that in the formation of every temporal church, an ap- proach to the simplicity and majesty of the true church should be made. I have said that it should teach us that ceremonies were abolished at the end of the Jewish dispensation. In that dispensation we know how many and how grievous were the ceremonies to be observed; how perpetual the sin-offerings, and the peace-offerings, and the washings, and the purifyings. The whole typical of that future dispensation, when these should not be needed ; man's nature hereafter being purified by an all-sufficient Sacrifice, and man being taught that purity consisted in the absence of evil. But may we not now, as of old, set up propitiatory sacrifices, and God be well-nigh forgotten ? The prophets pointed out how sinful the Jewish people were in this res- pect ; Isaiah and David, especially, reproved them on this account. How much were these holy men in advance of the people among whom E 2 76 THE TRUE CHURCH. they lived. Taught as they were by the Holy Spirit, how continually do we find them reprov- ing in language such as this — " Bring me no more vain oblations, incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with ; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me ? saith the Lord. I am full of the burnt- offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts, and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or ot lambs, or of he-goats." Thus Isaiah: and so David, — "I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy folds : for every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains ; and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer unto God thanks- giving ; and pay thy vows unto the Most High : and call upon me in the day of trouble ; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." There is no dread that in the present day, these sacrifices will be literally offered, but let us take care and avoid the Judaic sin of over- estimating our offerings. THE TUUE CHURCH. 7t We are more or less, all of us, the creatures of prejudice, arising from misconceptions and the false views we take of the opinions of others. In trifles, or matters of almost indifference, we may well be tolerant, and look with a gracious eye upon that which our individual taste, or temper, may reject. In essentials it is other- wise. But do not let us mistake trifles for essentials. Essentials are few. The undivided sovereignty of God — the God of varied attri- butes—God the Creator, God the Redeemer, and God the Sanctifier, — that wonderful and mysterious Being, the triune Jehovah ; — the innate corruption of man, and the need man has of the influence upon his soul of this divine Being ; without this aid, man is utterly and totally incompetent to the regeneration of his corrupt nature ; — that God, for the aid of man's weak nature, appointed two ordinances, and these addressed to his senses as visible, to effect a spi- ritual object — the total relinquishment of self to God, in perfect submission to his divine will, that we may be made new creatures after the like- ness of the loving and gracious God who made us. The two ordinances or sacraments, as appointed, are to be observed; but to be ob- served only as subordinate to the great end to be obtained — the regeneration of man. That 78 THE TRUE CHURCH. as appointed means they will always be valued. Baptism as an outward or visible sign of intro- duction to a Christian community. Baptism may or may not confer a grace. Much will depend whether it be " of John's or whether it be of God's baptism ; " and this expression helps us to discover the vast difference between the ceremony and the reality, between what is the sprinkling of water which is the type, and the sprinkling of the Spirit which is the reality. And so this difference holds good, with regard to the difference between the introduction to a professing Christian community, and the intro- duction to God's church. The ordinance of the eucharist, or the communion of the blood of Jesus, " This do in remembrance of me," is the needful spiritual food, and without it we cannot hope to be sustained in spiritual strength. That a perfect temporal church will be ever set up, I do not think. There mingles with all temporal churches, too much of the grosser constituents of our being. When the true church is really adorned as a bride, she may be represented in visible form as a distinct commu- nity ; not that she is not now represented, but her members are not now so palpable to each other as they may become. It is certain, not one of the many national churches approach in THE TRUE CHURCH. 79 likeness thereto. The majesty , and beauty, and purity, and simplicity of this church, find no parallel among the many standards set up. Visible to the eye of sense, she does not exist ; visible to the eye of faith she does exist; and every true and earnest Christian who looks to God and the Lamb as his light and life, lives within the walls thereof. And God has de- clared that he will be a wall of fire round about her. He not only dwells within her, but she is encircled by his bright presence. She is catholic; her height, and her depth, and her width are equal. She has admission with equal facility from every part. On each side she has an equal number of gates, and these are open night and day ; that not the darkest night, or rudest day, when the storms of life rage highest, but admission can be had — and that to the inhabitants of every clime, — to the African burning beneath the fervid heat of a tropical sun, and to the Laplander wrapped in his furs to shut out the biting cold of polar regions. I have said, it is probable no temporal church will be perfect. It may be well to aim at per- fection ; and the only possible chance is in the simplicity and purity that mark the great model. The fewer points insisted on, the fewer 80 THE TRUE CHURCH. matters for disscDsion ; and be sure, if man has to rake up obscure reasons for a practice or an observance, it is best thrust out. Our Lord has instituted two sacraments, and I know of none other essential to form temporal church membership. Let all earnestly seek to be of the true church — citizens of the holy city, whether they be within the pale of the established or any independent church. Do not think that the removal from one temporal church to another will advance our steps towards the true church; in all may be found the way thither. I do not say to every member of a temporal church, "seek not to touch the abuses and flagrant faults into which any church may have fallen ; " to leave them untouched, they may remain as stumbling-blocks on the road to the brighter and better church. The temporal churches, like all temporal matters, need constant vigi- lance exercised about them, to keep them bright and fit for use. There is one other matter connected with this subject ; it is the promised restoration of the Jews to their own land. This I believe to be the land to which they are to be restored — this the city they are again to inhabit — this the Jerusalem whose walls shall encircle them ; THE TRUE CHURCH. 81 and that will be, when they shall recognize the Lamb in his glory — when they shall be content to wash and purify themselves in his blood, and cast to the winds their present vain oblations and purifyings. That period is probably not far distant. There is a gleam of light in the horizon. The Jews are not so hedged in by their prejudices as they were ; and the less they are persecuted, the more freely will they come out of them, and the more earnestly inquire into the truth of the Christian faith. And when they have recognized their Saviour, then will that awful and fatal curse, their own imprecations brought upon them, be removed — "His blood be upon us and upon our children;" and then may they hope to be restored to the land of their inheritance, — the land they for- feited by their forgetfulness of God. I proceed to treat separately the subject of the Jewish return. £ 5 82 THE TRUE CHURCH. PART 11. THE JEWS' RETURN TO THEIR OWN LAND. In treating of the Jews' return to their own land, it will be well to bear in mind, that one whole scheme pervades the holy scriptures. From the first chapter of Genesis to the last of Revelation, one entire plan prevails. From Adam's transgression to the setting up the holy city, the bride adorned, one object is kept in view — the setting up God's kingdom upon earth. To arrive at an understanding of any portion of God's word it is well to perceive and to remember this, as the knowledge of it sometimes helps to remove a difficulty. Every part bears relation to the whole, and the end is, to teach a knowledge of God, that love and veneration may be excited in his creatures, that he may reign supreme, all in all, the God of the whole earth. One" comprehensive whole occupies the Old and the New Testaments. It is a continuous history of the consequences of the fall of man. THE TRUE CHURCH. 83 and his estrangement thereby from his God : — of the continuous means employed to bring him back into re-communion. The historical parts bear upon these means ; and the prophet- ical especially. In things material and sensible, are made manifest things spiritual. In all the teachings, spiritual ends are indicated ; and the whole is summed up in the closing labour of the Holy Spirit, in a description of the intimate union and communion of God with his people. So much of the history of the earlier families of man is given, as is needful to convey an un- derstanding of the scheme, and as needful to illustrate God's purpose. We have a rapid sketch of the consequences of Adam's transgres- sion. We find the earth soon after divided be- tween the sons of God and the sons of men ; — the sons of God, the descendants of Seth ; the sons of men, the descendants of Cain. " And the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair ; and they took them wives of all which they chose." And thus the races were minorled, until the earth was filled with wicked- ness, and not a just man was to be found but Noah and his family. And God destroyed man from the face of the earth, excepting only this just family. We read after that Noah builded an altar 84 THE TRUE CHURCH. unto the Lord; "And the Lord smelled a sweet savour : and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake ; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth ; neither will I again smite any more every living thing as I have done." We then have a sketch of the descendants of Noah, and of those who would be a blessing upon earth, and of those who would be a curse upon it. And it is especially needful to keep in mind those descendants ; because the sacred writers employ their names to convey a mean- ing, sometimes literal, but more frequently symbolical. And if we do not refer to Moses's description of these descendants, we shall be at a loss oftentimes to understand the meaning sought to be conveyed. God, agreeably to the promise made in his heart, that he would not again curse the earth for man's sake, set up the scheme to make man holy, and pure, and upright. This scheme, as I have said, pervades every part of scripture; the narrative, and the descriptive, and the prophetical, are all linked thereto. From the period of the above declaration, and from the time of the promised blessing to faithful Abra- ham, in whom all the nations of the earth THE TRUE CHURCH. 85 should be blessed, to the closing period of the Holy Spirit's teaching, the scriptures have but one end ; and this end is, as most beautifully set up in the magnificent figure at the close of the sacred writings, to exhibit God's power and purity, and to teach to man his participa- tion therein, by admission to God's presence, and by a permitted intimate communion with God. This scheme, so comprehensive, ranging through long periods of time, through many successive ages, it was needful to carry out by dealing with things material and sensible, in order to speak through them to the darkened minds of sunken men. Mankind became so early corrupt, and so removed from God, that they could not be made sensible of God's pre- sence and God's providence, but by things affecting their outward senses. It is true that with a few favoured ones God held direct communion, and opened their souls to a per- ception of God's purity and truth ; but the great mass, and especially the heathen mass, the worshippers of stocks and stones, could only perceive the finger of the true God, by his dealings and his ways with man. And in order to mark distinctly that there was a God overruling events, he blessed those who 86 THE TRUE CHURCH. honoured him, and those who would not he punished. In nations this was especially marked, and in individuals frequently. The object of this was to teach the knowledge of a true God, from the many false gods. A providence affecting individuals is not always apparent, not palpable. "The sun shines on the just and on the unjust;" and to the human eye, the wicked and the good fare alike. But in dealing with nations, God could make him- self known in the visible effects which flowed from his interpositions ; whole masses were moved and acted upon, as he directed. And the favoured nation was placed pre-eminently before the gaze of the whole earth ; and God made himself known through them, to the surrounding God-hating nations, and through- out all succeeding generations, to the whole earth. To know the true God was to be of Israel ! And this has been the state of things, from the time of Jacob, who was no more to be called Jacob but Israel, unto the present time. " Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him. Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments." For this act, and in accordance with the promised blessing to Abraham, and to THE TRUE CHURCH. 87 Isaac, God blessed Jacob. "And God said unto him, I am God Ahnigbty; be fruitful, and multiply: a nation, and a company of nations, shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins ; and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land." God dealt with the Jewish people in address- ing their senses, and in obtaining obedience by visible and sensible observances. But it is not difficult to discover, that these were typical of a higher and better order of things. These typical foreshado wings have now passed away these 1,800 years, and it is not God's purpose to return to them. Jerusalem was as a city compact in itself, and seated on the earth in proud pre-eminence ; and this foreshadowed the heavenly Jerusalem, that is destined to be seated pre-eminently upon the earth. As many ages passed away in the Jewish polity, before the majestic city rose into greatness ; so in the Christian, the heavenly city has not yet risen in all her fair proportions. But she will rise in majestic splendour; and w^hen Israel has the reality, he need not seek a return to the shadow — he need not look to act over again the type, when he has its fulfilment. The heavenly Jerusalem then, as I have 88 THE TETJE CHURCH. before stated, is the city to which the Jews are to be restored ; it is the city seated in the midst of the promised holy land, in which they will be reinstated. It is generally believed by Christians, as well as by Jews, that the Jewish people will inhabit, as a political body, the earthly city, Jerusalem ; that they will flow there from all parts of the earth, and will there form a distinct nation ; and as a distinct nation, it is declared, in a late publication, they will exhibit the spectacle of a whole nation of believers. It is said at the close of a sermon upon this subject, " He (God) will take a saved nation, the Jews, the first that ever will be saved as a nation. There is no such thing now as a saved nation, nor ever has been ; though there are, and have been nations called by the Saviour's name. The first nation that shall ever appear upon the face of the earth, of whom it can be truly said they all know and love the Lord from the least unto the greatest, will be the restored Jewish nation." I humbly conceive this opinion to be wrong ; the writer has fallen into this error from not appreciating the character of the new Jerusalem. In the dark ages, when the Bible was seldom if ever read, the restoration of the Jews was a THE TRUE CHURCH. 89 thing unthought of; they were a persecuted, degraded, and fallen people. In our time there is no dispute about their restoration ; the question now is, the mode of their restoration. The many expressions in the prophets, with regard to their promised return, are sometimes very strong, and, understood literally, would lead to the conclusion that the Jews are to return to the land of their forefathers — the land literally possessed by them. Of such is the language in Jeremiah, chap. xxx. 3, " For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord ; and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it." The prophecies upon this subject were writ- ten previously to, and during, the captivity of the Jewish people to the Babylonians; and their return to their own land was predicted to be literally fulfilled, and was fulfilled by their return to, and by the rebuilding of the famous city. But these prophecies, as applied to the present dispersion of the Jews, do not mean their literal fulfilment, and this will be gathered from the evidence that will be put forth. Their return at that period was typical of their future return. But as in all the types of 90 THE TRUE CHURCH. a future, the types are not reacted; so with this type, it will not be reacted, but reacted again only in that for which it stood, a some- thing higher and better which shall follows Whenever the strong expressions alluded to are used to denote their return, they must be taken figuratively and not literally. Their own land is the land promised to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; and of which land, the land flowing with milk and honey, many of the descendants of the Jewish race are now possessed, — the Israelites who accepted the proffered aid of a Saviour to instal them therein. I now proceed to give the evidence upon which I found my opinion, that the Jews' return to their own land is a return to the new Jerusalem, which is seated in the midst of the Holy Land. I will first refer to the predictions of Isaiah, in the 59tli and 60th chapters. I do so, be- cause the writer I have before alluded to, founds his arguments upon these chapters. These chapters do not predict the return of the Jews especially, but the glory of the church in its exaltation, by the accession thereto of Jew and Gentile. The 59th chapter opens with severe remarks THE TRUE CHUECH. 91 upon the nature of sin, and the effect conse- quent thereon, — the darkness and desolation which reigns, and removal thereby of man from the presence of God. " In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceivino' and utterino- from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away back- ward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter." And God was displeased that there was no judg- ment. " And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor." And God promises a change, and to lift up a standard against his enemies : " And the Ke- deemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord ; My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever." In these last words God makes a covenant, that the standard set up shall never depart, and we learn what this standard is — " the Redeemer shall come to Zion," who puts on, it is said in a 92 THE TRUE CHURCH. previous verse, " righteousness as a breast- plate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head." The next chapter opens, " Arise, shine ; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." That this is spoken of Zion, or the holy city, I think will not be doubted. And this, as I shall presently show, will more distinctly appear. The writer I have alluded to, however? believes it to have reference to the Jewish peo- ple. He says, " Then, to leave it as little am- biguous as possible, that it is the Jewish nation which is thus addressed, Isaiah adds, ' And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.' " That it is not the Jewish nation Isaiah refers to, I think very plain ; it is the nation of whom Christ is the head, and into this nation all people and tongues shall flow. That the whole 60th chapter of Isaiah refers to the Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, there is not a doubt. Much of it runs in parallel lan- guage with the description of St. John's holy THE TRUE CHURCH. 93 city. Isaiah writes, " Therefore thy gates shall be open continually, they shall not be shut day or night." St. John writes, " And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day : for there shall be no night there." Isaiah, " For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish ; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted." St. John, " And the nations of them which are saved shaU walk in the light of it." What a commentary upon this prediction is presented at the present moment. Isaiah fur- ther writes : " Violence shall be no more heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders ; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise." St. John says, " And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither sor- row nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain." Isaiah, to complete the similitude, writes, " The sun shall be no more thy light by day ; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee : but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory." St. John fills up the parallelism ; " And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it : for the glory did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" Seeing the simili- tude that runs through the two portions of 94 THE TRUE CHUECH. scripture referred to, I think it will be agreed, that Isaiah is not speaking of the Jewish peo- ple, as a separate and distinct people, but of Zion, to which Jew and Gentile are alike called. That the whole 60th chapter of Isaiah predicts, and is beautifully descriptive of, an advanced condition of the people of God is plain. While surrounding "darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peo- ple the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." This language has reference to the restoration of the Jews, inasmuch as their return to the land of their forefathers, the faithful Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, through whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed, is to be, in that period of time, predicted again and again, when the glorious ushering in of the prosperity of the church, or Zion shall be. The Jews are to be instrumental in promoting this prosperity. The sons and daughters of Zion are to be nursed at her side. And who are the sons and daughters of Zion? Are not the descendants of Israel, the twelve tribes? and, especially, are not the children of the two tribes of Judah and Joseph ? THE TRUE CHUUCir. 95 And it is said of the sons and daughters of Israel, that they shall see and flow together. And it will be found from other parts of scripture which I shall hereafter bring forward, that when this bright rising of Zion comes, and her sons and daughters do see and recognize her true character, that both Christian and Jew shall flow together and be as one nation. And this glorious exaltation of the church shall not alone be manifest to Christian and to Jew, but many of the Gentile world shall see her light. And she shall be enlarged by their admission to her : " The abundance of the sea shall be converted unto her, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto her." Her progressive improvement is most beauti- fully depicted, and the multitude of people and nations that shall minister unto her. And the isles afar ofi* are to wait for God ; and the sons of strangers are to build up her walls, and kings to minister unto her. God in his wrath smote her, and she has been a long time desolate, but soon she is to be restored to God's favour, and he will have mercy upon her. " And her gates shall be open continually, that men may bring the Gentiles into her ; for the nation and kingdom that will not serve her shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted." 96 THE TEUE CHURCH. That God has a more extended and compre- hensive scheme than the exaltation of the Jewish people alone, is apparent from the 13th verse : " The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary ; and I will make the place of my feet glorious." The one kind of tree alone is not enough, but the glory of the exalted mountain, Lebanon, and the trees of varied kinds, are to beautify the place of God's sanctuary. God will have the several nations and people, of whom these are emblems, to make the place of his feet glorious. The sons also of them that afflicted her are to come bending unto her ; and all that dispersed her shall bow themselves to the soles of her feet, and she shall be called by them, " The city of the Lord, the Zion of the holy one of Israel." The days of her mourning are then to be ended, and " her people shall be all righteous ; they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation; I the Lord will hasten it in his time." I would remark upon one expression in this last quotation, — "They shall inherit the land for ever." We see here that the people of THE TRUE CHURCH. 97 Zion shall inherit the land for ever. We need not doubt which land, and we see the people of Zion inherit the land. I have shown before who are the people of Zion. That the whole of the latter part of this chapter is descriptive of the advancement of God's people on earth, and not alone of the restored Jewish people, is plain, not only from what has been said, but from the succeeding chapters. The prophet continues the same strain throughout them. And the prominent feature of the whole is, the establish- ing of Zion. " I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night; ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence ; and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." Having produced this small amount of evidence from Isaiah, and it is not a tithe of what may be found there, I proceed to the prophet Ezekiel. I do so, because he more clearly sets forth the subject of the Jews' return, and the character of their final return. Ezekiel has predicted the restoration of the Jews, and he has shown their union with Christians under the symbol of the two sticks. From this may be gathered the character of their restoration ; that it is not the gathering F 98 THE TRUE CHURCH. to an earthly city, but the gathering to the holy city. For it is plain, that if there be a gathering unitedly of Christians and Jews to Jerusalem, it must mean the new Jerusalem. The united body now would fill nearly half the earth. And it is foretold of Jerusalem, meaning the new Jerusalem, that when the period of her pros- perity comes, the abundance of the Gentiles shall flow into her. So that at this time, when it shall arrive, her sons and daughters will be very numerous — so numerous as to render it a physical impossibility for the eartlily city to contain them — besides, it is nowhere predicted that the Christians flow to the earthly city. Ezekiel, in the 37th chapter, writes, " More- over, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it. For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it. For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions." The term Israel denotes the whole descendants of Jacob, who were the ten tribes. Of these some were accepted, some rejected; some were the favoured of God, some the repulsed by God. We find here that one stick is for Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions ; and the other stick for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions. THE TUUE CHURCH. 99 If we turn to the 49th chapter of Genesis, we may read the account of the sons of Jacob, and we shall find what is said of Judah, and what of Joseph. When Jacob calls his sons, the heads of the twelve tribes, together, to bless them before he dies, he tells what shall befall each. We read of " Judab, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise : thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies : thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion ; who shall rouse him up ? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Judah therefore was placed at the head of the twelve tribes, and his seed were to rule until " Shiloh come." At the coming of Shiloh, or the Saviour, Judah represented the Jewish authority, and by him and his followers was the Saviour rejected and crucified. Judah and his stick represent the Jewish nation. Of Joseph we read ; " Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well ; whose branches run over the wall. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated p 2 100 THE TRUE CHURCH. him ; but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob : (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee : and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb ; the blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors, unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills : they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren." How full a blessing ! And this promise of great blessings to Joseph sufficiently shows who are meant by Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and the house of Israel his companions. This distinction is still more marked by Ezekiel, in writing "for Joseph the stick of Ephraim." If we turn to the 48th chapter of Genesis, we shaU find that Jacob would bless Ephraim, the younger son of Joseph, in blessings greater than to Manasseh the elder brother. " And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to THE TRUE CHURCH. 101 remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father : for this is the first-born ; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it : he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great ; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations." We know how this bless- ing to the younger son of Joseph has been fulfilled. We see then, the symbol of the two sticks employed by Ezekiel refers distinctly and un- equivocally to the Jewish people, and the people who are blessed through Ephraim the son of Joseph — the Christian people. It is predicted of these two sticks that they shall be joined together. " Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows ; and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand." Here then is a plain prediction of a common bond of unity. How can we think, after this, that the Jews are to be raised above their fellows ? They will be raised above the heathen people, but only in common with all 102 THE TEUE CHURCH, Christian people, to whom the blessings of Zion are alike promised. The chapter of Ezekiel under consideration, is very conclusive upon the subject of the Jewish return, and I shall therefore examine it more in detail. Before I do so, I will observe that in the prophetical writings, wherever the expression is used, " to their own land," and applied to the state of things since the introduction of Chris- tianity, it is a figure to express the return to the land promised to Jacob, "through whom the nations of the earth should be blessed, and whose seed should possess the land for an ever- lasting possession." * And this promise is to be fulfilled in the posterity of Jacob, in the line of Joseph through Ephraim, and in Judah, the once favoured posterity of Jacob, and again to be restored favourites of God. It is said of Jacob's seed, that they should possess the land for an everlasting possession. Now, if it were meant that this prediction was to be literally fulfilled, history gives the lie to it ; the land of Canaan and the whole of the holy land has been wrested from the hands of these descendants, the seed of Jacob, for these many centuries. We see then, that its literal * Gen. xlviii. 4. THE TRUE CHURCH. 103 fulfilment is not meant. But the land of Canaan was a symbol only of the better land, the more holy land ; and this is the land the seed of Jacob has possessed ; and this is the land to which the tribe of Judah shall be restored. Let us return to the 38th chapter of Ezekiel. The prophet begins this chapter by a descrip- tion of the condition of the people Israel, under the symbol of the valley full of bones, thereby portraying the death-like condition of the people Israel. This is not descriptive alone of the Jews. It is said, these bones represent " the whole house of Israel." Now the whole house of Israel is the people, the descendants of Israel or Jacob ; and these comprise the Chris- tian as well as the Jewish people ; and these are represented as "very many in the open valley, and lo! they were very dry." Thus showing their unclothed condition. " And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live ? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me. Prophesy upon these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live." The breath of life is to be breathed into them. " And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put 104 THE TRUE CHUECH. breath into you, and ye shall live." A great change is to come over them ; from a state representing death they are to be raised to a state representing life, fronj being naked they are to be clothed in knowledge and righteous- ness. ^^And ye shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded ; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone." I have something to remark upon "the noise, and behold a shaking." Before I do so, it will be well to remark that these dry bones represent not only Judah and his companions, but also Joseph in Ephraim, and his companions, that is, the Jewish people who openly reject; and the professing Christian people, who not openly but secretly reject Christ; these together form the dry bones ; for in a subsequent verse we are told, " these bones are the whole house of Israel ; " understanding therefore, the bones to represent the posterity of Judah and of Joseph who reject Christ, we may understand what is meant by the words, " and there was a noise, and behold a shaking." They may portray, as I believe they do, the inquiries, the discussions, and the excited interest, which are likely to usher in the glorious period of Christ's millennial THE TRUE CHURCH. 105 reign in his church, when she shall flourish, " and Satan shall be bound that he deceive the nations no more." And this is the probable period when the Jews shall begin one by one to return to Zion, the place of their birthright. " And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them." They put on the appearance of life, but it was not in them. " Then said he unto me. Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind. Thus saith the Lord God : Come from the four winds, O breath," (that is, the breath of the Spirit is to come from the four winds, or from all sides,) "and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophe- sied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army." Whereas before they were dead, so now are they made alive by the breath of life. " Then he said unto me. Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel : behold, they say. Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost : we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I wiU open your graves, and cause you to come up out of F 5 106 THE TRUE CHURCH. your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel." The coming out of their graves is not that they shall rise in their reclad forms, in their bodies from the graves, the resting-place of man's corporeal being ; but they shall rise from their graves to which their death-like condition had committed them, and they shall be brought in restored life to the land of Israel, the land of their inheritance. " And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land : then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord." It is here very palpable, that the placing them in their own land is the result of the breath of life being breathed into them, and being thereby raised from their death-like state ; and God's Spirit being put in them, and they live, that they are restored to their own land. That this land is not the land on which stands the earthly city, Jerusalem, is plain, because it is promised not only to Judah and his companions, but likewise to Joseph and his companions — Jew and Christian, when God's Spirit shall be breathed into them. No one thinks that Christians will flow from all parts of the earth to the material city. THE TRUE CHURCH. 107 " The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, moreover thou son of man, take thee one stick and write upon it. For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions; then take another stick and write upon it. For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions, and join them one to another; and they shall become one in thine hand." The two favoured tribes of Judah and Jo- seph, who are to be united, and to possess together the promised land, we shall find, if we refer to the type of this promise, and which type was exhibited when the Israelites were promised and put into possession of the land of Canaan, were the only tribes whose leaders report favourably of the land. When Moses sent, as he was ordered to do, a leader from each tribe to search the land, the leaders of these two tribes alone made a favourable report. The leaders of the other tribes occasioned their people to murmur,* and "those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord." The type of the promised possession to the children of Israel, the companions of Judah and Joseph, of the land flowing with milk and * Num. xiv. 37. 108 THE TRUE CHURCH. honey^ is so instructive, we shall do well to examine it. It will be found in Numbers, ISth and 14tli chapters. "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying. Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel : of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them." The twelve of whom we have a description are sent agreeably to God's direction, and it is stated that they report on their return — " We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey. Never- theless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great ; and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south : and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amo- rites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said. Let us go up at once and possess it ; for we are well able to overcome it." Caleb is the first to raise his voice in favour of taking pos- session of the land. Caleb we are told, in Num. xiii. 6, was " the son of Jephunneh of the tribe of Judah," in whom the sceptre was till Shiloh came. THE TRUE CHURCH. 109 The narrative proceeds — " But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched (how typi- cal of scoiFers, and see the result — these evil reporters die of the plague) unto the children of Israel, saying. The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; (in the present day the inhabitants are reported as eaten up by the land, consumed and overwhelmed by gloom ;) and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature." We read further, that the people rebelled against Moses. " Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes : and they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying. The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land ; for they are bread for us." no THE TRUE CHURCH. These two, Joshua and Caleb, only of all the twelve who are sent to search the land^ report favourably, and urge the people to confidence in God's promise. We have seen who Caleb was; let us inquire who was Joshua. In Num. xiii. 8, we find that Joshua, or, as he is there called, Oshea the son of Nun, was of the tribe of Ephraim. We find then that these two only, the lead- ers of the two favoured tribes, and to which tribes great future blessings are promised, alone report favourably of the land, and alone have confidence in God. The others we are told shortly afterward, " died by the plague before the Lord. But Joshua the son of Nun, and Ca- leb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still." It was granted to them to live, the others perished. In this we see another type of the future. In this history of the children of Israel we see the type which shall have its fulfilment in the future union of a common belief between these two tribes. There is a portion of this history likewise typical of the progress of the Christian church. We find that the people murmured and had no confidence in God, and God threatens them, and says, "Doubtless, ye shall not come into THE TRUE CHURCH. Ill the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Je- phunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness."* So it has been for ages past. The descendants of Israel to whom the Christian land was pro- mised and to whom it has been offered, have despised the proffered land, but their children shall possess it. Let us return to Ezekiel. We have seen that the two sticks are united, and they " make one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand." The prophet then writes, " Thus saith the Lord God; Behold I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land : and I wiU make them one nation in the land." Now what can this mean, seeing the two sticks are to be united, and we are told they shall make one nation? We have seen whom these two sticks represent ; — the tribe^ of Judah or the Jewish people, and the tribe of Joseph or the Christian people. If the tribe of Judah go to • Num. xiv. 30. 112 THE TEUE CHURCH. the earthly city Jerusalem, so likewise will the tribe of Joseph, " For they shall be one in mine hand." That the tribe of Joseph will, no one thinks. This tribe, or a portion of this tribe has been for 1800 years enjoying the land flowing with milk and honey, as was promised they should, when Jacob or Israel blessed the sons of Joseph, and said of Ephraim, that he should be greater than his brother Manasseh. *' And his seed shall become a multitude of nations. And he blessed that day, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh ; and he set Ephraim before Manasseh, and Israel said unto Joseph, Behold I die : but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers." This promise has been ful- filled in the seed of Ephraim being put in pos- session of the better land. The great mistake of the middle ages was fighting for a spot of the insensate earth. The mistake has not yet fled the minds of Christian men. Ezekiel proceeds : " And I wiU make them (the people of Judah and the people of Joseph) one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel ; and one king shall be king to them all, neither shall they be divided into two king- doms any more at all." That the Jews are not THE TEUE CHURCH. 113 to reign supreme as a nation at Jerusalem, as is supposed by some, is very plain from this last quotation: " Neither shall they defile them- selves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their trans- gressions : but I will save them out of all their dwelling-places," (they need not remove from them,) " wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them : so shall they be my people, and I will be their God." Remark especially the last expression, " So shall they be my people." It is not said, when they come to the knowledge of the Saviour, or when they remove to their own land, though undoubtedly these will be the means, that is, they will come to a knowledge of Jesus, and so remove into the land of which he is King. But they are to defile themselves no longer with idols, or vain oblations, nor with transgressions, wherein they sin, and God will save and cleanse them, and so shall they be his people, " And David my servant shall be king over them ; and they all shall have one shepherd; they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes to do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt ; and they shall dwell therein, even they and their 114 THE TRUE CHURCH. children, and their children's children, for ever : and my servant David shall be their prince for ever." " They shall dwell in the land I have given unto Jacob my servant." Now what was the land given unto Jacob ? Let us turn to the history of Jacob. In the 35th chapter of Genesis we read, " And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there ; and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him. Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your gar- ments : and let us arise, and go up to Bethel ; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their ear- rings which were in their ears ; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, (that is, Bethel,) he, and all the people that were with him. And he built THE TRUE CHUECH. 115 there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el ; because there God appeared unto him when he fled from the face of his brother." The place is called El-beth-el, because God appeared there unto Jacob ; the land is marked especially by this fact, that God appeared there. Now this is the distinctive character of the holy Jerusalem, that God appears there ; his throne is in the midst, and it is he alone gives light and life to the whole city. "And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him. And God said unto him. Thy name is Jacob : thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name : and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty : be fruitful and multiply ; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins ; and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land." The seed of Israel, who were to be a company of nations, could not possess literally the land — could not possess the spot of earth on which the altar at El-beth-el was raised, or that portion around the altar to which the name Bethel was given ; or the land ffiven to Abraham and Isaac. We see then, 116 THE TEUE CHURCH. that this promise to the seed of Israel, was a prophetical blessing of good things to many- nations in after generations ; and the land they were to possess was the land of God, the blessed land wherein is the throne of Grod, and of which land " God is the temple." I hold what is stated in this last paragraph, to be demonstrative of the character of the Jewish return to their own land. We see the land is promised to many nations, and if the land whereon the altar stood at Bethel be literally to be held by many nations, a difficulty, nay an impossibility, occurs, and the whole is fraught with perplexity; but when we recog- nize the land bestowed upon the posterity of Jacob to be typical or figurative of the land to be bestowed upon the many nations, then we arrive at a clear conception of God's promise, and we discern at once, that the many nations, the Jews forming a part of the people of the many nations, are to possess the land of inesti- mable riches, the land which God gives to all his faithful followers. The land which the seed of Israel is to possess is the land which God gave to Abraham and to Isaac. If we turn to the lYth chapter of Genesis, we shall find, "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord THE TRUE CHURCH. 117 appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God ; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face : and God talked with him, saying. As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham ; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will estab- lish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an ever- lasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession ; and I will be their God." This land was not only given to Abraham and his immediate descendants, but to his seed's seed, who were to be many nations, and they were to possess it "for an everlasting posses- sion." This promise has been generally held to be fulfilled in the nations who through Joseph, have claimed descent from Abraham, 118 THE TEUE CHTTRCH. and whom the son of Joseph has ruled over. If this be not a right interpretation of the promise, then has the promise not been fulfilled ; they alone have held, and will hold, the land for an everlasting possession. That this is a right interpretation is certain, or otherwise God is made a liar. That it was not meant that the descendants of Abraham or Isaac should literally possess the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, is now become matter of fact, because they have long since ceased to hold the literal possession ; their former possession was only emblematical of their present possession — the present pos- session we know what it is, and this the Jews are destined to share in. There is a thought suggests itself, as to who are the descendants of Abraham ? I mean, the descendants contemplated; the descendants to whom the blessing is promised. It cannot be, that the promise is limited to the descendants who have proceeded from Abraham's loins. This was an opinion held by the apostles, until Peter was told in a dream, "what God hath cleansed that call not thou common;"* we know from that period that people out of all nations and tongues are to possess the land ; and we * Acts X. 15. THE TRUE CHURCH. 119 know that men of every hue are now brought there; what then constitutes the parentage of Abraham ? was it not his faith ? was it not this which constitutes in Jacob likewise the paren- tage over the present people of God ? Let us return again to Ezekiel. The latter part of Ezekiel's writings bears great similitude to the latter part of St. John's vision, or Revelation. We have in both, a description of the holy city, and, in essentials they are alike ; they differ in the description, but only as Jewish ceremonials and Christian simplicity diifer ; they are alike in having three gates on either side, and the gates are appor- tioned each to one of the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel ; and the essen- tial characteristic of the holy city in St. John is found in the holy city of Ezekiel, "The Lord is there." The land around this city is to be appor- tioned to the tribes of Israel ; and it is said Joseph shall have two portions, "And ye shall inherit it one as well as another; concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers : and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance."* And afterward, in accordance with the promise that aU nations and tongues * Ezek. xlvii. 14. 120 THE TRUE CHURCH. should dwell in this land, the vision of Ezekiel continues, " And it shall come to pass that ye shall divide it hj lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel ; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance." There are three facts connected with the description I would call attention to. The first is, "Joseph shall have two portions." The second is, " That strangers who beget children among you shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel." The third is, " That in what tribe the stranger so- journeth, there shall ye give him his inherit- ance." Are not the whole of these predictions literally fulfilled in the Christian economy? And do not the two latter illustrate what I have said with regard to who are the descend- ants of Abraham? They likewise illustrate in a forcible manner which is the country of the children of Israel, for strangers and their child- ren, the Gentiles, receive here inheritance with the children of Israel. If the country to be THE TEUE CHURCH. 121 possessed by all these, the whole body of Jew and Gentile Christians, be that immediately around the old city Jerusalem, an insurmount- able difficulty presents itself, but the land of the new Jerusalem exhibits an extent of surface that removes every difficulty. And by assign- ins; the new Jerusalem to be the land of their inheritance, we come to a clear and definite comprehension of the prophet's meaning. That this is the country admits of no doubt. In the 47th chapter, from which I have quoted, is a lively description of the water of life; and very significant the description is of the progress of the church. The man with a mea- suring line, on measuring a thousand cubits, the waters are to the ankles; on measuring another thousand cubits, the waters are to the knees; on measuring another thousand, the waters are to the loins; on measuring another thousand, the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. "And he (the man) said unto me, (Ezekiel,) Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. Now, when I had returned, behold, at the brink of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward 122 THE TRUE CHTJBCH, the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea ; which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live ; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these .waters shall come thither : for they shall be healed ; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh." In conformity with the vision, the waters have issued out toward the east country, and have gone into the desert, and into the sea, the sea, as I have before shown, standing as a sym- bol for the heathen. The waters have not yet, however, swollen into a mighty river that can- not be passed over ; the heathen waters, or the waters of the sea, are not yet healed.* The whole vision of Ezekiel has reference, and affinity, to the vision of St. John. And the land spoken of by Ezekiel, to be appor- tioned to the twelve tribes, is the land within the holy city, the new Jerusalem. And the land he has mentioned in the opening part of his vision, in the 2nd verse of the 40th chapter, can refer only to the holy land of the holy city. The verse runs thus, " In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set THE TRUE CHURCH. 123 me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south." This city is no other than the holy city; and the land spoken of, the land of Israel, is no other than the land in which the holy city, the new Jeru- salem, is seated. Can it be doubted to which land the Jews are to return ? Before I leave this portion of scripture, I can- not but make a passing remark upon the last verse. " It was round about eighteen thousand measures : and the name of the city from that day shaU be. The Lord is there." From that day " the name of the city shall be. The Lord is there." From what day ? Is there any other clue to what day unless it be the eighteen thousand measures? May not, and do not these measures declare a prophetical period when this city shall be known as, " The Lord is there?" Ezekiel, immediately before the description of the city in chap, xxxix. 27, predicts the return of the Jews — "When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations, then shall they know that I am the Lord their God which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen : but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of g2. 124 THE TEUE CHUECH. them any more there. Neither will I hide mj face any more from them: for I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God." That their own land to which the Lord God gathers them, is the land about the city, after- ward described, is taught from the following. In the subsequent relation in the next chapter, Ezekiel is placed, in vision, " into the land of Israel upon a very high mountain, by Avhich was as the frame of a city on the south. And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appear- ruice of brass, with a line of flax in his hand and a measuring reed ; and he stood in the gate. And the man said unto me. Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall show thee ; for to the intent that I might show them unto thee art thou brought hither : de- clare all that thou seest to the house of Israel." The prophet's attention is specially called to this city, not only by the vision, but by the direct command of God ; " Behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall show thee;" and then the further command, "Declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel." The house THE TRUE CHUHCH. 125 of Israel was to be made acquainted with this city in the land of Israel. And why made acquainted with it if not the city of the land to wliich, just before, it is predicted they shall be gathered ? That the cities described by the two sacred writers mean one and the same city, is evident ; Ave find in each the water of life issuing, and the trees of life on either side of the river of life, and these trees yield their fruit every month ; '' And the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaves thereof for medicine." And the waters issue out towards the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: — (I have shown before ' the sea' to mean the heathen nations:) — wliich being brought into the sea, the waters shall be healed." As confirmatory of the end of all God's teaching, the setting up a peaceable kingdom, and restoring man to purity and holiness, and making him a fitting creature to be in God's presence, we find the same ideas prevail in all the sacred writers. And so in St. John and Ezekiel, one end and object rule with both, — one entire plan ranges throughout the Holy Spirit's teaching. Those only who are holy and made clean in the blood of the Lamb, are admitted to the holy city of St. John's vision. 126 THE TRUE CHURCH. So in the city of Ezekiel's vision we find, " This is the law of the house ; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house." *' In a portion of the chapter from which the last quotation is made, is an instructive lesson to all who set up ordinances as essential means of grace. They may be helps to man's weak nature ; if pressed beyond this, and an imdue importance be given them, they become stum- bling-blocks. " And he said unto me. Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their posts by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed : where- fore I have consumed them in mine ano;er. Now let them put away their whoredoms, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever. Thou * Ezek.xliih 12. THE TRUE CHURCH. 127 son of man, sliow the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their ini- quities : and let them measure the pattern."* It is true, the pattern set up in the vision of Ezekiel is essentially Jewish, filled up with the ceremonial characters of the Jewish law; but the whole is emblematical of the unity, and purity, and holiness, of the better pattern, given in the vision to St. John, " for the place is holy." In the writings of the prophets, with regard to the return from captivity of the Jewish people, a double meaning is sometimes con- veyed. This is the case in the writings of Jeremiah. We must recollect they had a two- fold purpose to serve; to portray the actual return to Jerusalem after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, and their future return to the holy city. Of this character is the language employed in the 32 nd chapter by Jeremiah, wherein he writes, beginning at the 37th verse^ " Behold, I will gather them out of all coun- tries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath ; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God : and I * Ezek. xliii. 7. 128 THE TEUE CHURCH. will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them : and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. For thus saith the Lord ; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have pro- mised them. And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, it is desolate without man or beast ; it is given into the hand of the Chal- deans. Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the Lord." It is easy to discover, that the whole of this prophecy has relation to two events : it plainly has to the first event, the actual return of the Jews ; " They shall buy fields for money, and THE TRUE CHURCH. 129 subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem.'' So likewise it has relation to a coming event, their future return. " God makes an everlasting covenant with them, that he will not turn away from them to do them good; but he will put his fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from him, and God will rejoice over them to do them good, and will plant them in this land assuredly with his whole heart and his whole soul." That this covenant and this promise had reference to the future may be discovered by examining the next chapter, and there we shall get at the prophet's meaning, that God " will plant them in the land with his whole heart and his whole soul." " The word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying. Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof," (Jerusalem,) " the Lord that formed it, to establish it ; the Lord is his name ; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." The Lord will show to Jeremiah mighty things of which he knew not. It could not mean these mighty things were only the tilings G 5 130 THE TRUE CHURCH. accompanying the first return of the Jews from their captivity. These things Jeremiah knew ; they had been foretold him in the first vision ; but these were things of a mighty character, of Avhich he had no conception ; things pertaining to the city " the Lord had formed, to es- tablish it." We shall learn what these great things are to be, if we pursue further the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah. " For thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, and by the sword ; they come to fio-ht with the Chaldeans, but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city." And then the great things that are promised are shown. " Behold I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first," — will build Judah and Israel as at the first. " And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me ; and I THE THUE CHUKCH. 131 will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgres- sed against me. And it (Jerusalem) shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them : and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it." * And God again declares, that in this city which is to be desolate for a time, there shall be " the voice of joy, the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say. Praise the Lord of hosts; for the Lord is good, for his mercy endureth for ever : and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise unto the house of the Lord; for I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first." I would call attention to the language here * In this prediction we have a tolerable insight into the state of the earth at the period when the second return of the Jews takes place — the period when Jerusalem shall be to God a name of joy. It is to be a " a praise and an honour before all the nations which shall hear all the good." It implies, there- fore, there will be nations that will not hear ; and as the Jews will be restored, it is supposed, soon after, or about the time of the commencement of the millennial reign of Christ, it shows that his reign will not be universal ; there will be nations that will not hear, will not recognize Christ's authority. 132 THE TRUE CHURCH. employed; it is descriptive of that state of things depicted by St. John, " Where there is to be no more crying, and the voice of woe is to be no more heard; where' the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride are mingled in rich harmony, and where every voice shall be raised to " praise the Lord of hosts." To render it not doubtful as to the great things which God shows to Jeremiah of which he knew not, we have given to us, in a prediction that follows, a promise of Christ's kingdom. " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David ; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely : and this is the name where- with she shall be called, The Lord our righte- ousness." The Branch of David has been growing up, and he has begun to execute judgment and right-j eousness in the land, and we may look for the; days when Judah shall be saved, and when the city shall be known by the new name, " The Lord our righteousness." THE TRUE CHURCH. 133 The language here employed by Jeremiah, is very significant of the character of the city, the Jerusalem, that "shall dwell safely." That it is not an earthly city is so plain that "he who runs may read," It would be blasphemy to style an earthly city, " The Lord our right- eousness." The only city that may be so styled, is the city of which the Lord is the light, and the life, and the very source of its existence, the New Jerusalem. The lansuasfe is also very significant of the days when " Ju- dah shall be saved." These days shall be when the city shall be known by a new name, " The Lord our righteousness." And they shall be, when the " Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David" shall execute "judgment and righteousness in the land." With regard to the time and the manner of the Jewish return, we have predictions in the 27 th chapter of Isaiah. With regard to the time, this chapter begins, " In that day the Lord, with liis sore and great and strong sword, shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent ; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." And God says of his vineyard, that he will keep it and water it ; lest any hurt it he will keep it night and day ; and " He will 134 THE TRUE CHURCH. cause them that come of Jacob to take root : Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit." In the day when the Lord shall punish the serpent and slay the dragon that is in the sea, " them that come of Jacob shall take root ; and Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit," Which is the day that it is predicted the Lord shall punish the serpent, and slay the dragon that is in the sea ? The serpent, that old serpent the devil, it is said, in Rev. xx. is to be bound, " and cast into the bottomless pit, and shut up, and a seal set upon him, that he deceive the nations no more." And the dragon that is in the sea, we learn in Rev. xii. " is the old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world." The serpent and the dragon therefore per- sonify the same infernal power, Satan, or the Devil. Now Satan is to be bound and cast into the bottomless pit shortly after the pouring out of the seventh vial of the wrath of Grod ; and at this time also, the great whore which sitteth upon many waters is to be judged ; and then cometh the triumphant reign of Christ. " Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: THE TRUE CHURCH. 135 for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready."* This, then, is the period of time when the Jews shall return to their own land, and "Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit." And this shall be a time of general awaken- ing from the death-like sleep in which Christian nations have been sunk ; the state so truly- depicted by Isaiah in the preceding chapter, 18th verse ; " We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind ; we have not wrought any deliver- ance in the earth ; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen." From this state of un- natural unproductiveness the more fertile time is shown ; *• Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise." Through his death shall they be made alive. " Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust : for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." f We see then, that the time of the Jewish return is a time of general deliverance, when Christ shall reign on earth, when his kingdom * Rev. xix. 7. t Does not this suggest an explanation of the first resurrec- tion ? Rev. XX. 5. 136 THE TUUE CHURCH. shall be set up, and his bride has made herself ready, and is prepared and adorned for her husband. When Christ shall reign amidst the nations of the church, or in Christendom; when Satan shall deceive no more, and all the various forms shall be put aside which Christian men now delight to put prominently forward, making them gods and worshipping them, instead of worshipping in the simplicity of earnest faith and love, the living, the eternal, the Almighty, the only true God ; this will be the period of the Jewish return. When this time shall arrive, we may expect to see the Jews amalgamated with Christians, and worshipping unitedly God — the God Jehovah, the God the Redeemer, the God the Sanctifier. I do not think Christ's reign will be uni- versal at this period. It will be universal in Christian nations, and with Christian people. It will be a time of great prosperity to the church: but Gog and Magog, the descendants of Noah's sons, other than the descendants through Abraham, still live, and these are to gather themselves to battle at an after time when Satan is loosed, and a final conflict takes place; and fire comes down from God out of heaven, and devours these wicked people. I believe the second advent of the Lord to THE TRUE CHURCH. 137 be perfectly distinct from the millennial reign of Christ. The latter is predicted with tolera- ble certainty as it regards the time, it may be said with exact certainty ; the former is not, our Lord having said, " Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."* With regard to the manner of the Jewish return, the latter part of this 27th chapter of Isaiah declares how it shall be, " It shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river," from its pre- viously accustomed course, " unto the stream of Egypt," where hitherto the Jews had been in bondage, " and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown," God shall make known to them their deliverance, " and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land jof Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount of Jeru- salem." Here we have a prediction of a change. The stream is not to keep its old channel. Some * I leave the subject of the second advent, proposing at a future time, to return to it, should I be graciously permitted to do 80. 138 THE TRUE CHURCH. palpable other course is to be given it, and it is to be directed to the stream of Egypt. The stream of Egypt representing the Jewish peo* plcj and these are to come one by one, not to leave the lands in which they are outcasts and go to Jerusalem, but are tt) come one by one to wo?-- ship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem. We see that it is to worship the Lord in the holy city that is meant. For this is to take place contemporaneously, as is shown from other parts of scripture, with the general ad- vancement of the church. " Them that come of Jacob take root, and then Israel shall blos- som and bud," and these together shall fill the " face of the world with fruit." And this advancement of Christ's church or kingdom is by the removal of that blindness, and the taking away that death-like condition which Satan's deceits and wiles have produced. " Thy dead men shall live, together, with my dead body shall they arise." And a thorough change is likely to take place. " By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged ; and this is all the fruit to take away his sins ; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up." The stones of the altar become like THE TRUE CHURCH. 139 chalk, and fall asunder and perish, and only the tried stone of Zion remains, and the groves and images, the false ways and false gods of saints and images are to be cast down, they shall not stand up, and so the iniquity of Jacob shall be purged, and this is all the fruit to take away his sin. And in connection with this prediction, it is said : " Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness : there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down and consume the branches thereof." Compare this with Eev. xvi. : " And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell."* We see here the great city, and the cities of the nations fell. So in Isaiah, " The defenced city shall be deso- late, and the calf shall feed there and consume the branches thereof." And in the next verse it is said, "When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come and set them on fire:" the women are made the honoured instruments in the cleansing and purifying of God's holy temple : " for it is a people of no understanding : therefore he that * Dr. Gumming in his Apocalyptic Lectures, has interpreted this to mean the destruction of Rome and the several national churches. 140 THE TRUE CHURCH. made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will show them no favour." This then is the day, as it immediately after- ward says, " that the Lord shall beat off from the channel unto the stream of Egypt;" so that until these things have presented them- selves, and instead of being matters of pro- phecy they become matters of history, we may not look forward to any great change in the Jewish people. That I have given a right interpretation of the 27th chapter of Isaiah is very apparent, from what follows in the 28th. The whole chapter is filled with denunciations : " Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine ! Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tem- pest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trod- den under feet." It is not difficult to under- stand who are the drunkards of Ephraim ; we know who are the people of Ephraim, or, in other words, the people of Joseph, through Ephraim. " And the glorious beauty, which THE TEUE CHUECH. 141 is on the head of the fat valley," — we cannot doubt wliich is the fat valley, — " shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; Avhich when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up." " Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem." This people which is in Jeru- salem!— these scornful men, and the people they rule, do not literally live in Jerusalem. We here plainly discover, what Jerusalem it is then in which the people dwell, whom the scorn- ful men rule. That the holy city, the new Je- rusalem, alone, is meant in the verse which is quoted is certain. The character of the Jeru- salem to which the Jews are to return, will not, I think, be longer doubted; the drunk- ards of Ephraim rule "this people" which is there. The people of Ephraim, we have shown before, symbolize the Christian people ; they dwell there. Isaiah continues : — " Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflow- ing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us, for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid our- 142 THE TRITE CHUUCH. selves: therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet : and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand ; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it." We have seen who are the drunkards of Ephraim. In a part of *this chapter it is de- clared, the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, that they err in vision, they stumble in judgment, and, it is declared, they make lies their refuge, and under false- hood they hide themselves. They make a cove- nant with death, and with hell are at agreement. They hope, by prayer and penance, by book and candle, to lay siege to heaven. They grant deliverance from sin, and make a covenant with death and hell, and pretend by their own power to unlock the gates of heaven. But God denounces them, and pronounces for another as the only power to bind and to loose. " Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried THE TRUE CHURCH. 143 stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure founda-^ tion. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet." These are the means, and this the foundation on which alone to build, and in this foundation alone are gates which will give us access to the heavenly Jerusalem. The drunkards would narrow the admission to their own ways, and cramp the movements when admitted to their own confined limits. " The bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering nar^ rower than that he can wrap himself in it."* God has declared, that he who believeth on him, and washeth himself in the blood of the Lamb, shall have eternal life. Here then is the bed to lie on, here is the covering for a man to wrap himself in. We see then from all that I have advanced from this 28 th chapter, that a great change is predicted, and that the course of the true church brightens out into larger light, and that this is the time when the Jews, no longer doubtful, but satisfied that this church, the Zion, is the loved church of their own God^, will seek, within its pale, for that rest and that refuge which there alone can be found. * Isaiah xxvii. 20. 144 THE TRUE CHURCH. Let me say a word or two with reference to the drunkards of Ephraim. We cannot doubt who they are : " The priest and the prophet have erred throuo-h strons; drink." Wherein have they erred through strong drink ? What are the potions they have imbibed to produce drunkenness? Have they not been, and are they not still intoxicated with strong opinions of their own position and of their own power ? Do not they hold the monstrous opinion that the church is a visible body, the constituent members of which are their own order ? and that the fat valleys were made for their good ? And have they not, under the influence of their opinions, " drunk the blood of the saints," and opposed the truth, and shut up the bible, and put their trust in man ? " Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." Are there any drunkards of Ephraim within the pale of our own national church ? Yes, my beloved pastors, there are. Though a great change has come over the establishment of England within the last twenty years, and I can testify to the zeal for, and earnest love to Christ of many of the parochial clergy, and of their untiring attention to their duties in pro- moting the true welfare, the spiritual welfare THE TRUE CHURCH. 145 of the people over whom God has placed them as teachers, and to their general conduct in promoting the advancement of Christ's king- dom ; yet there are now, as there have been for ages past, drunkards within the national church of England. I, briefly, but pointedly allude to our cathedral appointments ; to the robbery of parishes and depriving the people thereof of sufficient spiri- tual care, by withdrawing the temporalities of these parishes, and connecting them with pre- bendal stalls. Are not these stalls filled often- times by the drunkards of Ephraim? drunk with strong drink, and who are made to believe while under its pernicious influence, that " the church " is a body of clergy, and the fat ^'alley is charged with riches alone for their support ? Are not these things so ? and can they be justified? are they scriptural? is there any warrant for them? are the cathedrals produc- tive of good in God's vineyard ? are the mem- bers drones or working bees in God's hive ? do they, or do they not, advance God's kingdom on earth ? Let us contrast what we find in cathedrals with what is found in edifices of far less pre- tensions. I have been but seldom in cathedrals, but H 146 TH*E TRUE CHURCH. when I have, what have I found there ? In one small portion of the lofty and commanding building a few persons assembled; the priest intoning the service supported by lay-vicars, and it may be twenty or perhaps one hundred hearers, forming together the congregation. If more than these are found, others have been more fortunate than myself; I have usually met even less than I have mentioned, and shall I say how lifeless, how devoid of spiritual devotion, the assembly was ? A blight seems cast upon the whole. The building is raised in lofty magnificence, but standing dreary and almost tenantless. Let us turn to another scene. Enter the place of worship over which some true disciple of Christ presides ; some popular preacher point- ing his hearers to the Saviour as the refuge from the storm, as the hope of comfort to a troubled breast. It may be he is speaking within plain walls, within an unpretending edifice, undecorated by art, but lightened up with the presence of God. And here what do Ave find? every spot within covered by a human beino;, and these with one heart and one soul chanting forth the praises of their God. Can we fail to discover the vast difference which obtains between these two temples ? THE THUE CHURCH. 147 Again, are there not drunkards of Ephraim who revel in the sunshine of worldly prosperity? and who while securing the temporalities of the church, leave the spiritual duties to be perfor- med by a deputy, to whom is meted out the barest subsistence ? Is not this the case in the English, and yet how much worse in the Irish, church? — a church wherein its pastors oftentimes have not known or seen their own parishioners. Again, are there no drunkards among the higher ecclesiastics — among the spiritual lords ? Is there no nepotism ? no abuse of ecclesiastical charities? no appropriation of funds intended for the aged, the distressed, and the bereaved, and applied to the luxurious gratification of those who are placed in trust to see to the right application of these funds ? In mundane affairs, things have a tendency to run into a form advantageous to those who administer them, and this has always to be guarded against. But those who are placed by God as his \dcegerents, should especially guard against the commission of the sin of breach of trust ; let them, especially, avoid the anathema that ac- companies the words of Peter, "Ye have not lied unto men but unto God." * * Acts V. 4. H 2 148 THE TRUE CHURCH. Agaiiij are there no drunkards in the heads of the house of Jacob, among the patrons, lay and clerical, to ecclesiastical preferment ? among these is there no buying and selling in the temple ? Is it not a lamentable fact, that pre- sentations to preside over the care of souls, are made, not for adaptation to the clerical office, not to supply the spiritual wants of a given community, but because the party presented has been enabled to give so much money for the presentation ? It is not asked whether the presented be fitted for the office ; whether he be devout, and temperate, and holy ; whether he be learned, and skilled in the art of instructing others ; these are not the questions asked and satisfied ; but so much money is wanted by the presenter, and having obtained the required amount, the spiritual wants of the destitute community are left to chance. The money is of consequence, the kind of pastor of none. Not to allude to the anomalous state of things wherein is found a lay patron, unfitted by character, by education, and by opposing sen- timents, to the task of selecting a godly pastor to preside over God's heritage ; let us keep our eye fixed upon the fact of the sale of advowsons by ecclesiastics. Such sales we see proposed weekly in the leading journals, by the holders THE TRUE CHURCH. 149 of advowsons. Do not the dealers and traf- fickers in holy things know the awful penalties to which they subject themselves? not penalties under the laws of men, though these denounce such practices, but penalties under the cm\*es of God : " Woe to these drunkards of Ephraim !" these traffickers in human souls ! These things must not be. And do not think me an enemy that I point to these enormities. It is not Isaiah alone who predicts a woe to the drunkards of Ephraim: I find in most of the prophets similar denunciations; and these in connection with the restoration of the Jews ; these people being intended by God to be instrumental in the advancement of Christ's kingdom, in the setting up the true church, and preparing her to be adorned as his fitting bride. Let me then earnestly entreat my beloved pastors to give heed to these things ; let me pray of them to assist in removing the acknow- ledged blemishes ; and I have not pointed to all of them that now soil the beauty of the temple, I have only drawn attention to the most promi- nent. Be sure if they are not removed, that the doom of the church of England is sealed ; she, as well as some other temporal churches, will be swept away ; God has declared this, and his word never fails. 150 THE TRUE CHURCH. I would not be understood as decrying the magnificent temples that adorn our country ; a better arrangement of their appointments I think may take place ; to secure within these buildings a daily service may be, nay is, desirable. But this may be provided for at far less waste of ecclesiastical revenue than now prevails. I have felt a desire to expunge what I have written with regard to the blemishes in our own national establishment, but I dare not do so — to do so, appears to me ^to be shrinking from declaring the truth. It is with reluctance — it is with pain — that I point to the defects in the national church of England. With regard to the woes denounced against the several ecclesiastical establishments, they are not de- clared by me — they are declared by God. It Is not I who say, " Woe to the drunkards of Ephraim ; " it is God, through the mouth of his prophet Isaiah, who says it. It is not I who say, " Woe to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves ; " it is God through the mouth of his prophet Ezekiel. In the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd verses of the 34th chapter of Ezekiel it is said, " Son of man, pro- phesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them. Thus saith the Lord God THE TRUE CHUECH. 151 unto the shepherds ; Woe be to the shepherds of' Israel that do feed themselves ! should not the shepherds feed the flocks ? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed : but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost ; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them." How descriptive is all this of the past history of God's people, and of those who were placed over them as shepherds. The shepherds have been regardless, and they have been worse than regardless, for those whom they should have tended with care, they have ruled with force and with cruelty. Witness the savage and sanguinary proceedings of the inquisition. Happily a change has been, and is now rapidly coming about. By a late decree of the present Italian government, the doors of the prison of the inquisition at Rome have been thrown open. We find in Ezekiel as in the other prophets, that these denunciations against the shepherds of Israel, or the heads of the house of Jacob, are connected with the restoration of the Jews ; and it would appear that when these woes to 152 THE TRUE CHURCH. the shepherds arrive, then will the scattered be collected, then will the afflicted be comforted. Ezekiel writes, beginning at the 7th verse of the 34th chapter, " Therefore, ye shepherds, hear ye the word of the Lord : Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock : neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. For thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered ; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they liave been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be : there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel." THE TRUE CHURCH. 153 Let us proceed to examine what another prophet says with regard to the Jews' return, — the prophet Zecharlah. In the 8th chapter he begins : '*^ Again the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts : I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. Thus saith the Lord ; I am returned unto Zion, and wuU dwell in the midst of Jerusalem : and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth ; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain." The Lord is jealous for Zion with great jealousy and great fury. And His return is predicted, and that he will dwell in Jerusalem which shall be called the city of truth, the holy mountain. And when this is the case there is a prophecy : " Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country ; and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem : and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness." We find here as it was in Isaiah, that when Jerusalem is called the city of truth, that is, when she is raised to prosperity, that God will save his people from the east country and from the west country ; and they shall dwell in H 5 154 THE TEUE CHURCH. the midst of Jerusalem. The condition of their return rests solely with God, and when He dwells in Jerusalem, and the new name is given her, the city of truth, the holy mountain, then will he save his people from the east and from the west countries. "Before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast ; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in, because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour." How very expressive of the present and past state of the Jews. Dwell where they may, in any part of the habitable globe, the Jews have had no hire for man or for beast. In every country they live by traffic, and no hire is given them. They do not lend themselves out for money ; they employ themselves in bartering, and buy- ing, and selling. And peace they have not known, for every man has been set against them. " But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts. For the seed shall be prosper- ous ; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give her dew ; and I will cause the rem- nant of this people to possess all these things." THE TEUE CHURCH. 155 All these good things they are to possess when they are saved out of the east and out of the west country, and are called to the city of truth, the holy mountain. This state of peace and prosperity is a necessary consequence of being called to the holy mountain. Isaiah writes, " They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord." Now to this holy mountain the Jews are promised to return. They are to be saved out of the countries to which they have been driven, and they are to be brought to, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and they are to be God's people, and He will be their God in truth and righteousness. These people, it seems, are needful to fulfil God's purposes. An exhortation in the next verse is addressed to them, " Let your hands be strong, ye that hear it in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built." So that without these people the temple canno.t be built. They are to let their hands be strong that the temple might be built. God's promise to Abraham and to Isaac being fulfilled through them. The time of their deliverance will be, when 156 THE TRUE CHURCH. God's churcli, as I have said before, is in a state of prosperity. And when Christ shall reign paramount in the hearts of his people. When Christian people shall be united in one common sentiment, one common bond, as members of Christ's body. Before this period arrives, there is no peace to him that went out or came in because of affliction. " So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah : fear ye not." And to obtain this blessing, this state of prosperity to Israel and to Judah, " These are the things that ye shall do ; — speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour ; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates." The law, as laid down by our great Lawgiver, is to be observed, — the law of holiness and uni- versal peace. That the deliverance is not alone to the Jews, is seen from a preceding verse, *' the house of Judah and house of Israel" being cou- pled in the promised blessing; and this is further confirmed by the latter part of this chapter. " Thus saith the Lord of hosts: It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people and the inhabitants of many cities : and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, say- ing, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord THE TRUE CHURCH, 157 and to seek the Lord of hosts : I will go also." The inhabitants of one city shall go to another ; now this is not confined to the Jewish inhabit- ants of cities going from one city to another, but extends to the inhabitants generally. And they being moved by a common feeling and a common purpose, shall say, " Let us go speed- ily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts." And to make it more expres- sive of this being a period of great prosperity to Christ's kingdom, it is added, " I will go also." The party inviting to go, gives in his determination, " I will go also." And further, to confirm that it is not the Jewish people alone meant, Zechariah writes, "Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord." That the Jew will be instrumental in bring- ing about this state of prosperity seems proba- ble, nay certain. The fact of the Jew having accepted the faith as it is in Jesus, will be a striking spectacle to the nations. And men who otherwise would be careless and thought- less about this all-important matter, will be led to exclaim, Surelv there is a God that rei^neth above. God, fulfilling in the Jews the promise to Judah, that " unto him shall the gathering 158 THE TRUE CHURCH. of the people be,"* will exhibit to the world a mighty truth spoken four thousand years ago, and now in the full extent of its wondrous meaning presented to the gaze of the astonished world, and " ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying : We will go with you : for we have heard that God is with you." In reference to this, it is remarkable that often when, in the holy scriptures, the two people are spoken of in connection with the coming pros- perity of " the church," Judah is placed before Israel or Jacob. It is so in Zechariah ; " O house of Judah and house of Israel." It is so in Ezekiel ; " Take thee one stick and write upon it. For Judah and for the children of Israel his companions ; then take another stick and write upon it. For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel hi? companions." This remark is not intended to depress the hopes or destroy the expectations of the faithful followers of Jesus. Great bless- ings are promised to these, '^He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root. In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty unto the * Gen. xlix. 10. THE TRUE CHURCH. 159 i*esidue of this people," that is, the residue of Ephraim who are not the drunkards of Ephraim. The whole of the remaining chapters of Ze- chariah are filled with the promised restoration of the Jewish people. But this restoration is contemporaneous with the enlargement of the Christian church. That when the one is un- derstood and recognized, the other will take place. Judah and Ephraim are alike to be advanced in the knowledge and in the favour of God, "Wlien I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man,"* These, unitedly, are to be raised up and ren- dered powerful. " And the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. The Lord of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling- stones ; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine ; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people : for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land." * Zech. ix. 13. 160 THE TRUE CHURCH. The whole of this quotation is well worthy of examination ; it is so distinct in its narration, with regard to the part the Jews bear in the coming events, and so descriptive of what these events will be. We have the union of Judah and Epliraim, and then the sons of Zion are to be raised up against the sons of Greece — the Lord is to be seen over the sons of Zion ; — and, with the ra- pidity of lightning God's arrow shall go forth, and God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south ; and then shall come the conflict between the sons of Zion and the sons of Greece ; and the Lord shall defend the sons of Zion, and they shall devour and subdue with sling- stones : and then, as the flock of God's people, they are to be saved, and to be as stones of a crown, lifted up, an ensign upon God's land. In this predicted state of prosperity, they are to be '^ lifted up as an ensign upon God's land." We have here another instance of the character of the land to which the Jews are to be o^a^ thered. They are to be lifted up as an ensign upon his land — peculiarly his land — God's land, wherein dwelleth righteousness and holiness; and they not alone, but all Christ's faithful fol- lowers with them, Judah and Ephraim, and all THE TRUE CHURCH. 161 the sons of Zion are to be raised as an ensign upon his land. And they are put in opposition to the sons of Greece. The sons of Greece representing unbelievers — the gospel being to the Greeks foolishness — the conflict will be be- tween truth and falsehood ; and truth is now to prevail in '* the church," and Zion be raised up : — and as David subdued the Philistines, so shall the sons of Zion devour and subdue : — and in their victorious course they shall be lifted up as an ensign upon the land, upon the glorious holy mountain, the land of the Lord. This foretold prosperity of "the church" is to be very rapid. By some signal marks she is to be distinguished and known, and her sons rally round her. God shall blow the trumpet, and her sons shall join, and with the rushing^ onward, mighty course of the whirlwind, and with the rapidity of lightning, shall be their march. God's arrow shall go forth and pre- pare the way, and the sons of Greece will lie prostrate before the sons of Zion. To his people, " in the time of the latter rain, the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field." And while this is the case to his people, the false professors will be punished. " For the idols have spoken vanity, and the 162 THE TRUE CHURCH. diviners have seen a lie, and have told dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled because there was no shepherd. Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats : for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle." Here is another instance wherein the house of Judah is placed prominently forward, — they are to be made " God's goodly horse in the battle." ''And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle : and they shall fight, because the Lord is Avith them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded. And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and 1 will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them : and they shall be as though I had not cast them oiF: for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them. And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine : yea, their chil- dren shall see it, and be glad ; their heart shall rejoice in the Lord. I will hiss for them, and gather them ; for I have redeemed them : and they shall increase as they have increased." THE TRUE CHURCH. 163 God says he will hiss for them and gather them ; that is, he will hiss, according to a prac- tice of the east, and some time known in our own country, of hissing or calling together domestic animals — and will gather them. The prophet proceeds — " And I will sow them among the people : and they shall re- member me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again." God will sow them among the people ; and they shall remember him in far countries ; and they shall live with their children and turn again.'* Does not this language bespeak the position they will hold ? They are to be sown among the people; not collected in a body in any given spot — for in far countries they are to remember God, and they are to continue to live as heretofore in their domestic habitations with their children, and turn again to their God. " I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria ; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon." In this language is portrayed their withdrawal from their state of captivity ; being captives of Satan's will now ; as before, they were captives in Egypt, and in Assyria, and being restored to the land of promise, of which Gilead and Lebanon were marked features. 164 THE TRUE CHURCH. Now the meaning of bringing them to Gilead and to Lebanon, may be better understood by a passage in Jeremiah, 22nd chapter, 6th verse. " For thus saith the Lord unto the king's house of Judah ; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon." Gilead was the most fertile district, and Lebanon the highest mountain of tlie favoured land. And Judah is likened unto these ; and therefore to bring them to Gilead and to Lebanon, is to restore them to what they were in the estimation of God. In other places in the holy scriptures, their return is predicted to Jerusalem — here it is to Gilead and to Lebanon. If it were intended that they were to be restored to the material city, Jerusa- lem, these several places would not be named indifferently. It may be said, they all apply to one country. So they do. But by this time, if the reader has gone with me, it will be acknow- ledged they are used only as figures to repre- sent a thing or event; and the figures are employed and chosen in turn, as best suited to the predominant idea sought to be conveyed : and to bring them to Jerusalem, or to Gilead, or to Lebanon, is to bring them to the holy city, the true church; it is to bring them to the rich and fertile land, the land flowing with milk and honey ; and it is to bring them to the THE TRUE CHURCH. 165 loftiest mountain, the holy mountain of the Lord ; it is to bring them to the land promised to the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The evidence I have adduced, is very ample, and if I did not add to it, the position I have taken would be established. I Avill add to it vet further testimony out of the abundance that oiFers, because the evidence which proves the character of the Jews' return, proves also the character of the true church ; the e^vddence which supports the one, supports also the other ; each is mutually strengthened by the support which the other gets — they are linked together; the prosperity of one is the return of the other. It is predicted again and again, that when the prosperity of the church is, then will be the time of the Jews' return. '• And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart. The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God." * The Jews are to be instrumental in this state of prosperity to the church — to the city, Jeru- salem. " In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left : and Jerusalem * Zech. xii. 5. 166 THE TEUE CHURCH. shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah." We see that the Jews are to be the favoured people in advancing Christ's kingdom, though so long time oppressed and cast down, yet is their deliverance at hand; and they are not only to be delivered, but regard is to be shown them above even Christians. " The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first." They are to pitch their tents in Jerusalem, and the Lord shall save their tents first; but the tents of Joseph are not to be forgotten, there is to be " the glory of the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. But there is succour to be given to Judah, that the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not magnify themselves against Judah." Observe, the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not magnify themselves against Judah; plainly showing, that the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be the descendants of Judah only. It is to be a day of general advancement to the people of God. " In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; and THE TRUE CHURCH. 167 he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David ; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them." What a glorious promise! What a bright prospect for the sons of Grod ! " The Lord shall defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David." Be as David: recollect what David was. When the Jews were idolatrous, worshipping the work of their own hands, making their own doings their oblations, and not offering to God thanksgivings, nor paying to God their vows, but shrouded in the conceits of their imaginings, and polluting themselves and their temples, with their sordid and cor- rupt dealings, making God's house " a den of thieves," then David stood above all his fel- lows in holiness to the Lord. Though he erred, as all men do, yet was he pre-eminently godly. He loved his God with all his heart, and trusted in him, and for this did God bless hinu Such then as are feeble in that day, shall be as David ; they shall be strengthened in the Lord, and they shall trust in him, and he will bless them. And oh, how glorious! the house of David shall be as God. As God ! think what it is to be as God. God! in his holiness and in his 168 THE TRUECHURCH. purity; in his bright sunshine of unclouded happiness ! What a glorious era is opening to the church, to the faithful followers of the Lamb. And to whom is all this rich blessing promised ? — to the house of David ; to the whole people of God, whom the Son of David reigns over. And how is all this blessing to be obtained? The Lord has declared, " And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplica- tion : and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his first-born." Here is the way declared by which the house of David shall attain to be as God. By a spirit of grace and supplication, and by mourning over their past neglect of Him whom they have pierced; and in deep peni- tence and bitterness they mourn ibr him " as one mourneth for his only son." And then when this day shall arrive, that they grieve " for Him whom they have pierced," the Lord will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Such are the blessed prospects opening to the house of David. And will ye not, my THE TEUE CHURCH. 169 friends, now known as Jew and Christian, de- light yourselves in this prospect ? Will ye not look out and wish the land yours? Will ye not accept the proffered boon? Will ye not, ye house of David, shout with a great voice, saying, " Alleluia ; salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:"^' and with all your hearts praise the living God ? Yes, my friends, this ye would do if the great God presented himself in thunderings and voices, and in great pomp and glory, and in his hand many blessings. And will ye not praise the Lord your God, when, meek and lowly. He comes to teach man wisdom? — He comes to open to man a fountain of pure waters to wash away uncleanness? Ah, my friends, you little know your own nature, if you have not perceived the necessity for this ; the deep wisdom which provided it, Zechariah was made to see it, " In that day there shall be a foun- tain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for un- cleanness."! And may you of the house of David, all the sons of men who desire to be of the house of David, perceive the need of it. May they of the house of Judah, and they of the house of Joseph perceive it, and come and * Rev. xix. 1 . f Zee. xiii. 1 . I 170 THE TRUE CHURCH. wash their pollutions away in the fountain pro- vided. The testimony of the prophets with regard to the Jews' return is very great. It abounds in most of them ; and Moses in his song is pro- phetic of it, " Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation."* And so in Nehemiah: '^ But if ye turn unto me, and keep my com- mandments, and do them, though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost parts of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there." f While the preceding part of this book has been in the press, I have had many doubts with regard to the application I have made of the 10th verse of the 49th chapter of Genesis, to be found at page 99. The verse runs, " The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law- giver from between his feet, until Sliiloh come ; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." I have interpreted the latter part of this verse, " unto him shall the gathering of the people be," to mean unto Judah shall the ga- thering of the people be. ♦ Ex. XV. 13. t Neh. i. 9. THE TRUE CHURCH. 171 I call the attention of my Hebrew brethren to this text, because it should speak volumes to them. When did the sceptre depart from Judah ? Though they may, if they had chosen, have asked themselves this question for these past 1800 years, yet they have failed to do so. The reply has not, however, yet lost any of its force, nor will it for ages yet unborn. When the Prince of Peace began his reign, the sceptre departed from Judah for ever. To assign the gathering of the people to Shiloh, as is usually done, no doubt is perfectly correct, because unto him the gathering of the people will be. But whether it will not bear a further meaning, and whether the fur- ther meaning is not borne out by other pro- phetical writings is another question ? In assigning the gathering of the people to Judah, we must recollect that Jacob, when he called his sons together, did so to tell them what should befall them in the latter days* It was not, therefore, so much for the purpose of tracing out their personal course through life, as it was intended to be a prophetical declara- tion of the part the tribes should bear in the great drama to be hereafter performed. And as Judah and Joseph form the principal cha- * Gen. xlix, 1. i2 172 THE TRUE CHURCH, racters, so the patriarcli is very full of the great parts which these two tribes should sustain. I have therefore ventured to apply the latter part of this text in the manner alluded to. If I have erred in doing so, I shall regret it much. And more especially should it weaken the effect the text should have, in assigning the gathering of the people to Shiloh. In putting the meaning I have upon this text, it is not intended that the tribe of Judah will reign over the people, the sceptre having departed from this tribe; but I have meant that they will be instrumental in promoting God's kingdom on earth; and whether I have rightly applied the text in question or not, the fact will not be altered as predicted by the pro- phets; the latter prophets showing the favour to which this tribe is to be raised ; and not only the prophets to which I have before alluded speak of this, but Joel also Ave shall find gives utterance to the same truth. " The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem ; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain ; then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall THE TRUE CHURCH. 173 no strangers pass through her any more. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to genera- tion. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion." The whole of this 3rd chapter requires perusal ; it speaks forcibly the truth, of the favour to which Judah is to be raised. Judah we find shall dwell for ever, for their blood that God has not cleansed he will cleanse. This, the highly favoured tribe, from whom descended David, and the Son of David, the now reigning Lord and Prince of his people, will be again the exalted people; and God's favour upon them will be so apparent, that " ten men out of all languages of the nations shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, we will go with you : for we have heard that God is with you." * * Zech. viii. 23. 174 THE TRUE CHURCH. It has sometimes occurred to me, that the genealogy of our Saviour, through his repre- sentative father, was (shall I write the word) false. As Joseph was not concerned at all as an agent, in the setting up the existence of the Saviour, it appeared to me, that the genealogy of Mary should rather be given. This would have been wrong. The w^hole beauty of the arrangement of the mysterious union, seems now unveiled to me. As man could have nothing to do in the production of the God- man, so Mary was little more than the vehicle of his passage into the assumed form ; and thus not much is said of her, beyond the fact of her being a pure virgin, which it was essential should be known. Christ owed his existence alone to God, without the agency of man, man not being concerned at all in his origin, and Christ partaking to himself of man's nature only through Mary his mother. Had the ge- nealogy of Mary been given, it would have assigned her as an important element in the Saviour's existence; she bore no share in his beginning ; she was the vehicle of his growth ; and thus he partook from her of man's nature, and was subject, like man, to the infirmities of the flesh. By giving the genealogy of the re- presentative father, who was not in any way THE TRUE CHURCH. 175 concerned beyond being the espoused husband of Mary, Shiloh, the Christ, stands out in his existence independent of man, and so not in- heriting his sin. No other than an Almighty mind could have brought about all this wonder- ful and beautiful arrangement ; avoiding, on the one hand, the contamination of man's guilt, and, on the other, not too great a departure from man's nature, that, hke as we, so he may be tried, and being faultless and without blemish, that he may offer his own body as a propitia- tory sacrifice for the sins of his people; and then to announce himself, under a new name, their eternal head, their eternal law-giver, and the creator of a new moral world ; the creator, which he alone could be, of a new heaven and a new earth. The terms Judah and Joseph, as employed by the later prophets, and with reference to latter events, do not mean literally the distinct tribes, the descendants of Judah and Joseph, the sons of Jacob ; they are employed in work- ing up an allegory; and the allegory, though built upon facts, is not in the latter days in- tended for facts, it is intended to represent facts. Judah, not meaning a tribe the imme- diate descendants of Judah, but standing as a term for the now dispersed Jewish people ; and 176 THE TEUE CHURCH. Joseph, not meaning a tribe the immediate descendants of Joseph, but standing as a term for the Christian people; for instance, as in Ezekiel, " For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions." That I have not stretched the meaning of Jacob too far with regard to Judah, may be gathered from this: he blesses the tribe of Joseph with great blessings. But these bless- ings, though they apply in a measure to his own son Joseph and his descendants, yet they apply, in a greater measure, to the after Joseph, and those designated by after writers, the house of Joseph, the Joseph descended from Judah, who was the representative father of our Lord. Joseph, the son of the patriarch Jacob, being a type of Joseph, the son of Jacob, descended from Judah. We see, therefore, that the patri- arch Jacob, intended more what should befall the two tribes in the latter days, designated in after times by succeeding prophets, as Judah and Joseph. And since other prophets show the influence the tribe of Judah will possess, it is possible that Jacob has also within his mean- ing the same truth when he writes, " unto him shall the gathering of the people be:" more especially as the genealogy of Shiloh is traced through this favoured tribe ; and, in that sense, may be said to be of them. THE TKL'E CHURCH. 177 Having written so much, with regard to the part the Jews bear in the future, I will content myself with only one other reference ; and here- in we shall find the predictions about the Jews return to be so full and satisfactory, that if there were no other, tliese would establish all that I have advanced, I allude to the writings of the prophet Micah. We have in this prophet the same distinct- ive features which are found in the writings of the other prophets: — the union of Jew and Christian into one body, and ruled over by one head; and this in connection with a general onward movement of the church; a time of great prosperity to the church, and this state of prosperity follows, as in the other prophets, denunciations upon the heads of the house of Jacob, upon the princes of the house of Israel. In this prophet, the restoration of the Jews is so plainly connected with the general advance- ment and prosperity of "the Zion," "the New Jerusalem," that no room for doubt is left as to the land to which they shall return. In the 6th verse of the 4th chapter it is said, " In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted, and I will make her that halted a remnant, and her I 5 178 THE TEUE CHURCH. that was cast far off a strong nation : and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion. from henceforth, even for ever." In these words we have a prediction, which not only establishes the fact of the Jews' return, it likewise estab- lishes the character of their return ; it points also to the place of their return. " The Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion, from henceforth even for ever." " Shall reign over them" — over them that have halted, and them that have been driven out and afflicted. Here, as we have seen before. Christian and Jew are to be reigned over a united body. "I will assemble her that halteth." She of the house of Jacob, in the line of Ephraim, hath halted. Christians have halted; the Jews have not halted — they have never proceeded. The Christians are they that have halted. Chris- tians in name and by baptism have proceeded, and pursued their way to Christ's holy moun- ain, and they have halted; they have been lukewarm, and they have had a dim perception of the glory of Zion. She then, of the house of David, in the line of Joseph, has halted. There is no difficulty in determining who is " she that has been driven out and afflicted ; " she of Judah has been driven out and afflicted. The Jews are they that have been driven out THE TRUE CHURCH. 179 and afflicted. And these, together with a rem- nant of her that has halted, the Lord will reign over unitedly in mount Zion. It is said, " I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation ; and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion, from henceforth even for ever." We have seen that "she that halted" repre- sents the Christian people, and a portion of these, a remnant, shall be joined with "her that is afflicted," who represents the Jewish people, and they shall be united and form "a strong nation, and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion, from henceforth even for ever." That this Zion is not the mount Zion of the material city, Jerusalem, is plain from a pre- ceding verse, and as we shall also find pre- sently, from w^hat is written in the preceding chapter of this prophet. The 2nd verse of this the fourth chapter runs, "And many nations shall come and say. Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." " Many nations shall come and say. Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord." Is it probable that 180 THE TRUE CHURCH. many nations shall join in a general movement to the earthly city Jerusalem? Does not the united movement of many nations point dis- tinctly to the character of the mountain of the Lord, as the spiritual Zion, the spiritual city Jerusalem ? The prophet Micah has much in reference to coming events, and it will be well to give some attention to his predictions ; by doing so we may arrive at a definite opinion with regard to the mount Zion " to which many nations shall go up." And we may also arrive at a conclu- sion with regard to the meaning of the words " in that day the Lord will assemble her that halteth, and will gather her that is driven out." In the 3rd chapter the prophet writes, "Hear this I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment and pervert all equity. They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with ini- quity. The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money : yet will diey lean upon the Lord, and say. Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us. Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest." THE TRUE CHURCH. 181 This prediction has reference to, and is very- expressive of, the past state of things, and not altogether inapplicable to the present. With reference to the past, "They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity." That is, under the pretence of building up Zion they bathe their hands in blood, and soothe themselves in their iniquity, by the assumption, " The Lord is with us." What a lively picture of the state of Christendom in the sixteenth century. " They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity." How awfully did they build up Zion with blood, and Jerusa- lem with iniquity I And here we cannot doubt which Jerusalem is meant. They did not build up the earthly city with blood and with ini- quity, nor did they seek to build up the holy city; they attempted to build up their own city, now known as Babylon the great, the Je- rusalem of their creation, — the assumed "true church" of their invention. In this they have been foiled, and like the tower of Babel, the confusion of tongues will render their Babel a standing memento that man's ways are not God's ways. But in seeking to build up their Jerusalem they have unwittingly built up the New Jerusalem, the true church. Their vio- lence and their misdeeds have thrown the faith- 182 THE TRUE CHURCH. ful followers of the Lamb upon their only succour, their head, the Messiah, the Lord Je- hovah; and thus the Lamb and his followers have been, and are being collected into one fold; the sheep and the Shepherd being con- nected by an indissoluble bond. And thus the heads of the house of Jacob, though they did not so intend it, have literally built up Zion with blood. Happily Zion is no longer being built up with blood, she is rising in all the majesty and beauty which faithful hearts and honest hands can bestow in building her up. With reference to the present as well as the past, the prophet writes, " The heads of the house of Jacob judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money." Do they now "teach for hire," or do they teach to set up God's king- dom ? Do the prophets now divine for money, or, do they divine to promote a knowledge of God? Happily some do teach to set up God's kingdom ! Happily some do divine to promote a knowledge of God ! But can this be said gene- rally of the priests of the house of Jacob ? Look through the whole of Christendom and let the truth declare. For this predicted state of iniquity on the part of priests and prophets, it is said, " There- THE TRUE CHURCH. 183 fore shall Zion for your sakes be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest." On account of the misdoings of the heads of the house of Jacob, and the princes of the house of Israel, confusion shall prevail in the church, and Zion shall be ploughed as a field, and the mountain of the house as the high ' places of the forest, gloomy, and dark, and bewildering. For the misdeeds of the princes of the house of Israel, Zion was decreed to be left for a time as a ploughed field, broken up and left uncultured. She is represented by St. John as driven into the wilderness; and here by Micah, she is represented as "the high places of the forest." And has not this been the condition of Zion, or the true church, for now some centuries ? In the next chapter, a change is promised from this state of things. " In the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills: and people shall flow into it. And many nations shall come and say. Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob ; and he wiU teach us of his ways, and we will walk in 184 THE TRUE CHURCH. his paths ; for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree ; and none shall make them afraid : for the mouth of the Lord of liosts hath spoken it. For all peo- ple will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. In that day, saith the Lord, Avill I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted." Here we have a glowing picture of a state of exaltation, and peace, and great prosperity to the mountain of the house of the Lord. Isaiah has predicted a peaceable kingdom, upon which I have before remarked, and which I have interpreted as already commenced at the coming of the Lord, when a new heaven and a new earth were created by his coming, and when the Lord set up the peaceable kingdom. And that this was to commence at a period of time different from that now under considera- THE TRUE CHUPtCH. 185 tion, is gathered from the language employed. Isaiah makes no mention *^that nation shall not lift a sword against nation ; " he writes, " they shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain." The prophets therefore refer to two distinct periods of time. Not only as we gather from the difference to be found in the two descriptions, but also from the context in each prophet. Isaiah plainly refers to a great change at the coming of the Messiah. Micah refers to a great change in the latter days after the church of Christ, or Zion, has passed through many trials. The one, Isaiah, to that commenced and become matter of history ; the other, Micah, to a period of time yet in the womb of futurity. And history does not belie the prediction of Isaiah. For though there has been sore destruction in Christendom, yet Christendom has not been God's holy moun- tain; "All are not Israel who are of Israel." Peace has been taught in Israel, and all true Israelites observe peace. Christians know that Christ's kingdom is not to be set up with the sword. Put up thy sword, said Jesus, when one of his disciples would have used it, " Put up again thy sword into his place : for all they that take the sword shall perish with the 186 THE TRUE CHURCH. sword."* Peace is a characteristic feature of Christianity, and this Isaiah predicted. The coming time then, predicted by Micah, is in the last days, or in that day when " the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills." As it is in a corres- ponding period of time predicted by Isaiah, when " The defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken and left like a wil- derness; there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof, "t The defenced city shall be desolate, but God's city shall be established. The branches of the defenced city, shall be con- sumed, but God's city shall be exalted upon their destruction. As it is in a corresponding time shown in the vision of St John, when '^ The great city, Babylon was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell : and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. "J This day predicted by the several sacred writers, when God's mountain shall be estab- lished upon the top of every mountain and * Matt. xxvi. 52. f Isaiah xxvii. 10. X I^ev* xvi. 19. THE TRUE CHUECH. 187 exalted above every hill, is the day vi^hen " the Lord shall assemble her that halteth, and gather her that is driven out and afflicted." We have seen this period of time to be the time of the Jews' return, as predicted by Micah. I have shown before that it is the time predicted by Isaiah. And Dr. Gumming, in his Apocalyptic Lectures, has shown it to be the time in the vision of St. John, after the destruction of the great city, Babylon, when the Jewish voice is heard mingled in the "great voice of much people in heaven, saying. Alle- luia; salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God. For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornications, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hands." As I have before written, I do not think the state of peace and prosperity, predicted at this time by the sacred writers, to be universal. I think it applies to the church, the Zion, the new Jerusalem ; and to the nations that receive, and uphold, and support the church. It applies to Chi'istian people and Christian nations. We find in Micah, "All people will walk in the name of his god:" and this is contrasted by, " We will walk in the name of the Lord our 188 THE TRUE CHURCH. God for ever and ever." It is also said^ "I will make her that halted a remnant." And we find in Revelations, that Gog and Magog, who represent the heathens, continue to exist until after the millennial period. It would therefore seem that this predicted time, though a period of great peace and prosperity to Christians, yet other people and other nations will not share in it, but will continue in heathen darkness, and under the influence of the violence of heathen passions. As the millennial reign of Christ, predicted at this time in the vision of St. John, is a kin- dred subject, connected closely with the true church, in fact, a movement or phase of her, she having been driven into the wilderness, and at the commencement of the millennial reign is emerging from it, should tliis book run to a second edition, I hope to be prepared with clear and definite opinions thereupon, to add to what I now publish. At present I think the mil- lennial period to be perfectly distinct from the second personal advent. I do not assume that this opinion is truth. Many wise and Christian men believe the second personal advent to be connected with the millennial reign of Christ, and I woidd not advocate an opinion opposed to theirs, unless the evidence upon which I THE TRUE CHURCH. 189 found my opinion appears incontrovertible. I know the difficulties that present themselves to a clear elucidation, but I do not think them insurmountable . Let us return to the prophet Micah. In confirmation that the state of peace, pre- dicted in the beginning of the 4th chapter is not universal, and extends not beyond the church, or the nations with which the church is allied, the latter part of this chapter refers to a state of conflict ; " Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion." But Zion is to reign triumphant ; she has been driven into the wilderness, and cast down and trampled in the dust; and Satan's wiles have thrown a spell around her, to render her out- lines dim and uncertain ; and the nations have been thereby deceived. She is now to emerge into light, and to be prosperous and advancing. " And thou, 0 tower of the flock, the strong- hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the flrst dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem." The first dominion is to come to the daus:h- ter of Jerusalem. Who is the daughter of Jerusalem? or the daughter of Zion? Zion, or the true church, had her beginning in the 190 THE TEUE CHURCH. Jewish dispensation. The Jewish church was, in figurative language, the elder, or parent, or mother of Zion; as the dispensation which follows gives birth to the younger, or child, or daughter of Zion. Of this church the daughter of Zion, composed of a remnant of her that halted, and of her that was cast far off, shall come, "even the first dominion." This dominion is to be possessed, but not without a struggle. The daughter of Zion is to labour to bring it forth, " Be in pain and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies." Throughout Christendom will be a mighty effort to keep to the old state of things. This state of things has been too in- dulgent and too lucrative to be given up with- out a struggle. The several temporal churches will strive hard to maintain their loved pecu- liarities, but Zion shall rule. To the daugh- ter of Zion shall be the first dominion; and even in Babylon — "Babylon the great," shall she be delivered of her children. " Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say. Let her be defiled, and THE TRUE CHURCH. 191 let our eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither under- stand they his counsel ; for he shall gather them as sheaves into the floor." The Lord will strengthen Zion. He will give her power over her enemies. " Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion : for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass : and thou shalt beat in pieces many people : and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord of the whole earth." As in some countries the horses tread out the corn, so shall the daughter of Zion tread out and beat in pieces many people. As I have before noticed in Zechariah, " And they shall be as mighty men which tread down their ene- mies in the mire of the streets in the battle, and they shall fight because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be con- founded."* The exalted and the lofty in that day shall be confounded. Micah concludes his prediction, "And I will consecrate the gain of the many people unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth." This concluding part of the prediction would seem to point to the nature of the conflict. The gain of the many people who are to be * Zech. X. 5. 192 THE TRUE CHURCH. beat in pieces, is to be consecrated to the Lord of the whole earth. For the maladministration, and for the misappropriation of their gains, and for their opposition to Zion, and for their desire, " Let her be defiled," the Lord will strengthen her, and make her horn iron, and her hoofs brass, that she may have power to beat down and tread in pieces her enemies. And their unsanctified gains, and their unblessed sub- stance shall be consecrated to the Lord of the whole earth. I now leave the scriptural proofs of the posi- tions I have taken up, that the new Jerusalem is the true church, and that the Jews will be restored to this Jerusalem, — the Jerusalem seated in the midst of the Holy Land — the land promised to the seed, and to the seed's seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — the land to be equally apportioned to the twelve tribes of Israel — and the land in which the tribe of Judah will find apportionment. I think I have established beyond a doubt that the people of this tribe will be restored to the new Jerusa- lem— the land flowing with milk and honey — the land promised to their forefathers, through whom all the nations of the earth are to be blessed. And I have shown that in this bless- ing, the sons of Joseph with the descendants of THE TEUE CHURCH. 193 Judah, are especially to be united, and to have an equal participation, — that all true disciples and followers of the Lord Jesus inherit this blessing, — that the struggle now will be, be- tween these and those who set up other gods, gods of their vain ceremonials, gods of their own imao-inino^s, and that the issue of the struggle is not doubtful. These God will bless; and they will live and reign with Christ a thousand years. These are they " beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which have not wor- shipped the beast, neither his image, neither have received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands." These shall be "priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thou- sand years." These live, " but the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." The rest of the dead are still as the dry bones. They lie scattered without flesh, without life; the bones — not of the fol- lowers of the Lamb — are without life. The breath of the four winds of God does not breathe upon them, and they live not. The life poured into the people of God, into the true Israel, is the first resurrection. "Blessed and holy is he who hath part in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath no power." K 194 THE TRUE CHURCH. PART III. THE COURSE OF THE CHURCH. Since the foregoing two parts were pub- lished, I have given considerable attention to the subject of the millennium, as well as the future course of the church, and I have arrived at most certain conclusions, not only with re- gard to the millennial period, but likewise to the distant future. The state of ignorance, in spiritual things, in which a large portion of the world wallows, has long engaged my attention ; and to seek a way out of it the dearest feeling of my heart. 1 knew that this could only be found in God's word. It is the misunderstanding this, that men differ in opinion so much ; and many fail to seek out, and to look for, a one great need here below — a star to direct them to truth. As it was with the wise men of the East, so wise men in all ages, need the bright morning star, the Star of David, to guide them now. It has been said to me, when advocating my THE TRUE CHURCH. 195 opinions by conversation among my few per- sonal friends, " There are men of undoubted piety, of vast erudition, of most comprehensive minds, who cannot reach truth : and do not you want humility, in supposing you should know better than they?" My readers, I am not a learned man, but in some respects, perhaps I have an advantage over learned men. I can- not, like them, devote my whole energies to discover the true meaning of a Hebrew word. I have not time for, and do not care to weigh, the several arguments of the learned fathers put forth through the succession of ages. I am not about to depreciate the merit of those, who can trace the shades of difference in Hebraic words, or the industry of those, who wade through ponderous dusty tomes, the labours of past ages. Learning and its appliances have pro- duced great results; and mankind are deeply indebted to all who have so devoted themselves. But the grand features of God's government, — the future in God's providence, are not so reached. It is not the study of the fathers will reach thereunto. It is the reading God's word in a teachable spirit that can alone arrive at the truth in these matters. As is said to Daniel, " From the time that thou didst set thy heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before K 2 196 THE TEUE CHURCH. thy God, thy words were heard." And again in Revelation, — "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.'' In God's book alone, is bright, radiant, unalloyed truth. Elsewhere, she is mixed up with much of human error, and h\v -" falsehood. It may then be an advantage to come to God's word, unbiased by previous inculcations, unswerved by the dogmas of theological schools, untainted by partizanship, unmystified by the much, which human minds have laid over the truth, as it is in God's word. Do not let me be misunderstood as decrying the help of learning. Without the help ob- tained from the learning of others, I should not now know what I do. The helps, which learn- ing has given, have opened up much which otherwise would have remained incomprehen- sible. And though God in past times, taught the truth directly to his favourite ones, and often now vouchsafes some glimpses by direct communion of the Holy Spirit ; yet the growth of knowledge and wisdom, which is the advance- ment of truth, is like the growth of all nature's works — progressive. Very much is due to all the wise and learned men who have written upon divine subjects. Tliough all often err. THE TRUE CHURCH. 197 yet by the collision of mind with mind is the truth struck out. Amidst the mass of error in which she is sometimes mingled, some bright thoughts bring her to the surface. But can the man, whose thoughts are thus directed, claim to himself any superiority ? It may be that his very weakness, and want of breadth or comprehensiveness, are the causes why he is more enlivened and interested by things more immediately presented, and within his reach. Away, then, with every vain thought. I hope that all will believe me, when I say, that I respect all from whom 1 differ. 1 do not think, because I have reached unto the truth, I am therefore wiser than they, or have a greater intellectual grasp than they. All such notions I deprecate. I am a weak, and erring, and unlearned man: but it has pleased the Almighty God to permit me to get glimpses into the future, and into what is truth, as these are revealed in the writings of his holy prophets, and as I have said in my first address, it be-, comes my bounden duty to make them known. And oh ! how beautiful is the harmony that reigns through the whole of the written word of God. This, alone, bespeaks its origin. Let man study this : he needs not to go to the fathers, or depend but little upon the works of 198 THE TEUE CHURCH. any child of man. This observation is not meant offensively ; but I cannot but say, if many v^riters of the present day, would but study the fathers less, and the word of God more, they would find a profit thereby. The word of Grod is all-sufficient, not only to make us wise unto salvation, but wise also in this world's ways. The works of commentators may be read with advantage, but why should these be appealed to, when God himself has written all that is needful to teach us his mind with regard to us. Compare Scripture, with Scripture, in a humble, teachable spirit, and the beautiful harmony that reigns throughout, will open up the ways of God to man, and His in- tentions with regard to man's ultimate condition, not only in heaven but upon earth. Contenting myself with the few observations I have made, which have some kind of relation to that very troublesome person, self, and now casting him overboard, permit me to crave the attention of my readers, whether favourable or unfavourable, to my previous exposition. I feel confident that I have advanced the truth, and I feel equally confident, that what I am about to advance is the truth. I have headed this third part of my book " The Course of the Church." I hold opinions THE TRUE CHURCH. 199 perfectly distinct from those, I believe, of all men, upon the future and ultimate course of the church. And it is not only the millennial period, but her whole course that I am now desirous of showing. I do not think it needful to refute all that has been advanced upon this subject by previous writers. Suffice it to say, that the whole of the premillennialists I think to be wrong. I mean by premillennialists, all who advocate the second advent of the Saviour, at the commence- ment of the millennial period. The Rev. D. Brown, a second edition of whose book on the second advent has just appeared, has con- clusively shown this. Should my readers be desirous of gaining information, and getting conviction upon this point, they will do well to consult him. He has shown so satisfactorily the errors of the premillennialists, that nothing more need be said about them. I hope that all these learned and excellent men will not be offended at this avowal. They have contributed towards a general fund for good, and are the servants of a good Master, who applauds a good intention, and rewards an honest, faithful heart. While I do not think it needful, to make any comment, upon all the remarkable notions of many preceding writers, I do think it needful 200 THE TRUE CHURCH. to canvas the opinions put forth by the Kev. D. Brown. In many I think him right. In some I think him wrong. In differing from so learned, and able, and good a divine, I hope it will not be thought I am presumptuous. I will state wherein I agree, and wherein I differ, and will then take up the argument to show why I differ. I a^^ree with him in discountenancing the opinion, that the language of the millennium is to be viewed literally. I hold with him that it must be received figuratively. And perhaps I go a little farther than he, in declaring that the whole apocalypse is figurative, excepting the fact of John being at Patmos. That symbols are employed to represent a course of things. And the description of the millennial period, is by symbols, as a part of the course. I hold with him that Satan being bound for a thousand years, and shut up that he should deceive the nations no more, means, that he is restrained from deluding the nations during this period. I differ with him in the extent of that restraint, and hereafter I will point out how far. I agree with him, that the language, "the souls beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, and who live and reign with THE TRUE CHURCH. 201 Christ a thousand years," does not mean literally that the martyrs of past ages will rise from their graves, but that they will reign in their principles, by a stream of living men of like characters, and that Christ will also reign, by, and in them. I agree with him that, the first resurrection, is the fact, of many rising out of that spiritual death to which they have been subject. Or, in other words, that the church is now emerging into light, after having been driven into the wilderness, where she has been prophesying, '^clothed in sackcloth a thousand two hundred and threescore days." I agree with him that Satanic influence continues on individuals. This is shown by the words " the rest of the dead." Having stated how far I agree with the Rev. D. Brown, let me state wherein I differ from him. I differ with him in his opinion that Christ's reign will be universal. I believe it will be confined to Christendom. I diflfer with him in his opinion that Satan's influence will now be confined to individuals. I believe it will still be exerted upon Mahom- edan and Pagan nations. Consequently, I diflPer with him in his opin- K 5 202 THE TRUE CHURCH. ions that "there will be universal reception of true religion," and "universal peace." Having stated wherein I differ, let me pro- ceed to show why I differ. I will follow the most excellent example set by the Rev. D. Brown, and put forth a proposition. And this proposition is the only one I think it needful to put forth. Should I establish this one, then I break down the whole of his opinions in which we differ. My proposition is, — The state of things connected with the millennial period, is confined to Christendom. I would observe in the first place, it is written, in reference to Satan being bound, "that he should deceive the nations no moreP And again, when he is loosed for a little season, that he "shall go out to deceive the nations that are in the four quarters of the earth." These two declarations look like a contradiction; but I need not say there is not a contradiction. The first declaration has reference to the matters connected with the destruction of "Babylon the Great," and which have only relation to Christendom. This I shall hereafter show. The second has reference to the whole world. And thus the lancruao;e of the latter differs from the former. The first is "the nations," THE TRUE CHURCH. 203 simply "the nations." The other, "the nations in the four corners of the earth." The first, it will be discovered, will be deceived no more. The latter will continue to be deceived until the struggle and issue, after the thousand years. I shall make these matters very clear by carrying my readers for a time, with me to the book of Daniel. I shall interpret the whole of the prophecies which have relation to the course of the church. And we shall discover, that Popery ceases to reign, long before Mahomed- anism and Paganism are overthrown. It is not my intention to go into a very critical examination of the structure of each prophecy. I shall separate one vision from another, so distinctly, as to make each clear, and shall show the relation one bears to another. The first is the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, the explanation of which by Daniel, may be styled the comprehensive prediction; including as it does all time on earth, from the time it was revealed to Daniel, to the close of all things here. In this prediction are four kingdoms that shall have sway upon the earth. The Baby- lonish, the Medo-Persian, the Grecian, and the Roman. "And in the days of these kings'* (or kingdoms), "shall the God of heaven set up 204 THE TRUE CHURCH. a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." Or, in the words of a previous verse, "Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshins'-floors ; and the wind carried them away that no place was found for them : and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." In this description, we have the several great monarchies, or kingdoms, all subdued to the kingdom, which the God of heaven sets up. This vision does not concern itself with details. In a comprehensive manner, and in few words, it shows the great empires, out of which all lesser kingdoms rise, which are to be subdued to an empire, in the time of Daniel not yet risen, but which now has made large strides over, and will ultimately cover the whole earth. It is said "This kingdom shall stand for ever." That these words are to be taken in a limited sense seems beyond doubt. And they are to be understood to convey a meaning, that as long as the earth endures, so long shall this kingdom rule. They are intended to show there is no definite termination. But as Peter THE TRUE CHURCH. 205 has declared that "all these things shall be dis- solved, and the earth and all things therein burnt up," this kingdom, as connected with the earth, shall cease therefore to be when that great event is brought about. Let us now look to the next prediction, or rather vision, of Daniel, to be found in the seventh chapter. Here, as in the former, there are shown four kingdoms, but under a different figure. There are four great beasts that come up from the sea. Observe, come up from the sea. The term sea, representing here, as in many other places in Scripture, the Pagan world. These four beasts, represent the four kingdoms, men- tioned in the first prediction. And then, the vision goes on to show, that out of the latter, or Roman kingdom, a little horn should arise. This little horn represents the Papacy. "And this little horn had eyes as a man and a mouth speaking great things." There is no doubt about this little horn being the Papacy. Not only from the construction of the symbols employed, and their relation to things, but also because the next vision so plainly refers to Mahomedanism, and because the last vision of Daniel, taken in connection with the one now under consideration, renders the interpretation put upon this indubitable. 206 THE TRUE CHURCH. This prophecy, in contradistinction to the first, is not a comprehensive prediction. That is, it does not comprehend the whole scheme, or the whole time of action of the first. It is a part only, of the whole. It is intended to show the course of the church in one direction. And that direction is in the western kingdoms. Her obstructions in this direction are pointed out. The obstructions come from Pagan Rome. But now observe, the beast is said to exist during the reign of the little horn. '^I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake. I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame." The obstruction is first with Paganism. And it is continued afterward by nominal Chris- tianism. When the Roman kingdom accepted Christianity, they welded into it much of Paganism. They were not content with the all-sufiicient sacrifice of one Mediator, but they attached besides, many other sacrifices, and set up the abomination that maketh desolate. They were to make war with the saints, and to prevail against them until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. THE TRUE CHURCH. 207 Daniel, having shown in general terms the de- struction of the Roman kingdom, including the little horn, and the reign of the saints of the Most High that shall follow, goes into minuter detail, in order to show when the power of the Roman kingdom shall cease. He first shows the extensive power of Rome. He then divides this extended dominion into ten kingdoms. And after these " another shall rise, and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hand, until a time, and times, and dividing of time." It is not at all necessary to my argument to show the precise time when the little horn ceases to reign. It is enough that the little horn is predicted by Daniel to arise in the Roman kingdom, and is found to represent the papal power. That the little horn is an ob- struction to the church ; and that upon its re- moval the kingdom is given to the saints of the Most High. All protestant divines, concur in assigning to this vision, its fulfilment in the papal dominancy. It is written "And the kingdom, and do- minion, and the greatness of the kingdom under 208 THE TRUE CHURCH. the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." Now the expression, " under the whole heaven," does not here mean the entire reign over the whole earth of the people of the saints, but is evidently limited for a time to the dominion which, in the previous verse, is to be consumed. The Roman power is to be utterly consumed and destroyed " unto the end." And upon this destruction, the reign of the saints is complete, as far as the influence of this power extends. And their reign, once begun, vfili be continued throughout all time on earth. But it will not yet extend over the whole earth. We shall find, in considering the next vision, there is yet an obstruction to be removed. The expression, therefore, "under the whole heaven," must mean that portion of the earth over which the Lord of heaven has extended the kingdom He set up. The little stone has become now a mountain that fills this portion of the earth. The time, times, and dividing of time, that the little horn is to reign, are, according to every conmientator, a year, two years, and half a year, or 360 days, 720 days, and 180 days: 30 days making a Jewish month, and 12 months THE TRUE CHURCH. 209 making the year. So that time, times, and dividing of time, make 1260 days. And a prophetic day, according to Ezekiel, is a year. Thus the little horn, or Papal dominion, was to last 1260 years. That the interpretation, with regard to this power, is correct, there is not a doubt: other prophecies dovetailing into this interpretation. That Daniel has been describing the Papal dominancy is certain. And when examined with the last vision of Daniel, and the vision of St. John, which has relation to the same events, the evidence is complete. Indeed, the language of Daniel in the vision now under consideration, is most convincing. The whole of the seventh chapter, it seems to me, cannot be read with any other interpre- tation. Let us go on to the next vision, to be found in the eighth chapter. In this we shall find Daniel is describing the Mahomedan power. Having gone through a channel, in which obstruction was to be raised to Christ's kingdom in one direction, he is now shown an obstruction that was to be raised in another. Being first shown the obstruction in the Western nations, he is then shown the obstruction in the Eastern. This vision, like the last, is only part of a whole, and is 210 THE TRUE CHURCH. intended to show the course of the church in the East. Unlike the two preceding, this makes no mention of the reign of the saints of the Most High. Having shown in the two former, the absolute reign of Christ, in, or by his people over the whole earth, it was not needful to do so again. The prophecy concerns only the rise and reign, for a limited period, of Mahomed- anism. That there may be no mistake as to what the symbols represent, Daniel has them ex- plained to him. "The ram wliich thou sawest having two horns, are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up." We see the whole action of this vision is limited to the Eastern nations where Mahomed- anism rules. Alexander the Great overran these nations. At his death, four of his generals divided the kingdom among them. And in the THE TRUE CHUECH. 211 latter time of these kingdoms, the man of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences set up a kingdom. That the vision has reference to Mahomed- anism is very plain. Here again is a little horn that comes forth out of four notable horns, or kingdoms. And this little horn "waxes exceedingly great toward the South, and toward the East, and toward the pleasant land." That is, it waxes great within the circle of the vision ; in Arabia, towards Persia, and in Judea. The term, the pleasant land, sufficiently describes the power that rises. It waxes great towards the pleasant land, that is, the Holy Land, the land of Judea. It is further written, "Yea, he magnified himself, even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised and prospered." Let us consider the several parts of these two verses. "He magnified himself even to the prince of the host." This is a peculiar feature of Mahomet's religion. The Prince of the host 212 THE TRUE CHURCH. is the Saviour. Mahomet said Jesus Christ was a prophet, but Mahomet was a greater. He thus "magnified himself even to the Prince of the host." " By him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down." That is, the perpetual sacrifice was taken away. Daniel, when showing, in the next chapter, the destruction of the Jewish polity, writes at the close, " He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." Here, Daniel's language is the sacrifice and the oblation, not the daily sacrifice. If we turn to Leviticus, we find the sacrifices and the oblations are numerous, and Moses is instructed to tell the people that they are to offer them of their own "voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." They are instructed to offer them as peace offerings, and sin offerings, and this they do at intervals. It is written, chap. iv. 27. "If any of the com- mon people sin through ignorance, while he doth somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord, concerning things which ought not to be done and be guilty: or if his sin which he hath sinned come to his knowledge, then he shall bring his offering." We see, therefore. THE TRUE CHURCH. 213 these offerings or sacrifices were not daily but occasional. Sacrifices n^aj, or may not have been daily, as voluntary offerings from some one or other of the whole community, but they were not daily for each individual sinner. The reverse is the case, under the all sufficient sacrifice of the Lamb without blemish, which is a daily, and perpetual sacrifice, for the sins of each and all, throughout all ages. I will treat more fully, the subject of the daily sacrifice, hereafter. The remaining portion of the verses quoted is sufficiently obvious. "The place of the Prince of the host's sanctuary was cast down. "And an host was given him" (he who waxed great) " against the daily sacrifice," or perpetual sacrifice, " by reason of transgression ; and it cast down the truth to the ground, and it practised and prospered." That it cast down the truth to the ground sufficiently shows what is meant by the daily sacrifice. And that it cast it down, points plainly to the power which Daniel sees will be raised. We shall find in the next vision, wherein is reference to the Roman power, that the truth is not cast down, but is overlaid and polluted. It is written, " In the latter time of their kingdom," (that is, the four kingdoms rising up 214 THE TRUE CHURCH. out of the Grecian or Alexandrian kingdom) when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up» And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people." The "mighty and the holy people" represent God's covenant people, either under the old or new covenant. And these are to be borne down in the countries within the scene of the vision, by a power raised by a man of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences. Had this vision been understood by our fore- fathers, they would have seen it was utterly useless, the attempt to recover possession of the Holy Land. It will be restored to the saints of the Most High, but not yet for many centuries. That the power, to be set up in opposition to Christ's kingdom, was to be by a man of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, is expressive. In the life of Mahomet it is said of him that he shut himself up for some time previous to the promulgation of his religion, that he retired to a cave, and brooded over religious subjects, and was par- ticularly cognizant of the several systems of re- THE TEUE CHUECH. 215 ligion around him. And that by his knowledge of these things, he was enabled to compound a system derived from all these, not excluding a portion out of the sacred religion of God. He said of himself that he was an illiterate man. But this is not to be credited ; even some of his own followers impugn this state- ment. Had he been totally illiterate, that he could neither read, nor write, of wdiat avail would have been his seclusion from the world? That he was a king of fierce countenance is also significant. He propagated his religion with the sword. And his followers proved themselves well able to wield that instrument in all their contests. I need not further examine this vision than to show the duration of the power which it exhibits. I do not think it needful to go through the whole structure of each prophecy, and to show the bearino-s of all their several parts. All I wish to do, is to analyze the visions so far, as to separate them distinctly into their several objects. Now wdth regard to the full accomplishment of this vision, it is written, " Then I heard ope saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake. How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and 216 THE TRUE CHURCH. the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me. Unto two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Here we have the declaration, that the little horn, which waxes great in the pleasant land, shall continue to exist for two thousand three hundred years. The ninth chapter of Daniel contains the vision of the coming of the Messiah, the Prince of the host, who was to destroy the Jewish polity, and set up the kingdom, which destroys all other kingdoms, or systems, and which is destined to fill the whole earth. I need not touch upon this prophecy ; it is well understood. Having long since been accomplished, in strict accordance with Daniel's prediction. Let us now proceed to the last vision, to be found in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth chapters. We have seen that the first vision is a comprehensive prediction: that all nations and tongues shall be subdued to one universal kingdom, a dominion that the God of heaven sets up. We have seen that the second exhibits a power that shall oppose itself to this kingdom. We have seen that the third shows another power that shall oppose itself. Now the fourth. THE TEUE CHUECH. 217 that I am about to examine, shows the fate of the Jews. This last has been exceedingly difficult of comprehension. It was so intended by the Almighty. Unlike the other visions wherein is written, "Make this man to understand; " at the close of this it is, "I heard, but I understood not" Daniel said to the man clothed in linen, " O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things ? " And he said, " Go thy way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." Daniel understood a good portion of the prediction, but he understood not the whole. He writes at the beginning, "he had under- standing of the vision." That is, he understood its import, that it related to his own people, the Jews. He is told this at the very com- mencement. "Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days." (Observe, " for many days," a further confirmation that prophetical days are literal years.) The first part of the vision related in the early part of the eleventh chapter, concerns the people and countries more immediately con- nected with the Jews, before the introduction L 218 THE TRTJE CHURCH. of Christianity. It is not necessary for me to make mention of these. Blackie's folio Bible sufficiently explains, in the marginal notes, this portion of the vision. Succeeding to this is the introduction of the Roman power, in these words, "For the ships of Chittim shall come." Now Chittim, in the Hebrew geography, was land lying on the north coast of the great sea, or Mediterranean. And it is drawn in the form of a large island. The Jews knew nothing of geography. They were utterly ignorant of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. And it is only very recent navigators that have laid down the boundaries of these mighty seas. Four centuries ago, and they were utterly unknown. The knowledge of geography is quite a modern acquisition. Chittim therefore, in Hebrew geography, was an ill-defined place. But ships coming towards the land of Judea, and from the North-West were said to be ships of Chittim. The Roman power in Daniel's time was only just rising, and its locality indifferently under- stood. But as his vision was of the future, he sees ships coming from that direction, towards the shores of his own nation. That the Roman power is here meant is certain from what follows. And this may be gathered, not only THE TRUE CHURCH. 219 from the description in this vision, but likewise by the similitude that exists with other prophe- cies relating to this power. The reason why the Roman power is intro- duced is easily understood. The first part of the vision, as I have before stated, relates to the kingdoms that should play their several parts on the theatre of the earth, around and within the land of Judea, — Persia, Syria, Egypt, and Greece. The Jews are to be first affected by these kingdoms. The scene then changes by the introduction of the Roman power. This power is brought into conflict with the Jews. The Romans destroy the Jewish polity, and disperse the people over the face of the earth, and in their wanderings, this power becomes their greatest persecutor. The Romish influence, penetrated so much, every part into which the Jews were driven, that Papal Chris- tianity became the bitterest ingredient, in the bitter cup, which these unhappy people were made to drink. After the introduction of the Roman power it is written, '' They shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate." Now this is not the taking away of the daily sacrifice that is men- l2 220 THE TRUE CHUECH. tioned with reference to the Mahomedan power. The two descriptions vary materially. With regard to Mahomedanism, the w^ords are " Yea, he magnified himself, even to the Prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. "With regard to Romanism the words are, "they &h2i\[ pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate." In the former, the language is descriptive of an overthrow ; in the latter of, not an overthrow, but a corruption — a pollu- tion of the sanctuary of strength. The sanc- tuary of strength, is the sanctuary of the Redeemer. And this has been the sanctuary to all men in all ages. Job said, " I know that my Redeemer liveth." Both descriptions apply to one thing, that is, they regard the opposition to Christ's kingdom. But they refer to two periods of time, and to two i:)laces on earth. One has reference to Mahomedanism when it prevailed in the east, and drove out from thence the Christian church. The other has relation to popery, when Rome set up a kingdom, having for head and ruler one who usurped the power of Christ, and polluted his sanctuary. That the portion of the vision, w4iich predicts THE TRUE CHUECH. 221 a power, that "shall take away the daily- sacrifice, and set up the abomination that maketh desolate," refers to E-ome, is quite certain. A little examination will show this. Immediately after the abomination that maketh desolate is set up, Daniel, or rather the man clothed in linen, goes on to show, the course things shall take in the Roman kingdom. And Daniel's account agrees with that given by St. John, in the Apocalypse. In both, there is the struggle between the faithful and the corrupt. In both, there is the little help promised to the faithful. In both, is shown the great power to which the Romish hierarchy should attain. And in both, is shown the like termination to this power. In both is language applied descriptive of corruption. In the one it is pollution, in the other it is the whore. Daniel writes, "And the king shall do ac- cording to his will ; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself, above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished." That this has reference to the pope, there is no doubt. He styles himself the centre of spiritual life. He claims the power of God, and holds his will supreme. He magnifies himself above every god, that is, l3 222 THE TRUE CHURCH. every god of his forefathers ; and even speaks marvellous things against the God of gods. And to connect him more closely with this prophecy, it is written : " Neither shall he regard the god of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any God; for he shall magnify himself above all." This description will not hold at all with regard to Mahomet. He permits a plurality of wives. The pope decrees celibacy to his priesthood. Again, it is written, " But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces : and a God whom his fathers knew not, shall he honour with gold, and with silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things." The God whom his fore- fathers, the Roman pagans, knew not, the pope honours with costly ornaments: witness the Romish temples, the Romish altars, the Romish pictures ; witness the pleasant things in the fat valleys. Again, in the next verse : " Thus shall he do in the most strong holds, with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge, and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain." What can be more expressive than this ? The strong holds, are where Christ has planted his standard. And in these parts of the earth, the THE TRUE CHURCH. 223 pope "shall acknowledge, and increase with glory, a strange god." Strange, indeed, he is ! Strange to the God of gods! Strange to Christ's kingdom I Strange to Christian hearts and Christian affections. And who is this etrange god? Who is this that is acknow- ledged and increased with glory? Who are they, who in their corporate character, he causes "to rule over many, and divide the land for gain?" My friends, I need not tell you who this strange god is. The lineaments are too plain, and too palpable. The church I the church ! this is the strange God ; this is the god, who is set up in the affections, where Christ alone should reign. We now come to a portion of this pre- diction that is future. And this it is impos- sible to determine confidently. But the kings, of the north and of the south introduced herein, are now very different powers from those men- tioned in the first portion of this vision. The scene, first laid in the east, is now shifted to the west. The kings of the north and the south, first spoken of, were connected with the eastern nations : they are now connected with the western. The Jews were first affected by the eastern powers ; afterwards they were more affected by, and interested in, the western. The 224 THE TRUE CHURCH. kings of the north and south, are powers north and south of Rome. The Roman power, is to be subdued, and the words are, " At the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him; and the king of the north, shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships ; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall over- flow and pass over." The king of the south may probably mean England ; this power hold- ing vast possessions south of Italy and the papal states. The king of the north, the European powers, these are "to hate the whore, and to make her desolate and naked." They give their strength to her for a iliue, but they are destined to turn upon and overthrow her. Rev. xvii. Of the king of the north, it is written, " He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown ; but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon." I direct attention to this verse, because it describes the land held by the Mahomedan power — the glorious land, or the holy land. And the chief of the children of Ammon, de- scribes the power by which the land is governed. In the words quoted is an attack foretold, upon THE TRUE CHURCH. 225 the land under Mahomedan rule, shortly, or sometime after, the attack upon the land under papal rule. The latter, of which the Reforma- tion was the beginning, will be successful, the former will not. This kingdom has not yet come to its end; and in accordance with the previous prediction,lasts yet many years, and we shall find remains intact, a long time after the Jews become Christians. And herein will be one means, among others, after their eyes become opened to the truths of Christianity, to remove from their earthly affections, a long cherished expectation. In the continuance of the Mahomedan rule, we have a conclusive argument against the Jews' return to the holy land, finding as we soon shall, that they are ingathered, while this land is yet in the pos- session of Mahomedans. It is said of the Roman power, " He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace, between the seas in the glorious holy mountain ; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him." That "he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace in the glorious holy mountain," may probably mean, that at the time of the closing conflict, he may struggle still for life, by accepting protestant doctrines, and throwing off much of popery, and conforming more than heretofore to 226 THE TRUE CHURCH. Christ ; and instead of preaching the saints, and the Virgin Mary, and priestly forgiveness, popery will preach Jesus as the Saviour. But observe, he shall plant, not his heart, not his affections, but " the tabernacles of his palace," the crying sin of old, the church, in the glorious holy mountain. The splendid edifice, raised in all the gorgeousness, which wealth and power, acquired by dividing the land for gain, is called the "tabernacles of his palace." He shall plant this in the glorious holy mountain. That mountain which is destined ultimately to fill the whole earth. The kingdom of Jesus, which is moving onward in its mighty course, shall receive accession of strength, "even out of Babylon ;" and true doctrines shall be preached by papists; yet the Eoman king, or popery, "shall come to his end, and none shall help him." We have now to consider the last chapter of Daniel, wherein is shown the future, with regard not only to Komanism, but likewise to the Jews. The destruction of one is the raising up of the other. Herein is declared the termination of the Koman power. Herein is declared, when the Jews shall return into the fold from which they were driven. And here we again discover the beautiful harmony, that THE TEUE CHURCH. 227 reigns throughout Christ's kingdom. So long as the whore usurped the place of the wife, so long are the Jews kept out of the church ; but no sooner is the wife restored to her rightful position, than these outcasts are welcomed back again to their inheritance. The last chapter shows when these things shall be. It is chiefly filled with the state of the Jews at this period. It is written, " Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth." That is, many whose eyes are closed, that they cannot see, by reason of the earthly sentiments which cling to them, and they sleep, and have thus slept for many centuries. They are now to " awake, some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting contempt." As in the Christian community, there will be good and bad among them. " And they that be wise, shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever." Daniel is then told " to shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end." We see then the reason, why this prediction has not before been understood. At least, I presume it has not; the most recent published bibles giving no clue to an interpre- tation. Having predicted the spiritual resur- rection of the Jews, the man in linen declares 228 THE TRUE CHURCH. when this shall be : and also declares the end of the Eoman power or papacy. We will take them as they occur in Daniel's description. The first is with regard to the Koman papacy. It is written, " Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be in- creased." These are marks by which to learn the coming period. The man in linen then declares that it shall be " for a time, times, and half a time." As before, with reference to this same power, its duration is marked by " time, times, and half a time :" that is, 1260 years from its being set up as a pollution. It is then said, " And when he shall have accomplished to scatter the holy people, all these things shall be finished." The things which the vision especially concerns, were the matters in connection with, and relating to, the Jews. These things shall be all finished, when their greatest persecutor shall have accomplished to scatter the holy people. The work begun by this power is now completed out. Here is the termination. The holy people, God's own people, they whom He promised to bless, as the seed of Abraham, are now to be restored to the promised possession. There is a portion of this prophecy not easy to be understood, but which I think has refer- THE TRUE CHURCH. 229 ence to the condition of the world at this time. I refer to the 5th and 6th verses. " Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river. How long shall it be to the end of these wonders ?" I understand the river to mean, the " waters that issue out toward the east country, and which gradually swell, from being first ankle deep, into a mighty river that cannot be passed over ;"^ a river that shall ultimately cover the earth. The man in linen upon these waters, is the Lord of the waters. The two other men, I take to be, one representing Popery, the other, Mahomedanism. These two latter want purity. The man presiding over the waters is clothed in linen, the others are not said to be. And this distinction guides to a knowledge of them. They are the two persons shown in the preceding visions, which take away the daily sacrifice, and place the abomination that maketh desolate. The man in linen is represented as being on the waters, the two others as being, one on either side. That is unlike Paganism, * Ezek, xlvii. 230 THE TRUE CHURCH. ^hich has no connection with the river, these two claim to accompany it. They worship the God of all the earth, but they do so falsely. As I have shown, they want purity. One of these men says to the man clothed in linen, " How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?" We may suppose this to be the man greatly interested in the question. And which, by the bye, is most aptly illustrated, by the pope at Gaeta, who ordained a three days' fast, that he may put the like question. We have now come to the first prophetical period in this vision, and we have it clearly established, to whom it refers. It is not my purpose at present to fix dates. I seek only clearly to establish truths. God, in His own good time, will work His will ; and in His providence, things that are to be, will be. And whether a year or two sooner or later, is matter of little anxiety to those who patiently await His will. But the time, times, and half a time, commenced when popery established itself first to be the centre of spiritual life, and offered other sacrifices, in lieu of the daily and perpetual sacrifice ; when it usurped in fact the place of the Saviour. Let us proceed to the concluding prophecies, to be found in this vision. THE TRUE CHURCH. 231 Daniel writes, " And I heard but I under- stood not ; then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things ? " And he is an- swered, " Go thy way, Daniel, for the words are closed up, and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried ; but the wicked shall do wickedly ; and none of the wicked shall understand : but the wise shall understand." It must be borne in mind, that the whole of the vision has especial reference to the Jews. It is exhibited to Daniel, that he may know what shall befall his people in the latter end. That is, not the latter end of the world, but the latter end of them as a distinct people. The declaration with regard to them, that, " many shall be purified and made white," is tantamount to saying, that, ^^they that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake." The declaration, that, " the wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament," is only another expression, for, "the wise among his people shall understand." The whole vision, then, has especial regard to the Jews, The two con- cluding predictions concern only them. And the other prediction with reference to Romanism is introduced, because it is connected closely with the fate of these people. Daniel had be- fore predicted the downfall of Romanism, and 232 THE TRUE CHUHCII. when it should be. But it Avas to connect with it the fate of the Jews, and to show thereby, that which related to them. It was a landmark set up to guide them. And when popery, with its false lights shall be extinguished, then will these people be gathered in. The time of their ingathering is declared by Daniel in these words, " And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he, that waiteth and Cometh, to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." The taking away the daily sacrifice herein again mentioned, must not be confounded with the taking away the daily sacrifice mentioned in the former vision, and having reference to Mahomedanism. It is plain, it is to be connected, with the taking away the daily sacrifice with regard to Roman- ism. This last vision regarding the Jews took place some years after the former with reference to Mahomedanism. One was in the third year of the reign of Belshazzar, the other in the third year of the reign of Cyrus. An interval of some years elapsed between them. The prediction herein set forth, can have therefore no connection as it regards the daily sacrifice THE TRUE CHURCH. 233 in the former vision, but relates wholly to the one we are now considering. The 1290 years reckon, then, from the taking away the daily sacrifice by the Roman power or popery. We have seen, that popery falls in 1260 years from the time of its establishment. The Jews are to awake from their sleep, and will recognise and accept their Saviour, and mingle in His kingdom with the saints of the Most High, thirty years after the downfall of popery. They are to be restored to communion, and received back again into the family of the Lord of Zion at the time predicted. They are to be no longer a scattered and persecuted people, but the time of their deliverance is come. The fold, from which they have so long time wan- dered, is again opened to them. But they will not return by a simultaneous movement of the whole body. They will return, one by one, as I have before shown. And in forty-five years from the commencement of this move- ment, the greater part of the body will have returned to the fold. " Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." Implying, and showing, that this will be the time of their full restoration. Here is an end of them as a distinct people. They will now be gathered 234 THE TRUE CHUECH. into, and mingled with Christians. They will accept the new name. The old will be forgotten but as a record of the past. The first begotten of Zion, as the prodigal did, will return and be welcomed home again. And here, in the midst of a new family, the children of the daughter of Zion, will the old family, the children of the elder Zion, the scattered ones, find succour and repose The further evidence, in addition to what has been before advanced, which a just interpreta- tion of Daniel's prophecies furnish, put beyond dispute, the question of the Jews' return again to the land of Judea. It is now certain, that, as a people, this land will never be to them the place of their inheritance. It will be in pos- session of the Mahomedans, long after the Jews will have been restored into favour. The new Jerusalem it is to which they must look for succour and for help. And when the time is come to favour Zion, then will they be a restored people. And let it not be thought that the New Jerusalem is a shadow ; an unsubstantial thing ; an intangible reality; a creation altogether connected with the spiritual world. I thought so when I began to write the two former parts of this book ; I do not think so now. I can see THE TRUE CHURCH. 235 that it is a tangible, substantial, and visible reality. We have been accustomed to see the varied members of the Christian body pulled in opposite directions by antagonistic forces. But the time is coming when these will cease their influence ; and God's church will stand out in the bold relief of her beautiful proportions. The reign of the saints of the Most High will be a visible fact. I think it very important to understand the meaning of the daily sacrifice. To understand this aright, is to obtain the key, that unlocks the mystery, that has hung over the prophecies of Daniel. If the meaning of the daily sacrifice is what I have rendered it, the perpetual sacri- fice, and not a Jewish ritual, then we arrive quickly at a solution of the difficulties that sur- rounded the prophecies. If the term does not apply emphatically to a Jewish ritual, but applies especially, and significantly, to the daily, and perpetual, and all enduring sacrifice once offered by the one Mediator, Jesus Christ, then, we discover at once, that the two great oppo- nents to God's kingdom, have been the papacy and Mahonledanism. These two opposing powers have their empires seated, where Christianity was first established. These sup- planted Christ's church. And these there- 236 THE TRUE CHUECH. fore are the powers that Daniel foresees as opponents. I have before shown, out of Leviticus, that a Jew's sacrifice, or oblation, was not daily, but occasional. That when a Jew became conscious of the commission of an open sin, or a sin against the law, he was to offer a sacrifice at the door of the tabernacle of the cono^regation. This was the occasional sacrifice for his especial sin. I shall now show from the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus, that express orders were given to the high priest to make an atonement for him- self, and for the people, not daily, but only once a year. In the beginning of the chapter are instructions for the sin oiFering for the priest. " And the Lord said unto Moses, speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail be- fore the mercy seat, which is upon the ark ; that he die not ; for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place : with a young bullock for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering." Here then is an express order, not to offer a daily sacrifice. And we shall find at the close of this same chapter, wherein are instructions for offering a sacrifice for the sins of the people, THE TRUE CHURCH. 237 that it is to be annual. The people make their own offerings agreeable to the injunctions before alluded to when they feel conscious of a viola- tion of the law : but the sacrifice which is offered by the priest on behalf of all the people is once a year. " And this shall be a statute for ever unto you : that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no w^ork at all, ^vhether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you : for on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and w^hom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments ; and he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congrega- ton. And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year." 238 THE TRUE CHURCH. In tlie twenty-ninth chapter of Exodus we find instructions for a daily offering. " Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar ; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning ; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even : and with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil ; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering. And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord. This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord : where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar : I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that THE THUE CHURCH. 239 I may dwell among them: I am the Lord their God." After what we have read from Leviticus, we may learn, that this offering was not in itself a sacrifice, but typical of the effectual daily, or, perpetual sacrifice. In the former instructions, we find the offerings are said to be for atone- ment. It is not so here. But God declares that He will be present. He will sanctify. It was a daily offering, to foreshadow the perfect and perpetual offering. It was not itself the sacrifice. Or, there would have been no need of the occasional offerings of the people, and of the annual sacrifice and atonement by the priest on behalf of himself and the whole people. It was not, therefore, the daily sacrifice, the truth. It merely foreshadowed the daily sacrifice, the truth. It was the shadow preceding the sub- stance ; it was not the reality ; it was the re- presentation of the reality. It stood for, or was emblematic of the thing signified. St. Paul, in his epistle to the Hebrews, bears testimony to this truth, '^ By the which will we are sancti- fied through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins : but this Man, after he had offered one 240 THE TRUE CHUECH. sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down on the right hand of God ; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." There is another important reason, why the type was not meant by Daniel to be the daily sacrifice to be taken away. Daniel, in his first vision predicts a kingdom that should arise and overthrow other kingdoms. This kingdom could not be the kingdom of his own people. That had been long in existence. It was a kingdom to he set up. Now the after visions plainly concern this kingdom. It was to be a kingdom the God of heaven should set up. It was to be a reign of the saints of the Most High. We find the little horn makes war with the saints and prevails against them, " Until the Ancient of days come, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom." In this we perceive, the daily sacrifice had relation to the kingdom that the Lord of heaven set up. Any removal therefore prior to this, of the typical daily sacrifice, could not be the event predicted. It must have relation to an event in after times, when God's kingdom had been set up. THE TRUE CHUECH. 241 The taking away the daily sacrifice has been assigned to the overthrow of the altar at Jeru- salem by Antiochus Epiphanes. But there are many reasons why this is not the event sig- nified. 1. It could have no relation to the taking away the daily sacrifice mentioned in the eleventh chapter. That is a taking away by the Koman power; as is evidenced by other predictions which harmonize with the prediction in the eleventh chapter. 2. The overthrow of the temple at Jerusalem by Antiochus, was temporary, not abiding. He desecrated and polluted the temple for three years, after which the altar and the sacrifices were restored, by the successes of the Jews under Judas Maccabaeus. If we refer to the vision of Daniel, recorded in the eighth chapter, with reference to the taking away the daily sacrifice, it is written, " How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot ? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days ; then shall the sanc- tuary be cleansed." This latter declaration is most decisive against assigning to Antiochus the taking away the daily sacrifice. M 242 THE TEUE CHUECH, 3. Prideaux seeks to connect Antiochus with the latter portion of the eleventh chapter. This is contradicted by the contents of the twelfth chapter, which very plainly refer to a then dis- tant and future delivery of the Jews. 4, Daniel writes, "a little horn shall come forth." A horn is emblematic of power or dominion. The little horn is to come out of four notable horns. Antiochus was not a little horn ; he was as notable as either of the four notable horns. As king of Syria, he had a& much dominion, as either of the successors of Alexander. The little horn denotes a power at its origin, not having extensive territorial dominion. In both the visions that show oppo-^ sition to the reign of the saints, it is a little horn that rises. Accordingly we find, in the two antagonistic powers to God's kingdom, that they had little territorial power. They acquired other power by the promulgation of false claims. But as temporal princes their power was small. Mahomet's was confined to the city Medina. The pope's, as a temporal prince, was limited to a small part of Italy. 5. The little horn is to make war with the saints. Antiochus never made war with the saints. He made war with the Jews. The Jews as a body are never styled saints in the THE TRUE CHURCH. 243 scripture. They were a chosen and a peculiar people, but they were styled a stiff-necked peo- ple. The saints are a body of people who form a kingdom, or rule, predicted by Daniel, to be set up after the Jewish polity was de- stroyed. They are sanctified by Christ's blood, and are His saints in virtue thereof. There is the overthrow of the temple and altar at Jerusalem, and the consequent taking away of the Jewish oblations and sacrifices, and the daily typical sacrifice, by Titus Vespasian. But this could not be the event signified. The objections to this are as great as to that of the desecration of the temple by Antiochus Epi- phanes. It is true that this has had an abiding influence. But if this had been the event signi- fied, in the fourteenth century, some important change should have taken place to promote the reign of the saints. This century was perhaps as dark as any in the history of the church. In taking an extended review of the past, there are no two matters, connected with the his- tory of Christ's church, so striking and influential, as Mahomedanism in the east, and Popery in the west. These two influential powers arose about the same time, and they have nearlyco mpleted out the term of 1260 years, when one shall cease to be. This one is tottering. The other M 2 244 THE TRUE CHUECH. appears as firmly seated as it ever was, and seems likely to last yet another thousand years, and, if I am right in the exposition of the vision in the eighth chapter, will last this far- ther time. From all that has been advanced I conclude that Daniel can mean no other than these two powers. These are the two obstacles to the advancement of the reign of the saints of the Most High. That as these are successively removed, God's kingdom will be strengthened. And almost simultaneously with the removal of the last, paganism falls, when His reign will be fully established. Daniel does not show any other obstructions than these. His visions are limited to the parts of the earth, where Christ planted His church. The other parts w^here paganism now prevails, were not opened to his view. And it would be gathered from his book, that at the overthrow of Mahomedanism, the reign of the saints will be complete. This is nearly, or quite, the fact, as w^e discover from other parts of scripture. For paganism falls very soon after the overthrow of Mahomedanism. In exhibiting the several prophecies of Daniel, I have leaned more upon showing their several aims and ends, and upon the scope and bearing of the whole, than on a minute analysis of their THE TRUE CHURCH. 245 parts. A very critical examination of every part of each vision, would occupy more time than I can at present bestow upon the subject. And I should probably spend the better part of a life in unravelling the whole, of what after all is not essentially needful to a right compre- hension of it. It is sufficient that the general features be understood. That these features apply to a certain state of things. And that there is no other state of things to which they wiU apply. Having gone through the whole of the pro- phecies of Daniel that have relation to the course of the church, let me briefly recapitulate what has been said. The first vision, is the comprehensive predic- tion includino: within its range all time, from the time of Daniel to the dissolution of things here. The four great kingdoms, out of wliich arise all other kingdoms, are subdued to the kingdom the Lord sets up. The second, does not include within its range all time here, but is limited to a portion. This vision shows an obstruction to God's kingdom. This obstruction is to be found in the western nations. Here a little horn rises, the papal power, which is to last for 1260 years. The third, is another prediction like the last. 246 THE TRUE CHURCH. limited in its range, and which shows an obstruc- tion that is raised in the eastern nations. Out of one of these a little horn rises, that waxes great, and casts down the truth, or the Lord's kingdom, in that part of the earth, and practises and prospers. This little horn, or the Maho- medan power, is to last for 2300 years. The fourth, is the prediction of the setting up the Lord's kingdom by the coming of the Messiah. The fifth, is the vision with reference to Daniel's own people, the Jews. And these we find will be restored into favour, thirty years after the downfall of Romanism. And in forty- five years more, the great body will have become Christians. The " end of these things," as re- gards these people, will be consummated. As a distinct people they will be extinct. And the term Jew will become only a record of the past. To get rid of the argument connected with the proposition set up in opposition to the opinions of the Eev. Mr. Brown, we will consider for a moment when Romanism and Mahome- danism shall cease. Popery, or Homanism, is thought by many to have had its beginning in the sixth century, and look therefore for its overthrow in the nineteenth. For reasons which I will hereafter THE TRUE CHURCH. 247 give, T believe it will not wholly terminate until the close of the twentieth. Romanism may be said to have commenced with Constantine. But the height and front of the offence, the taking away the daily sacrifice by popery, dates I think from the eighth century. Mahomedanism was established in the seventh century. After the destruction of many thousand Christians, Jerusalem capitu- lated A.D. 637. The Mahomedans date their era from 622, the period of Mahomet's flight from Mecca to Yetrib, or Medina. The taking away the daily sacrifice by this little horn, dates from the overthrow of the Christian churches, and the establishing Mahomedanism upon their ruins. This power will not be destroyed until the thirtieth century. If I have given a right exposition of Daniel's prophecies, we see there is an interval of nearly a thousand years between the downfall of Popery, and the overthrow of Mahomedanism. Popery, I believe, dates from 754, and if so, reckoning by prophetical years, expires in 1996. Ma- homedanism dates say from 622, or shortly after, and expires in, say 2890. It is, I believe, an universal opinion, that the Millennial period commences with the downfall of Popery. Now if this be so, and I have rightly 248 THE TRUE CHUECH. interpreted Daniel's visions, what becomes of the character assigned to the Millennium by all writers, not excepting the Rev. Mr. Brown? Is it not plain, that " Christ's reign will not be universal ?'' " Satan's influence not wholly restrained with reference to all nations?" " There will not be universal diffusion of revealed truth ?" " Not universal reception of true religion?" " Not universal peace?" Having in a measure disposed of the argu- ment connected with the proposition concerning the Millennium, let me proceed to trace the course of the church. Not only the immediate or present, but the past and the future. I shall dwell but little on the past which is now under- stood by many ; but shall proceed rapidly in a reading of the Apocalypse, until I arrive at the present position of the church. Daniel's visions, in a few bold lines, trace out certain truths which have relation to at least a period of 4000 years. They may, and probably will, have relation to a period beyond these. St. John's vision does the same, but dates from a time 700 years after Daniel. St. John's vision takes up the subject of the church, from its commencement as the little stone, and,, THE TilUE CHURCH. 249 tracing it through many vicissitudes, carries it along its whole progress, until it becomes the great mountain that fills the earth. It enters more into detail than the visions of Daniel. And they unitedly, together with Ezekiers prophecies, set up the whole subject in the most perfect manner. Having gone through the visions of Daniel, let us now proceed to examine the vision of St. John, or, in the words of the Apocalypse, the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It begins by declaring that the whole is " the Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass." It is of great importance, that the latter part of this declaration should obtain attention. It helps greatly to a right understanding of many diffi- cult and hard to be understood portions of the Apocalypse. All is written for the instruction of Christ's servants. And all has relation to things that are to be. No part concerns the then present, unless we except the condition of the eastern churches, then established. All regards the future; and the future as con- nected with the advancement and establish- ment of the kingdom predicted by Daniel to overthrow all other kingdoms. This revelation M 5 250 THE TRUE CHURCH. concerns, as Daniel's visions concern, entirely the course of the church ; its obstructions, the warnings and judgments pronounced against its opposers, its ultimate triumph, and the establishment of the reign of the saints of the Most High. Keeping this in mind will help much to pre- pare my readers to a different interpretation of many portions to that usually arrived at. I shall not study to refute the opinions of other writers. I propose to give my own version and reading. And I hope to lay the greater part so plainly out, that argument will not be needed to overthrow previously formed notions. I shall do this in a very simple and plain way. It may be that I have not talent, or am not sufficiently well read, to do more. At any rate I have not time ; for great application would be needed to do justice to every part of my subject, and this application would be the greater in proportion to the lesser amount of previous reading. When I acquaint my readers, that I have a business of not an insignificant character to superintend, and which needs at all times the directing and controlling head, it must be acknowledged that a very elaborate work is not to be expected, and, I hope, for the furtherance of truth, will not be needed. THE TRUE CHURCH. 251 The first portion of the Apocalypse has re- ference to the existing state of things at the time of the vision. The seven churches already set up in the east, are represented by seven golden candlesticks. " And in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of man, and in His right hand seven stars." " I am He," said He to John, "that liveth and was dead ; and behold I am alive for evermore. Amen ; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven o-olden candlesticks. The seven stars are the o angels of the seven churches : and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." The Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, appeared thus unto John, and directed him to write for the future instruction of His church the things which the book of Revela- tion contains. I would have it observed, that Jesus tells John, " He has the keys of hell and of death." At the close of the conflicts and oppositions to His kingdom, it will be found that death and hell are cast into the fire. And being thus 252 THE TEUE CHURCH^ found connected, will lead us by and bye to inquire what is meant by death and hell. Observe also, that John is to write the things that he has seen, and the things that are, and the things that shall be hereafter. Now the word things, it appears to me, applies to the whole range of creation and its belongings, but is not a term suited to the heaven of heavens. But whether there is any force in this ob- servation or no, the whole revelation concerns Christ's kingdom upon earth. From first to last the Apocalypse is filled with the setting up, the progress, the conflicts, and the ultimate success and establishment over the whole earth of His church or kinordom. That cono^re2:ations of men, formino- national or denominational churches, may not be mis- taken for His church, we find them symbolized as candlesticks. And these candlesticks first set up, are rebuked for wicked and false practices. One only being approved, and that I believe con- tinues to exist to this day. It was foretold of these candlesticks, by Daniel, that by reason of transgression, the truth in them planted should be cast down. We see in them, the fate of all candlesticks that do not, and will not, hold up the true light that lighteth every man that Cometh into the world. THE TRUE CHURCH. 253 While upon the subject of the national churches, I am led to think, that much good would arise, and a clearer understanding of things be manifested, if the word church were applied more definitely. It is quite certain that God's church is a very different thing from the several national and denominational congrega- tions of men. And as we have the sanction of scripture for calling these candlesticks, it would avoid confusion of terms if they were hereafter so called. Thus, they would be the Romish, the Greek, the English, the Scotch, the Wes- leyan, the Independent, the Baptist, &c., &c., candlesticks. In the present condition of the church, this nomenclature would be particularly desirable. When the true church is fully understood and recognized, and the beautiful simplicity of her character known, then may mankind, and I believe they will, welcome her with one voice. Then will the candlesticks be no longer needed. They will be merged into one common designation. The church will be an unity into which all good men will gather. She is yet in the wilderness. Or, in words of another figure, she is only affianced. She will hereafter make herself ready, and be prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. As many commentators have opened much of 254 THE TEUE CHUHCH. the Apocalypse, I shall touch but very slightly, if at all, upon those portions wherein I think them correct. Those, in which I differ from them, I will illuminate as clearly, yet as con- cisely, as I am able. St. John, having written in the first three chapters, what " the Spirit saith unto the churches" then planted, begins in the fourth, to show " things which must be hereafter." It is of consequence to notice this expression to be found in the first verse of this chapter. John is to be shown, " things which must be here- after." Not existing things, but things that are to be. Commentators in their exposition of this chapter, describe the scene, as a view of the heavens in which God is throned with his attendant hosts. But this is a mistake. It is not such a scene. It is a scene, portraying the future success and establishment of Christ's kingdom. And this we shall find, is more than once or twice repeated in the course of the Apocalypse, but somewhat varied, to meet the Varying positions of the church in her progress. In this scene are four beasts. At the close of the seventh chapter, when the great multitude out of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, are sealed, there are four beasts. In THE TRUE CHTJECH. 255 the eleventh chapter, which describes the closing scene of the reformation, there are no beasts present. This fourth chapter, represents a scene of the perfected church. As in Daniel, the opening vision portrays the final accomplishment, and successive visions show how this is effected by the overthrow of impeding obstacles; so it is in St. John. The first portion of the vision shows the consummation, the succeeding parts the means whereby this is brought about. John sees Christ seated on His throne ; and round about the throne, a rainbow, the pledge to His people that He would no more destroy the earth with water. And round about the throne are four and twenty elders. Twelve elders of the old church and twelve elders of the new. The twelve elders of the tribes of Israel, whose temple was the old Jerusalem ; and the twelve elders, the Apostles of Christ, the heads of the people, whose temple is the new Jerusalem. These twenty-four elders represent the two churches. And they are clothed in white raiment, signi- ficant of their purity. Before the throne are seven lamps, which are the seven spirits of Grod. In the Jewish economy, a golden candlestick 256 THE TRUE CHURCH. having seven lamps was placed in the temple. These lamps were ordered to be kept burning continually. They were the type of the seven lamps in the Christian economy. The seven lamps of the Christian economy are the seven churches. And these seven churches symbolize the whole of the churches of Christ. The Jews, in their temple, had one golden candlestick, em- blematic of their oneness. The Christians, in their temple, have seven golden candlesticks, nature's harmonious number, emblematic of excellence. In the sixth verse of the next chapter we read, " And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." In the first verse of the third chap- ter it is written, " These things saith He that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven starsy Here we find, the spirits of God, and the seven stars, allied in a way to show they have a connection. The seven stars are said just before, to be the angels of the seven churches. And the angel of a church, is the presiding bishop or minister of the church. John is ordered to write unto each angel of THE TEUE CHUECH. 257 each church. There is therefore no doubt about the angel meaning the minister. We find in the first text quoted that " the seven spirits of God are sent forth into all the earth." God speaks to men by these spirits. God declares, that " where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." These seven lamps of fire represent then the ubiquity of God, and His presence in all the churches, which are symbolized by seven golden candlesticks. "And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal." In this scene of the perfected condition of the church, the sea is become as glass, clear as crystal. Before it is turbid, and thick, and raging. Paganism, with all its horrid rites, fills the dreary scene upon this earth. It is now changed. The sea from being rough, and opaque, and obscure, and bewildering, is become smooth as glass, and clear as crystal. The fourth chapter, as well as the next, shows a state of things completed out. In both chapters are represented the fulness of time — the consummation of God's church here on earth. The heaven in which the throne is seated, is not the heaven of heavens. It is the heaven of 258 THE TRUE CHURCH. the Lord's kingdom on earth. And the vision is an anticipatory condition of this heaven. The throne is surrounded by the elders of His united body the church, of both the first and the second dispensations, and by four beasts, which represent the whole pagan world now gathered into this church. They have eyes before and behind. They see both the past and the future. They have also eyes within. They are enabled to read the workings of their own spirits, and the relation of their spirits to the great Spirit that is seated upon the throne. These beasts give glory, and honour, and thanks. That the beasts give thanks, is a proof that they have something to be thankful for. These beasts, then, are four beasts that rise up out of the sea, or paganism. They are not precisely the same beasts that are shown in DanieFs vision. They are somewhat different, because they represent another state of the earth. Of this hereafter. The beasts in the scene before us are represented as gathered into the church. They are redeemed from their errors, and for such are thankful. And when this is the case, the four and twenty elders fall down, and cast their crowns before God, saying, " Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power ; for THE TEUE CHURCH. 259 Thou bast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created." The whole scene comprehends the ultimate triumph. And we find the same to occur again after the sixth seal is opened. And again, after the de- struction of Babylon and the overthrow of all opposers to Christ's kingdom, when the wife hath made herself ready. I have said the beasts are not the same as are introduced into Daniel's vision. And why ? Daniel's visions are limited to a circumscribed portion of the earth, connected immediately with those parts where Christianity is first planted, and where only it is found in many after ages. The purpose of his visions was served by this limit. Not so with St. John. He had to be shown more than was exhibited to Daniel. Accordingly, we find four beasts that represent or symbolize the whole opposing world. I do not pretend to decipher the hieroglyph of each. I think it preferable, to say only of the two last, that one having a face like a man appears to represent Popery ; the other like a flying eagle, a bird which visits every part of the earth, and would symbolize the nations that are in the four corners of the earth. Whether this be so or no, they certainly are not heavenly beings in their origin. They are not descriptive of the 260 THE TRUE CHURCH. ministering angels, the attendants of God's most Holy Spirit. We get at a confirmation of what these beasts are, by the fact, that when the exulting voices in heaven are heard, at the success of the church over her enemies by the Reformation, that the beasts are absent. And why ? Because the four beasts have nothing to do with it. They are not in any way connected with it. This part of the vision is of a condition of the church in her progress, and not of the perfected church. Consequently the beasts are not here introduced. The perfected character of Christ's church, is presented again and again as the Revelation proceeds, A course of action descriptive of a state of things in one channel is given, and the ultimate result, the completion of the work. Then a return again, and another course of action in another channel, and the result again the completed work. Again in another channel, and the completed work. But first, as in Daniel, the vision opens with the completed work, and then goes on to show how this is effected. Thus it is with the seals. Thus it is with the trumpets. Thus it is with the vials. Thus It is with the opposition of popery and its overthrow by the Reformation. Thus it is at the final overthrow of Paganism, the completed work being the city THE TEUE CHUECH. 261 of God. And to set this up is the end and ob- ject of the whole Apocalypse. For when the new heaven and new earth, in which is no more sea, or Paganism, are firmly established, then the city of God, or the spouse of the Lamb, will have made herself ready, and be prepared as the bride adorned. The work which Christ gave himself to do, the establishment of his dominion in the reign of the saints over the whole earth, will be completed. Then will the gospel be preached to all nations, not as now by a solitary individual, here and there, among the dark places, but so that every ear shall hear, and every soul shall know, that God alone reigneth. In the fifth chapter we come to the same conclusion, that herein is represented the con- summation. It begins by describing, that in the right hand of God was a book written, within, and on the back side, sealed with seven seals. That the book was written within, and without, is emblematic, that the whole scheme was completed it was intended to record. The lion of the tribe of Judah had alone power to loose the seals and to open the book. In His hands was the furtherance of the work. He alone knew the result. He alone had power to tell all that the book contained. He only knew 262 THE TRUE CHURCH. the future. When he had taken the book, con- taining the record of anticipated things, " the four beasts," now redeemed and gathered into the church, and "the twenty-four elders, fall down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sing a new song, saying. Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." What language can be more ex- pressive of a redeemed throng. In this we have a clear proof, that the four beasts represent a redeemed people. They, with the twenty - four elders, sing the new song that they are re- deemed out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. And they are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. A full proof that this part of the vision was an anticipatory state of things. In fact every vision intended for a pre- diction is of this character. And this only therefore follows the general law of visions. John wept that no man was worthy to open the book. He wept, it seems to me, not from eager curiosity, but because the evil and corrupt nature of man, prevented a powder in man to bring about and to record a redeemed world. THE TRUE CHUECH. 263 And that this evil nature compelled the work of an Almighty, to recover back from Satan a kingdom that he had usurped. The next and succeeding verses are equally conclusive that the opening vision is the com- pleted work. The next verse is, " And hast made us unto our Grod kings and priests ; and we shall reign on the earth. I would draw attention to the words " kings and priests." This same language is used in other parts of scripture, particularly in the twentieth chapter of Revelations. I sinaply call attention to it now. I reserve what I have to say upon it. But notice the four beasts say, we shall reign on the earth. That is, in their redeemed, improved, and exalted state, as Christ's followers. The four beasts and the twenty-four elders become an united body, and holding a common sentiment, and become kings and priests unto God, say they shall reign on the earth. This shows their close affinity and relation to the things of this earth. The succeeding verses exhibit the same truth. " And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts, and the elders : and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands ; saying with a loud voice. Worthy 264 THE THUE CHUHCH. is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Bless- ing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said. Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever." To this demonstration of universal worship, the four beasts give in their assent, and say. Amen. They, with the whole host of earth and heaven, acknowledge their rightful Head. And they acknowledge that He alone was worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof. Wherein is predicted what is to be, but which when acted out, will contain the recorded past. The fourth and fifth chapters, as I have said^ show the consummation, the perfected church. And the vision thus far is the completed work. It is not a scene of things that are, but of things that are to be. They are " things which must be hereafter." And when these are fully esta- blished, the whole united body of Christ's fol- lowers will sing the new song, saying, " Thou THE TRUE CHURCH. 265 art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth." They acknowledge that He alone is worthy to unclasp the book which has now the records of the past. Christ tells to John what will be recorded in it. And when unclasped by tTesus before the congregated saints, or church. He shows the future gratitude of His assembled followers. In the sixth chapter we have the opening of six seals in succesion. The seals are opened to Christ's redeemed church. They are opened by Him to His followers. No man is able to open them. And the book is sealed still, and will be sealed, to all who are not of His church. In interpreting the several symbols employed in this wonderful book of Revelation, it appears to me, that a leading principle should not be lost sight of: that symbols are signs, speaking an universal language, and concern some great and prominent features. They stand for things having some important bearing on the general purpose, or object. And they have to do with matters standing clearly out, and readily under- stood by God's people of every nation, and 266 THE TEUE CHURCH. every tongue. Of such I believe to be the character of the symbols of the seven seals. And I think they have a much more compre- hensive bearing than that assigned them by most commentators. In differing from the learned and able men who have written upon these things, I do so with great humility. In point of learning, in regard to grasp of intellect, and in powers of discrimination, I am infinitely beneath them ; but holding opinions differing from theirs, it would be a palpable dereliction of duty to withhold them, particularly as the reading which I give to them, renders them to my mind clear and intelligible. At the opening of the four first seals, a beast, on the opening of each seal, says, " Come and see." From the character which I assign to these beasts, it is only consistent to assume, that each beast is more particularly interested in that seal which, when broken, unveils the things more immediately concerning itself. The beasts have some, but not an entire, re- semblance to the beasts in Daniel's vision. They are more comprehensive. They are intended to portray or to symbolize a further development. Daniel's vision of the beasts, introduces in the fourth beast the Roman pagan kingdom, out of which arises the little horn, or the Koman THE TRUE CHURCH. 267 papal kingdom. And the object of the vision was served by this limit. But the object of the vision to St. John was to portray, or to symbolize, the whole opposing world to Christ's kingdom, which are to be gathered into it. Ac- cordingly, the first is like a lion, the same as in Daniel, and this represents the great kingdom first affected by Christ under the old dipensa- tion, the great Babylonish kingdom. The next is like a calf, that is, inferior to the first. This second beast, in St. John, comprehends the two inferior kingdoms in Daniel's vision of the great image, on the theatre of which sprung up the little horn, or Mahomedanism. The third beast with the face as a man, is the fourth beast of Daniel with ten horns, or the Roman kingdom, out of which sprung the little horn, or popery, the beast with the face as a man. The fourth beast, like a flying eagle, I interpret as a symbol for paganism in every part, or in the language of the twentieth chapter, the Paganism of "the nations in the four quarters of the earth." Dr. Cumming states that an eagle was the national emblem of Edom. A flying eagle would represent Edomites in all parts. Let us now apply this explanation to the first four seals. The first seal, when loosed, unveils the pal- n2 268 THE TRUE CHUECH. pable. It appears to me, there ought not to be a doubt about the symbol here employed. " Be- hold a white horse : and He that sat on him had a bow ; and a crown was given unto him ; and He went forth conquering and to conquer." White is the emblem of purity, and a horse denotes power, and an active power. He that sat upon the horse goes forth conquering, and to conquer. That He is to conquer, points plainly to whom alone this seal can refer. In the nineteenth chapter we read, " 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 doth judge and make war." That this is one and the same per- son scarcely admits of doubt. The breaking of the first seal is the opening scene in Christ's kingdom. It is the planting the dominion which shall hereafter be universal. Christ goes forth conquering, and still is to conquer. He had a bow. This is an emblem of warfare, and hints at enemies to be overcome. It is said of Joseph, an early type of Christ, and to whom such great blessings were promised, " That his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob (from thence is the Shepherd the stone of Israel.) The first seal undoubtedly refers to Christ and to His kingdom. THE TEUE CHURCH. 269 The first beast, or the Babylonish kingdom, was first to feel the impress of Christ's kingdom. Under the old dispensation, in the time of Daniel, Darius was made to declare " That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel : for He is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end.'' Let it not be thought that Christ's dominion began under the new dispensation, when He assumed humanity. He was as much the Lord of the first, as of the second church ; accordingly we find, in the opening scene, the twelve elders of the first church, and the twelve elders of the second. The Son of man declared to John, ** I am the first and the last." He went forth con- quering by the prophets of old, and by them and by His apostles and his faithful ones he conquers now, and He will conquer. The second seal shows an obstruction to the progress of Christ's kingdom. " There went out another horse that was red : and power was given to him that sat thereon, to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one an- other : and there was given unto him a great sword." We find on each horse an emblematic power rides. The first has a crown, an emblem 270 THE TRUE CHUECH. of legal sovereignty. He has power, and legal power, for good. The second has power, but power for evil. It is to take peace from the earth. The first rider gives peace. The second removes it. There is power given to slay. This seal portrays the active opposition to the peaceable kingdom, the red horse denoting bloodshed and war. That a great sword is given to the rider is peculiarly characteristic of Ma- homedanism — Mahomet received the impress, that he was to proj)agate his religion with the sword. He preached peace at first, but when it became convenient to use the sword, he de- clared that Jesus Christ was a great prophet sent by Grod to teach mankind mercy and peace ; but that it was found not to avail, and that he, Mahomet, was sent to compel men by force to worship the true God. Mahomedanism is espe- cially a religion of the sword. This second seal applies therefore to Mahomedanism. The second beast, which says, " Come and see," on the opening of this seal, is the Pagan kingdom, from which sprung up Mahomedanism. The third seal is opened: " And behold, and lo, a black horse ; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny : and see thou THE TRUE CHURCH. 271 hurt not the oil and the wine." Under this seal is a black horse, the emblem of darkness, ob- scurity, and Avoe. The rider of* this horse has a pair of balances in his hand. He is a dispenser of things, and these are spiritual things ; the whole apocalypse having relation to spiritual things. A voice in the midst of the beasts is heard. This voice is the voice of the little horn that rises out of the fourth or Koman beast of Daniel, or out of the third beast, or the beast with the face as a man of St. John, and is the voice of popery. This voice says, " A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny ; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine." The power that divides the land for gain, sells the staff of life for money. It metes it out in a very business- like way. Spiritual sustenance, hopes of par- don and remission of sin, for a penny. And its substitute, or masses for the dead to a threefold extent, for a penny. '' But see thou hurt not the oil and the wine." Hurt not is synonymous with be careful of. The holy oil is used in extreme unction, and is supposed to represent the grace of God poured into the soul, and is reserved for, and used at, the ap- proach of death. Of this popery is careful. The wine, emblematic of the blood of the Sa- 272 THE TEUE CHURCH. viour, popery withholds ; she substitutes for this the charmed wafer. Popery is careful over, or keeps out of sight, the oil of frankin- cense and myrrh, the offerings and odours of grateful hearts for the mercies and graces be- stowed by a gracious Redeemer. And for the wine, the emblem of the all-sufficient atoning blood of Christ, she substitutes other gifts. Instead of preaching Christ, and Him crucified, she preaches priestly forgiveness. For the nourishing food of spiritual life she has her charges, and doles it out, a measure for a penny. The oil of gladness wherewith man should be anointed, and the wine which should strengthen man's heart, she keeps out of sight of her deluded followers. The third beast, or tlie beast with the face as a man, who says on the opening of this, or the third seal, " Come and see," is the Roman pagan, blended with, the Roman papal beast. The fourth seal is opened, "And behold a pale horse : and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hellfollowed with him, and power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." This seal concerns the remainino; Pao^anism. The eastern and western nations, where Christ THE TRUE CHURCH. 273 planted his Church, passed out of Paganism into Mahomedanism and Komanism. The remaining portions of the earth are represented by this seal. Power is given to Death and Hell over a fourth part of the earth, Christianity has one part, Mahomedanism a second, Komanism a third, and Paganism a fourth. Paganism is here represented by a pale horse. Neither black or white, or any other, but an undefined, and an unnatural colour. Death is seated on this horse, and Hell follows. I shall show hereafter, that at the ingathering of the portion of man- kind which this seal represents. Death and Hell are cast into the fire. Death and Hell are con- nected with these. And we find power is given to Death and Hell, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth ; all descriptive of that terrible des- tituti/)n of this portion of God's creatures. The fourth beast, who says " Come and see," at the opening of this seal, is like a flying eagle. A flying eagle visits all parts of the earth, and therefore represents Paganism in all parts. The four first seals, having shown the general condition of man during the onward progress of God's kingdom, the next two show a state of things which precede its complete establish- ment. N 5 274 THE TRUE CHURCH. The opening of the fifth seal discloses what shall happen within God's church. Her adhe- rents, and faithful ones, shall suffer perse- cution, even unto death. When this seal was opened, John "saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held : and they cried with a loud voice, saying. How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ? And white robes were given unto every one of them ; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." In these words, the history of God's church through many successive ages is opened up. They tell of long-continued struggles. We have in them a picture of that deadly conflict for the truth which has had, and yet will have, to be maintained. Herein are shown the souls of the persecuted faithful yet unavenged ; the souls of God's sealed ones, who in the course of ages were martyrs to the truth. The sixth seal opens, and "lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the THE TRUE CHURCH. 275 earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind ; and the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together ; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond man, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb ; for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" This majestic language conveys the closing conflict, and the result, the final struggle between the church and her last opponents. And it is identical with the prediction in the twentieth chapter. This last has been supposed to portray the final judgment-day. But such an opinion is erroneous. It does not portray the final judgment of all men. And I think, before I have concluded my labours it will be admitted that it does not. It is the final over- throw of Paganism. And the opening of the sixth seal discloses the like event. Both de- scriptions represent the overthrow of every remaining opponent of the kingdom the Lord 276 THE TRUE CHURCH* has set up. In the progressive movements of the church, we shall find that Popery and Mahomedanism are removed out of the way, and then comes this mighty earthquake that swallows up every remaining enemy. Daniel foretold the rise, and reign, and overthrow of Popery, and of Mahomedanism, and in the general terms of his first prediction, the over- throw of Paganism. His visions, however, do not reach to successive particulars beyond the overthrow of Mahomedanism. What is want- ing in Daniel is supplied by St. John, and the other prophets, and we shall be enabled to gather from these sacred writers, the time of, as well as the character of this last great conflict or earthquake. The new heaven and new earth, which were created by, and at the coming of the Lord, which had their beginning at the dawn of Christianity, have now extended their influence over the whole of man's abiding place. The language of Isaiah in the sixty-fifth chapter most clearly establishes the fact of this new creation. Its visible effects are found on the opening of the sixth seal. The spiritual new heaven and new earth have moved onward, until final collision with the old heaven and old earth have produced a spiritual earthquake. And in this earthquake is engulphed the THE TRtJE CHUECH. 277 whole Pagan world. The old heaven of these powers departs. The old earth is removed from beneath their feet. Paganism has no longer any standing room. The islands and mountains are removed out of their places. The earth and the heaven flee away, and there is found no place for them. The magnificent imagery of this portion of the apocalypse has been supposed to be ex- hausted, by the fact of Pagan Rome becoming nominally Christian Rome. But we have seen how little importance was attached by the sacred writers to this event. Papal Rome is termed by them the beast. This is seen in Daniel, and comes out in the apocalypse with equal or greater force. How much more then will this imagery be exhausted by the events of that great day of the Almighty, of which we read in the apocalypse, and in the book of Ezekiel! That great day which is styled *'the supper of the great God," — " when the fowls of the air, and the beasts of the field shall be assembled to eat the flesh of the mighty, and to drink the blood of the princes of the earth, at the great sacrifice which God shall sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel." That event which shall precede the making ready the bride adorned, and of which I shall treat hereafter. 278 THE TRUE CHURCH. Before the opening of the seventh seal, John saw "four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree." To comprehend this, we must understand what is meant by *^ the four winds of the earth." It is plain they do not mean literal winds, but they stand as a symbol for something else. What then do they symbolize ? We read in Daniel that " the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea, and four great beasts came up from the sea." St. John styles the four winds " winds of the earth ; " Daniel, " winds of the heaven." In both visions, it seems to me, is the like meaning intended, and they both mean winds of the air. And these symbolize a state of things on earth. It is evident that the four winds in Daniel mean a restless, turbulent condition, a struggling for supremacy ; and out of this striving four great Pagan empires arise. The four winds symbolize restlessness, tur- bulence, destructiveness. The four angels that hold the four winds, represent the powers that regulate and control to God's purposes the restless, turbulent, and strus^slins: state of the people, which results in war. After the event shown on the opening of the sixth seal, the THE TRUE CHURCH. 279 earth is to enjoy a state of repose. The peace- able kingdom will be established, and will continue until God has sealed the Avhole number of His elect people. Another angel, ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God, cries with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, " Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their fore- heads." And there are sealed a countless number; of every tribe of Israel twelve thousand, and besides these " a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues." The language of the whole of the seventh chapter appears to me to show the crowning work of the Redeemer's labours. Here are the whole assembled redeemed church, — the elders, the beasts; they of the tribes of Israel, the countless multitude of every nation and tongue, all, unitedly with one voice, worshipping God and saying, " Amen : blessing, and glory, and wis- dom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen." The command to the angels "to hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees," would seem to be to give eifect to that pre- 280 THE TEUE CHURCH. diction of the prophet, "nation shall not lift sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Although "the four winds of the earth" symbolize the turbulent, restless condition of men, and the four angels represent the powers which regulate this state of mankind, yet I am inclined to think, that a further meaning may be assigned to the command, " to hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees." It may have a tw^o-fold meaning. In the last days, we know that the Son of Man shall come as a thief in the night, and that there will be scoffers, saying, " Where is the promise of His coming?" And we know likewise that a peaceable king- dom is predicted, when "the swords shall be beaten into ploughshares, and spears into pruning hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." This predicted state of peace can only be, when the doctrines of our Saviour obtain the full assent of mankind, and while Paganism exists, cannot be realized over the whole earth. The prediction of the prophets cannot have its entire fulfilment until Christianity prevails everywhere. And when this shall be, and man shall have attained this improved, exalted, and peaceable state, it is certain that all will not be THE TRUE CHUECH. 28 1 rishteous. There will be "scoffers in tliose days." Though the reign of the saints will be manifest, and all opposing powers cast down, yet there will be individual sinners. As w4th the Jewish polity, wherein Avas unity of belief in the one true God, yet among them were many sinners; so wdien Christ's dominion is extended over the Avhole earth, there w^ill yet be sinful men. May not the command then to the angels have relation to a tw^o-fold purpose ? The one to restrain the turbulence and striving for supremacy which result in war. The other to retard, or keep back for a time, that event which closes the mediatorial office of the Saviour; — that time, when at His coming in the clouds of heaven every eye shall see Him, and this earth shall be dissolved, and all things that are therein burned up. "To hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees," appears to carry with it a distinctness and compre- hensiveness which would include the w^hole of the fair creation of this orb. In the six seals we have been considering, we have opened to our view the whole course of the church. The beginnino;, as disclosed to US by the white horse, and He that sat upon him, going forth conquering and to conquer, and the result of that going forth, the gathering 282 THE TRUE CHURCH. under His banner a countless number out of every hostile and opposing people. At the close of the description of the opening of the sixth seal, we have the perfected kingdom of Christ. As in the opening scene of the vision, so here, there are the elders, and the beasts, and many voices. The six seals disclose, in a few, but comprehensive words, the path-way of the church to arrive at this result. The seventh seal is now opened, and " there was silence in heaven, about the space of half an hour." For obvious reasons, I cannot assent to the opinions of Dr. Gumming, with reference to his explanation of this silence. I know that my opinions, as opposed to his, are as the strivings of a pigmy against a giant. Nevertheless, I cannot but attempt to show that he has arrived at a wrong conclusion. Having given another interpretation to the seals than that he has given, and particularly to the sixth, as a matter of course, I must differ with him with respect to the meaning of the silence in heaven. Before I give my own interpretation, I will state the reasons why I think him wrong. He writes, that the whole vision passed in choro- graphic procession before St. John in the twelve hours constituting the sabbath day. THE TRUE CHURCH. 283 And believing that the whole scene represents, or comprehends, a period of 1800 years, deter- mines this half hour to represent 75 years, or thereabout. He then tells his readers, that from the time Pagan Rome became Christian, under Constantine, until the invasion of the empire by Alaric, that is, from a. d. 324 to 395, there intervened a state of repose; and that this repose was the fulfilment of the symbolical half-hour's silence. There are many reasons why this cannot be the truth. Among them are, 1. That the Roman kingdom did not repre- sent the heaven. The heaven of the apocalypse, though not the highest heaven, God's illimit- able kingdom, is yet the heaven of Christ's kingdom as connected with His oflfice here; and is put in juxtaposition with the earth and its accompanyings. Thus the beast with seven heads and ten horns comes from the sea, or Paganism. The lamb-like beast, or the beast with two horns like a lamb, comes from the earth, or that which is akin to the sea, or Paganism. Neither come from heaven. It may be said, the short-spaced kingdom, that between the overthrow of Pagan Rome and the setting up of Papal Rome, may have been the rule of Christ's kingdom, and thus be 284 THE TRUE CHURCH. symbolized as heaven. This cannot be. It is written of the beast, that " it was, and is not, and yet is." And again, " There are seven kings : five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come : and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." We see that the sixth and seventh heads, and the eighth that is of the seventh, that is, that arose out of the seventh, or out of nominal Chris- tianity, are all so linked together as to be styled the beast "that was, and is not, and yet is." Pagan Rome, apparent Christian Rome, and Papal Rome, are all of one character, and have a common parentage, — the beast from the sea. Neither Pagan, apparent Christian, nor Papal Rome is the heaven, and therefore quietude in the Roman kingdom could have no relation to the silence in heaven. 2. Dr. Cumming states, there was repose for 75 years, from the final triumph of Constantine to the invasion of the empire by Alaric, that is, froQi A.D. 324 to 395. Was this so? Does history bear out this assertion? If I look to the life of Constans, the successor of Constan- tine, I read, " Constans, son of Constantine, had for his portion at his father's death, Italy, THE TRUE CHURCH. 285 Africa, and Illyrlcum. His elder brother, Constantine, being envious of his share, at- tacked him, was defeated, and killed near Aquelia, A. d. 340 ; after which Constans took possession of his brother's dominions, and be- came emperor of the whole west. Magnentius, (another brother of these worthies,) commander of the troops in Gaul, having revolted against him, and drawn a great part of Gaul into his party, Constans, who happened to be in that province at the time, was obliged to take flight towards Spain, when he was pursued and overtaken at the foot of the Pyrenees, by some emissaries of Magnentius, and killed, A. D. 350." Again, I read on referring in the encyclopaedia to the article Magnentius, " Con- stantius, the brother of Constans, and emperor of the east, marched against Magnentius, and a battle was fought between them on the banks of the Drave, a. d. 351. Magnentius being defeated, fled to Italy, from whence he escaped into Gaul, where Constantius followed him, and defeated him again, A. D. 353. Magnentius finding himself forsaken by his troops, killed himself; and his brother Decentius, whom he had made Ca3sar, followed his example. Con- stantius thus became sole master of the whole empire." Surely these extracts exhibit any- 286 THE TRUE CHURCH. thing but a state of repose in the Roman kingdom! What a wretched and deplorable picture do they convey of the condition of the family of Const antine, and the days in which they lived. In fact, what is history but one uninterrupted, unmitigated act of continual bloodshed. In this little history we see the true character of the Christianity as accepted by the Roman nation. 3. Dr. Cumming supposes 1800 years to comprise the whole period of the action of the apocalypse, forgetting that there must certainly be another thousand years, whatever may be the character of the millenium. I shall show a further period than another thou- sand, so that the 75 would be nearly doubled, if the principle of computation sought to be established be sound. And then we shall in- clude the fierce incursions of the Huns under Attila, which Dr. Cumming states broke up the silence. From these several considerations, I think it must be acknowledged, that the half hour's silence does not symbolize a state of repose, or quietude upon earth. What then does it symbolize ? The openings of the six seals have shown a continuous chain of events, or a progression of THE TRUE CHUECH. 287 the kingdom of Christ, from its first setting up by Him that sat on the horse, going forth conquering, and to conquer, until He has subdued all kingdoms unto Himself, and His perfected kingdom is exhibited, wherein all nations, and people, and tongues, stand before His throne. The seventh seal is then opened. And there is silence. The result of the open- ing is not declared. Mr. Brown has very properly observed, " that in no part of scripture can we get beyond Christ's mediatorial king- dom. At Christ's coming, the hopes and struo^orles of the church have found their end. Beyond this we never get in God's word." The seventh seal, it appears to me, opens upon things known only to the Almighty. Were we permitted to read what is written within, it would reveal to us of the state of things, or of the time when Christ shall come as a thief in the night; when '^they that are alive, and are his people, shall be caught up into the air, and so shall ever be with their Lord." John had, just before the half-hour's silence, heard the united voices of an assembled host proclaim- ing, " Salvation to our God w^hich sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb;" and they worshipped, saying, "Amen; blessing and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and 288 THE TEUE CHURCH. honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever, and ever, amen." The seventh seal is opened, — and there is silence. John is not permitted to hear or to see more, for the space of half an hour. This momentous silence betokens to me an awe-struck assemblage, and preludes an event which no human eye will penetrate, until it is ushered in upon this world. Then will the four angels, " to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea," let loose the powers of destruction. Then will this earth be dissolved, and all things that are therein. " Of this hour knoweth no man, no, not even the angels in heaven, but my Father only." That this is a right interpretation of the silence in heaven, is evidenced by the absence of any description as the result of the opening of the seventh seal. After this silence, John sees "seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets." And he sees "another angel," which "came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer." This is the great High Priest. "And there was given unto Him much incense, that He should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense which THE TRUE CHURCH. 289 came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the Angel's hand. And the Angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth : and there were voices, and thunderings, and light- nings, and an earthquake." In this language we have a return to the first movement under the new covenant, as exhibited by the first seal. Here is the great Head of the Church going forth conquering, and to conquer. I infer, that the angel herein mentioned, is the Head of the Church, because in the Levitical economy, an altar of incense was ordered to be made, on which Aaron was to burn incense morning and evening, " a perpetual incense before the Lord;" and as to do this appertained to the High Priest under the Levitical law, so under the new order of things, it would belong to the office of the great High Priest. The Levi- tical High Priest ofiered daily. The Christian High Priest ofl^ered once for all. He casts forth upon the earth fire from the altar, and the result is seen among the nations. There are "voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake." St. Matthew writes of the effect of the great sacrificial atonement, the opening act in Christ's kingdom, that " the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top o 290 THE TRUE CHURCH. to the bottom : and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent." All this is descriptive of the first great movement under the new dispensa- tion. And the earthquake resulted in the overthrow of the old dispensation, and the dispersion of the Jews. It is not my intention to make at present any comment upon either the trumpets or the vials. I think they are not all correctly under- stood, but I defer any observation upon them. Having thus rapidly traced out the general features as disclosed by the seals and the opening scenes of the Apocalypse, I purpose now to divide my subject under the following principal heads : — 1. The woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. 2. The great red dragon. 3. The beast from the sea. 4. The beast coming out of the earth. 5. The scarlet coloured beast. 6. The reformation. 7. The false prophet. 8. Gog and Magog. 9. The great white throne. 10. The new heaven and new earth. 11. The holy city, new Jerusalem. THE TRUE CHURCH. 291 12. The millennial period. 13. The distant future. I have placed them in the preceding order, because, as they are successively understood, we shall come better to comprehend the future course of the church. 1. The woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. Under the figure of a woman is symbolized the church. It is familiar to all readers of scripture, that the church is represented as the spouse of God. Isaiah writes, " Thy Maker is thy husband." And this is a prevailing idea with all the sacred writers, and especially of St Paul, and of St. John. This woman then is the church, or Zion. Zion of scripture is a figure for the old church, or, Jewish dispensation. The maid of Zion, a term so frequently met with, is a figure for the new church, or Chris- tian dispensation. Thus the prophet writes, ^' Tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold thy King Cometh unto thee." And again, " The first dominion shall come to the daughter of Zion." Zion, however, oftentimes represents the whole church, both the old and the new, and it is so in the instance before us. The woman, or Zion, "is clothed with the o 2 292 THE TRUE CHURCH. sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." She is here in- troduced with the emblems pertaining to her in her first character, as a figure for the old dispensation. She is said to be with child, and travailing in birth. She is therefore re- presented as she is before giving birth to the man-child, which originates the new dispen- sation. She is " clothed with the sun." The sun is applied as a symbol in many ways. As connected with the subject we are considering, the woman is said to be " clothed with the sun." In another part, it is said of Jesus, " His face was as it were the sun-" In another, " The fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun." In another, " I saw an angel standing in the sun." It is plain that all these have not one meaning. The sun more generally stands as a symbol for the head of a people, or one highest in authority. In Joseph's dream, for instance, wherein the sun is a symbol for Jacob, the head of the family. In the in- stance before us, it is used as a symbol for the Highest over all, the God Omnipotent. The sun, which gives light and life to the world, is an apt symbol of God. No other object in nature could so aptly symbolize Him. This great luminary, the work of God's fingers, if THE TRUE CHURCH. 293 but he touch the hills, they smoke. When the beams of the morning arise, darkness is dispelled and flies away ; all nature awakens at their pre- sence, and hymns of joy throughout the earth mount up to heaven. Thus it is with the beams of the Sun of righteousness. Upon all on whom they shine, they shed rays of brightness, that fill each heart with joy and gladness. With the great luminary of this our world, Zion is said to be clothed. The "moon is under her feet." As the sun is a symbol for the true God, so the moon is an emblem of a false god, and symbolizes heathen- ism. The moon has been worshipped as the queen of heaven. The Persians worshipped the moon, the Jews also received among them this object of idolatry.^ The moon, the lesser luminary, and which derives light from the 6un, and only gives it as derived therefrom, * Bellamy, writing of the religion of the Persians, after hav- ing shown that the idolatrous worship oi fire, ascribed to them, is a mistake, says, '* Though they were undoubtedly worshippers of the true God, as taught by Shem, yet it appears that, in after time, they w^orshipped the moon as the queen of heaven." And again, " On account of the commercial intercourse between the Hebrews, the Persians, and the Lydians, we find that the wor- ship of the Moon, as the queen of heaven, had made its way into Judea. They had heard the fame of their famous temple of Diana, or the Moon, which was built in the great city Mag- nesia, and destroyed, according to Strabo, by an earthquake." 294 THE TRUE CHURCH. aptly, as a symbol, illustrates heathenism. Satan, the author of heathenism, has always adopted, and taught modes of worship, that should have a semblance to the true worship of Deity. And this has had a reflected light from the source of all light. The knowledge of the One God, im- parted at the creation, could never be wholly lost, and this idea descended through all ages and to all people, in some one form or other. The Great Spirit, even the savage recognizes. The Great Truth, could only by Satan's wiles be wrapped in mystery, and overlaid, and con- cealed, and mixed up with numberless pollutions. Objects of nature were often presented for Nature's God. Man, never forgetting his depen- dent state, and never forgetting that worship is due, craved always the protection and guidance of a higher being. Satan has been, therefore, compelled to present some object to satisfy this craving in man. And thus have objects of Avorship been multiplied, and man laid in the dust, prostrated by them. Oh ! how heartily could we say in the prophetic language of David, " Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways I I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries." In the figure before us, the enemy is represented THE TRUE CHURCH. 295 as subdued. The moon, the symbol gf idola- trous worship, is under the feet of Zion. Upon the head of the woman, or Zion, " is a crown of twelve stars." I have said before, that this woinan is represented as in her first condition. Stars are symbols of ministers or presiding heads. Thus we are told at the com- mencement of the Revelation : " The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches." And instructions are given to John to write unto the angels, that is, the ministers of the churches. The twelve stars then, are the twelve heads of the old church, the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. In Joseph's dream, the eleven stars are said by Jacob, when he interprets it, to represent the eleven brethren of Joseph. In the redeemed church, before the throne of God, are twenty-four elders. Here are only twelve, because the figure is to represent the first church, and these are symbo- lized by twelve stars. These form a coronal or crown upon the head of the woman, or Zion. These are the inlets, so to speak, to the divine economy. At the twelve gates of the holy city are "names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. These names give the crown to the elder, Zion. The heads of the tribes are the 296 THE TRUE CHURCH. twelve stars, or presiding elders of the first church. The woman gives birth to a man-child. In the words of the text, " she brought fcrth a man-child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron : and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne." Dr. Gumming writes, " Let us consider in the next place the birth of the man-child : that child I believe to be the symbol of Christian people, the first-bom, the 144,000, the sealed ones incorporated, or, in their corporate and united capacity. It cannot mean our Lord in any sense or shape: nothing but the most arbitrary and unwarranted construction could lead to this conclusion." This is the opinion of a ver}^ high divine, and the opinion is very firmly expressed, that the man-child is the 144,000,, in their corporate capacity. An opinion, given by so high an authority as Dr. Gumming is not to be treated lightly ; I have, therefore, bestowed much attention upon the subject, and after duly weighing the arguments, am compelled to say that I dissent from this opinion. According to Dr. Gumming, the man-child was born about the year 313, and the child was " the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb," THE TRUE CHUECH. 297 the mystical 144,000. Dr. Gumming assumes the 144,000 to be the first fruits under the new dispensation, but herein, it seems to me, he is wrong. We are expressly told that the 144,000 are the sealed of the tribes of Israel ; of each tribe twelve thousand, " and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand, of all the tribes of the children of Irael." After the sealing of these, there are sealed a countless number. " I beheld and lo a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues.*' The 144,000 are especially referred to the tribes, and would seem to relate to the church under the first dispensation ; the countless number of all nations, and tongues, and people, to the church under the second dispensation. St. James in his general epistle writes, " Of liis own will begat he us, with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures." And let it be observed, that this was written long before the first fruits had been obtained, according to Dr. Cumming's notion. And, indeed, St. James especially directs his epistle to his brethren the Jews. He writes at the commencement, " James, a servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes, which are scattered abroad," The o 5 298 THE TRUE CHURCH. 144,000 were the first fruits unto the Lamb, redeemed by his blood ; the shedding of blood under the old covenant, being propitiatory only in virtue thereof, Christ being the redeemer under the old, as he is under the new covenant. And the redeemed are they who worshipped the true God, and did not defile themselves by pollutions with idols. The 144,000 in their corporate character, as the body of Christ's followers, is the church, or Zion, or the woman. Now, that Zion should bring forth Zion, be both mother and child, is a manifest absurdity. I know that figures are sometimes used in scripture having diiFerent meanings. We have seen this of the sun, used as a figure. But in relation to any distinct thing, or event, or person, or united body, they are never so used as to confound the sense, or destroy the true meaning. Whether the 144,000 are what I believe them to be, the first fruits under the first covenant, or whether they are the first fruits under the new, they, as a whole or the body, represent in their corporate cha- racter the church, the spouse. Dr. Cumming admits that the woman is the church, and how it comes about that he confounds the woman with the child, is not very apparent. We have a mixed figure in Isaiah, of Zion and her child- THE TRUE CHURCH. 299 ren, but the sense is plainly perceived. The children, which form the church, or spouse, or woman, in their corporate capacity, are children of the church individually. Notwithstanding then, Dr. Gumming says, " the man-child cannot mean our Lord in any sense or shape ; nothing but the most arbitrary and unwarranted construction could lead to this conclusion," yet, I believe it to be almost demonstrable that it does mean our Lord. Isaiah predicts of this birth, chap. Ixvi. 7, " Before she travailed, she brought forth ; be- fore her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child." It is plain the man-child herein predicted by Isaiah, is not the man-child of Dr. Cumming's notion. And this is very apparent from what follows in the next verse. " As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her child- ren." The children we see, are not the man- child. There is a marked distinction between them. They who in their corporate character are Zion, in their individuality are the family or children of Zion. These are said to be brought forth as soon as Zion travailed. She is delivered of the man-child before this. If the 144,000 as Dr. Gumming asserts, be the first fruits under the ne.v dispensation, they are the children of Zion, and not the man-child. 300 THE TRtJE CHURCH. The man-child I believe to be our Lord. He is the Head of the kingdom, in opposition to the rule of the great red dragon. He it is who will " rule all nations with a rod of iron," or of strength. And He it is who was " caught up unto God and to His throne,'^ And I believe that the prophecy of Isaiah had its fulfilment at the birth of this man-child. " For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given : and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." This child is born of Zion. The Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, according to the flesh, was but the vehicle or passage of Christ into the form of man. Accordingly, we find that the conduct of Jesus towards Mary, though affectionate and kind as it was towards all, yet is not marked by unusual filial love. The scene at Jerusalem, when He was only twelve years old, will suggest itself as illustra- tive of this. After seeking Him three days, Joseph and Mary find Him in the temple. " And when they saw Him, they were amazed : and his mother said unto Him, Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us ? behold. Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing. And He THE TUUE CHURCH. 301 said unto them, How is it that ye sought me ? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business." The opinion that Zion is the mother, gathers force from the writings of the sacred penmen ; the tenor of whose writings will lead to the conclusion that the mother of Christ scripturally considered, is not the Virgin Mary. And it is worthy of consideration, that Mary is scarcely spoken of beyond the announcement of the fact of being blessed as the instrument to nurture the man-child^ That the Virgin Mary is not the true mother, is confirmed by the language of Jesus, who said, " Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than he." Matt. xi. 11. 'From these words it is certain that Christ was not born of woman. He being much greater than John, and it being said of John, that of them bom of women a greater had not risen than John. And, consequently, as Christ had risen, a greater than John, it proves that Christ was not of them born of women. The true mother of Christ is Zion. Christ as Lord is husband, but as man, the Son of God, is son of Zion. Zion, in the figurative 302 THE TRUE CHUliCH. language of scripture, is the wife of God. This is announced in the prophetic language of Isaiah, chap. liv. " Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear : break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child ; for more are the children of the desolate than the children cf the married wife, saith the Lord. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habit- ations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes: For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left ; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Fear not ; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded ; for thou shalt not be put to shame : for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember t*he reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thine husband ; The Lord of hosts is his name ; and thy Kedeemer the Holy One of Israel ; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the Lord hath called thee as a woman for- saken, and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee ; but with great mercies will I gather thee." We see in this mixed figure, that the Lord is husband to THE TRUE CHURCH. 303 the first, as well as to the second dispensation. And this truth is exhibited in like figurative language by the Apostles. This is familiar to every reader of scripture. St. Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, says, " For I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." This language applies to the second dispensation, represented by the prophets of old, under the figure of the maid of Ziou. St. John writes, " Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him ; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready." We see from all this that the first dispensation is recognized as more especially the married wife of God, the second as the espoused of Christ. The true cause then of the birth of Christ, or of the man-child, is the overshadowing of the woman, or Zion, by the Almighty. She is said to be clothed with the sun. From this arose the second covenant with His people. And for this He set up an ensign to the nations, that to it all people should gather. For His great love wherewith he loved us. He gave His only-begot- ten Son, that through Him we might have eternal life. The government shall be upon His shoul- der, and He shall be called the " Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." 304 THE TRUE CHURCH. St. Paul to the Hebrews furnishes evidence to the truth of the man-child being the Lord. In the most beautiful and argumentative lan- guage, he shows how far superior is Christ as an High Priest, than any Priest that had preceded Him. He writes, " Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, (caught up to God and to His throne,) Jesus the Son of God." And again, "called of God an High Priest after the order of Melchisedec," — " being by interpreta- tion. King of Righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is. King of Peace ; with- out father, without mother^ without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life ; hut made like unto the Son of God ; ahideth a Priest continually^ Here St. Paul shows, that Christ as High Priest, and as Son of God, had not His beginning with the Virgin Mary, and the conclusion is, that the Virgin Mary was only the vehicle through which God assumed humanity. It may be said, that by denying to Mary any share in the being of the God- man, you deny the humanity of the Son of God. This is a subject of deep mystery, and I do not pretend to unveil it. I only attempt to show what the scriptures declare to be the truth. Beyond this I do not inquire. I know THE TRUE CHURCH. 305 that the scriptures are true, the finger of God is to be traced throughout them, and I give myself therefore to their implicit guidance. To seek to know what they have not declared about the Person of the Deity, is only daring presumption. To know what is declared, carries with it a blessing. To speculate deeply in mysteries beyond us, will probably bring a curse. We know that God made man after His own image ; it is not therefore so very wonderful as to be beyond man's ideas, that the ubiquitous God should assume the human form, and partake into his essence, the pure nature of man, and thus in His character of Great High Priest to His people, should be both God and man. The man-child "was caught up unto God and to His throne." If the first fruits, the 144,000, were the man-child, I think it would not be said he was caught up to God's throne. The first fruits would be caught up to God and to heaven, but not to His throne. To ascend to the throne, implies that the man-child shared or possessed God's power. That the man-child was caught up to the throne, is conclusive evidence to me that He is that mysterious and mighty Being, the Triune Jehovah ; who, having partaken of the nature of man, and 306 THE TRUE CHURCH. taught a lost world the means whereby it may be restored, ascended up to God and to His throne. The mighty, and all but overpowering fact of the Son of Man's divinity, is hard to be realized. Having been seen in the flesh as the poor carpenter's son, and having been cosmizant to the touch, it is difficult to realize in Him the Almighty God. But such He is. " The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand." And, "unto the Son he saith. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom." And again, " God hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds: who, being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." The man-child is " to rule all nations with a rod of iron." It is true, that in the second chapter of Revelation, it is said of Christ's faithful ones, "He that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations : and he shall rule them with a rod of iron ; as the vessels of a potter THE TRUE CHURCH. 307 shall they be broken to shivers; even as I received of my Father :" and this promise would thus apply to the redeemed on earth. But how much more emphatically do the words, " He shall rule all nations with a rod of iron," apply to Christ. In the 19th chapter, we read of Him that is called Faithful and True, that " out of His mouth goeth a. sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron." In this latter quota- tion there is no doubt as to whom the words apply. It must also be remembered, that when Christ's followers rule, it is only as His servants and in His name. The kingdom under the whole heaven is to be given to the saints of the Most High ; but when they reign, it is subordi- nate to, and in right of, their great Head. It is said that the dragon, or Satan, " stood before the woman which was ready to be deli- vered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born." Satan through his agents sought to take away the young child's life. And we know, that Joseph was warned in a dream, to flee into Egypt, to escape the massacre of the infants of two years and under, which was intended to include in it the child Jesus. The most as- tounding and incompreheusible truths, are those connected with the birth and death of Christ. 308 THE TRUE CHUECH. In His character as man, and as connected with His office as great High Priest, they are more within our limited comprehension, but as the everlasting God, they are quite beyond us. That Satan should have sought to take away a life involved in the Eternal Life is astound- ing. And yet, we know that when God, for the furtherance of his own most gracious pur- pose, permitted it, the life was taken away, and the body, void of life, lay in the tomb for three days. It seems presumptuous to attempt to lift the veil thrown over this most mysterious subject. To attempt to understand it, however, is not sinful. Only let us in trying to compre- hend it, in all teachableness and humility, lend ourselves to the guiding influence of God's most Holy Spirit. There are a few considerations which may lead us to apprehend why Satan should dare to attempt the life of Christ, and should afterwards succeed in effecting his object, but only when success should lead to the fulfilment of God's purpose. 1. The purposes of God were, and are, shrouded from Satan. The prophecies con- cerning the child were known to Satan, as they were known to the Jews. Their full extent was not known. The will of God, when not revealed, is wrapt in perfect secrecy, the THE TRUE CHURCH. 309 angels in heaven not being cognizant of His intentions. It is thus declared of the last day, when the final judgment of this earth shall be, that " of that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." Satan, therefore, fought against he knew not what. Nor yet did he know the mode of war- fare adopted by God. Apparent success was only defeat. " Michael and his angels fought against the dragon ; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven." 2. Christ has appeared in many forms to His church. To Abraham, as the priest Melchi- sedec. To Daniel, as the man clothed in linen. And in like manner to John, " clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle." To Paul, as a great light, which shined round about him. To the daughter of Jerusalem, the infant church, an- nounced by John the Baptist as the coming kingdom of heaven, He appeared as a little child, which grew to man's estate, and which body He offered as a perpetual sacrifice, to cleanse the impurity of man's nature. And by this one act, came " salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God." All this was veiled and shrouded from Satan, or he would not 310 THE TRUE CHURCH. have dared to offer worldly pomp and glory to the man Christ, saying, *' All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." A proof that Satan knew not the Divinity that dwelt within the man. Satan persecutes the woman which brought forth the man-child, and to her *' were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent." It is not at all necessary to understand this as meaning, that the woman immediately flies into the wilderness upon the birth of the man-child. It is other- wise. The fact of the birth occasions the war and struggle between Michael and his angels, and the dragon and his angels. And it is the fact that the dragon is overcome, and thrust out of heaven, or out of Christ's dominion, and cast unto the earth, that he persecutes the woman. We read of this warfare, that " they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony ; and they loved not their lives unto the death. *' We see here the early struggles of the infant church depicted, and the reason assigned for the persecution of the woman is the fact of Satan being overcome by the blood of the Lamb. THE TRUE CHURCH. 311 We shall better come to comprehend this flying " into the wilderness," if we examine into the meaning of the terms, heaven, earth, and sea, employed in the twelfth verse ; " Therefore rejoice ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth, and of the sea ! for the devil is come down to you having great wrath, because he knoweth he hath but a short time." It is plain that the terms heaven, earth, and sea, are employed to denote three classes of persons, inhabiters of heaven, inhabiters of the earth, and inhabiters of the sea. Let us inquire who each of these inhabiters are, and then we shall understand the terms employed, heaven, earth, and sea. Who are the inhabiters of heaven ? Scarcely a word is needed to show that the term heaven does not mean the eternal heavens of God's eternal kingdom. The war between Michael and his angels, and the dragon and his angels, would not be in these. The war is on this globe, and in Christ's kingdom. Satan marred the work here, and here the contest is. Under the first dispensation, a very divided rule ob- tained. Satan had made the fine gold dim. He had changed the " Being of God into the similitude of a calf that eateth hay." He had 312 THE TRUE CHURCH. made Christ's kingdom a nation of idolaters. Notwithstanding their idolatry, they were yet the chosen of God, and as contradistinguished to the other inhabitants of this globe, were, in the figurative language of scripture, the heavens, or God's kingdom here. In this king- dom, " Michael and his angels fought, and the dragon fought and his angels." This contest was to decide the future state of the heavens, or Christ's kingdom here. There was to be no longer a divided dominion. " Now is come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ." Satan was to be thrust out, and unity of rule to prevail. Christ came down to man, and promulgated new laws and other modes of government, the unity of which Satan cannot disturb. He can work on the outskirts of this kingdom, but within it is impossible for him to enter. Into "the temple of God" he may not enter, but into " the court which is without, and given to the gentiles,'' he may and does enter. Christ's kingdom then is the heaven. It was so under the first, and is so under the second dispensa- tion. " Therefore, rejoice ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them." The inhabiters of heaven are they whom Christ recognizes as His own, the sheep of His fold, the flock of His pasture. THE TRUE CHURCH. SIS Who are the inhabiters of the earth, as contradistinguished from the inhabiters of the heavens and of the sea ? In the next chapter, two beasts are described. One is said " to rise up out of the sea," and the other to come "up out of the earth." When we come to consider these two beasts, we shall discover, that the beast from the sea, is the beast that rises out of paganism ; and the beast coming out of the earth, is the beast that rises out of falsehood grafted upon truth. Thtit the latter is, in fact, *' the court without the temple." It is some- thing between Paganism and Christianity. Into this earth, from heaven, or out of Christ's king- dom, Satan is cast. And here his influence ob- tains. If we refer to the 10th and 11th chapters, which foretold, and now describe, the Reforma- tion, we shall find these terms employed to convey the like meaning. The angel with the book in his hand, plants " his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth, and de- clares there shall be time no longer," meaning that the things symbolized by earth and sea should be overthrown. And again, it is said "they that dwell upon the earth shall make merry and rejoice over " the apparent discomfi- ture of the two witnesses, " because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the P 314 THE TRUE CHURCH. earth." In all these instances, we see earth is a figure to represent nominal Christianity, and the inhabiters are nominal, or, heathen Christians, the body forming the great and lying apostacy. Who are the inhabiters of the sea ? I have shown before that the sea is a symbol for Pagan- ism. In the numberless instances to be adduced, many of which I have brought forward, this fact comes clearly out. I will not burden my readers, at present, with any further observations on this point, I shall have occasion hereafter to enter more fully upon it. Suffice it to say, the inhabiters of the sea are the Pagans. We may now come to understand, the kind of conflict which has been going on, which occa- sioned the woman to flee into the wilderness. There are, the inhabiters of heaven, which as a body represent the woman, on the part of Christ; and there are, the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea, on the part of the great red dragon. Truth, on the part of Christ, which the woman maintains ; and falsehood, on the part of Satan, which the inhabiters of the earth and sea main- tain. When the wiles of Satan cast a veil over the truth, the woman fled into the wilderness, or, in other words, remained in obscurity, so that only the few inhabiters of heaven, "the two witnesses," could discern it. The woman THE TRUE CHURCH. 315 tied into the wilderness when falsehood usurped the place of truth. It is said, " the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth." In these words, we have a description of the flood of heresies which burst upon the church after the first three centuries. The earth received this flood of heresy which was m^ant to over- whelm the true church, but the church, or the woman, was withdrawn from its influence, and nourished in the wilderness, or in obscurity. And because the woman was withdrawn, " the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." We are then shown in the next chapters, the way in which the dragon makes war with the remnant of the seed of the woman. Before we consider the mode of this warfare, let us try and com- prehend the great red dragon as exhibited by St. John. THE GKEAT EED DRAGON, p 2 316 THE TRUE CHURCH. " having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads." It is a most remarkable fact, that all writers upon the Revelation have confounded the great red dragon with the beast from the sea. I assume that all writers have, because the most recently published books contain this error. I have on my table at this moment, two recent publications, and they by men of great learning and talent, and yet they have both committed this fundamental error. One just issued, upon the subject of the wild beast from the sea, by the Eev. R. Rabbett, entitled, " A Solution of St. John's Enigma," in all other respects a valuable and convincing book, yet errs in the essential of separating one beast from the other, so that each shall be plainly understood. Is it not matter of unmingled surprise, that throughout nearly a period of 1800 years, that is, from the time St. John wrote the Revelation up to the present time, all readers should have confounded ^nd mixed up together two things which the text plainly points out to be different ? A glance at the description of the great red dragon and the beast from the sea, will show that St. John means two things. It must be, I suppose, that because each happens to have seven heads, and ten horns, that they have been mistaken for one THE TRUE CHUECH. 317 and the same thing. It is true one claims the other as a part. But they differ, as a limb differs from the whole body ; a leg, or an arm, can no more be called the body, than the beast from the sea can be called the great red dragon. Observe I St John writes of the great red dragon, " And behold a great red dragor, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.'" Of the beast from the sea, he writes, " And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy." It will be perceived from the words in italics, that the two beasts vary materially. One has seven crowns upon his heads. The other has ten croions upon his horns. They are, therefore, palpably two distinct beasts, and represent two orders of things. In a hieroglyphic or symbolical figure, Mr. Eabbett has painted ten horns with crowns, (one fallen) upon the head of the dragon, and to the body of a leopard he has united the head of a dragon, and upon the body of the leopard, he has painted six heads with crowns, making the head of the dragon the seventh head, and npon this mixed and incongruous animal he has seated the Pope. Mr. Eabett's book is a very 318 THE TRUE CHUECH. useful work, and I am indebted to him, for suggesting to my thoughts, so as to obtain a clear insight into, and a knowledge of, the great red dragon : but I am sure, should my book fall into his hands, he will acknowledge that he has committed a great mistake, in uniting in one body two distinct beasts. Let us try and separate them, so that each shall be understood. And first, of the great red dragon. Who, and what is the great red dragon ? Plainly and undeniably Satan. We are told this. " And the great red dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan which deceiveth the whole world." There can be no doubt then about the meaning of the great red dragon. About the meaning of the seven heads, with ^even crowns, and the ten horns, there may be doubt, but let us try to discover what they mean- Satan is said to have seven heads, with seven crowns. Of Christ, the Faithful and True, it is said, " He has many crowns." The opposite of that which gives crowns to the one, probably gives crowns to the other. They are the heads of antasjonistic forces. On the one side is arranged truth, under the Author of truth, which as it successively obtains, in the course THE TRUE CHUECH. 319 of ages, gives many crowns; and on the other, falsehood, under the Father of lies, and as falsehood is successively instilled, most probably the crowns are acquired. Truth gives many crowns to the Author of all truth ; Falsehood gives seven crowns, or a limited number, to the Author of all falsehood. These thoughts may help to suggest which are the heads, and crowns, and horns, of Satan or the great red dragon. Horns are emblematical of power, or so- vereignty, and refer to nations. Heads with crowns, as applied to Satan, symbolize religious rule, or spiritual supremacy. Satan's crowns being derived from successful opposition to truth, and by setting up systems and modes of worship opposed to truth. Now the number of nations w^ith false sys- tems of religion, are — legion, — and unless guided by some principle of choice, it would be impossible to get at those which are said to give horns, and heads, and crowns, to Satan. I limit the number then to those nations, with their false systems of worship, which have seduced the church out of her straight path. The principle, which guides my selection, began to operate, when God established the Hebrew church, by the promulgation of the Levitical laws. If we trace her course from this period, 320 THE TEUE CHUECH. we shall find that certain nations, by whom the Jews were surrounded, seduced them to the Avorship of their false gods. The nations, whose gods the Hebrews worshipped, are from time to time named, and will be found as under, and I do not think that more than these will be found. I do not mean that the Jews never had other false gods. Their first offence was to cause Aaron to make a golden calf to set up as a god before them. And they repeatedly erred in this way, by setting up images of natural objects to be their gods. But the idols to which they dedicated temples, and raised groves, and which were the recognized deities of other nations, will be found, I think, to be limited to the undermentioned : — NS, OR NATIONS. HEADS, OR IDOLS Philistines. Dagon» Canaanites. Baal. Syrians. Berith. Hittites, jMilcom. Perizzites. Molech. Jebusites. Ashtaroth. Ammorites. Chemosh. Zidonians. Moabites. Ammonites. THE TRUE CHURCH. 321 It is exceedingly difficult to decide which is the precise god of each nation; all of them having more than one god, and a god serving two or three nations. Thus we read of the god Chemosh, Judges xi. 24, that he was the god of the Ammonites : again of the same god, Numbers xxi. 29, and 1 Kings xi. 7, that he was the god of the Moabites : then we read, 2 Kings xxiii., that Milcom was the abomi- nation of the Ammonites. Baal was a o-od apparently common to many nations. And whether the gods Baalim, Baal-berith, Baal- zebub, and Baal-peor are not varieties of the same god I do not know. It seems probable that the terminations are given in accordance with the several languages of the nations wor- shipping the god Baal. The Hebrews are said to have worshipped Berith, I have therefore included this as one god, though Berith is allied in other parts to Baal, and styled Baal- berith. Mountains had names of the termi- nations of these gods of Baal. Upon these mountains the nations worshipped their gods, and it may be that the mountains had their names priorly, and thus gave distinctive names in Baal worship. That Baal worship was distinct from other idolatrous worship, is shown in the relation of P 5 322 THE TRUE CHURCH. Elijah's trial to prove the true God. The prophets of Baal are therein said to be four hundred and fifty, and they are distinguished from the prophets of the groves, who are said to be four hundred. In this same relation we discover that Baalim was but another term for Baal, and, therefore, this form of expression does not give another god. Peor is sometimes referred to, and may be a distinct god in Baal worship, and if so, there is a doubt whether Milcom and Molech are two gods, or only two names for the same god. In 1 Kings xi., Milcom and Molech are shown to be worship- ped by one nation, the Ammonites. It may be, therefore, that Milcom and Molech are only different names for the same god. If Peor be recognized as a distinct god, and added to my list, perhaps Milcom may be removed. In the 3rd chapter of Judges, the Hivites are named as a nation among other nations with whom the Jews intermarried and served their sods. It is but a f]:eneral relation that the children of Israel dwelt among several nations, the Hivites being included, and that they intermarried with them, and served their gods. " And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves." I THE TRUE CHUECH. 323 have excluded the Hivites, because this nation became the slaves of the Israelites. They entered into a compact with them, and became ** hewers of wood, and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the Lord, even unto this day." These were the Nethi- nims of whom we read, (1 Chronicles ix. 2,) " Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions, in their cities, were the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims." The Nethinims were the strangers who were made servants, and became a part of the Hebrew community. And we find that these continued a part, and were carried with the Israelites into captivity to Babylon, and that they were numbered among them on their return to Jeru- salem, (Ezra ii. 43.) They were not, therefore, a distinct nation after the Israelites had posses- sion of the land. I have excluded the nations, of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon : for though these nations were closely connected with the fate and for- tunes of the Jews, I do not find that the Jews received, and raised temples to, their gods. I have also excluded a form of idolatry which has obtained under the Christian dispensation, I mean the worship of the Pope, who claims to sit in the temple of God, and " who opposeth 324 THE TEUE CHUECH. and exalteth himself above all that is callevl God, or that is worshipped ; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." I exclude this form of idolatry from being one of the heads and crowns of the great red dragon, because Satan is represented to possess their complete number when he is thrust out from Christ's kingdom. And this he is before this form of idolatry had obtained. And be i': observed, that this form of idolatry is not received into Christ's kingdom. It is not that the man of sin really sits in the true temple of God. He only claims to do so. He cannot sit there as God. He can only claim to sit as God. He is not, therefore, really within the temple, " the city of our God." In the city of our God, is a perpetual stream, from the pure fountain of living waters, which is kept perfectly distinct from the turbid mass of cor- rupt filth which has deluged the world. The two witnesses, or two olive trees, or two golden candlesticks, have never ceased to be. Satan drew aside the former church, and the repeated departures of the Hebrews, from serving the living God, to worship false gods, attest the power of Satan over the first church. But the second church, Christ declared that the gates of hell should not prevail against. She will THE TRUE CHURCH. 325 ride majestically over the troubled waters, long after the whore, the polluted one, is dashed to pieces upon the breakers. Satan has not touched^ and cannot touch Christ's latter church ; he gets no heads or crowns in this kingdom. With regard to the list of the heads and horns of the great red dragon, I am not pledged to it. I believe it to be correct. I have sought by it to illustrate the leading idea which furnishes the most correct notion of the great red dragon. After all, it is not of much con- sequence, whether the nations I have named, with their idols, be the ones intended or not. It is certain that the great red dragon is Satan, and this point concluded, it is not very import- ant whether his heads and horns be represented by these, or other nations and false systems of worship. That he is the devil himself, the text itself tells us, " And the great red dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Assured of this as a fact, and this as a fact is important, we may leave to the very curious, the inquiry to define with certainty, which are Satan's heads, and crowns^ and horns. And now of the beast that rises out of the 326 THE TEUE CHUKCH. sea, delineated by St. John in tlie following words : — '^ And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saic a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of bias- phemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion : and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.^'' I have shown before, that this beast, though he has seven heads and ten horns, is perfectly distinct from the great red dragon. The beast from the sea has ten crowns, the great red dragon has only seven crowns. The ten crowns are upon the horns, the seven crowns are upon the heads. Moreover, a beast that is like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion, is very unlike a red dragon. The red dragon we have seen is the devil. The beast from the sea is not the devil, but is, with regard to his position, a product of the devil, Satan giving " him his power, and his seat, and great authority." We have seen before that " the sea " sym- bolizes Heathenism, or Paganism. It is so in Daniel, it is so in Isaiah, it is so here. I have THE TRUE CHURCH. 327 called attention before to the prophetic language of Isaiah, wherein he writes, " The abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee." Now it is plain, that this language, applied to Christ's church, cannot mean an accession of strength thereto by the conversion of the literal sea. The sea, therefore, stands as a symbol for some- thing else. It stands for that which will give accession of strength to Christ's kingdom — the ingathering of people, or members to it. Now that these people are the Gentiles, or heathens, we are expressly told in the chapter (Ix.), from which the quotation is made. The whole chapter is filled with the prophetic announce- ment of the ingathering of the Gentiles into the church. There is not a doubt then, that " the sea" stands as a figure for the heathens. David likewise employs this image to mean them. In the 6oth Psalm it is so employed. In this pro- phetic Psalm, wherein it is declared, "Praise waiteth for Thee, O God, in Zion : and unto Thee shall the vow be performed. 0 Thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come :" and having declared this, and while further prophesying of the future greatness of God's kingdom on earth, David writes, "By terrible things in righteousness wilt Thou answer us, 0 God of our salvation; who art 328 THE TRUE CHTJECH. the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea : which by His strength setteth fast the mountains ; being o-irded with power : which stilleth the noise of the se.as, the noise of I heir waves, and the tumult of the people.^'' Here, it is plain, that these latter words in connexion with the context, predict the powder of God over the heathen nations, — the seas being a figure to represent them. The prophet Zechariah also employs this same image to convey the same meaning. In the 10th chapter, wherein is predicted, as in Isaiah, and as in the Psalms of David, the advance- ment of God's kingdom, it is written, " And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up : and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away : and I will strengthen them in the Lord; and they shall walk up and down in His name, saith the Lord." From all these examples, it is plain, and palpable, that the sea stands as a figure for the heathens. I am earnest in directing atten- tion to this truths because it bears upon a very important subject to be hereafter considered, and I have, therefore, particularly to request that it be borne in mind. The beast, then, that THE TRUE CHURCH. 329 rises out of the sea, is a beast that rises out of Paganism, or, in pagan times. This beast has '^ seven heads and ten horns, and ten crowns upon his horns." Now there is another beast also having " seven heads and ten horns," the scarlet-coloured beast. There is also another beast "having two horns like a lamb." Perhaps it will be useful to make a few preliminary remarks before proceeding to describe either. Daniel predicted a kingdom that would arise, after three preceding mighty kingdoms, that should have seven heads and ten horns. The preceding mighty kingdoms were the Babylon- ish, the Medo-Persian, and the Grecian. After these, and succeeding the last, the mighty kingdom or empire was to arise, " having seven heads and ten horns," and that " was dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly." Now this is the same empire foreshadowed out more in detail by St. John. And this we shall be the more convinced of as we proceed to examine St. John's detailed description. Daniel describes this kingdom in few words, and they are comprehensive of its whole condition. Its rise, its progress, its fall. He does not show its progressive movements in detail. St. John does. Under the image 330 THE TllUE CHURCH. of the beast from the sea, he shows its com- mencement ; under the knage of the beast with two horns hke a lamb, he shows its change of form ; and under the image of the scarlet- coloured beast, he shows the further develop- ment of this changed form. But amid all these changes, it is remarkable, that it is still essen- tially the heast from the sea. And though it undergoes internal and external change, that is, though it is changed in its form of polity, and in its territorial limits, yet it retains its ten horned character. In treating upon this most momentous subject, involving, as it does, matters of the very highest interest, and threatening, as a right compre- hension of it does, the overthrow of existing institutions, based upon false claims, I propose to describe, first, the "beast from the sea," next, the " beast coming up out of i\iQ earth," then, the " scarlet-coloured beast," and lastly, to dis- course upon the general features as they apply to the whole. The three being, as it were, joined in one, they are so treated by St. John, though in order to portray their full develop- ment, their separate distinctive features are given. The beast from the sea has " seven heads, and ten horns, and ten crowns upon his horns." THE TUTJE CHURCH. 331 The heads and horns and crowns mentioned as on this beast, are not the same as are found on the scarlet-coloured beast. They are the same in number, but not the same in character. And this is plain from these facts. Of the seven heads of the beast from the sea, one is said to be " as it were wounded to death." Of the seven heads of the scarlet-coloured beast, they are said to be " seven mountains on which the woman sitteth." If the seven heads of the beast from the sea were seven mountains, I think it would not be said of one of them, that " one was as it were wounded to death," and again, that "its deadly wound was healed." These expressions imply something of vitality, something more than literal inert matter, which is really the meaning of the seven mountains, as they regard the scarlet-coloured beast. Again, of the ten horns, the beast from the sea rises with them, and there is nothing to lead to the belief that they are not in being and developed when the beast rises ; but of the ten horns of the scarlet-coloured beast, it is written, " And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet ; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast." These latter were not then developed imtil the scarlet-coloured beast was developed. 332 THE TRUE CHUHCH. The former were developed when the beast as seen by St. John " rose np out of the sea." From these considerations, it will be perceived that the heads and horns of one beast, are not the heads and horns of the other. It will perhaps be better if we can first get an understanding of the ten horns. By arriving at a knowledge of these, it may lead to a know- ledge of the seven heads. As Ave have seen before, horns are emblema- tical of power. And this may be of nations, or of individuals. David writes, " My horn hath He exalted," And Zacharias employs this word to imply power. He says, " And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us, in the house of His servant David." Hannah, the mother of Samuel, makes use of this word. She says, " My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord." And she means by it, her personal position, her personal influence, or power. She says, immediately after using the word, "my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies." Horn, then, is an emblem of power generally, and this may be of any kind. It does not necessarily mean kingly rule, or sepa- rate sovereignty. If we look into the history of a mighty empire, that in St. John's time was fast THE TRUE CHURCH. 333 growing to the height of its power, and that succeeded, agreeably to the prediction of Daniel, the Grecian empire, we shall find that it united in itself ten large countries, or kingdoms. It had acquired the sovereignty over nearly the whole range of country encircling the Medi- terranean, and adding besides the island of Britain. The Romans now governed ; — Hispania, Illyricum, Gallia, Asia Minor, Britannia, Syria, Italia, ^gyptus, Achsea, Libya. These ten large nations of the Roman empire, gave the ten horns to the beast from the sea, or to the Roman Pagan beast. These kingdoms gave crowns also. To pos- sess crowns does not imply only kingly rule. We have seen this as regards the great red dragon. His crowns are derived from other than kingly, or political territorial rule. So of the crowns of the Faithful and True, they are not crowns of kingly rule in the worldly sense of the term. Crowns, do not therefore, neces- sarily imply kingly rule. Crowns are emblems of rule or sovereignty, but this may be of any kind. " A virtuous woman is a crown to her 334 THE TRUE CHURCH. husband." Crowns simply imply exaltation. The seven crowns upon the heads of the great red dragon, do not symbolize a similar so- vereignty to the ten crowns of the beast from the sea. The rule of each is different; the crowns symbolize the rule of each, and, there- fore symbolize different kinds of rule. With Satan, it is spiritual and priestly, with a nation it is political and territorial ; crowns symboliz- ing both kinds of rule. Rule, obtained by a nation over subdued nations, would give crowns. Thus, the horns and crowns are connected with the nations annexed to, and forming together, the E-oman empire. We see in this, the reason why the crowns are placed on the horns of the beast from the sea. Whereas, in the dragon, they are placed on the heads. Sovereignty, politically over nations, giving crowns to secular rule, and sovereignty, ecclesiastically, giving crowns to sacerdotal rule. The ten crowns, upon the horns of the beast from the sea, are the ten kingdoms, or countries, over which Pagan Rome had acquired sovereignty. We have seen before, that the heads of the beast from the sea, and the heads of the scarlet- coloured beast, are different. The seven moun- tains, the heads of the scarlet-coloured beast, not giving heads to the beast from the sea. In THE TEUE CHUECH. 335 addition to the reasons before assigned for this opinion, there is another, upon the heads of the beast from the sea is written, "the name of blasphemy." We find the scarlet-coloured beast "full of names of blasphemy," but these are not written on the heads. Upon nature's hills, the glorious works of nature's God, blasphemy is not written. But upon the sacerdotal, and hierarchial system, and its adherents, it is written. Upon sacerdotal rites of idolatrous worship blasphemy is written. Systems of idolatrous worship give therefore the heads to the beast from the sea. I am not prepared to say which are the pre- cise heads of the beast from the sea. Only a free access to books would enable me to say which are the systems which give these heads. At present, I am more than usually debarred from obtaining the needful knowledge, being confined to my bed with a broken limb. As I print as fast as I get a few pages of MS. ready, I do not like to stop the publication for the want of this knowledge. I do not think a knowledge of the heads of the beast from the sea, essentially needful to a right comprehen- sion of the whole subject. At a future time I hope to make this matter my study, as well as some others, of which I give only the ribs, or a 336 THE TRUE CHURCH, skeleton as it were, in this book. There can be no doubt, I think, that the idolatrous systems of worship which obtained through the extended Roman Pagan Empire, were those which gave heads to the beast from the sea. The worship of Jupiter gave one head. The worship of Osiris, the god of the Egyptians, probably another. The worship connected with the druidical system another. Perhaps it will be enough for our present purpose, that we know of the principal system, that which obtained at the seat of government, the worship of the god Jupiter. This is the head that was " as it were wounded to death," and whose "deadly wound was healed." Of this wounding to death we shall treat hereafter, when we come to consider the general features as connected with the whole. A further independent and peculiar character to be considered of the beast from the sea, is its form. This form is said to be " like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion." If we refer to Daniel's vision, given in his 7th chapter, we find that before the fourth beast rises that has ten horns, the first that rises is like a lion, a symbol for the Babylonian empire, which is represented in a previous chapter, as a dominion THE TRUE CHURCH. 337 that " extended to the end of the earth ;" — that is, universal in the then known parts. The second beast, like a bear, was a symbol for the Medo-Persian empire. And the third, like a leopard, a symbol for the Grecian empire. Now, in the beast from the sea, these three symbols are united; because, in accordance with Daniel's predictions, another nation was to arise, that was to "devour, and break in pieces, and stamp the residue with the feet of it;" and was to be '* dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly;" it therefore possessed in itself the united qualities or characteristics of the other three. It was to be like unto the leopard, or the Grecian empire. Its form of polity, or government, approached more nearly the Grecian, than either of the other two. Its feet were " as the feet of a bear." Like the Medo-Persian empire, it was to tread upon and crush its predecessors. Its mouth was " as the mouth of a lion." Like the Babylonian empire, its power was to be great and extensive. That it is shown with all the symbols of the preced- ing empires, the several characteristics of each was to be centred in this. And, moreover, it was to absorb into itself all the countries of the former empires. We thus have figured out to us the Eoman Pagan empire. Q 338 THE TRUE CHURCH. Let us proceed to inquire what is meant by " Another beast cGniing up out of the earth ; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.'^ We have seen, that the beast coming out of the sea, is a beast coming out of Paganism. This lamb-horned beast comes out of the earth. What is to be understood by this beast " coming up out of the earth ?" Satan is cast out from heaven ^' unto the earth." There is a meaning attached to this more significant than conveying a general influence over man. Satan has pos- sessed this influence throuohout. He was now to lose a portion of this influence. He was to lose it over the inhabiters of heaven, and it was to be exercised only over the inhabiters of the earth, and of the sea ; " Therefore, rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them : woe to the inhabiters of the earth, and of the sea ! for the devil is come down unto you, having great Avrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." The inhabiters, of the earth and of the sea, are here put in juxtaposition Avith the inhabiters of heaven. The inhabiters of the sea, I have shown, are the Pagans. From what I have before said of the figure, " the heavens," and from the very wording of the quotation above, and from the whole context, THE TRUE CHURCH. , 339 it will be seen that the inhabiters of heaven are Christ's faithful ones, or, the members of His body, — the church. Who then are the in- habiters of the earth ? They are those, in the outer court of the temple said to be given to the Gentiles and which John was told "to leave out and measure it not," Rev. xi. 2, The inhabiters of the earth are they in this '^ outer court of the temple." They, within the temple, are citizens of the holy city. And, in order to mark distinctly who are they in the outer court, and who are numbered with the Gentiles, it is written of them, " And the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months." They are not those, having no rela- tion to, or connexion with, the temple, the inhabiters of the sea, or Pagans ; but they are those in the court without the temple. They are those, in short, who claim to be Christians, but are so only in name. The beast "coming up out of the earth," is then a beast that rises up out of nominal Chris- tianity. He is a creature fostered into vitality, by the mass on the outskirts of the temple, the citadel of our God. To show this most dis- tinctly, he is described as having " two horns like a lamb." He exhibits some external ap- pearances in conformity with the divine symbol Q 2 340 THE TRUE CHUE.CH. of the great Head of the church. He has two horns, or two symbols of power, like a lamb. He claims his whole power by this feint, or this pretended resemblance to the meek Lamb of God. But he betrays his true character. He speaks " like a dragon." He anathematizes all who will not fall down and worship him. He does not preach Jesus, as the Saviour of man, but he preaches the Pope as the saviour. He assigns to himself the power to grant remission of sin. He plunges into purgatory, and he withdraws from purgatory. He conveys into heaven, or he casts into hell. He cleanses from impurity, and grants indulgence for sin, and beatifies the soul, or he fixes the guilt, and damns both body and soul. And by this usurped power it is, that, for a given time, while his day lasts, "he treads under foot the holy city," whose members will not fall down and w^orship him. He has " two horns," emblematic of two powers, and both under the guise of Christianity. He has ecclesiastical and secular rule. As pope, he had conceded to him priestly jurisdic- tion over many nations. As bishop of Rome, he had guaranteed to him the papal states, over which he has exercised secular sovereignty. And now let us see wherein the distinction THE TRUE CHURCH. 341 lies of the scarlet-coloured beast, from the beast of the sea, and the beast of the earth. ^' And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured heast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns^ This beast is marked by this distinctive feature, that a woman sits upon him. " And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication : and upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GEEAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." In these words we have portrayed to us a further development of the great apostacy. As the " city of our God," or, the true church, is said to be the espoused of Christ, so here we have delineated the polluted one, the creature of Satan. This woman was developed in her maturity, when the Pope with his hierarchy had established their power, and with her they committed fornication, or, in other words, they totally separated themselves from the spouse of Christ, the true Christian church, and committed all sorts of abominations with this false one. 342 THE TRUE CHUECH. It is impossible to read the features of the developed apostacy, and to mistake them. In- stead of being what they were, a prediction, had they been a narration of transpired facts, they could not have been more like. Let us bestow a little time in their perusal. The description begins by calling the woman "the great whore that sitteth upon many waters," and we are told that the waters " where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." Not only were ten kings, or ten kingdoms, to give their power and strength unto the beast, but this whore was to sit over " peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." She extended her dominion from Europe, to Asia, Africa, and America. Her influence extends at this time to the four continents. Her pollutions yet fill many parts of the habitable globe, and her existence at this time is only a standing fact of the truth of St. John's prediction. The beast is scarlet-coloured. Every body knows that the Komish hierarchy is dressed in scarlet. We all know that the Pope and his cardinals, in their pontificals, present one blaze of scarlet, and thus this feature of the predic- tion has been fully verified. The beast has seven heads. The seven heads THE TRUE CHURCH. 343 we are told, are " seven mountains on which the woman sitteth." She not only sits over many waters, or, many nations, peoples, and tongues, but she likewise sits on seven moun- tains. What has been already advanced suffi- ciently marks the identity of the Roman papal abomination, but here we have another feature which cannot be mistaken. She sits on " seven mountains." Kome has been always known as the seven-hilled city ; and this being the supreme head, or seat of government of the extended sacerdotal power, marks distinctly the system which St. John is delineating. The scarlet-coloured beast has " ten horns." Like the first beast, here are still ten horns. But these are not the same ten horns. As the heads are not the same, so, likewise, the horns are not the same. The ten horns of this beast, are " ten kings w^hich have received no kingdom as yet;" that is, in St. John's time, when the vision was granted him, they had not received their kingdom. We are to look, therefore, for these ten horns, or, ten kingdoms after the lamb-horned beast, and the scarlet-coloured beast were fully developed. These ten kings give their power and strength unto the beast." They also commit "fornication with the woman." These ten kings, or, kingdoms, are in alliance 344 THE TRUE CHURCH. withj and uphold, the system, which the woman and the beast symbolize. We have seen that the lamb-horned beast is established when the bishop of Rome united in himself the functions of both a spiritual and a temporal prince. We shall find hereafter, when we come to consider the commencement of the forty and two months, the prophetic announcement for the continuance of the Romish sacerdotal system, that it had not its beginning until the eighth century. It is about, or, after this time, that we are to look into the history of Europe and of popery, to discover which were the horns, or kingdoms, that gave their power and strength to the beast. That some dispute arises about these ten kingdoms is matter of no surprise. Previous to the promulgation of the opinion of Mr. Rabett, that the papacy was not established until Pepin, king of France, invested the bishop of Rome with the prerogative of a temporal prince, many opinions arose as to the com- mencement of the papacy. Each writer having his own views, took each a different period wherein to look for the ten kingdoms, and as each small cycle produced some change, so the ten kingdoms are in two cycles scarcely ever the same ; the boundaries of kingdoms con- tinually changing, at times a country being Tili; TEUE CllUECH. 345 held under one monarch, which at another may be held by two. The most remarkable fact is, that the kingdoms in connection with Rome should every now and then be found to be the number predicted by St. John. In trying then to ascertain the ten kingdoms, the text should be examined which applies to each de- scription, and this remark refers to Daniel's vision as well as to the beasts of St. John. It is probable, that a list given of any one period will not apply to the text of each and all. With regard to the ten kino-doms in connection with the scarlet-coloured beast, I will give a list taken from Mr. Rabett's book. He has fur- nished more than one list, but the one I here insert, is mven in connection with an extract from Gibbon's Roman History, and which ex- tract I also insert ; we thus get the testimony of two writers. The kings are of France, England, Scotland, Castile, Arragon, Navarre, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, and lastly Sicily ; and it is about this last, who was the first king of Sicily, that Gibbon is writing. His words are: — " The chiefs of the nation, who attended his coronation at Palermo, might, doubtless, pro- nounce under what name he should reign over them ; but the example of a Greek tyrant, or a Q 5 346 THE TRUE CHUllCH. Saracen emir were insufficient to justify his regal character, and tlie nine kings of the Latin world might disclaim their new associate, unless he were consecrated hy the authority of the su- preme pontiff. The pride of Anacletus was pleased to confer a title, which the pride of the Norman had stooped to solicit; but his own legitimacy was attacked by the adverse election of Innocent II. ; and, while Anacletus sat in the Vatican, the successful fugitive was acknow- ledged by the nations of Europe." How fruitful of suggestions is this short extract, but I forbear, as remarks upon it do not fall in closely with my present subject. Suffice it to say, that here we have the testi- mony of an infidel writer to the fact of the close alliance of ten kings with the papacy, a.d. 1101 — 1154. These gave "their power and strength to the beast." Another feature of the woman sitting on the beast is, that she was " drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." Let her history tell whether this feature applies to the papal system. Whether, throughout the career of the Papacy, she has not uniformly, and as a paramount principle of action, put to death, or to the torture, all who opposed her claims. That body predicted by THE TRUE CHURCH. 347 Daniel to arise, and which is destined to be the governing body, and of whom the two witnesses, or two golden candlesticks, or two olive trees, mentioned in the 11th chapter are symbols, and who are they that have boldly stood up for the truth amid the lying abominations and false claims of Rome, " the saints," can well attest throughout their history to this truth. The blood of the martyrs, whose only crime to popery was, adhesion to their great Head, Christ, their Lord and Master, still cries aloud for judgment on the great whore, and though delayed it will come, " and with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." Having remarked upon the distinctive fea- tures which apply peculiarly to each beast, let us examine into the oeneral features which apply to them as a whole. One strong general feature is, that the three beasts are derived from one common source, and this general feature is characteristic of them throughout. The beast from the sea, the lamb-horned beast, and the scarlet-coloured beast, owe their origin to Pas^anism. The first directly springs out of it. The two latter owe their origin to it. And they all three have a common identity by it. The beast from the 348 THE TRUE CHURCH. earth (the lamb-horned beast) is a conthiua- tion of the beast from the sea, and the scarlet- coloured beast is a further development of the lamb-horned beast. They are different faces of the same thing. The beast from the sea is Paganism, the lamb-horned beast is Paganism under the guise of Christianity, and the scarlet- coloured beast is a further development of the spurious Christianity of the lamb-horned beast. And why do I say this ? Because St. John says it. Because they are the inhabiters of the " outer court of the temple " which is said to be " given to the Gentiles." And, because, upon the whole is written ^^ Blasphemy. '''' And, because the second exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, " and causeth the earth, and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast." In fulfilment of this prediction, the second beast took the title of the first beast, Pontifex MaximuSy and thus continued the first beast, and caused himself as such to be wor- shipped. The Pope of Rome stepped into the shoes of the emperors of Kome, who took the title of Pont. Max. or High Priest of Jupiter, and he assumed this same title, and thus con- tinued the first beast. And to make the whole complete, the statue of Jupiter was converted into that of St. Peter, and placed in the Cathe- THE TRUE CHURCH. 349 dral at Rome. Accordingly, we find, that the beast from the sea and the beast out of the earth are so commingled by St. John into one, that the general description applies to both, and the latter is said to be the image of the former. In confirmation of this view of Popery, we find that the gods of modern Romanism are only changed in name from the gods of ancient Romanism. Modern Rome does not yet wor- ship only the One True God. Like ancient Rome, she has many gods. For Jupiter she has substituted the Pope ; for Juno the Virgin Mary ; and for all the minor gods, the family as it were of the pagan gods, she has substituted a host of saints.* * To show that a practice obtained soon after the Roman empire became nominally Christian, of transforming the heathen gods into Christian gods, I give an extract from Madden's travels in Egypt and Palestine. This transformation took ploce when Egypt and Palestine were a part of the Roman empire. " In the Memnonium many such beautiful countenances of the divinities are mutilated, on every wall, and in many places covered with mud by the early Christians, to make the trunks serve for representations of the saints and fathers. Perhaps such destruction in the temples of Upper Egypt, of everything connected with Egyptian mythology, was more general than that practised by the Persians. Every temple was made a Christian church ; the trough for the blood of the sacrifice served to contain the holy water ; the monolythe receptacle for the sacred animal was converted into a tabernacle : the marble 350 THE TRUE CHURCH. Of the beast from the sea, it is written, that *' one of his heads was as it were wounded to death ; and his deadly wound was healed : and all the world wondered after the beast." What do we understand of " this wound/' said to be given to " one of the heads ?" In a subsequent verse we find the wound is by " a sword ;" and commentators ascribe this wound to what they call the sword of Const an tine. In a measure I think them right, but in a very small measure. It was not Constantine's sword that dealt the blow, it was the sword of the Spirit. Constan- tine was a medium through which the blow was dealt. The blow was dealt by the Spirit, and three centuries had been employed in preparing on which the victims were slain was turned into an altar ; the statue of Osiris was changed into a representation of the Divinity, by substituting a globe for the Egyptian taw, and a triangle for the emblematic hook. The figures of Isis and the child Horus in her arms, were easily made personifications of the Virgin and Child, the crescent on the head of Isis was con- verted into a halo, and the insignia of Horus, required little alteration. Typhon answered for the devil well enough, with the appendage of a tail, and the addition of a hoof ; and a pro- cession of Egyptian priests was transformed with facility into a company of the Apostles, by the simple obliteration of a few pagan ornaments. In the temples of Thebes and Dendera, I particularly noticed this singular transformation ; it is not, perhaps, more surprising than the conversion of the statue of Jupiter into that of St. Peter, in the cathedral of Rome." THE TRUE CHURCH. 351 the blow. The warfare of the Spirit is main- tained by, and represented under, the figure of " a sword that proceedeth out of the mouth." In reference to the enemies of the Faithful and True (xix. 21), it is written, "And the rem- nant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth." It is the sword of the Spirit which gave the blow to " the head, that was as it were wounded to death." It was quickly discovered that the " deadly wound was healed." A flood of heresies burst in and swallowed up the truth ; and the nation was as much Pagan after, as before, the appa- rent reception of Christianity. It held much the same forms of worship, and frequented the same temples, but called their modes of worship by new names. The vital spirit of Christianity was not understood, and not felt, and con- sequently not received. The wound given to the ancient pagan idolatry, the red dragon quickly cicatrized and healed; and heathen worship and heathen superstitions held their wonted sway. This state of things progressed until popery was introduced, when " they wor- shipped the beast, saying. Who is like unto the beast ? Who is able to make war with him ? And there was given unto him a mouth speak- 352 THE TRUE CHUllCH. ing great things and blasphemies ; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months." Now, in order that the new form of heathen idolatry should be understood, which it was predicted the Roman empire should take on, its features are described under the figures of two beasts. One " the beast coming up out of the earth ; and he had tw^o horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon ;" and the other, " a scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blas- phemy, having seven heads and ten horns." These show the changed form of the heathen idolatry. In the combined description of these, and of the beast from the sea, we learn the precise character of Popery. That it is essen- tially Pagan. That it has only a semblance to Christianity ; assuming its name, and carrying with it a form of Christian worship, but having nothing of its vitality ; and so far from pos- sessing a claim to be its embodiment, it is at constant warfare with it, and is its direct antagonist. In confirmation of this opinion it is said, " And it Avas given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them." The saints and he have been, and are, at con- tinued warfare. He carried all before him until the Reformation, since when his power has THE TRUE CHURCH. 353 been fading, and, like a blasted tree, his vigour is departing. His power was to be great, and he overcame ; but now the glory is departed ; the scene is changing, and their power shall be great, and they shall overcome, and they shall be in the ascendant. The saints of the Most High shall reign over the whole earth. The whole book of Revelation concerns, and is full of, these antagonistic powers. And the recognition of them by all demands the most earnest attention. *^ He who is not for me is against me." — "Who is on my side, who ?" The question, the most important to put to self, is, — On whose side am I ? — With whom do I range ? — Shall I fall in with the beast and his image and host ? — Or, shall I fall in with the " Faithful and True," and His army ? The latter, for many generations, were but a small band, but vorily they have their reward. They look down from the heavens, and behold, with exultant eyes, the onward march of the mighty phalanx, gradually growing into an irresistible power that shall tread their enemies in the mire. It was given to the beast " to make war with the saints and to overcome them," but not to destroy them. They were overcome, and " their dead bodies lay in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and 354 THE TRUE CHURCH. Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified," and the devil and his crew thought they were annihilated, and " they sent gifts one to another," and with demoniacal laugh " they rejoiced over them and made merry ;" * but, " after three days and a half, the spirit of life from God entered into them," and the saints rose up a re-animated body. They now go forth with their Leader, " on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations : and He shall rule them with a rod of iron : and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." (xix. 15). Enough has been said to identify the papal enormity with the predictions contained in Christ's revelations to St. John. To be quite sure, that we are not mistaken in the character of that great System of lying pretensions, there are yet some features, the consideration of which, may help still more closely to connect it with the antagonist to Christ's churcli. We read, " And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the * Those who do not comprehend the allusion, will find an explanation under the head Reformation. THE TRUE CHUIICH. 355 earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth, by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast ; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword and did live." The pretended miracles of the E-omanists have been numerous throughout the whole papal history. To this day, the deluded followers are blinded into a belief of super- natural gifts and aids accompanying the crafty priesthood, by the help of the relics of saints, &c., which they exhibit. The fire from the altar, which our Lord, as the High Priest, scattered upon the earth, by the miracles which He performed, they pretend to imitate, and they do " great wonders," so that they " make fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men." By this craft, the priesthood have taught their followers to make " an image to the beast," and, accordingly, they have set up their idol, the Pope, the image of the beast that preceded him, the High Priest of Jupiter. To show how marked is the blending of the one beast with the other, the second, or lamb- horned beast, " causeth the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast ;" and afterward it is said, " And he had power to 356 THE TRUE CHURCH. give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." At the close of the last quotation is another feature, that '^ as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." This exhibits the very essence of popery. This is what the persecutions of the saints and martyrs were always about. It was not whether they would serve Christ, but whether they would serve the Pope. It was not whether they would bow down in submission to God, but whether they would bow down to the Pope and to priestcraft ; whether they would bow down to the image they set up, and which preceded their processions. The host, their golden calf, they demanded should be worshipped, and this was the test of fraternity. If this were not bowed down to, the symbol of their own power, a dungeon, and the rack, and death, were the penalties. Another feature is, that " he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads." It is made an act of devo- tion, that they should cross themselves in the forehead with the right hand with holy water. THE TRUE CHUECH. 357 And as a condition of this, the sign of member- ship, they "might buy or sell" the spiritual merchandize. That the members may "buy and sell " is another feature. The priest may sell, the layman buy, the merchandize that should be beyond price. This trafficking in spiritual things is to be between those who have " the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." And then to bind and clasp the whole together, to tie up, in a bundle as it were, the many features of resemblance, the name is given. It is given in a number. They are members who have the " number of his name." " Here is wisdom. Let him that hath under- standing count the number of the beast : for it is the number of a man ; and his number is six hundred threescore and six." How shall we ascertain that the number 666 is the name of a man, and also is the name of the beast ? If we can discover that this number is the name of a man, and this name applies to, and is especially the name of the beast, then, besides all the several features I have enumerated, we shall fix his identity most clearly by his familiar cognomen. Upon this point, I prefer that another should speak. The Revelation was written in Greek. 358 THE TEUE CHUECH. And the solution of the enigmatical number can only be made by one acquainted with the Greek language. I shall therefore make an extract from a book just published, entitled, " A Solution of St. John's Enigma," by the Rev. R. Rabett. I will premise that the opinion supported by Mr. Rabett is an opinion formed by other writers, and first, by St. Ireneus, one of the early fathers, who most likely studied the Revelation of St. John, in the language in which it was written, and who wrote long before Popery was established. I am afraid that I shall scarcely make this part of my subject understood by readers who have not made the Revelation their study, unless I previously give a short explanation. The Greek language, in St. John's time, was, what is called, a numeral language, that is, unlike our own language, which computes by numbers, the Greeks computed by their letters, consequently, if a word can be found, the name of a man, the letters of which, when added up make 666, that probably is the name of the beast. Now there is such a name, which w^hen translated into the language of the nation to which it applies, gives Lateinus, or in our own language, the Latin man, and this especially is the name of Rome Pagan, as well as Rome THE TEUE CHURCH. 359 Papal. The Romans were called Latins, and their nation the Latin nation, the worship of Papists is still performed in Latin, and the bulls and decretals of the Pope are in Latin, and thus Rome Pagan was, and Rome Papal is Latin, and Lateinus, or the man of Lateium, applies to them and to them only. Mr. Rabett writes, at pp. 219—221 :— " But because St. John wrote his book of the Revelation in the Greek language, and the apocalyptic number, six hundred threescore and six, or ^QQ, is not a Latin number, as DCLXYL, but a Greek number, as x^'^', and as every individual letter in the Greek alphabet, from Alpha to Omega, is a numeral (for the Greeks had no other numerals than their letters, as may be seen in the tables at the end of my first work on the Number QQQ, and in all Greek grammars) : therefore, by translation or transposition of the Latin proper name, LATEINUS, into Greek writing, as AATEI- NOS, or LATEINOS (which translation or transposition of the name had taken place before St. John wrote his book of the Revelation), and then counting or adding up the individual Greek numeral letters of which the proper name of the man Aaruvog is composed, ii produces the exact amount of the Greek apo- 360 THE TRUE CHURCH. calyptic number x^^\ or six hundred three- score and six, or 666, or DCLXVI., as — AATEINOS. L X = . . . 30 A . a = 1 T . T = . 300 E 5 I f . 10 N / . 50 0 0 = . 70 s . C = . 200 666 These, with many similar arguments, clearly prove that the Latin must ever be considered as the exclusive language for the discovery and production of the one proper name of the man Lateinus, and that the Greek must ever be con- sidered as the exclusive numeral language, in which that one proper name of the man must be written and counted, after the example of St. Ireneus ; and that Lateinos, or Aaravocs from Lateinus, must ever hereafter be considered as the standard and incontrovertible historical " mark, or the name " which contains the num- ber of the apocalyptic wild beast, whether THE TRUE CHURCH. 361 it be applied to the Pagan Latin emperor (the sixth head), or to the Latin Papal monarch (the seventh head), and his ten crowned (Latin-receiving) horns. And I think it pretty- certain that Lateinus will never have a rival name of equal identity concerning the solution of St. John's enigma and vision." Readers, familiar with the works of other writers upon the Apocalypse, will perceive, that I have assigned a different meaning to the seven heads of the red dragon, and the seven heads of the beast from the sea, to what is assigned by others. Mr. Rabett, with other writers, couples the red dragon and the beast from the sea together, and assigns them one meaning. Dr. Gumming, with others, advo- cates changes in the form of government of the Roman empire as giving the heads : Mr. Rabett also inclines to this opinion, but he is not decisive upon it, and he suggests another, that the heads are formed of the five large empires — Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Medo-Persian, and Grecian that had passed away, and of the Roman pagan and Roman papal empires. I shall attempt to show that neither of these opinions is correct as explaining the heads of the beast from the sea. Of the heads of the scarlet-coloured beast £ 362 THE TRUE CHURCH. there can be no mistake. These " seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth." Immediately after this description of the seven heads of this beast, a further statement is made that there " are seven kings : five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come ; and when he cometh he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." That these kings have no relation to the heads of the beast St. John is describing, of course, is certain. Whether they are the heads of the beast from the sea is the question. Other writers think they are. I think they are not. I think they are a further description to complete the identity. It will be observed that the beast "that was, and is not," is the eighth king. And this means, in words almost as plain as they can be told, that the whole beast St. John is describing, the scarlet-coloured heasty and which in a previous verse is said to be the beast " that was and is not," is the eighth king. Now if the whole beast be the eighth king, either the scarlet-coloured beast is but a very small part of the beast from the sea, only one of the heads, or else the kings have no relation THE TRUE CHURCH. 363 to the heads. That the scarlet-coloured beast is more than one of the heads of the beast from the sea is plain ; the description of the two beasts pointing them out as being in many particulars identical. We see then that the kings do not describe the heads of the beasts. It is needful to explain that the words, " was and is not," do not describe a beast. They are used to show a state of transition, and yet of union. And it is not meant to be conveyed by the words, " And the beast that was and is not, even he is the eighth," that the beast that " was and is not " is the eighth king. It had been said of the scarlet-coloured beast that " it was and is not," that is, that in another form it was, having lost that form it is not, and yet the new form so quickly glides into the old form that " it is." Now, it is the form that " zs," that is the eighth king, and is of the seven, and it is the form that was that is the sixth king, and the changed form that " is not " is the seventh, and the reinstituted first form that " is," which is the eighth and yet of the seventh. With this explanation, I think it will be seen the kings have no relation to the heads. For if these chano-ino: forms of the whole beast give two DO o kings, or rather three kings in two, and of course the whole beast is made up of heads and B 2 364 THE TEUE CHURCH. horns, then five kings must be looked for ex- ternal of the beast. Kings are symbols for kingdoms. If Daniel be referred to, it will be seen he uses the words synonomously. When interpreting Nebuchad- nezzar's dream, he says, " And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom ;" kings in this sentence meaning king- doms. He uses it likewise in the same sense many times after. Now, St. John uses it in this sense, and it is just the same as if he had written, " And there are seven kingdoms : five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come ; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." What then is the explanation of these seven kingdoms ? Con- nected with the fate and fortunes of the church were certain great monarchies, five of which, as St. John writes, "are fallen;" that is, they had fallen in his time. They are Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Medo- Persian, and Grecian. Besides these, are two others not fallen. One " is " at the time St. John writes, the Koman Pagan; and the other, then to come, the present extended dominion of the Roman Papal empire. But this last is not THE TRUE CHURCH. 365 strictly called the seventh. St. John explains an interval, a " short-spaced " kingdom, out of which, and as a part of which, the Papal king- dom is. This short-spaced kingdom is the empire of Rome during the interval when the high priest of Jupiter was cast down, and when he was re-established in the person of the popes of Rome. This intermediate kingdom is not recognized as an absolute kingdom, it is there- fore mixed up with the last kingdom. The last is said to be an eighth, but of the seven. There is but one other matter connected with " the beast," that I think it necessary to comment upon, it is the predicted duration of his power, the " forty and two months." When the beast from the sea has a " mouth speaking great things," as it is in St. John, and likewise in Daniel, for they both employ precisely the same words, it is declared that "power was given unto him to continue forty and two months." That this power was given when the lamb-horned character was acquired, is ascertained from the parallel prediction in Daniel. It is the little horn to which it is given, that has " eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things," and who makes war with the saints, " and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and 366 THE TRUE CHURCH. the dividing of time," — or a year, two years, and half a year, or, forty and two months. I have said before, that the little horn does not arise until Popery has both temporal and spiritual power, and is not the lamb-horned beast until then. A horn is emblematical of temporal power, and Daniel calls it a little horn, because the temporal dominion is small. To determine when the lamb-horned beast was established, and, consequently, when the forty and two months commenced, we must look into history to ascertain when the Pope was established in the twofold character of a tem- poral and spiritual monarch. I refer again to Mr. Rabett's book for an elucidation of this. He writes, pp. 60—63 : — " St. John says, ' And I beheld another beast ' (or another head — the seventh^) * com- * My readers will have discovered that I differ with Mr. Rabett as it regards the lamb-horned beast being a seventh head ; I call the sacerdotal monarchy a kingdom, not a part of a kingdom. The first beast " rising out of the sea" is a kingdom, or empire, composed of parts symbolized by heads and horns, and these are a part of and help to make up the whole beast, or kingdom. Mr. Rabett would disturb this unity, or oneness, and composes a beast most heterogeneOusly, by making five heads of by-gone kingdoms, and one head of an existing king- dom, and another of a kingdom to arise, and then Mr. Rabett completes the incongruity by putting ten horns upon the whole, which grew out of, only, the two last. THE TRUE CHURCH. 367 ing up out of the earth,' — Rome — ' and he had two horns like a lamb ' (the symbol of a professedly Christian bishop ; or, the sacerdotal monarch of St. Peter), ' and he spake as a dragon ' (or, as a Pagan Roman emperor). ' And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him,' i. e., all the ' power of the beast like unto a leopard,' &c., or Pagan Ro- man emperor, or sixth blasphemous head before him. Now, *the first beast,' or sixth blasphemous head, or kingdom, which was reigning in the city of Rome as the capital of the empire, before the rise of the Papal sacer- dotal Roman monarch, the Pope, was the Pagan Roman emperor and empire, which head was slain by the sword of Constantine. And after the destruction of the Christian Constan- tinopolitan * short-spaced ' government, by the Goths, and Heruli, and the Western Roman empire, a.d. 500, or thereabouts, was divided into ten parts ; and circumstances favouring (a.d. 756), there the scene changes, and we behold, * another beast coming up out of the earth,' and seating itself in and upon the seven-hilled city of Rome, analagous to the symbol, namely, with two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon, and he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him.' This 368 THE TRUE CHURCH. symbol, or pictorial emblem of the seventh head, was evidently given to the Christian church ; so that no possibility of mistake could be made upon his Revelation, even by the world at large ; for St. John says, that ^ all the world wondered after the beast ;' and these words are corroborated by the infidel Gibbon, who has described this lamb-horned kingdom, seated on the seven-hilled city of Rome, as were his Pagan predecessors, the Roman emperors, in the following historical words of wonder- ment ! ! — "^PEPIN AND CHARLEMAGNE, KINGS OF FRANCE, a.d. 751, 753, 768. " * The mutual obligations of the Popes and the Carlovingian family form the important link of ancient and modern, of civil and ecclesi- astical, history;' and afterwards he continues: — ' Under the sacerdotal monarchy of St, Peter, the nations began to resume the practice of seeking, on the banks of the Tyber, their kings, their laws, and the oracles of their fate. " ' The gratitude of the Carlovingians was adequate to these obligations, and their names are consecrated as the saviours and benefactors of the Roman church. Her ancient patrimony/ THE TRUE CHURCH. 369 of farms and houses was transformed by their bounty into the temporal dominion of cities and provinces ; and the donation of the Exarchate was the first fruits of the conquest of Pepin. Astolphus, with a sigh, relinquished his prey : the keys and hostages of the principal cities were delivered to the French ambassador ; and in his master's name, he presented them before the tomb of St. Peter. The ample measure of the Exarchate might comprise all the provinces of Italy which had obeyed the emperor and his vicegerent: but its strict and proper limits were included in the territories of Ravenna, Bologna, and Ferrara : its inseparable depen- dency was the Pentapolis, which stretched along the Adriatic from Eimini to Ancona, and advanced into the midland country as far as the ridges of the Apennines. In this trans- action the ambition and avarice of the Popes had been severely condemned. Perhaps the humility of a Christian priest should have rejected an earthly kingdom, which it was not easy for him to govern without renouncing the virtues of his profession. Perhaps a faithful subject, or even a generous enemy, would have been less im- patient to divide the spoils of the barbarian \ and if the emperor had entrusted Stephen to solicit in his name the restitution of the Exar- R 5 370 THE TRUE CHURCH. chatCj / will not absolve the Pope from the reproach of treachery and falsehood. " ' The splendid donation was granted in supreme and absolute dominion, and the world beheld for the first time, a Christian bishop in- vested with the prerogative of a temporal prince, the choice of magistrates, the exercise of justice, the imposition of taxes, and the wealth of the palace of Ravenna.' " ( See Gibon's " Decline and Fall," Vol. 9, chap, xlix., pp. 151, 156—158). In these extracts from Gibbon, presented to his readers by Mr. E-abett, we have the testi- mony of this able historian, as to the time, and as to the mode, in which the bishop of Rome acquired his temporal authority. The time was, and this chiefly concerns us at present, as Mr. Rabett has stated, about a.d. 16Q. Receiving this then as the truth, it establishes the fact, that the lamb-horned beast is not set up until this period. Adding to this date, the forty and two months, in Jewish computation equivalent to 1260 days, that is prophetic days, or 1260 literal years, we arrive at the conclusion, that in accordance with the prediction of St John, as well as of Daniel, that Popery will not cease to be, until a.d. 1999, or thereabout. The calculation is made by Hebrew computation, which gave to their years only 360 days. THE TRUE CHUECH. 371 Enough has been said to prove the identity of "the beast," with the separate forms in which he is presented by St. John, as well as with his compounded form as the beast " that was, and is not, and yet is." I here leave this part of my subject, before I do so a thought suggests itself in the form of a query. Why ig it, that such great prominence is given in the scriptures to the Roman church, while the Greek church passes on silently and quietly, almost unheeded and unnoticed? The Greek church is not a pure church, there is much of idolatry within her. How is it then that the Romish is held up as a beacou of danger, while nothing, or comparatively nothing, is said of the Greek church ? Simply for this reason, she has not been a persecutor of the true church as Romanism has. And the word of God concerns itself only with ^' His church :" any thing which has relation to her, which either obstructs or promotes her advancement, finds mention in His book. Abominations, which do not come into collision with, and do not aiFect her, are passed by unnoticed. All the abomi- nations connected w^ith Christian worship shall cease when Romanism ceases, and " Satan sliall deceive the nations no more." 372 THE TRUE CHURCH. Let us proceed in a concise manner to treat upon THE REFORMATION. The movement known as the Reformation, would be more properly designated "the ad- vancement." In accordance with scripture pro- phecy, it was the advancement of the woman out of the wilderness. Scripturally speaking, it was not a Reformation, because Romanism is not recognized as Christianity, but the oppo- site, the antagonist of Christianity. Paganism, casting away its idolatries and accepting the religion of Jesus, is not styled reformation, but conversion. It was a movement which overthrew some of the power of the red dragon, and gave accession of strength to the kingdom of the Man- child. It was Satan's kingdom weakened, and Christ's kingdom enlarged. It was, therefore, properly speaking, not a Reformation. There can be no reformation of falsehood. There can be a departure from it, and a coming to truth. There may be the casting off the power of Satan, and enlisting under the banner of Christ, and this, in the ordinary sense, may be and is termed a reformation, that is, a change from worse to better, but in another sense it is not a reforma- THE TRUE CHURCH. 373 tion, but a conversion. All this may be quib- ling about the use to which a word may be applied, but I mean by it to show, that a papist cannot reform as it respects Christ's church within Popery, but he must come out of, and renounce allegiance to, the work of Satan, and avow himself the adherent to, and connect him- self with, the work of Christ. The pulling down of one is the erecting the other. It is not a reformation of the first, but a total over- throw that is demanded. And this is what is predicted, and to which it must come. The withering influence has commenced, and when Popery is sapped to the foundation, it will fall like a decayed trunk. In accordance with this sentiment, it is written, " Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her plagues." In taking this view of the Papal church, it is plain that her people are placed in the category of heathens. And scripturally so they are. I have already shown this ; but a full confirma- tion will be apparent as we proceed. Some kind-hearted, merciful, and humane persons may say, "What, would you deny to the whole Papal kingdom any connection with, or claim to, the pardon and grace of a Divine Redeemer ?" As Papists, and giving their 374 THE TRUE CHURCH. allegiance to tlie Pope, most certainly I do : they have none, nor do they depend upon it. I only deny them that which they do not claim. They claim remission of guilt and spiritual strength from the Pope, and his fraternity the priesthood, and do not look to the Saviour of the world for pardon and peace. They, there- fore, place themselves where all other heathens are placed. That they will not be saved, I do not say. The good among them will be saved, as the good among all heathens will be saved. When they err in ignorance, they will be tried by a just and merciful law which demands obedience up to the point of knowledge. " In my Father's house are many mansions," and every earnest-hearted heathen man desirous of doing right, and conscientiously performing what he believes to be right, will find an abode there, as I shall by and by show. But can the man who knowingly and wilfully opposes Christ's sovereignty — can he expect an abode in heaven? If he will make war with the saints, and will act the opponent to Christ, can such a man have a claim to be a member of Christ's kingdom ? Is he not plainly a member of the Evil One ? And he would find himself out of place in a kingdom which all his life he had been strenuously opposing. THE TRUE CHURCH. 375 I have not made one of my headings^ " The Reformation," with a view to throw great additional light upon it. This part of the Re- velation has been so admirably dealt with by others, especially by Dr. Gumming, that I do not attempt to follow in his wake, or to treat the subject in the manner he has done. I seek principally to exhibit the source of the Refor- mation, or the power in which originated the movement as exhibited by St. John. I mean the maintenance in the midst of every difficulty, and through the whole dark night, of the faithful band shown under the figures of the " two witnesses." I know that others have treated this much more masterly than I can do, but my work would not be complete without the exhibition of this significant portion of the Apocalypse. That which I propose to elucidate under the present heading is contained in the 10th and 11th chapters. The 10th contains a prediction of what is popularly called the Reformation, and the 11th the seeds and the growth into fruition of the Reformation, or, more properly, the parties concerned, and the mode and manner of the Reformation. I shall not attempt an exposition of the whole, but elucidate so much only as will clearly exhibit the church in her past, and 376 THE TRUE CHURCH. prepare the mind to understand what will be her future course. Under the figure of a " mighty angel clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow upon his head, and his face as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire," is shown the Lord of the church coming down from heaven, and giving a new impulse to the progress of His church. He is said to come with a little book open in His hand. The hook of books. A book, on parts of which, a public writer of the day, in the "Westminster Quarterly," would cast doubts, but which, nevertheless, is the hook having the vital force to renovate a world. The chief objection which the writer alluded to raises, is the apparent contradiction which the labours of geologists have discovered to the account of the creation as given by Moses. When I come to treat of Death and Hell, as connected with the Great White Throne, I will take the oppor- tunity of putting this matter in what I conceive to be its proper light. The hook open in the hand of the Angel had been for twelve centuries a closed book. Romanists shut it, and would not permit it to be opened by profane hands, and scarcely cared that it should be opened by authorized hands. It was closed, and sealed, and its contents unknown. Few copies were THE TRUE CHURCH. 377 to be met with. It was to be found here and there in the hands of the faithful, and also in some of the monastic establishments. But in these a single copy sufficed, and that lay untouched and unnoticed. The mighty Angel with a rainbow upon His head, the covenant sign with His people, came down and effected a great change in favour of this book. He put it into the heart of a monk to look into the neglected and dust-covered book, and here he discovered recorded the " truth as it is in Jesus." He found out that remission of sin came not through the indulgences which the infamous sacerdotal power was selling through its agent, the impudent Tetzel, and he denounced the practice. From this began the movement, and the result is seen in the extension of that movement, until Popery shakes to its very centre. Romanism at the present moment looks to have re-established itself, but it is all hollow within, it is rotten at the core, and when the flimsy veil is removed, it will be seen how suddenly it will come to the ground. Not that I think that it will eventually fall from its own rottenness. It will be cast down, and that suddenly, while yet it has left some apparent vigour; like "a great millstone cast into the sea, with violence shall that great city Babylon 378 THE TRUE CHURCH. be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." The mighty Angel set " his right foot upon the sea and his left foot upon the earth." He began to establish His power over Pagan- ism and over Romanism. The " right foot is upon the sea." The gospel was to be preached, and to extend its healing influence over Pagan lands. Witness its extension from the centre of Germany to many of the remote parts of the earth. America, then an unknown land and wholly Pagan, is now, if not entirely, yet is greatly pierced and watered by the living stream out of the book of life. And in that vast continent, where the Book had never reached, there are now to be found many million copies. Such is the case with America ; and to a great extent the same may be said of other parts of the earth, and especially of Europe. When the mighty Angel came down from heaven with the book in his hand it was open, and he did not mean that it should again be closed as it had been. He encouraged a knowledge of arts, and sciences, and with this knowledge came in the art of Printing, so that copies of the book could be multiplied indefi- nitely. He spread general knowledge, so that the curse upon man at the attempt to build the THE TRUE CHURCH. 379 tower of Babel has been partially removed. All languages in use upon the face of the earth are becoming familiar, and the book is being published in all of them. The mighty Angel " cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roar- eth," and these are some of the results of the loud voice. But there were other results. " His left foot was upon the earth." You will recollect what I have said with regard to " the earth," as a term in the Apocalypse used as a figure for something between heaven and sea, or Christianity and Paganism. The " left foot was upon the earth." We have seen the im- pression occasioned by " the right foot " being on " the sea," but simultaneously the left foot was planted on " the earth." The left foot made an early but not for a time a lasting impression. The greater impression was to be felt on Paganism. The impulse given to the church, by the distribution of copies of the book, and by the diffusion of knowledge, would be felt largely in Pagan lands, but simulta- neously an impression would be made on Papal lands. The impression made by the left foot has not been very wide-spread, and Popery still holds up her head, and will in all proba- bility another century. In Papal lands, the first impression is felt. 380 THE TEUE CHURCH. When the Mighty Angel uttered his loud voice a respondent voice is heard, and this is the voice of Popery. " Seven thunders uttered their voices." And these voices were uttered by Romanism in opposition to the loud voice of the mighty Angel. '' He cried with a loud voice as when a lion roareth : and when He had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices." These thunders of the Vatican are to be disre- garded. John is ordered " not to write them," an intimation that they are not to be heeded. St. John says, " And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to w^rite : and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, seal up those things which the seven thun- ders uttered and write them notJ^ This portion of the Apocalypse is so admirably opened up by others that I prefer giving the words of a popular writer of the day. In Dr. Cumming's first series of Apocalyptic Sketches, pp. 138 — 142, will be found the following : — " So far then we have proceeded with the history of Luther, and of the efforts made by him. We have identified these as illustrative of that beautiful description of dawning truth recorded in the passage this evening read in your hearing. But there is one statement in the chapter that long puzzled many, and has THK TEUE CHURCH. 381 only just been explained by the laborious and devoted scripture investigations of the Rev. Mr. Elliott. It is stated, you perceive, in this chapter, that seven thunders uttered their voices. It is added, that as John, personating Luther (for the Apocalypse is a drama — a holy — an inspired drama), was about to write, he "heard a voice from heaven saying to me, seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not." Let us see what is the meaning of this. First, it has been shown by Mr. Elliott, that " write," and " write not," are formulas, one of an injunction, and the other of a prohibition, in the Apocalypse, of the most important description. For instance, in Rev. xiv. 13, it is said, " Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord : Yea, saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them." Then in Rev. xix. 9, there is another passage, " Write, Blessed are they who are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. These are the true sayings of God." xxi. 5, " Behold I make all things new. And he said unto me. Write, for these words are true and faithful." Now you will notice, after each of these commands. Write, there is the statement of a reason, and that reason is, that what he was to write was 382 THE TRUE CHURCH. the word of the Spirit, or the faithful and the true sayings of God. Now, guided by this usage, we interpret the command here addressed to John, personating Luther, " Write not ;^'' and we may presume the reason for " not writing," just the reverse of the reason for " writing." Then you will notice, in the second place, that these thunders are said to have uttered their own voices. The voice of the lion that roareth was the voice of Christ.* We may infer, therefore, that the seven thunders uttering " their own " voices, was the voice of the very counterpart of Christ — Antichrist. We are also told that the edicts of the Pope were called, in the middle ages, the thunders of the Vatican. Bishops might fulminate an anathema, but the Pope alone might issue the thunders. But then you ask, why seven thunders ? The number seven is used to denote perfection, seven being the perfect number, and it may convey Antichrist's mimicry of Christ if there is another reason — the number indicates locality — for we read of the woman sitting on the seven hills in another chapter. The seven * *' He cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth." Rev. X. 3. t Does not this offer a solution to the seven heads and crowns of the great red dragon ? THE TRUE CHURCH. 383 thunders issued from this Papal Olympus, and were the voice of the Pope. An illustration of the propriety of this application is found in Le Bas's remark in his Life of Wicliffe:— " The thunders Avhich shook the world when they issued from the seven hills, sent forth an uncertain sound when launched from a region of less elevated sanctity." " I therefore believe, that the seven thunders represent the voice of Rome commanding Luther to desist, or "write:" the voice, "write them not," was a command mightier than Rome's, that issued from the throne of God, " Luther, write them not ;" despise them, burn them, tread them under foot ; " be faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." But observe what follows, " I was about to write them." This is Luther's account of their eifect on his mind, and seems to imply that Luther placed some belief in them, at- tached some degree of importance and efficacy to them. Now, is there any evidence that he did so ? and if there be such evidence, it will be an additional link that will unite the predic- tions in the Apocalypse to the historic facts on which I am now commenting. What do we read ? We find that the last error that Luther parted with was the supposed authority of that 384 THE TEUE CHURCH. awful and mysterious thing — the church. He learned the Gospel before he learned that Popery was the great Apostacy. He knew Christ to be a Saviour, before he knew that the Pope was the Antichrist, the Destroyer. His own language, at the very time he burned the Pope's bull in the square of Wittemberg, and preached those truths that rent Europe by their power, and shook the Vatican by their echoes, testifies that Luther, at that moment, had no suspicion that Rome was the Apostacy, or that the Pope Avas the Antichrist. His own language in after years was as follows : — " After being enabled to answer every diffi- culty that could be brought against me from Scripture, one difficulty only remained, viz., that the church ought to be obeyed. If I had then braved the Pope as I now do, I should have expected every hour that the earth would have opened to swallow me up like Korah and Abiram." " He believed that the Pope was a constituted authority ; this shows that the monk was not a revolutionist. He did not seek a revolution, he aimed only at a reformation. And little does a superficial world know that the true plan to prevent a revolution is, to originate THE TRUE CHURCH. 385 always a timely reformation. " He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." We read that Luther was yet so wedded to the thought that the church of Rome was the true church, and that the Pope ought to be obeyed as the representative of Christ, that he thus addressed the Pope, after he had pro- claimed the gospel : — " Most blessed Father, kill me or make me alive, approve or reprove, I will acknowledge thy voice as the voice of Christ speaking by thee !" Such was his re- verence for authority — such his deference to what, he thought, constituted ecclesiastical and scriptural powers. So little anxious was Luther to oppose the Papacy, that could he have served and glorified his Master, and won souls to Christ, he would have left the Papacy to stand. But when Luther was thus trembling, and hesitating whether or not he should continue a priest of Rome, and render canonical obedience to her laws, or in other words, "write the thunders," a voice sounded from heaven, that awakened its echoes in the depth of his heart. — " Luther, write not these thunders. Care not for the anathema of man, here is for thee the benediction of God : ' fear not man that can only kill the body, but fear Him who, after the death of the body, can cast soul s 386 THE TEUE CHURCH. and body into hell ; yea, I say unto you, fear Him.' " What then took place ? Just as if Luther not only felt, but had heard the very words of the Apocalypse, he writes to his friend Link, about A.D. 1518: "My pen is ready to give birth to things much greater. I know not myself whence these thoughts come to me. I will send you what I write, that you may see if I have well conjectured, in believing that the Antichrist i of whom St. Paul speaks, now reigns at Rome." Tlie conviction daily grew upon his mind with irresistible force, until when he had burned the bull, and proclaimed the imposture it contained, he declared, as if to fulfil the very statement of the Apocalyptic passage, that these bulls and decretals from the Vatican "were (I use his own words) the infernal voices of the Roman church.'' Thus beautifully does the history comment upon prophecy, and thus fitly does the prophecy point out and proclaim the truths of history. " So rapidly did these Protestant sentiments spread, that when the legate of the Pope came to Worms, with great pageantry, and in a vast and imposing procession, as to a city where he had before found the people falling upon the earth and kissing his feet, he heard with terror the pea- THE TRUE CHURCH. 387 sants and the burghers of Germany shouting that he came only as the emissary of Antichrist. Protestantism, in short, began to be preached in the pulpits — proclaimed in the streets, and enunciated in the market-place — to infect all classes — to agitate all men's hearts and con- sciences, until the voice which began in a whisper, shook Europe with its thunders; and the feet that once trod so softly on father land, smote the earth with strange vibra- tions, and popes and prelates trembled on their thrones." We see how history proclaims the fulfilment of the predictions contained in the beginning of the 10th chapter. I will go on briefly to remark on the remaining parts of this chapter, and then pass on to the next. We find a declaration by the mighty Angel " that there should be time no longer." That this has not a literal meaning is plain from the concluding verse, " Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings." The figure employed has reference to some remarkable change. The Angel con- tinues after He has said " there should be time no longer," that " in the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He s 2 388 THE TRUE CHURCH. hath declared to his servants the prophets." The "time" then has reference to the "mys- tery of God." What does the " mystery of God " here mean ? We find in the description of the millennial period that " Satan shall deceive the nations no more." These two declarations have a relation. Christ came down on earth to instruct man in the law of righteousness, but Satan cast a veil over it. The law, which is to fill man's whole being, and to be the guiding rule of his life, has been rendered obscure. The time has now arrived when the veil is to be torn away, the mystery is to be finished, and the law of righteousness to be understood. The Reformation is the dawn of this new day, and we find the Sun of righteousness gradually rising and illuminating the earth. The " time '' that it is said " shall be no more," may have reference to the " time, times, and half a time " of Daniel's prediction, during which the little horn was to make war with the saints, and they were to be " given into his hand." This last con- jecture is more than probable, as I think we shall discover when we are considerino^ the next chai)- ter, and as the declaration of the Angel would lead to be inferred. He says the mystery of God should be finished as He hath declared to his servants the prophets. Now, in Daniel, we THE TRUE CHURCH. 389 have the declaration, that the mystery of God's saints being prevailed against should last during " a time and times and the dividing of times/' but at the expiration of this time the kingdom shall be given to the saints. And in the Apo- calypse it is said, '* Time shall be no more," and the mystery of God shall be finished " in the days of the voice of the seventh angel," and we understand what this means if we look to the next chapter, verse 15, "And the seventh angel sounded ; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever." I will not comment further on the 10th chapter, but proceed to the 11th. I would request especial attention to the truths con- tained in this chapter. They are of the very highest importance, and, if understood, clear the way very much to a comprehension of other difficult parts of the Apocalypse, and of the future course of the church. The truths to which I would call attention, will be found in considering the several parts of this chapter under the following divisions; — "The temple of God," — "the court which is without the temple," — " the two witnesses," — " the king- 390 THE TRUE CHURCH. doms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ." 1. " The temple of God." The chapter opens by a declaration of St. John that a reed was given him " like unto a rod : and the angel stood, saying. Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein." We have seen the importance that is to be attached to a command " to write," or " to write not," as being very significant. Here there is again a command which is equally significant, John is told " to measure the temple and the altar and them that worship therein." Observe, not to measure the temple only, or the temple and the altar only, but to measure also '• them that worship therein." If we refer to the 40th chapter of Ezekiel, we shall find that it opens with a vision of the prophet in which a man, the Lord of the church, appears to him with *' a measuring reed in his hand." With this measuring reed the man proceeds to measure the temple, the " city of our God," and whose name is to be, " The Lord is there." Now, that the two holy men, St. John and Ezekiel, are writing from the dictation of one man, the Lord, is evident. He appears to Ezekiel as the Man, to St. John as the mighty Angel. And that He is meaning the same THE TRUE CHURCH. 391 thing that is to be measured, that is, " the city of God," — "the New Jerusalem," the true church, is apparent from the concluding words of the 2nd verse of St. John's description, " and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months." The enemies to " the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein, shall tread down for a given time the " holy cityi'' which is another figure for " the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein." It will be apparent that the true church is meant in both of these figures, and it will be received as a significant truth that St. John is told " to measure it," that is, to take account of it. 2. " The court which is without the temple." What do we understand by " the court which is without the temple?" It is said to be ^^ given unto the Gentiles T Does it mean the Pagan world ? Let us inquire into the matter. And first, let us see what are the words used, " But the court which is without the temple, leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles : and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months." Who- ever the inhabiters of this outer court are, it is certain they are held in no esteem, St. John is not to measure them. He was ordered to 392 THE TRUE CHURCH. measure the worshippers in the temple of God, but these worshippers in the outer court are to be not accounted : they are not esteemed ; they are to be left out, and not measured. Who then are these worshippers in the outer court of the temple who have thus fallen under God's displeasure that they are not to be noticed, not to be measured, not to be guarded by God's " wall of fire " round about ? Let us go on to look into other parts of the chapter, and elsewhere, and see if we can discover with certainty who these Gentiles are. We see they are enemies to the church, and they are enemies for a given time. Their power is to last for " forty and two months." As the church has now been established some eighteen hundred years and more, perhaps, in looking over her past history, we may be able to discover who are the " Gentiles " that have trodden her under foot. And we may be able to discover whether the prediction has found its fulfilment. To trace the minute details of the progress of the church through her eventful history is very much beyond my capacity, and were it not so, the labour would carry me very much out of the course I have chalked out to myself. I can seize only the leading features which THE TRUE CHURCH. 393 shall preserve her identity, that she may not be mingled up with, and may be readily distinguished from her enemies. If we examine her history for the two first centuries, as supplied by the sacred writers and others, we shall find that though many schisms arose, and many false notions found acceptance among Christians, yet they held by the main doctrines of Christianity, and worshipped the true God, The One self-existent Triune Je- hovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, as revealed by God in His word. They also maintained a pure form of church government. But during the third and on the opening of the fourth century a great change took place. In the third century many false opinions found admission among Christians. Scholastic and mystic notions obtained, and mingled with Christian doctrines. And Mosheim, writing of this period, says, " This method of reasoning produced strange effects, and drove many into caves and deserts, where they macerated their bodies with hunger and thirst, and submitted to all the miseries of the severest discipline that a gloomy imagination could prescribe." They interpreted the scriptures very falsely. Origen took the lead in this, by asserting that the scriptures could not be explained literally, s 5 394 THE TRUE CHURCH. and that by a literal reading no sense attached to them, but " that they were to be interpreted in the same allegorical manner that the Plato- nists explained the history of the gods." The disciples of Origen were very numerous, and the interpreters in this age with few exceptions followed the example of Origen. In this century great progress had been made in the conversion of many to Christianity, but the natural consequence of the admission of many Pagans, was the introduction of scholastic Pagan notions. The simplicity of gospel truths began to be obscured by them. Much discus- sion arose among Christians concerning the utility of human learning, some maintaining that philosophy was needful, others injurious, to the interests of ChristiaDity. In this con- troversy Origen took the lead, and gained over the majority to a belief in the advantage of philosophical acquirement. And to show how wide spread had become this notion, Mosheim writing upon this subject, says, " This victory was principally due to the influence and autho- rity of Origen, who having been early instructed in the new kinds of Platonism already men- tioned, blended it unhappily with the purer and more sublime tenets of a celestial doctrine, and recommended it in the warmest manner, to THE TRUE CHURCH. 395 the youth who attended his public lessons. The fame of this philosopher increased daily among the Christians ; and in proportion to his rising credit, his method of proposing and explaining the doctrines of Christianity gained authority, till it became almost universal. Besides, some of the disciples of Plotinus having embraced Christianity, on condition that they should be allowed to retain such of the opinions of their master as they thought of superior excellence and merit, this must also have contributed, in some measure, to turn the balance in favour of the sciences. These Christian philosophers preserving still a fervent zeal for the doctrines of their heathen chief, would naturally embrace every opportunity of spreading them abroad, and instilling them into the minds of the igno- rant and the unwary." The mingling of Pagan notions with Scrip- tural truths began to be very rife. Heathen philosophers eagerly sought to explain, that Pagan idolatry had parallel claims to Christian worship, and inclined many professing Chris- tians to believe their assertions. In that com- paratively ignorant age, in fact in every age, the many are swayed by the few, and the heathen philosophers who had accepted Chris- tianity swayed the majority. Mosheim gives a 396 THE TRUE CHURCH. picture of this state of things. " But as there are no opinions, however absurd, and no stories, however idle and improbable, that a weak and ignorant multitude, who are more attentive to the pomp of words, than to the truth of things, will not easily swallow ; so it happened, that many were ensnared by the absurd attempts of these insidious philosophers. Some were in- duced by these perfidious stratagems to abandon the Christian religion, which they had embraced. Others, when they heard that true Christianity (as it was taught by Jesus, and not as it was afterwards corrupted by his disciples) differed almost in nothing from the Pagan religion, properly explained and restored to its primitive purity, determined to remain in the religion of their ancestors, and in the worship of their gods. A third sort were led, by these com- parisons between Christ and the ancient philo- sophers, to form to themselves a motley system of religion composed of the tenets of both parties, whom they treated with the same veneration and respect. Such was, particularly the method of Alexander Severus, who paid indiscriminately divine honours to Christ and to Orpheus, to Apollonius, and the other philo- sophers and heroes whose names were famous THE TRUE CHURCH. 397 In this age a change began in the govern- ment of the church by a departure from that simplicity which before characterized Christian ministers. Ecclesiastics claimed more power than they had hitherto possessed. They as- sumed more state, and began " to lord it over God's heritage." In the words of Mosheim, " It varied from the primitive rule, and degene- rated towards the form of a religious monarchy." They not only directed the consciences by in- structing the minds and softening the hearts, but they also violated the rights of the people. " The bishops assumed, in many places, a princely authority, particularly those who had the greatest number of churches under their inspection, and who presided over the most opulent assemblies. They appropriated to their evangelical function the splendid ensigns of temporal majesty. A throne, surrounded with ministers, exalted above his equals the servant of the meek and humble Jesus ; and sumptuous garments dazzled the eyes and the minds of the multitude into an ignorant veneration for their arrogated authority. The example of the bishops was ambitiously imitated by the presbyters, who, neglecting the sacred duties of their station, abandoned themselves to the indolence and delicacy of an effeminate and luxurious 398 THE TRUE CHURCH. life. The deacons, beholding the presbyters deserting thus their functions, boldly usurped their rights and privileges ; and the effects of a corrupt ambition were spread through every rank of the sacred order." The condition of Christianity at this time prepared the way for its reception by the mag- nates of the earth, and soon after the close of the third century Constantine avowed himself a Christian. But we are not, on this account, to suppose that he was a Christian. Christi- anity began to be dressed in brighter colours, and the glare caught the world's eye, and she rose in the ascendant ; insomuch that Christians thought the millennium to have commenced. But never was a more false opinion raised, Christianity was fast hurrying into the very depths of Paganism. It was not because men recognized Christianity as the truth that they gave their adhesion thereto. The Bomans by their extended conquests had been made familiar with varied forms of religion. Their minds had become unsettled and prepared them for change. And at this time Christianity put forth its claim in worldly guise, and as it taught of a God, the creator and preserver of the universe, and maintained sublime principles of moral virtue which Plato had taught men to regard. THE TRUE CHURCH. 399 its claim to preference was pre-eminent. Man- kind, however, was not sufficiently advanced to receive it in its pure and simple excellence. They were not prepared to throw oiF the trammels of an ancient belief in demonology, and the counteracting influences of divine beings. They mingled up with the new religion these old superstitions, and thus we find that they changed their old divinities into Christian gods. That excessive ignorance of the divine principles of Christianity prevailed is evident. And if we examine into the period immediately succeeding the third century, when Constantine avowed himself a Christian, we shall find that Christianity had sunk into a very debased state. Constantine, though an avowed Christian, con- tinued a Pagan. He is said not to have been baptized until laid upon his death bed.* Up to this time he was only a catechumen, as was frequently the case with others at this period. Notwithstanding this, he called counsels and presided at them, and influenced considerably in temporal and spiritual matters. As the ofiice of chief Pontiflj since the time of Angus- * " He is said to have received baptism on his death bed from an Arian bishop ; for, although long converted to Christianity, he was still only a catechumen, as was frequently the case with converts in that age." — Penny Cyclopcedia. 400 THE TRUE CHURCH. tus, had been held by the emperors, he did not forego the advantages resulting therefrom, he continued the office, but changed it only in its name. He did not give up his hereditary in- fluence in matters of religion. That Christians should have permitted the influence of one who was really only a Pagan, sufficiently marks the character of their Christianity. The change which had now taken place did not alone aflect the administration or govern- ment of nominal Christianity. Every kind of superstition now found ready access. Mosheim writes of the bpginning of the fourth century — " An enormous train of different superstitions were gradually substituted in the place of true religion and genuine piety. This odious revolution was owing to a variety of causes. A ridiculous precipitation in receiving new opinions, a preposterous desire of imitating the Pasran rites, and of blendinsi: them with the Christian worship, and that idle pro- pensity, which the generality of mankind have towards a gaudy and ostentatious religion, all contributed to establish the reign of su- perstition upon the ruins of Christianity." Much more is said of the miserable condition of Christianity at this period, but this will suffice to show when the church, or, in Apoca- THE TRUE CHURCH. 401 lyptic language, the woman fled into the wilderness. When this general defection and apostacy took place a few chosen ones preserved their integrity, and the truth was still maintained by them. In mountainous regions, removed from the influence of the general contagion, where Christianity had been planted in its purity, it was yet maintained. Christ had declared that the " gates of hell should not prevail against His church." He therefore maintained her, or as it is written " nourished her in the wilder- ness." From time to time, as these little bands of Christians came into contact with the apos- tatized, their existence was made known. These sprung up in various parts occasionally, showing that the truth had been transmitted faithfully in more than one or two places. These faithful ones are represented by St. John under the figure of the " two witnesses." They are said to be two, not because they were literally only two, but because the Levitical law required, to establish a conclusive evidence, there should be two witnesses. Now, against these two witnesses, it is as we learn in the 1 1th chapter, that the Gentiles in the outer court of the temple make war. If, then, we discover that the apostatized Christians make war against 402 THE TRUE CHURCH. the little bands of Christians symbolized by the two witnesses, then we come to the conclusion, at once, that the Gentiles in the outer court of the temple are apostatized or heathen Christians. Now the greater part of the Apocalypse is about these two antagonists. Under different symbols, and presenting various aspects, these two rival powers are continually presented. In the chapter before us they are presented in order to give a representation of the Reforma- tion and its consequences ; and the conclusion is, beyond doubt, that the apostatized Christians? in other words the Romanists, are the dwellers in the outer court of the temple. 3. Let us see what is said about the '* two witnesses." " And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days, clothed in sackcloth." It will be perceived that these prophesy during the time that the " Gentiles " tread under foot the holy city, which is " forty and two months." These two terms convey the like period, forty-two lunar months, making 1260 days. The " two wit- nesses " is only another expression for the woman, or Zion, who is nourished in the wilderness 1260 days. The only difference in THE TRUE CHURCH. 403 them is, that one is intended to define a con- dition of the church for a limited time, the other represents the church at all times. The " two witnesses " represent the church in the wilderness. In this condition, " These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth." They form the bond of union between God and the world. They are the ^^ olive trees." God will not destroy the world if there are " ten righteous men." He would not have destroyed Sodom if there had been ten. Ten, only ten, would have been olive trees whose branches would have been offerings of peace. These would have been a healing to the nation. The two witnesses are " two olive trees," standing before God and supplicating mercy for a sinful world. But they are also " candlesticks :" they hold up the light to the world. They hold up God's bright eternal light to illumine the soul of man, and fit him for the splendour which is above where dark- ness never reigns. Of the " two witnesses " it is written, " If any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies : and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut 404 THE TRUE CHURCH. heaven that it rain not in the da3^s of their prophecy : and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will." To understand this passage it is necessary to consider that it has wholly a spiritual meaning. It is said '^ fire proceedeth out of their mouth and de- voureth their enemies." Now, this fire is not the fire that scorcheth the body, but the fire that scorcheth the soul. It is that fire which shall be a torment to the wicked. It is the fire that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and, proclaimed by His people, awakens in the con- sciences of sinners a sense of inward demerit. It is the fire from the altar "cast into the earth " by the Angel of the covenant. It is the fire which gives that spiritual force and power which enables its possessors to defend themselves against all opposers. By this shall the enemies of the faithful "be killed." They shall be reduced to a state of spiritual death. This kind of death is explained by the sentence that follows. " These have power to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophecy : and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will." They "have power to shut heaven that it rain not." The THE TRUE CHUECH. 405 fertilizing showers, which God bestows on His people to nourish and strengthen and build them up, shall be denied to the enemies of the " two witnesses." And the spiritual waters that flow out from the presence of God shall to them be turned into blood, and smite "the earth with all plagues." The waters, which bring peace and healing where they flow, shall to the enemies of the witnesses be turned into blood to their torment. But a change of short duration is to come over this state of things. When the witnesses " shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half^ and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dw^ell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another ; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth." This portion of the 11th chapter has been 406 THE TRUE CHURCH. explained very beautifully and correctly, as I think, by Dr. Gumming, and I give the explan- ation in his own words. They will be found pp. 196—198. " These witnesses were to be killed. As the witnesses were a succession of individuals, or, in other words, represented under a figurative form, so, in consonance with this, I said their death must be a figurative death also. In the year 1514, the last links of the line — the Wal- denses — were almost extirpated, the Lollards in England were entirely silenced, and the last echoes of protest lingered among the Bohe- mians. The Lateran council assembled on the 5th of May, 1514— assembled expressly for the purpose of exalting the church, and extermi- nating heresy. The Bohemians, the Waldenses, the Vandois, and the Lollards had been sum- moned to appear at that council, and to defend their principles or renounce them. When Luther was summoned, he appeared: when Huss was summoned to Constance, he obeyed also ; but when these witnesses, the last remains of the upholders of Christian truth, were sum- moned to the Lateran, on May 5th, 1514, so weakened was their strength — so crushed their spirit — so truly dead — that the orator of the council mounted the pulpit, and amid the THE TRUE CHURCH. 407 plaudits of the assembled cardinals and bishops, cried, — * Nullus reclamat, nemo obsistit/ — ' there is no one to appear ;' or, if I might explain it, ' heresy is extinguished, the church is triumphant, exclusive, and supreme.' " I expressed my belief that this was the death of the witnesses. It is then stated that their dead bodies should not be buried. I showed you how this confirms the application of their death to the epoch I have supposed, for the very language of the Romish councils in dealing with the bodies of dead heretics is here employed in the book of Revelation. It was the decision of that council that the dead bodies of heretics should not have Christian burial. I showed you, therefore, that the cir- cumstance, of which you must have read in the papers a few years back, of certain individuals refusing to give Christian burial to those who had not been baptized according to their for- mula, is not at all a novel thing, nor is there any thing strange in it, nor even unexpected, from the principles professed and held by the party. This part of their weapons was bor- rowed from the arsenal of those champions from whom they had derived their principles — the canons and decretals of the Roman Catholic church. Thus these witnesses of Christ were 408 THE TRUE CHURCH. not allowed Christian burial. They were pro- scribed, and denied all intercourse, and so, for three years and a half, called prophetically three days and a half, they were almost un- known, unseen, and unheard. The two wit- nesses lay dead and unburied. They were so treated, because they witnessed against that apostacy to whom all consecrated earth and funeral rites pertained. " But, it is said, that after three years and a half they should experience a resurection. Is there in history any corresponding fulfilment of this? Let us see: on the 31st October, 1517, Martin Luther starts into view as if he had dropped from the sky, posts his ninety-five theses upon the gates of the parish church of Wittemberg, then the only mode of public advertisement, starts the slumbering echoes of all but extinguished truth, wakens Europe from its night- mare sleep ; summoned from their graves* the witnesses that were slain — and they received life from heaven, started to their feet, and raised again their testimony after three and a half years' silence, in the hearing of amazed and awed Christendom. Count from the 5th of May, 1514, to the 31st of October, 1517, * An oversight by Dr. Gumming. Not their graves : " and shall not suffer their dead bodies lo be put in graves." THE TRUE CHURCH. 409 and you will find it precisely three years and a half." " Thus, then, we have the death, the burial, and the resurection of the witnesses. But I must notice another point of contact between the prophecy and history : when the witnesses were slain, and when the council had separated, all believing that heresy was extinct, and hence, " they of the people, and kindred, and tongues, and nations shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another ;" as it was written in verse 9. It is not said the people, but " they of the people," — it involves the idea of representation, Ik rwv \aiov, that is, the representatives of the people and the tribes. Here, then, we have described the feelings cherished by the delegates or representatives at that council, and the mode in which they mani- fested those feelings. When theLateran council, which pronounced the death of the witnesses was dissolved, brilliant fetes were celebrated by its members at Rome ; cardinals, and bishops, and popes, and abbots, and princes, and high laymen, its members, assembled in all the splendour of costume — in all the "pomp of papal circumstance:" and at these fetes toasts were drunk — congratulations were expressed — and all bore on the point more or less, that the T 410 THE THrE CHUECH, church at last had triuaiphed, that the heresy of the Bohemians and the Yaudois was ex- tinguished for ever, and so "they of the nations rejoiced over their dead bodies, and made merry."' " It is also said that they should ' send gifts one to another.' Historians who have investi- gated the era, state that kings and emperors transmitted to the Pope magnificent presents, and accompanied these presents with expres- sions of their great satisfaction that the church was triumphant, and at peace. Three years and a half, however, elapsed, and what they called heresy appeared again, personated in that noble character — that true hero — Martin Luther, the solitary monk that shook the world — who revived the protest of his fathers, and bequeathed us the legacy of an unshackled bible — a glorious gospel— an independent and emancipated church." In these words of Dr. Gumming, we have a faithful description of the death and of the resurrection of the witnesses fully illustrative of the Apocalyptic prediction. I have only to add a few remarks upon a verse not touched upon by them, before I pass on to the last important division of this chapter. It is written, verse 8, "And their dead bodies THE TEUE CHURCH. 411 shall be in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified." It will be observed, that the vanquished " lie in the street of the great city." Every one wiU see that ''the great city" is not a con- gregation of streets and houses; and that St. John is not meaning that the dead bodies of the witnesses will lie unburied in some territo- rial city. The city is like Sodom and Egypt, full of wickedness, full of opposition to Christ's kingdom. It is a system or a set of principles full of blasphemy like Sodom and Egypt. In another chapter, this system is called that " great city Babylon, that mighty city." And why is it called a great city ? Because it is in accordance with scriptural language, wherein the true system is styled " the city of our God, the holy city ;" and the mighty city Babylon is put in juxtaposition and in opposition to the city of God, the kingdom of Christ. And this same relative antagonism is maintained under another figure, "the woman:'' — the woman, Zion, or the true church, and the wife of God ; and the woman, the whore, the polluted one, the false church, the espoused of Satan, he giving " power and seat and great authority." It is in this great city, " where also our Lord T 2 412 THE TRUE CHURCH. was crucified." How remarkably significant is this language of the character of " this great city." Our Lord was crucified in the territorial city "Jerusalem," but the spiritual city was Sodom and Egypt. The same spirit which influenced the Jews at Jerusalem instigated the inhabiters of " the great city " to destroy the witnesses. Like the Jews, they carried words of sanctity in their mouths, and, with bitter hatred in their hearts, they spilt blood. And the incitino; feelino; was stronsj in both. They set up a temporal kingdom and called it Christ's, and hesitated not to imbrue their hands in blood to cement and bind it together, as they thought. What a fearful example does one, as will the other, offer to some men of the present day who seek to make Christ's spiritual kingdom a temporal and hierarchial domination. We find that when the witnesses had finished their testimony, had closed their career, and lay unburied for three days and a half, that " the Spirit of life from God entered into them, they stood upon their feet, and they ascended up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies beheld them." We all know the onward move- ment since the time of Luther, which now illustrates this prediction. " And the same THE TRUE CHURCH. 413 hour," or at this time, " was there a great earth- quake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand; and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven." We see in these words the result of the Spirit of God entering into the witnesses, " there was a great earthquake," or a great convulsion in the spiritual world, and a tenth part of the " great city " fell, and fear fell on the remainder, and " they gave glory to the God of heaven," Now, we must not understand this last clause of the sentence to mean that the remnant became truly Christian men. It evidences to a change. Before, God was not in all their thoughts, and verily they thought " perchance He sleepeth." They had gone on so long in wickedness with impunity that they never gave glory to God It was all given to the Pope, — and to the cardinals, — and to the priests, — and to the saints, — and to the Virgin Mary, — and to the crucifix, — and to the wafer in the box, — and to the relics of departed men, — and to old clothes ; but to God that was entirely out of the question. But now, when this earthquake comes they are affrighted " and give glory to Gocl." Like Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, when affrighted by the power of God, they 414 THE TRUE CHURCH. make a decree that people shall not speak amiss against God ; but like Nebuchadnezzar, they still go on in their idolatrous worship, and their obstinate opposition to the kingdom of God. And if need be, they do not hesitate to im- prison and smite all who will not fall down and worship their " image of gold." Nevertheless, they " give glory to God " in their fashion. As Daniel predicted of them more than 2000 years ago, " In his estate shall he honour the God of forces," but while he does this he shall honour " a strange god with gold and silver, and with precious stones and pleasant things," and this they do to " rule over many and to divide the land for gain." In these his last days a change is foretold, " he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace in the glorious holy mountains ; yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him." The effect of the coming down from heaven of the mighty Angel with the open book Avas as we have seen to produce the " great earth- quake." And we have seen a part of the effect of this earthquake, but only a part. " The seventh Angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kino-doms of our Lord and of His Christ ; and he shall reign for ever THE TRUE CHURCH. 415 and ever." This brings us to the last division under which I arranged this very important chapter. Each of the verses from this, the 15th that I have just quoted, to the close of the chapter is exceedingly significant. They each demand considerable attention. If properly understood they open up a right comprehension of other difficult parts of the Apocalypse. I do not propose to investigate each as a minister would for a sermon, but to explain in a few simple words the meaning of them. ** There were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ ; and He shall reign for ever and ever." The great voices herein mentioned are not voices of spiritual beings in God's eternal kingdom, but they are spiritual beings of His kingdom here on earth. They are the " inhabiters of heaven." A change has taken place. The witnesses have ceased to prophesy clothed in sackcloth ; and they now ascend up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies behold them. And since the tenth part of the great city has fallen, they have become a large and influential body. " The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ." 416 THE TRUE CHURCH. That it must be understood of the kingdoms of this world as not meaning the nations of this world, is evidenced from the 18th verse, where- in it says " the nations Avere angry," and the language goes on to proclaim a contest. These kingdoms are not nationalities or temporal kingdoms, but they are the kingdoms of Satan, or spiritual kingdoms, — they are the systems that are opposed to Christ's kingdom. The meanino; then of " the kino-doms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord," is, that the movement is commenced which shall render the kingdoms of this world " the kingdoms of our Lord." The great blow has been given to them by the ope7i book. And the knowledge disseminated and diffused shall go on to cover the earth, and the kingdoms of this world shall, or, in the prophetic language which foretells a future, " are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ." Remark, of His Christ To make the lanocuasre more sio-niiicant this expression is introduced, which leads the mind back to that especial kingdom of heaven which Christ at His first coming introduced upon earth. The next two verses express the exultant condition of the church at the great change that has been effected. " The four and twenty THE TRUE CHURCH. 417 elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come ; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned." I have remarked before upon the circumstance of there being no beasts in this scene. The twenty-four elders only are here. The beasts, though interested, at present are not concerned. It is exclusively, at the onset of the movement, an affair of the church. She had fled into the wilderness to be nourished, and she is now emerging from it, and her elders are exulting and giving thanks. And they word their thanks in accordance with the change ; they say, " Because Thou hast taken to Thee thy great power, and hast reigned." God had announced that " the mystery should be finished." The movement begun should lay bare the truth, and Satan's kingdom, or the kingdoms of the world, thereby over- thrown. The next verse, the 18th, demands much attention. If understood, it explains what has been a very difficult part of scripture, and about which much discussion has arisen, I mean a portion of the language of the millennial period, " But the rest of the dead lived not again until T 5 418 THE TRUE CHURCH. the thousand years were finished." In this 18th verse it is written, "And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great ; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." Let us take each of the clauses of this verse in succession, and try if we can compre- hend them. The first is, "the nations were angry." What nations were angry ? If we refer to a previous text of this same chapter we find it written, " And they of the people, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations, shall see their dead bodies three days and a half." Now, the nations referred to in one text are probably referred to in the other. The whole chapter is descriptive of contending powers, and the expressions, therefore, have relation to these powers. The nations which see the dead bodies of the witnesses, are those nations which were instru- mental in the death of the witnesses. These nations are the ten horns of the beast, or the nations which gave their power and strength to the beast. These " nations were angry !" They fought against the movement of the THE TRUE CHURCH. 419 mighty Angel. These are the nations who are deceived by, and who receive their seat and authority from Satan. The next clause is, " And thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged." Who are the dead that are here to be judged ? They are not the dead witnesses whose bodies lay three days and a half: the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they ascended up to heaven in a cloud. They are not the dead of past ages summoned to judgment for past deeds. There is no reference to the kind of judgment, — " when the wicked and they that forsake God shall be cast into hell." No mention whatever is made of any such judgment. But the judgment of these dead is contrasted by a reward : a reward unto God's servants. The judgment of the dead is then probably just the opposite of the reward to God's servants. Now, the dead here spoken of are the spiritually dead. They are dead in trespasses and sins. They are dead to God's holy law. They form no part of his kingdom. They know not Christ, and therefore have not the life that is in Christ. They are not mem- bers of His body in w^hom is life. They keep not His sayings. "Verily, verily, I say unto you. If a man keep my sayings, he shall never 420 THE TRUE CHUECH. see death," (John viii. 51.)^' The death here spoken of is not mortal death, that is plain. Every man sees mortal death, unless excepted by special miracle, as in the case of Elijah. The death here spoken of by our Saviour is certainly spiritual death. The being once awakened in spiritual life by a saving know- ledge of Christ, so that his sayings are kept, o-ives eternal life. The man becomes a new creature and lives eternally with Christ. This mortal body at its dissolution becomes a spiritual body. It ceases not to be. It changes its character from mortal to spiritual, from earthly to heavenly, but in both states there is life in Christ. " Yerily, verily, I say unto you. He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation ; but is passed from death unto life. Yerily, verily, I say unto you. The hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live," (John v. 24, 25.) In these words Christ declares that those who hear His word and believe have everlasting life. And he declares that these are passed from " death into life." And he also declares that the hour is then come when some *' of the * Read the whole chapter. THE TRUE CHURCH. 421 dead," for it is those only who hear, " shall hear the voice of the Son of God and live." Now, this is precisely the meaning to be attached to the words " the dead" in the Apocalypse, ^' And thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged." The judgment upon these dead is contrasted by a reward to God's servants. During the stay of the woman, or the church, in the wilderness, while the witnesses prophesied clothed in sackcloth, the prophets and the saints, and them that fear God's name, were persecuted by the beast, through the power given him by the great red dragon ; but now they are to receive their reward. Let it not be supposed by this is meant, that the martyrs and saints and holy men, who witnessed to God's truth through the past, are only now to receive their reward. They receive immediate reward by that eternal weight of glory which God gives to the accepted in His Son. But these words prophecy of a change. They con- trast the fate of two classes. And those gone and those here shall witness to that fate. The dead had the ascendancy : they now shall be judged: the quickened in Christ, the servants of God, the prophets, and saints, and them that fear His name, small and great, shall 422 THE TEUE CHURCH. now have the ascendancy, and they shall be rewarded. It is declared that God should " destroy them which destroy the earth." The dead, who are now to be judged, are just those who destroy the earth. The first sin brought death and woe into the world. And by sin it is that this fair creation is soiled. Here, where else all would be pure and holy, rich in harmonious beauty, is defaced by moral and spiritual turpi- tude. The dead, whose unholy tempers and Satanic dispositions lead to violence and to bloodshed, " destroy the earth." These are now to be destroyed. But here let us guard against error. The Avarfare is not carnal. The weapons not carnal. The destruction not carnal. But the word of the Spirit, which is sharper than a two-edged sword, is mighty to the pulling down of strong holds ; and by this shall those be destroyed " who destroy the earth." This last reflection very suitably brings us to the consideration of the last verse. " And the temple of God w^as opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament ; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." Which is the temple of God ? THE TRUE CHUECH. 423 It is not the temple built in the earthly city Jerusalem ; that was cast down. It is not the temple built at Rome. It is not the temple built in London, our own St. Paul's. It is not either of the many temples whose lofty spires would climb up to heaven. " The temple of God," when the mighty Angel came down with the book open in his hand, " was opened in heaven." This implies it had been previously shut. The temples fashioned by men's hands were not previously shut: they were opened. But "the temple of God" was at this time opened, and it was opened in heaven. How opened in heaven ? God's temple in the highest heaven, if we may apply the expression thereto, is always open. His worshippers, the holy angels, and archangels, and all the host of heaven, continually find access to His temple to sing His praises therein. How then opened in heaven? Let us first ascertain what is God's temple. What say the sacred writers of this temple ? St. Paul, in writing to the church at Corinth, says, " Ye are God's building." And again, " Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you ? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy ; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.'^ 424 THE TRUE CHURCH. The temple of God then is His holy people. This temple had as it were been closed. His people had been overcome, and they fled into the wilderness. But now is the temple to be opened in Christ's kingdom, or in heaven, and in His temple shall be seen " the ark of His testament." This expression, " the ark of his testament," needs little to illustrate it. In the temple at Jerusalem was the ark of God's covenant In this temple is the ark of His testament In the one was the ark of His covenant with His people which God made with Noah that he would no more destroy every living thing by a flood. However sinful and idolatrous man became, yet God observed this covenant : He punished in many ways, but He did not destroy. This was one covenant of our God. But there was another covenant, to which more especially the " ark of the covenant " referred : it was the covenant which God made with Abraham, and with Isaac, and with Jacob, *^ That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore ; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies ; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed ; because THE TRUE CHURCH. 425 thou hast obeyed my voice." This covenant, the memorial of which was kept, now at its realization is to be supplanted by " the ark of His testament." In the first temple was the " ark of the covenant :" in the second is seen " the ark of His testament ;" a witness unto the truth of the ark of His covenant. What God promised that will He fulfil, and the fulfilment is to be found in the ark of the testament. We have seen what is the temple of God. Now, in this temple is seen " the ark of His testament." His written word — where- in is the testament of God's will towards man, and the given means of fulfilment of the cove- nant promise. We have seen before what is the meaning of the last clause in the verse, " and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail," and no further comment would be needed but for the last words, "great hail." Some commentators, in treating of this expression with reference to other parts of the Apocalypse, believe it to mean an incursion or inroad of northern barba- rians upon the southern nations of Europe, or upon Rome. This is not the meaning here, nor is it when used in reference to the pouring out of the seventh vial. It is a figure for great 426 THE TEUE CHURCH. controversy, great pelting of opinion. It is used in harmony with the whole figure, " there were lightnings," a bursting forth of light, "and voices," utterances given forth of the received light, '' and thunderings," or denunci- ations against the voices, or the utterances of light, or truth, " and an earthquake," or a con- vulsion in the spiritual world, " and great hail," arising out of the convulsion, or great disputings coming out of the elements of the foregoing. This is fully corroborated by the expression used in reference to the pouring out of the seventh vial : " And there fell upon men great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent : and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail ; for the plague there- of was exceeding great." The hailstones as talents in this passage are not of a kindred to the talent laid up in the earth. They are actively employed, and the plague of them is very great, as we find occasionally illustrated by a desire on the part of the pelted to get rid of them. The books of heretics as they are called, are doomed often to the fire, " and men blasphemed God," and curse that such produc- tions are permitted. This cursing, in these days, is not altogether a novelty in our own favoured land. THE TRUE CHURCH. 427 Before I conclude my observations on the two chapters concerning the Reformation, I will make a few remarks on the forty and two months during which the Gentiles shall tread under foot the holy city, and the thousand two hundred and threescore days during which the two witnesses prophesy clothed in sackcloth. I think it probable that these periods of time of like duration, and also of like duration to the prediction in the 13th chapter, wherein it is said that power was given unto him (the beast) to continue forty and two months, and also of like duration to Daniel's prediction, yet they do not all refer to one like epoch. Daniel's prediction dates from the time when the Roman domination becomes the little horn, or when it has changed its character into a mixed temporal and spiritual power? the little horn denoting its limited territorial sovereignty. So likewise, St. John's prediction of the beast dates from the time the same power " has a mouth speaking- great things and blasphemies," or when he has " two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon." And with this view, I have thought that the Papacy will not be entirely over- thrown until the close of the next century. The commencement of the 1260 days, that the witnesses prophesy clothed in sackcloth, I 428 THE TRUE CHURCH, think dates from the third century. I have shown that the aspect of the church was very much changed at this period, and that about the middle of the sixteenth century another very considerable change was witnessed. God's truth was almost but expelled from the world at the first period, and ushered in again after being in abeyance for 1260 years at the latter period, by the little book being opened. The witnesses at this latter time ceased to prophesy clothed in sackcloth, they came out in brighter habiliments, and put forth the word in songs of joy. The one period of time I consider to be accomplished, the other has yet to be fulfilled. My next subject for consideration is — THE FALSE PROPHET. Very little mention is made in the Apoca- lypse, or indeed in the Scriptures, of the false prophet. The false prophet has been considered to be the " man of sin," — the " lamb-horned beast," — the "scarlet-coloured beast." And consequently, the predictions which have refer- ence to the false prophet have been mingled up with the "man of sin." This has been a mistake, and it will be my first object to show they are not one and the same. THE TRUE CHURCH. 429 " And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." Rev. xix. 20. In this quotation it is at once apparent that the beast and the false prophet are two distinct personalities, or represent two distinct things. " The beast was taken, and ivith him the false prophet, and these were both cast alive into a lake of fire." A diflSculty presents itself to this plain statement of their distinctiveness, and which probably has induced a belief that the beast and the false prophet are two terms for one thing. It is said, the false prophet "wrought miracles before him with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image." These words appear to connect the false pro- phet and the beast from the sea together. However, they represent two distinct things. They are proclaimed to be two ; both are taken. How is it then that the false prophet works miracles "before him," and deceives "them that had the mark of the beast and that wor- shipped his image ?" 430 THE TRUE CHURCH. In the first place, what is a false prophet ? A false prophet is one who says " God hath spoken," whereas " God hath not spoken." He makes certain declarations of things to come, having authority so to do, as he says from God, whereas he has no such authority. Now, this is not the character of Popery, and Popery is not so represented. Popery pretends to mira- cles to deceive her children, but aims not at the prophetic : — puts out no pretensions to the office of prophet. Is there one who has made this pretension ? and Avhose code of laws exists, and whose system is still represented by, and connected with his name ? We all know there is Mohammed. In all probability then Mohammed is the false prophet. The 18 th chapter relates the destruction of the city, "Babylon the Great," and the 19th opens by a relation of the assembled church as in the first vision. The twenty-four elders, the four beasts, and the great multitude are assembled, saying, " Alleluia for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honour to them : for the marriage of the lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." This scene is anticipatory as in the first in- stance, and represents the church as the " bride adorned," that is the whole earth gathered THE TRUE CHURCH. 431 under one kingdom. The destruction of Popery is matter of so great congratulation, that the Spirit of God exhibits to St. John the future great result. Having done so, He exhibits in the latter part of the 19th, and in the following chapter what yet has to be accomplished to bring about the result. The remaining part of the 19th chapter carries the narration to the result, and the 20th does the same by showing other features. The beast, introduced into this narration, is not the beast already destroyed, but another beast, one of the four beasts introduced in the opening scene. " 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." I shall hereafter show that this is another field of warfare distinct from that which has been engaging our attention. Popery has been destroyed, and all relation connected therewith ceases at the close of the 18th chapter. The language, " the mark of the beast and them that worship his image,*' carries the mind back to the leopard-like beast — " the beast rising up out of the sea," because words identi- cal are used in reference thereto. But a mark is not allied with only one beast. There are 432 THE TEUE CHURCH. those who have the mark of a beast, and the pretended miracles of the false prophet deceived those having this mark. That the whole of the latter part of the 19th chapter refers to a future conflict, after the overthrow of Popery, is gathered from these words, " Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God." The supper of the great God is the final conflict, when the Pagan nations are ingathered, as I shall presently show. I shall have occasion to make further remarks upon this portion of the Apocalypse ; I defer them until we get a little better acquainted with other unexplained parts. I will proceed to describe GOG AND MAGOG. Magog was the second son of Japheth the son of Noah. The descendants of Japheth were they by whom " were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands ; every one after his tongue, after their families in their nations." (Gen. X. 5.) From this statement may be gathered what the terms " Gog and Magog " are intended to represent. St. John says, " the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog." (Rev. xx. 8.) Gog and Magog are here distinctly called "nations THE TRUE CHURCH. 433 in the four quarters of the earth," and, as we shall find, are the Gentile or Pagan nations. If we turn to the 39th chapter of Ezekiel, we shall find a prophecy in regard to Gog and Magog, from which we may learn what these terms are meant to convey. It is written in the first verse of this chapter, " Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say. Thus sayeth the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee O Gog, the chief prince of Me- shech and Tubal." Meshech and Tubal are other sons of Japheth, and as Gog is the chief prince of these, he is the chief prince " of the isles of the Gentiles." We see then that Gog, as the chief prince, represents in his person the Gentiles or Pagans. Now the fourth beast, like a flying eagle, and who says " Come and see," when the fourth seal is opened, represents Paganism. The fourth seal, " Behold a pale horse with Death seated on him, and Hell followed," also represents Paganism. Gog and Magog, and the fourth beast, and the fourth seal, have reference to one meaning — Pagan- ism. In confirmation that Gog represents Paganism, Ezekiel writes in the sixth verse, " And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles; and they shall know that I am the Lord." Gog u 434 THE TRUE CHURCH. and Magog, it is thus seen, stand as terms for Pasranism. Ezekiel ao;ain writes in an after verse, " And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto a Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea : and it shall stop the noses of the passengers : and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude : and they shall call it the valley of Hamon-gog," — that is the multitude of Gog. From these several quota- tions, it is very plain that Gog and Magog are terms to represent Gentiles or Pagans. In the Hebrew geography, Gog was a country lying to the north of the Holy Land, having no definite boundary in its farther limits, and thus represented in type the out- lying Pagan lands in future time. The portion of Ezekiel's writings, from which I have quoted, holds just the same relative position in that prophet's writings, as the portion of the Revelation, in which Gog and Magog are introduced, holds with regard to St. John's writings. Both prophets are predicting the same events, and these stand, therefore, in the same relative position. Gog and Magog are introduced just before the description of the holy city in both prophets. When I come to consider the distant future of the course of the THE TRUE CHURCH. 435 church, I shall have occasion to refer much to Ezekiel's writings. At present, I content my- self with having shown that Gog and Magog are terms employed to represent Paganism. We will now proceed to get a comprehension of THE GREAT WHITE THRONE. The great white throne, and the description which follows, have been always held to be an account of the last judgment day. In express- ing my belief that this has been a false opinion, I am aware that I have the preconceived notions gathered up and transmitted through the course of past ages in array against me. Dr. Gumming has a slight glimpse of another feature casting a doubt upon these precon- ceived notions, but still he holds by the general belief, that St. John is describing the last judgment day. In order to understand Dr. Cumming's opinions, it will be necessary to give two extracts from his lecture on the great white throne. Before I do so, I will explain that he considers the great white throne and its accompanying statement to be the judgment of the wicked, and the 12th verse of the 22nd chapter the judgment of the righteous. Per- u 2 436 THE TRUE CHURCH. haps it will be well to lay before my readers both these portions of scripture. "And I saw a great lohite throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away ; and there was found no place for them. And I saiv the dead small and great, stand before God ; and the books icere opened: and another booh was opened, ivhich is the book oj life : and the dead were judged out of those things ivhich 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 ivorks. And death and hell were cast info the lake of fire. This is the secojid death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.^' Rev. xx. 11 — 15. " Behold I come quickly ; and my reivard is ivith me, to give every man according as his work shall be^ Rev. xxii. 12. Dr. Cumming writes, " I think I do not misapprehend the meaning of the passages I have read, when I assume, that the 12th verse of chapter xxii. describes the judgment of the saints of God, and of these alone ; and that chapter xx. 10, describes the judgment of un- believers, or those who are found not to be the THE TRUE CHURCH. 437 people of God. The first passage describes the destiny of those who are in the Lamb's book of life. The second contains the doom of those whose names were not found in the Lamb's book of life. The first is a statement of the rewards of the righteous ; the second, of the judgments on the unrighteous." And, again, writing of the judgment in the 20th chapter, he says, " Do you notice that there is not one word here intimating the presence of a single child of God as a subject of judgment, or the reward of one spiritual person? There is no expression in the whole of this remarkable passage, which indicates that a justified and sanctified one was there ; there is not the least hint, even the most meagre, of the reward of heaven, of admission into glory, or of the reception of the inheritance. It speaks only of the depraved: it relates entirely to the lost: it describes only their doom ; and therefore I believe that this is the last condemnation of the lost before an assembled universe, that it may be seen and felt through the whole intelligent creation of God, that nothing was left undone to recover them that Omnipotence could do, and that all their guilt was spontaneous, and all their responsibility their own: and the conviction that it is so will rest for ever upon 438 THE TRUE CHURCH. themselves. I cannot, therefore, see that this judgment throne has any thing to do with the people of God." It will be seen from these extracts that Dr. Gumming does not think this portion of Scrip- ture to describe a judgment upon all mankind. He believes it to describe only a judgment upon the wicked. And these wicked he thinks are the depraved of the earth ; those who knowingly and wilfully oppose GodV will. If this be so, how comes it that they are to be tried according to their works ? and not accord- ing to the law of righteousness ? And why judged out of the books, instead of out of the hook of the gospel ? With regard to a judgment day, a final period of fixed time when all mankind shall receive judgment, Dr. Gumming is somewhat contradictory. He brings forth many proofs of a judgment upon all, and herein of course all Ghristians are agreed. He writes, at page 302, " The judgment day is clearly predicted in the Old Testament Scriptures. ' He cometh to judge the earth' — * He shall judge the world in righteousnes/ The day is fixed : ' For that He hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness.' He will take cognizance in that day of aU the actions of THE TRUE CHURCH. 439 men." Having thus expressed himself at page 302, a little further on, at page 310, he writes thus, " In the next place, this last judgment throne will not be set for trial. There are very great popular misconceptions in this day. Many have an idea that there is to be a hearing of witnesses, the weighing of testimony, the judicial discussion of facts, and that the sen- tence will be judicially pronounced accordingly. I do not believe that this is to be the character of the last judgment. The instant a saint dies, that instant a blessing is pronounced upon his soul, and it blooms into a crown of glory and of beauty around his brow. The instant that a sinner dies, the brand is stamped upon his soul, and its corrosive punishment begins, and con- tinues for ever. Our sentence is fixed at deaths irrevocably; the present is the time of probation ; but the instant that we die, then takes place the fixture of character : * He that is unjust, let him be unjust still ; and he which is filthy let him be filthy still ; and he which is right- eous, let him be righteous still ; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.' Holiness culmi- nates in eternal happiness ; sin sinks in eternal and illimitable misery. Therefore, this great white throne is not for trying, for testing, for examining, for hearing witnesses, but simply 440 THE TRUE CHURCH. for proclaiming, before an assembled universe^ the justice, the love, the faithfulness, the mercy of God, in the condemnation of the lost, — who were not murdered by others, but remain suicides themselves, — as well as His love, His mercy. His faithfulness, His truth, in the acquittal of the righteous, who were pardoned, not from any thing in themselves, but only through the finished work of their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." We see from these extracts that Dr. Cam- ming believes in a final judgment day, a period of fixed time, but he also believes that judgment follows to both saint and sinner immediately after death. That these two opinions are at variance is very evident. For if judgment takes place at death in the case of every being, there is not again a judgment " according to their works " for all the departed, and all now passing into eternity. As Dr. Cumming states, there is very great popular error on this subject. The text which he has produced to support his opinion for a fixed judgment day, certainly is not evidence in favour of it. If we examine the chapter (Acts xvii.) from which the text is taken, it will be perceived that the words, " He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge THE TRUE CHUECH. 441 the world in righteousness/' do not mean a final fixed judgment day, but have quite another meaning. Let us examine into the circumstances that gave rise to the expression, " Paul stood in the midst of Mars' Hill, and said. Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription. To the Unknown God. Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly wor- ship. Him declare I unto you." He then goes on to explain the " God that made the world," and tells them that " they ought not think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device." Having done this he says, " And the times of this ignorance God winked at ;" that is, permitted ; " but now commandeth all men every where to repent : because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in right- eousness by that Man whom He hath ordained." God winked at, or permitted, the ignorance that worships things ^'graven by art," and, as I shall show hereafter, man's judgment will depend upon the amount of knowledge per mitted, and that God will judge men thereafter, but now that God by the Gospel instructs man, and has ordered it to be preached to all nations, u 5 442 THE TRUE CHURCH. and the Gentiles, therefore, no longer left in ignorance, the appointed day, or time, has arisen, when " He will judge the world in righteousness." The old heathen world He will judge by the law of nature, or by the laws which regulated the several heathen commu- nities. The yet remaining Pagan nations. He will judge by the laws which guide them, and under which they are governed, but when they hear of the kingdom of " that man whom He hath ordained," they will be judged by the law of "righteousness." When the Gospel is preached to them, and they know the " God that made the world," the day is arrived to them when they shall be judged by the law of the Gospel. This text, then, neither favours one opinion or another with regard to a fixed final day of judgment. It only announces, that God will judge heathens by heathen laws while they are in ignorance of the " God that made the world," but when the Gospel has announced a knowledge of Him, they will be tried by the law of righteousness. To my mind arises con- siderable doubt whether there is a fixed final judgment day. That all men will be judged is certain. There is abundant testimony to this truth. St. Jude's language in his epistle would THE TRUE CHURCH. 443 lead to the belief that there shall be some one fixed day. He writes, " And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great dayT I am not sure that this is not open to explanation, and I do not think it quite conclusive. At any rate, Christ's promise to the thief, " To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise," is a sufficient testimony to justify a belief in immediate judgment. In fact, the very essence and leading principle of the Gospel are peace and pardon in Jesus, and these even in this world. And as the soul is indestructible, or we believe it to be so, so we expect that after its probation here, its fate hereafter will be at once decided, whether it be for good, or whether it be for evil. That there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just, and of the unjust, is certain. That there will be a resurrection of the mortal body is a question for divines. St. Paul says, " It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." And again, " Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven." When the resurrection of the spiritual body shall be, is matter of inquiry. St. Paul says, " Behold I show you a mystery ; we shall not all sleep, 444 THE TRUE CHURCH. 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.'* This last trump may mean the last to each being. To reconcile the apparently conflicting statements is not easy, and the mysterious and concealed subject probably will continue as it is at present, a mooted question. I am not writing either for, or against, a belief in a fixed final day of judgment : I leave this mystery where I find it. All I intend to show, is, that the great white throne, with the accompanying description, do not announce a final day of judgment upon Christians, and herein I have the most entire persuasion that I do not err. Let us examine in detail its several parts. We will take each verse successively, and try to give to the whole a right explanation. Before this is done, perhaps it will be well to make a few general remarks. If the whole of the language be carefully examined, it will be seen that there is no refe- rence to a judgment by the law of righteousness. Christ the Mediator is not present. He is not here to claim his own. The righteous then are not arraigned here. There is not the slightest reference to justification by the atoning blood THE TUUE CHURCH. 445 of Jesus; but "the dead are to be judged every man according to their works." The justified dead — " the blessed of my Father " — are not present. This at once decides that it is not a general judgment at a general resur- rection. "But," says Dr. Gumming, "it de- scribes a judgment upon the unrighteous dead, the depraved, the lost, the non-justified, and these are to be tried according to their works." Let us examine the whole, and see whether it describes a judgment upon departed sinners, or whether it does not describe an overthrow of present existing systems, or kingdoms, adverse to the kingdom of Christ. " And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away ; and there was found no place for them." The earth and the heaven herein mentioned are not the earth on which we dwell, and the heaven in which is seated God's throne. The earth may flee away, but the heaven, God's eternal dwelling place, will not flee away. " God dwelleth in a place not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." But it is said of the firma- ment, the skies, " They all shall wax old as doth a garment." Perhaps it is the firmament that shall flee away. And this would seem 446 THE TllUE CHURCH. reasonable from the words at the beginning of the next chapter, " And I saw a new heaven and a new earth." But this new heaven and new earth is not a material creation. We have seen that Isaiah predicted this change to occur at the first coming of the Saviour, when the Hebrew polity was destroyed, and the Gentiles began to be gathered in. The fulfilment of that prediction is the assurance that the new heaven and new earth is a moral and spiritual, and not a material change. The words in this verse do not then predict a destruction of the firmament, or of the earth, the globe and universe in which we dwell. The Apocalypse, like other prophetical parts of Scripture, is wholly figurative : unlike, in this respect, the doctrinal parts, which are chiefly literally rendered. The whole of the Apocalypse, by a series of figures, is employed to show the course of Christ's church. It is predicted in other prophecies, that " the know- ledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." And again, that " the saints of the Most High shall possess the king- dom," and reign over the whole earth. Now, the Apocalypse does more than simply predict this great truth, it shows the course the church shall pass through before she arrives at the THE TRUE CHURCH. 447 goal predicted. The portion of the Revelation we are considering is the last stage which com- pletes the journey. And this, like all the other portions, is conveyed in figure. The great white throne is no more a literal throne, than the white horse on which sat the " Faithful and True " is a literal horse. It is a figure to express a condition of judgment. It is said to be great, because it covers the earth. It is white to represent purity. And it is a throne because God sits in judgment upon departing systems. These systems flee away, and " there was found no place for them." " And I saw the dead, small and 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, accord- ino* to their works." o Who are the dead that are said to stand before the great white throne ? Are they the departed dead ? Or, are they the Scripturally dead ? They are not the righteous dead, that is certain. Though the next verse says, " the sea gave up the dead ;" and this, if literally rendered, would imply that some of the right- eous dead were here ; for it cannot be supposed that the literal sea contains only the unrighteous 448 THE TRUE CHURCH. dead ; many a saint and many a sinner lie here entombed. What do the scriptures mean when they speak of the dead ? Christ says, " If a man keep my sayings he shall never see deaths (John viii. 51.) Of course. He does not mean mortal death, He means spiritual death. He says ao-ain, " He that hath me hath life, and he that hath not me hath not life." And again, " This is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." And in accordance, when the holy penmen record the mortal death of a saint, the language is, "he fell asleep." (Acts vii. 60.) The mortal eyes were closed, but the spirit, which gave life and intelligence to them, had winged its way to realms of bliss. Now the dead, small and great, whom the sea and death and hell delivered up, are just the spiritual dead. They are those who keep not Christ's sayings. They are those who have no part or lot with Christ. They are those who know not God, or Christ whom He hath sent. They are Pagans. They are the nations Gog and Magog, who, after defeat, are arraigned in judgment. At this judgment " the books were opened : and another book was opened, which is the book of life." About which are the books there THE TRUE CHUECH. 449 may arise a question ; about which is the hook of life there can be no question. There is only one book of life : that book which records the way to life eternal — the hook of books. This book was opened by the Mighty Angel, which led to the advancement of the church out of the wilderness. It was at that time opened to the confusion of Satan, that he may deceive the nations no more — the nations of Christen- dom. It is now opened to the remote kingdoms in "the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog," and they shall read out of the book of life. But the books are also opened, and we are told why they are opened : the dead are judged out of the books. They are not judged out of the book of life which contains the law of righteousness: but they are tried out of the books which contain other laws. They are tried " out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." The books I believe to be very different books to those enumerated by Dr. Gumming, — a " book of Providence :" — a " book of Conscience :" — a " book of God's laws :" — a " book of the Law of Nature :" — a '' book of the Gospel." These are not the books to be opened. These several books are comprised in the one hook — the book of life. The books that will be opened are 450 THE TEUE CHURCH. the books that maintain systems that are at this time to be overthrown. Shortly before the events herein predicted Mahommedanism falls ; — and at the events predicted Paganism falls. The several books that uphold these systems will be opened, and the righteous and just God, who exacts no more than mortal man can pay, will try out of these books, and judge the Heathen world " according to their works," as these books require them to regulate theiir deeds. The followers of the false prophet will be tried by the book of the false prophet — the Koran. The Parsees by the book of Zoroaster. The Brahmins out of the Vedas. The Chinese out of the book of Confucius. And the several other classes of idolaters out of the various books which govern their lives. The several books will be opened, and the dead "judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." In confirmation of this view of the passage before us, if we refer again to Acts xvii., we shall find that St. Paul, preaching to the men of Athens, implies the like opinion. He de- clares that " the times of their ignorance God winked at: but now commandeth all men every where to repent ; because he hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in THE TRUE CHURCH. 451 righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained." Having shown to the men of Athens that they worshipped stocks and stones, "graven by art and man's device," he tells them God winked at such ignorance : He permitted it for a season. But now that the God who created all things was made known to them, such ignorance would not be winked at, but that God would judge the world in righteousness. St. Paul says, " He hath appointed a day," — the day of the Gentiles. That day was fallen upon the men of Athens. Paul had been sent to preach to them a knowledge of the true God. And, whereas, before God winked at their ignorance, now that they have the means of a better knowledge. He would not overlook their ignorance. Before, they were tried by the old law : now, they would be tried by the new, " Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteous- ness." God winked at their former ignorance, and He will mercifully judge them out of their own book, but now a knowledge is implanted in them of the Divine law, and they will be judged by that law, — the law of righteousness. St. John in the next verse writes : — " And the sea gave up the dead which were in it ; and death and hell delivered up the dead 452 THE TRUE CHURCH. which were in them : and they were judged every man acording to their works." We have seen before that none of the right- eous dead appear. " The sea/' if a literal sea, does not, therefore, give up all the dead. But yet the expression is, "the dead which were in it." There is no reservation. " The dead which were in it," includes all. It is not then the literal sea that gives up the dead. It is Paganism : and for which " Gog and Magog " stand as representatives. " The sea," or Pa- ganism, gives up " the dead which were in it." As we proceed, this opinion will be confirmed. " Death and Hell " deliver up their dead ! What is meant by Death and Hell? If we bring to our memory what was said of the fourth seal, we shall recollect that "Death" sat on the pale horse, and " Hell followed with him." And you will recollect what I stated of this fourth seal, that it represented Paganism. Now what does Moses transcribe by God's command in reference to the first transgres- sion ? " Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat : but of the tree of the know- ledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it : for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Here then is the origin of death. And did God here mean mortal death ? THE TRUE CHURCH. 453 or did he mean spiritual death? Let us in- quire into this matter. " In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die !" When Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit they did not immediately cease to be. They lived for many years, and, as we know, were the parents of all men. If God meant that mortal death should be the consequence of tasting forbidden fruit, He was not true to His own word. But God was true to His own word. He drove our parents out of the garden of Paradise, or, in other words, out of His presence. No sooner had they committed the offence, than their former simplicity of character, and confiding love in God, fled from them, and in the figura- tive language of Scripture, God "drove out the man," and placed Cherubims and a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life. That " the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," and " the tree of life," are parts of an allegory, every sensible man believes. A right comprehension of these parts is not universal. The first tree is called " a tree of the know- ledge of good and evil." In the garden is every tree " that is pleasant to the sight and good for food." In this beautiful world all was and is 454 THE TRUE CHURCH. arranged for man's happiness and comfort, and to promote the extension of his kind. But in connection with this beautiful arrangement man has a capacity for unlawful indulgence. Over this capacity he has a guiding and con- trolling power. And those unitedly produce a knowledge of good and evil. God gave to man certain powers and propensities. He gave also a controlling will. He implanted also an eminent love of the beautiful and simple moral virtues. " He made man upright." He made ** him after His own image." And man finds within himself a capacity to be restored to that likeness. As the evil passions are subdued, the kindlier virtues take their place, and man finds himself harmonizing with intelligent virtue. By the subtlety of the enemy of God and man, the woman was prevailed upon to the commis- sion of some unlawful indulgence, and thus was opened to her a knowledge of good and evil. She had been told by God that she was not to permit herself an unlawful indulgence, but she was prevailed upon to do so. And the know- ledge which she thereby acquired she imparted to her husband, and he " did eat of the fruit, and the eyes of them both were opened." They acquired a knowledge of their capacity for unlawful indulgence, but they had no sooner THE TRUE CHURCH. 455 acquired it, than they were conscious of de- parture from God, "and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden." Of the "tree of life" they were not per- mitted to partake. They were placed in the garden " to dress it and to keep it," that is, their condition was probationary, and having unlawfully indulged contrary to express com- mand, they were not allowed to eat of the fruit of " the tree of life." We have a very beauti- ful description of "the tree of life," in the 22nd chap, of Eevelation : " And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life.'''' The tree of life is nourished by the fertilizing stream of the water of life. The water of life proceeds out of the throne of God. The " tree of life," then, is due to God's presence ; and banishment from God is the primary cause why the fruit of the tree of life cannot be obtained. We may now comprehend what is the mean- ing of the " death " to which our parents were subject for the commission of sin. They were banished from God's presence. They were no longer of His immediate family, and therefore 456 THE TRUE CHURCH. they tasted of death — scriptural, spiritual death: and hell followed, or as the word is sometimes rendered, hades followed, or forgetfulness was the result. Death and hell then are the portion of all banished from God's presence, and this more especially now applies to all the sons of Adam not re-admitted to God's presence by the mediation of Christ. He was the promised succour and help to man. He was to effect a reconciliation. And he alone is now the way to life eternal. The spiritually dead that we have been describing " were judged every man according to their works." I have already described this judgment in connection with the previous verse, and I think it will not be disputed, that God intends by it that the Pagan world will be tried by the laws which regulate their several communities, and not by the law of righteous- ness which governs the Divine kingdom. The two remaining verses will be better explained hereafter. They are, "And Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." — "And whosoever was not found in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." I have said before, that when treating upon Death and Hell, I would take the opportunity THE TRUE CHUIICH. 457 to reconcile the apparent difference between the account of the creation as given by Moses, and the facts arrived at by the labours of geologists. Geologists have arrived at a conclusion that the earth was many ages forming before it was fitted for the abode of man. This conclusion I do not dispute. I quite agree with them that this is a fact. For this fact we have man's authority ; and I confess, that by the help of that reason which God gave to man to be rightly employed, he has arrived at a just conclusion. God works throughout all nature, whether in the physical, the moral, or the spiritual world, by a law of progression, and He did not depart from this law in the creation of our world. We acknowledge to the facts which man, by the proper exercise of his reason, has deduced ; the evidence being too complete to gainsay them. What, then, says God in the matter ? Should what He says not agree with the facts which cumulative evidence has built up, either God has not said, or, we do not comprehend what He has said. Let us look into the account which is reputed to be God's, and see wherein it differs from the facts arrived at by geologists. In the hasty sketch, which my limits permit, it will be excused if I am not X 458 THE TRUE CHURCH. quite intelligible. It Avill easily be perceived, that to do justice to this subject, a whole book should be written upon it, whereas, I propose, in three or four pages to reconcile an apparent contradiction. " In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void ; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the w^aters. And God said. Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw the light that it w^as good : and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." In this description we have an account of the germ, or nucleus, around which is successively built the creation : or the system connected with man. It either describes the germ of the whole world, or the limited portion of the world — our own system. In either case God's word may not be invalidated. My own impression is, that it describes the commencement of the planetary system in which this earth moves. But this impression is probably derived from viewing the several stars as centres of systems of as high importance as our own planetary system ; THE TRUE CHUHCH. 459 and of this I can have no assurance ; I can only argue for it from the analogies in all nature. It seems to us that God did not make the stupendous works which adorn our sky simply as lamps to brighten our world. In all God's footsteps there is teeming life, and it seems reasonable to suppose, that this character is not less imprinted through the starry worlds. But who shall say whether this orb, with its relative attendants, or the starry orbs of other worlds, were first implanted. It is said, in the fourth day, " He made the stars also." These may or may not mean the planets of our system. We cannot divest our minds of a belief that starry worlds existed from eternity : that God without such a creation should seem no God : that God could not exist independent of these His stu- pendous works. All this is infinitely beyond our comprehension. We know not what the Supreme Intelligence is, or how He works, beyond the idea we form of perfect intellectual excellence, and as we recognize Him by the mode of opera- tion in His works which our finite minds have been able to discover. We know not how many systems, or states of things, have been swept away in bj- gone distant ages to give place to the present system of things. Let us be content to X 2 460 THE TRITE CHUllCH. know, that a knowledge of creation, to the ex- tent imparted, was given for a special object, to render sacred a seventh period of time, not so much for God's glory as for man's good. The account of the Creation then is probably only a relation of that portion more immediately con- nected with man. The first act in this creation is, " the earth without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.'' In these words we have the primary condition of the earth, the nucleus floating as a nebula in darkness. God creates " light." And it will be observed that the light is independent of the present source of light, the sun, which is not created until the fourth day. This presents a difficulty to our appre- hension ; but who shall say whence is primeval light. Who shall say that it may not have been diffused through space, or through the limited space within this our system prior to being gathered into one body from which it is now transmitted. The state of darkness was **the evening," and the state of light •* the morning," and these together formed the first day. You will observe the order here presented of the day, the evening first, the morning next, con- trary to our arrangement of the day which accounts the morning first. But God is not THE TRUE CHURCH. 461 here speaking of such a clay as ours, only twenty-four hours. He is speaking of a period of time ; and that perhaps of a long space of time. With God *' a thousand years is as one day, and one day as a thousand years." In the scriptures a day is constantly spoken of as an epoch, or an era, or a period of time. There is no doubt it was intended by God that the Israelites should infer it to mean twenty-four hours, in order that they may attach a higher value to the Sabbath, their periodical seventh day. Had they suspected that the term day used when describing the creation meant a long period of time, they would have thrown off the observance of the sabbath as easily as they threw off their allegiance to God. The periods or cycles of time of God represented the days of man, and man was thereby taught to haUow the seventh day. These cycles of time are marked by the evening of each stage in creation, followed by a morning of further develop- ment, and these together comprise the day or cycle. God called " the light day, and the darkness He called night," and it may be inferred that the evening is night and the morning day, but this is not so, and we are not told so. When God created the light it probably shone un- 462 THE TEUE CHURCH. inter mittingly until the fourth day or cycle, when the sun and the moon were made to rule the day and the night. The successive periods in creation are not marked by day and night, but by evening and morning. Evening and morning are expressions referring to created things, and not to the diurnal motions of the earth. Though we are told that the darkness is called night and the light day, we are not told there is successive night and day, but successive evening and morning, each cycle is marked not by night and day, but by evening and morning. The next act in creation is " a firmament in the midst of the waters to divide the waters from the waters." The gradual effect, of the introduction and diffusion of light, is to change the atmosphere in which the earth in its primary condition floated, so as to occasion a deposition of water upon the earth. The evening and the morning of this transmutation made up the second day or cycle. The next act is '^ to gather the waters into one place and let the dry land appear," and " Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth." THE TRUE CHURCH. 463 And the earth, first, "brought forth grass," next " herb yielding seed after his kind," and then " fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind." I am not a geologist, and should apologize for pretending to know any thing about geology, but I believe the earliest record which the crust of the earth affords, is the coal field : the deposit of byegone ages long prior to the existence of man or beast. The absence in this deposit of animal remains, proves a condition of the earth unlike its present condition. In all probability by the continued existence of light during this age of the earth, and by a different composition of the atmosphere to the present, the growth of vegetable matter was greatly promoted to what it is at present. The evening and the morning of this state of things were the third day or cycle. The next act in creation is "the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night : He made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness." Here is the com- mencement of the solar system, and of the relative movements of the orbs of our system. They are now placed in their several positions, 464 THE TRUE CHUECH. and their motions given to them, which shall prepare the way for new developments. The evening and the morning of this stage of creation composed the fourth cycle. The earth is now fitted for the abode of animal life, but it is only for the lower order of animal life. The planetary system, of which our orb forms a part, when first arranged into order, gradually produced a change in the atmospheric state of the earth. In all proba- bility, the effect of direct light and heat from the sun would be, to produce a minimum of carbon, and adapt the atmosphere to the respiratory organs of animals. The change, however, would be gradual, and the first form of animal life is marine and amphibious. Accordingly, geolo- gists discover in deposits prior to the existence of man the saurian tribe. The secondary strata contain these and the remains of marine animals, and winged fowl of the aquatic tribes, with wings not like our own winged fowl, but like the bats, our night birds of the present day.^ In precise accordance with these facts, the next order in creation was, "the waters bring forth adundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And * The word day is here used in the same sense as by Moses. THE TKUE CHURCH. 465 God created great wliales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind." The evening and the morning at this stage of creation made the fifth day or cycle. Geologists after this come to a higher order of animal deposits connected with the tertiary strata, and these are of animals of a character analagous to existing: races. These animals roamed the forest and bounded over the plain, and where man now reigns supreme they were first the lords of creation, the physical condition of the earth having been brought to a state fitted for their existence. Accordingly, we find Moses told to write, " Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind." This is the evening of the sixth cycle. And in the morning of this cycle, when the earth had become fitted for man's abode, God said, " Let us make man in our own image, after our own likeness." And God " created man in His own image." And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Let it be recollected, that the object of giving to mankind this history of creation, was not to satisfy man's insatiable appetite that he may X 5 460 THE TRUE CHURCH. be filled with the knowledge of things, but to give a reverence for God in His great works, and to teach man to hallow for man's srood a seventh period of time, and then it must be admitted, that the concise description is amply- borne out by the evidences which the labours of men have acquired. Instead of disturbino- the statement Moses ascribes to God, they add their testimony to its truth. The next subject for consideration, is — THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH. The earth and the heaven that fled away from the presence of Him that sat on the great white throne, are replaced by a new heaven and a new earth. And we should suppose this new heaven and new earth to be an immediate creation succeeding the passing away of the former, did not Isaiah inform us to the con- trary. John does not say a new heaven and a new earth were created at this time, but that he saw a new heaven and a new earth. The new heaven and new earth, created at the coming of Jesus, now wholly replaced the earth and the heaven of the Pagans that fled away. John saw also the holy city, but he does not mean THE TRUE CHURCH. 467 thereby that the holy city dates only from this foretold period. The holy city is trodden " un- der foot of the Gentiles," and therefore, existed previously. Just so with the new heaven and new earth, John saw them, but he does not mean that they only began to be. To indicate the character of the new heaven and new earth, we are told " there was no more sea." I particularly requested your attention, when treating upon the beast from the sea, to some remarks to show that the sea is used as a figure to represent heathenism, and I refer to them, by which it will be seen, that what St. John is here meaning by the term sea, is heathenism. The judgment having sat upon Gog and Magog, the nations of the heathens in " the four quarters of the earth," they are declared to be no more, the sea being a figure having a like meaning with " the nations Gog and Mao;ooj." Having pleaded, in the first part of this book, that the new heaven and new earth is a moral and spiritual, and not a material creation, I refer to the remarks thereon. I pass on to consider — THE HOLY CITY, NEW JEKUSALEM. This forms the especial subject of the first 468 THE TEUE CHUB.CH. part, and were it not for the very great popular error which obtains about the holy city, I should not think it needful to add any thing thereto. There is a great body of evidence to favour the opinion I have promulgated, and I will add a few more texts to show that the holy city has especial relation to Christ's church on earth. Because it has relation to Christ's spiritual kingdom, and is not presented in visible form, a corporate company of Pope and Prelates, men cannot discover it. It is true, that many Christians, in the present day, derive from the wide-embracino; character of Christ's kingdom, that there is a true church indepen- dant of sects. This is very apparent in the writings of Dr. Cumming. But this learned writer and true Christian failed to discover the true scriptural ground for such an opinion. I do not mean, that the conclusion he has arrived at was drawn from wrong premises, but I mean, that while he arrived at a just conclusion from the general tenor of scripture truths, he failed to discover the great leading truth which carries direct to this conclusion. And of others it must be confessed that they are utterly ignorant of the great truth. The Rev. Arch- deacon Manning for instance, as one of our own church, has published a sermon upon the THE TRUE CHURCH. 469 holy city, but what is it but a mere rhapsody of words ? Now, what I wish, by the few further re- marks I am about to make upon the holy city, is to enforce the great truth, that it has to do more with this earth than with a hereafter. St. Paul, in his epistle to the Hebrews, the 12th chapter, the 22nd verse, writes, " But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto tlit city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." He does not say, Ye are coming, but, " Ye are corned unto the city of God, the *' heavenly Jerusalem." The old Jerusalem was passing away, and no longer the rallying point of Israel ; no longer to contain the temple of God. It was soon cast down, so that not one stone remained upon another. But upon its ruins was built up a new Jerusalem. The first an earthly, material city, in consonance with the material character of the Hebrew church, and its rites and ceremonies : the latter a spiritual a city in accordance with the spiritual character of Christ's church. Said Christ, " My king- dom is not of this world." He built, therefore, a city in accordance with His kingdom, " not of this world." His kingdom was not a temporal kingdom, but an eternal, a spiritual kingdom ; His city suitable thereto is an eternal, a spiritual 470 THE TEUE CHURCH. city. And let it sink deep into the heart of every man that to indulge in an expectation, that Christ will reign in a bodily presence in a city to be built upon the site of the ancient Jerusalem, is utterly unscriptural, and un- worthy to be indulged, and the thought of it can arise only from an ignorance of the charac- ter of Christ's kingdom. If the regeneration of man awaits such an event, it will be indefinitely postponed. St. Paul, writing to the Ephesians, maintains the same sentiment he has expressed to the Hebrews. After advocating the universal cha- racter of Christ's Church, the admission of the Gentiles into the commonwealth of Israel, he says, " Now, therefore, ye are no more stran- gers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God ; and are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone ; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.'''' The epistle is addressed ^' to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus." St. Paul addresses them in this character, and shows that they form parts of THE TRUE CHUllCH. 471 the holy city, — " the holy temple in the Lord." He does not tell them they are to become so, but he says, " In whom ye also are builded." At that time they formed part of the holy temple, or holy city. By this we can under- stand what St. Paul means, when he writes afterwards, " that He might present it to Him- self a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that it should be holy and without blemish." Christ will preserve His church without stain. He knoweth who are His, and pretenders find no admission, only " the faithful in Christ Jesus." Now, what says Christ Himself upon this matter through the mouth of the holy St. John? — "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out : and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God ; and I will write upon him my new name." (Kev. iii. 12.) According to this promise, we find that true believers, "the faithful in Christ Jesus," are afterward symbolized by the figure of " the holy city," the " new Jerusalem." And those excluded are not called churchmen, or dis- senters, not baptized, or unbaptized, but those 472 THE TRUE CHURCH. without the city " are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." I am not arguing against baptism. Baptism by the Spirit is essential, and baptism by water ex- pedient as an open declaration of allegiance and visible sign of membership. It is not, however, he that is baptized, but " he that overcometh," upon whom the new name is written, and who is made a pillar in the temple of God. Nothing can be more palpable that the holy city is connected with this earth than the pre- diction, now fulfilled, in the 11th chapter, that " the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months." If this holy city were wholly in connection with the next world, how could it be said of it that its enemies should " tread it under foot.'" This declaration is conclusive of the character of the holy city. After all that has been previously advanced, together with this further evidence, I think it will not be needful a":ain to show that the church is a very different thing from a body of priests and prelates. If gainsayers will not believe the Prophets, and holy men of God, and Christ Himself, " neither will they believe though one rose from the dead." The holy city is Christ's church, — the Scriptural church. THE TRUE CHURCH. 473 and whenever the word church is applied not meaning this, it onlj means a community of persons gathered together professing themselves to be Christians. I have said before, that the city of Ezekiel's vision means the same thing, the spiritual city of God on earth, made His because " The Lord is there.'' It seems to describe a material city, but it does not ; and it is the city of our God, only, because the Lord hath chosen it to put His name there. St. John has described the church in a figure true to its character. Not so Ezekiel. The figure, which Ezekiel employs, is not true to the character of the church, but implies its true character. St. John wrote for the church, and tells plainly the character of the church. Ezekiel wrote more for the Jews, and teaches them a lesson by implication. Ezekiel's writ- ings serve a double purpose, they teach the Jews, and convey a lesson to all formalists. Some writers suppose it to be a pattern for the city in the which Christ will dwell bodily amid His people Israel. Let any one attempt to trace out on paper the lines of the city, and he will see how futile is the attempt. For instance, " The little chambers of the gate eastward were three on this side and three on 474 THE TRUE CHURCH. that side; they three were of one measure:" — " every little chamber was one reed long and one reed broad:" — "the space also before the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side." — " He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against door." Let us examine these dimensions. Each little chamber is one reed, that is six cubits, and the space between each chamber is one cubit, and yet the breadth of the gate from the roof of one chamber to the other is twenty-five cubits. It then follows, " He made also posts of three-score cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate." See how utterly irreconcilable are these dimensions. And what do we gather from this ? That God laughs in scorn and derision at an attempt to build a material or temporal temple, a temple de- pendent on man's labours, to His glory. In confirmation of this, examine the dimen- sions of the altar given in the 43rd chapter, beginning at the 13th verse. "And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits : the cubit is a cubit and an hand-breadth ; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge THE TRUE CHURCH. 475 thereof round about shall be a span : and this shall be the higher place of the altar." Before we proceed any further in the description, let us examine this verse, " The cubit is a cubit and an hand-breadth.^'' This declaration involves a contradiction. Next, "the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall he a span.''^ The bottom is a cubit, and the breadth is a cubit, and yet the border thereof only half a cubit, or a span. And observe, this shall be " the higher place oj the altar.^^ Now, follow out the further description. "And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit ; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits ; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns. And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof. And the settle shall be fourteen cubits and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit ; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about ; and his stairs shall look toward the east." Now, who cannot see at a glance that this describes a baseless fabric, or rather no fabric. It is not a fabric standing upon its apex, but is 476 THE TRUE CHURCH. not even a fabric. It would be loss of time to examine all the details. We are first told, in the verse already commented on, that the altar is one cubit broad, and the bottom a cubit, we are now told the altar is twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof, that is, a cube having on every side 144 cubits. That it may not be understood that the top overhangs the base, a larger standing upon a smaller cube, the first verse says, "the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span : and this shall be the higher place of the altar.^^ And again, after describing the altar to be 144 cubits on every side, it says, " and the border about it shall be half a cubit^ How utterly irreconcilable are these dimensions to the formation of a material fabric ! And now, what are the concluding words which give a meaning to the whole of what we have been elucidating ? " And His stairs shall look towards the eastr What is the meaning of this ? In the Levitical economy, the Jews were told not to build steps to their altar. " Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon." (Ex. xx. 26.) How is it then that there are stairs to this immaterial altar ? The Spirit of God is here teaching the Jews as a THE TEUE CHURCH. 477 final lesson, that material altars, and the sprink- ling of the blood of sacrifices, were swept away by the altar Christ raised, and His atoning blood once offered. Now is built up a spiritual altar, and to ascend thereto they must ascend by spiritual aid, — by His stairs built up in the east. Christ's labours began in the east. The waters of life are said to rise, or to issue, " out from under the threshold of the house east- ward." The nations in which our Saviour entered upon His mission have been known for ages as the eastern nations. It is by " His stairs which look toward the east," that man must ascend to the altar of God. If we examine the whole of the chapter from which is taken the description of the altar, we shall find that it opens by introducing Christ's kingdom, and then rebukes for pretensions to build up a temple with hands side by side with the temple of God. " Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east : and, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east : and his voice was like a noise of many waters : and the earth shining with his glory. And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I 478 THE TRUE CHURCH. came to destroy the city : and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar ; and I fell upon my face. And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. So the Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court, and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house. And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house ; and the man stood by me. And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their w^hore- dom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abomina- tions that they have committed : wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. Now let them put away their whoredom, and the car- cases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever. Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities ; and let them measure the pattern. And if they THE TRUE CHURCH. 479 be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. This is the law of the house ; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house." (Ezek. xliii. 1 — 12.) There is much in this quotation demanding attention. However, I wish not to dwell upon it beyond what is needful to give a correct ex- planation of the character of Ezekiel's city. I will make, therefore, only one or two remarks upon it. I request attention to the verse, " And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city : and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar." Ezekiel had visions by the river Chebar, and his book opens with them. And these visions were to foretel the destruction of the ancient Jerusalem and the Hebrew polity. He writes in this verse, " when I came to destroy the city," he means to 480 THE TRUE CHURCH. prophesy tlie destruction of the city. Having been instructed to prophesy the destruction of the Hebrew dispensation, this last vision of a city is a confirmation thereof, and an intimation that a return to a ceremonial law must never be expected. God declared in the visions that "the whole remnant" should be scattered "into all the winds," and the literal fulfilment of this declaration has been witnessed. The expectation of a return to a ceremonial law is discouraged, and shown to be impossible, by the last vision. To return would be to retrograde, whereas the whole gospel scheme, and the prophecies point to progression. Still upward ! upward ! upward ! In this last vision the Lord is instructing His church that " vain oblations," material " altars," and idolatrous worship of every kind are sinful ; whether it be by raising a temporal community as a material temple, " their setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their posts by my posts," or whether it be by a whoredom with false gods, by the setting up of images, whether it be by claiming for rites that which is due to God alone, and thus setting their threshold by His threshold, and their posts by His posts ; either and all of these God condemns. " Now, let them put away THE TRUE CHURCH. 481 their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever." We may understand what is the meaning of " the carcases of their kings," if we turn to Leviticus xxvi. 30 : " And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the car- cases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you." " Their kings " are their ruling princi- ples- Christ says of His faithful ones, they shall be " kings and priests." " Their kings " are the opposites of Christ's kings. Christ's kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, and they who would introduce into it a worldly character, under whatever specious pretence, set up idols. And the carcases of these idols, or of " their kings," they must cast oflP, if they would have God to dwell in the midst of them. Of the progressive character of Christianity we have a lively picture in a portion of this vision. It will be found in the 47th chapter, and to which I have before alluded. Many believe that the gospel of Christ is not equal to the regeneration of man, and that nothing but the personal presence of Christ can effect this great end. If they expect the whole of mankind to be regenerated, and this earth transformed into heaven, they are right ; but this expectation is Y 482 THE TEUE CHURCH. fallacious, the tare and the wheat are to grow together until the harvest. But that all nations will be gathered into the kingdom of Christ is certain, and the gospel is the means to effect this. There shall be one undivided kingdom here ; according to the prediction of Daniel, the saints of the Most High shall reign over the whole earth. The waters of life, flowing out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, shall pro- gress from being ankle deep into a river that cannot be passed over : they shall cover the earth. This great truth is put forth by Ezekiel under another figure. " And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers : for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house : therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst." This, written by Ezekiel between two and three thousand years ago, is prophetic of the present time. It is after the woman comes out of the wilderness, and the witnesses cease to prophesy clothed in sackcloth, that the church en- larges. The winding about is still upward round about the house, and the chambers enlarge still upward. Knowledge and grace lend their helping hands and lift still upward, THE TRUE CHTJECH. 483 until the soul of man confess that Christ is King of kings, and Lord of lords, and " all the earth shall come and worship before Him." " The knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea.*' Prophetic of this, Ezekiel writes of the river of life, that the waters " shall issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea ; which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed." That is, the waters of the sea shall be healed. What sense is there in this passage unless the ex- planation I have given of the sea be correct ? It is the true explanation. And with the reading I give to "the sea," as a figure for Paganism, we discover all the beauty of the prediction contained in this passage. Satisfied that I have rightly interpreted the city of Ezekiel, hitherto an enigma and entirely misapprehended, before I leave the subject I will devote a few words to the explanation of the last verse. ^* It was round about eighteen thousand measures : and the name of the city from that day shaU be, " The Lord is there J^ That the name of the city shaU be " The Lord is there," is descriptive of its whole character. The Lord is a Spirit and inhabits the whole r 2 484 THE TRUE CHI3KCH. world, and His city is a spiritual city extending through all space. It includes within it man in the flesh and man as " a spiritual body." In the day when the Lord shall be known, the city shall be known, and be styled, " The Lord is there." Formalists will take fire at this declara- tion, and demand, "What ! has not the Lord been known until this day ? The Lord has not been known, nor is known, and that is the whole reason why His kingom is not understood. Priestcraft would squeeze it into a nut-shell, whereas this our planetary system cannot contain it. In my first part, I suggested, that the eighteen thousand measures was a prediction of the period when a knowledge of this city should be obtained. I am right in this suggestion. It was to be known in eighteen hundred measures. And, as we have now run a circle of 1800 years of the Christian dispensation, the time has arrived when a knowledge should be given. Why do I say this ? Because tne vision tells us how to compute the measures. In the 45th chapter will be found the explanation. It begins by describing the land to be divided by lot for inheritance ; and in accordance with the plan of the city throughout, the physical or territorial distribution of it is impossible. The whole, or " 25,000 reeds in length, and 10,000 THE TRUE CHURCH. 485 in breadth is to be an oblation unto the Lord. Of this there shall be for the sanctuary 500 in length, with 500 in breadth square round about ; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof." Observe, for the sanctuary is 500 reeds each side, and yet the suburbs are only fifty cubits ; that is, each side of the sanc- tuary is 3000 cubits, and the suburbs only fifty cubits. Proceeding in this strain of utter derision and scorn of territorial division and allotment, it closes with these words, '* And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the oblation of the holy portion, and of the possession of the city, before the oblation of the holy portion, and before the possession of the city, from the west side west- ward, and from the east side eastward : and the length shall be over against one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border. In the land shall be his possession in Israel : and my princes shall no more oppress my people ; and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of Irael according to their tribes. Thus saith the Lord God; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel : remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord God. Ye shall have just balances, and a just 486 THE TRUE CHURCH, ephah, and a just bath. The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may con- tain the tenth part of an homer, and the ephah the tenth part of an homer : the measure thereof shall be after the homer." (Ezek. xlv. 7 — 11.) Having thus declared that the land shall be given to "the Prince," the Son of God, it goes on to declare that justice and equity shall prevail, and then introduces the mode of measuring : and it expressly says, " the measure thereof shall he after the homer. ''^ The homer was a Hebrew measure of capacity, not of ex- tension, and therefore the measuring could not refer to territorial allotment. The just balances are to be a just ephah and a just bath. The ephah and the bath are to be of one measure, and these are to contain the " tenth part of an homer," and the measure to be "after the homer." Now the measure of the city being declared to be 18,000 measures, the measures of course are " after the homer ;" but the just balances are a just ephah and a just hath, and these being the tenth of an homer, so the measures are to be divided by ten, which gives 1800 measures. The time then is arrived in which it has been permitted to obtain a know- ledge of this holy city, and from this day the city shall be known as " The Lord is there,''' THE TRUE CHURCH. 487 Before I quit this subject I am tempted to make one other remark. The visions which Ezekiel saw were visions granted by the same Lord who granted them to St. John. The latter after Christ had appeared in the flesh, the former before He had so appeared. Never- theless, He appeared as a man to Ezekiel. The last vision opens, " Behold there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand and a measuring reed." And so, in the first visions of Ezekiel, this same man appeared. In one of them as "the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side." How comes it, seeing that the Head of the church appears in human form to the old as well as to the new church, that Socinians deny Christ's divinity and pre-existence to Christianity ? From all that has been now advanced I hope we shall not experience great difficulty in com- prehending what is called THE MILLENNIAL PERIOD. That it is strictly what I have said in my first part I believed it to be, there is not a doubt. It is a phase or movement of the church. And it is not a period of universal 488 THE TRUE CHURCH. Christianity, and, therefore, not of universal peace. But there will be a great change. The false will give place to the true, and Christi- anity will come out in all the harmonious colouring which properly belongs to her. She will no longer be of doubtful character. Christ will reign paramount in the hearts of a believ- ing people, and Satan, with all his witcheries, shall among Christian nations deceive no more. In Christian lands there will be peace. In Pagan lands there will not be peace. Let us look through the account of this period as given by the Head of the church to St. John, and written by him in a part of the 20th chapter of Revelation. The first three verses contain a pictorial representation of the chaining of the great red 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." That this chaining is purely figurative is matter of course, and the only points that need to be observed upon, are those found in the words " set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more." THE TRUE CHURCH. 489 That the seal is the mark of Satan's identity as the enemy of man I think there can be no doubt : he who from the beginning turned man from the path of uprightness, and who through ages has blinded him by making wrong appear right, and violence virtue, and idolatry holiness. A mark is now to be set upon him. He is to be exposed in his true colours as the author of all evil. Especially as the author of evil among Christian men. The promoter of discord and disunion. The whisperer of schemes and prin- ciples subversive of Christianity. His schemes will now appear in their true character, and he will be discerned as the originator. Strong lines of demarcation will be marked out be- tween truth and falsehood. Falsehood will be indelibly impressed upon him, and this his mark will " set a seal upon him.'' " The nations," which during the millennial period, Satan is no longer to deceive, are con- trasted as it were, in the latter part of the chapter, by " the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog." We have seen that " the nations in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog," are the Pagan nations. " The nations " which Satan cannot longer deceive are Christian nations. They are the nations having relation Y 5 490 THE TEUE CHURCH. to the church which for so long time Satan has deceived. They are the nations symbolized by the ten horns. They are the nations which under Satan's guidance gave their strength to the beast. They are the nations that per- secuted the witnesses. They are the nations that " were angry," when God " took to Him- self His great power and reigned, and gave reward to His servants the prophets, and the saints and them that fear His name." They are the nations amid which God in His mercy preserved His church. They are the nations in the which was, and in a portion of which still is, " Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots." When the millennial period arrives, these nations " shall hate the whore, for God hath put into their hearts to fulfil His will, and they shall have made her desolate and destroyed her." " The nations " are the Chris- tian nations, which Satan shall then no longer deceive. Now, to distinguish the state of things after, from what they were before, the destruction of " Babylon the Great," the fourth verse is written : — " 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 THE TRUE CHURCH. 491 witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped 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." This verse, indeed the whole of the language of the 21st chapter, has been most falsely inter- preted; commentators departing from a rule which applies to the whole Apocalypse. All other parts are figurative ; why not this ? St. John, in the previous parts of the Apo- calypse, has been describing a state of things wherein the beast prevailed. His followers had his mark upon their foreheads and in their hands. And they persecuted a class of persons who were witnesses for Jesus and for the word of God. St. John has brought down the rela- tion of this state of things to the overthrow of the beast and his followers. In the chapter before us he is portraying a future which succeeds the destruction of the beast. In the latter part of the 19th chapter is portrayed the active condition of the kingdom of Christ after the fall of Babylon the Great. Christ and his followers on white horses go forth conquering and to conquer. He, the " Faithful and True," is called, we are told, " The Word 492 THE TRUE CHURCH. of God.'^ And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. As I have said, this portrays the active condi- tion of Christ's kingdom. The beginning of the 20th proclaims its passive condition. Satan is chained and bound that he cannot deceive, and then the language proceeds to declare the changed condition of Christ's kingdom on earth. The witnesses for Jesus and for the word of God, had been persecuted, and oppressed, and overcome. But presently they rose up " to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies beheld them." Their enemies are now destroyed, and the verse before us predicts their condition after the destruction of their enemies. The witnesses who rose up were not the same individuals who had been overcome. Huss and Jerome were overcome, but Luther and Calvin rose up. Just so of "the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God." They had been op- pressed and overcome : they are now to reign with Christ. They are a class, and as a class are now triumphant. The followers of the beast received a mark in their foreheads and in their hands. Here is a class of persons who have no such mark. In THE TEUE CHTJECH. 493- the nations where lived the spiritually dead are now to be found the spiritually alive. They do not worship the beast or his image. They repudiate the beast, and scorn to receive his mark. They are followers of the Lamb, and cling to Him as their only Hope, their only Head, their only Salvation. They are there- fore seated upon thrones, and "judgment is given unto them." Not condemnation but judgment. And that this judgment is approval they are said to be seated upon "thrones." They are made alive by this approved judg- ment, and they live and reign with Christ. They live and "reign with Christ." Where- as before this, Christ has not reigned in the nations, at this time He is to reign. The Pope reigned before, he is deposed 1 The Cardinals reigned before, they are cast down ! The Priests reigned before, they are become ser- vants of Christ, and are His ministers and teachers ! Departed saints reigned before, these are now recognized as a part of human mortality ! Angels reigned before, they whis- per to man, " See thou do it not, I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus : worship God I The church reigned before, it is now found to be an idol set up by the device of Satan ! The church. 494 THE TRUE CHURCH. a structure of marHs hands, the production of Satan's suggestions, is now like the city of Ezekiel's vision, as a material structure, dis- covered to be a monster impossibility ! It has no cohesion, no strength, no base ! And, more still, it has no relation in its parts ! With the destruction of the city Babylon has fallen down every delusive idol. Man now recognizes that Christ is indeed the Head of a spiritual king- dom ; and hereafter no device, no shallow pretence, can assail this kingdom. Christ shall reign ! And with Him His saints, they that fear and love His name ! From the expresssions, " the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus," — " and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years," accompanied by the words in the next verse, " this is the first resurrection," it has been maintained that a resurrection would be at this time of the departed saints and martyrs, and they would reign personally with Christ on earth. Never did learned and other- wise sensible men make a greater mistake. Such an opinion is opposed to many scripture truths. These men would make Christ's king- dom of this world. He declared that His king- dom was not of this world. They would deter- mine when Christ's second coming should be ! THE TRUE CHURCH. 495 He declared that it should not be known. The scriptures declare that His kingdom and His gospel must first be preached, that is taught, in all the world. Nay, they say it is to be taught when He comes. They say Christ is to reign here personally for a thousand years. He says at " His coming 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 he ever with the LordP If the terms lived and reigned, and resurrec- tion, are to be literally received as commonly understood, why not take the whole in the same literal sense. Thus, the term beheaded would not mean a wide-embracing class of saints and martyrs, but those only decapitated. That the term "beheaded" describes a class is certain. It would be unreasonable to sup- pose, that those only that were beheaded should have accorded to them the great privilege to be raised from the dead to reign with Christ for a thousand years previous to a general resurrection. If this privilege be to be ac- corded, why exclude the many martyrs who have passed out of this world of trial by other means than decapitation? Why the holy St. Stephen, who was stoned to death ? Why the 496 THE TEUE CHURCH. many martyrs who, faithful in the struggle for Christ's name, were burnt to death? It may be answered, God so pleased it? God can please what He likes, but He pleases nothing opposed to right reason. And it is not with Him a question whether the mortal body of man be decapitated, be stoned, be burned, be drowned, or be mangled in any form, but whether the spirit is right within ; if this clinofs to God He will in no wise cast it away. The term " beheaded " describes then a class, — those faithful unto death. John saw the souls of this class of persons. He looked into futurity and saw a class of persons, before this a martyr class, now seated on thrones. They are contrasted by another class, formerly a reigning class, those who worshipped the beast and his image. The witnesses for Jesus and for the word of God, now the reigning class, seated on thrones, " have not worshipped the beast nor his image, nor have received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands." The witnesses for Jesus and for the word of God are a triumphant body. And they are to continue to be so for a thousand years. That this is the right interpretation of this verse the next says, " This is the first resurrec- THE TRUE CHURCH, 497 tion." A great change has taken place in the Christian world. Before this, the man of sin, the Pope, and his adherents prevail, now Christ and his followers prevail. The death-like con- dition of Christendom is changed for vigorous life. The first resurrection is beautifully de- picted and predicted by Ezekiel in his 37th chapter. The whole house of Israel have been as dry bones. The fleshless bones have sinews and flesh and skin put upon them, and the breath of life breathed into them, and they live. That this chapter of Ezekiel refers to this period is apparent by its relative position. Ex- amine the preceding and succeeding chapters and you cannot fail to come to this conclusion. The verse which succeeds the one upon which I have been treating, is — "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection." We have seen in a former explanation the character of "the dead." All are dead who keep not Christ's sayings. In Him only is life, and all not members of His body are dead — spiritually dead. Until the change, predicted in this chapter of Revelation, is arrived, the great mass of men called Christians are dead. Though called by Christ's name, they are none 498 THE TRUE CHURCH. of His. Many of them are Papists, significantly and properly so called. Many are Churchmen, significantly and properly so called. Many are Baptists, significantly and properly so called. Many are Episcopalians, significantly and properly so called. Now the time is arrived when Christians will be termed Christians, significantly and properly so called. Their chief ambition will be, to be one with Christ. Never mind by what means, so long as one with Christ. No longer desirous of being called Papists, but Christians, — not Churchmen, but Christians, — not Baptists, but Christians, — not Episcopalians, but Christians. This new vitality breathed into the Christian community will be '' the first resurrection." It will be a new life, a new condition of the people called Christians. It will be a further development of the new creation, — the new heaven and new earth im- planted by Christ at His first coming. " The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." The rest of the dead are the Pagans. They will continue in their death-like condition for the thousand years ; but at the close of the thousand years, they likewise shall be received into the church of Christ. The nations Gog and Magog will then receive their judgment. They shall then THE TRUE CHURCH. 499 be judged out of their own books " according to their works ;" and then shall be opened to them the book of life. These rest of the dead are allied with death and hell. And their state is called the second death. They are "the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sor- cerers, and idolaters, and all liars." Each term descriptive of a class having no communion with God. And this class, we are told, " is the second death." The first death is connected with the class nominally Christians, or, of the house of Israel, and their resurrection is called the first resurrection. The second death is the whole heathen class of every kind, those who do not believe in God, and therefore have no communion with Him. These, the rest of the dead, live not again until the thousand years are finished. " Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection : on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." There is very much in this verse that demands attention. It may be conveniently divided into four parts. First, " Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrec- 500 THE TRUE CHURCH. tion:" next, "on such the second death hath no power :" then, " they shall be priests of God and of Christ:" and lastly, they "shall reign with him a thousand years." " Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection." The first resurrection has been already ex- plained. It is the resurrection of the people called Christians from a state of death, or torpor. A change of this character is fast now presenting itself. Look at the state of the Christian world fifty years ago, and see the great change that is progressing from that state. But this is only the dawn. The day will not burst forth until Popery ceases to be, and the church of Christ exalted upon its ruins. The devices of Satan will be cast down, and Christ will reign over the whole house of Israel. Jew and Christian will acknowledge their Head, and by Him will have a new life granted them. It may be inferred, from what has been previously said, that missionary efforts in Pagan lands may as well cease ; that no labours will bring over to Christianity a class of persons decreed to remain Pao-ans. Christ does not say this. He says, " Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection." All are invited in the general terms of the Gospel. THE TRUE CHUECH. 501 " Come UDto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." None are excluded. All are invited. But the Om- niscient God knows that many will not come. That many will not probably, until the thousand years are expired, hear the invite. But all such as hear are expected to heed it. And such as do give heed are welcomed with joy and gladness. Blessed are they who hear the word and keep it. Christian, Jew, or Gentile. "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection," " On such the second death hath no power." Once a true child of God, always a child of God» To have part in the first resurrection, is to be a child of God. And his children cannot become " fearful, unbelievers, abominable, mur- derers, whoremongers, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars." These several characteristics of impious and ungodly men, idolaters, having other gods than the God, can never attach to one really risen from " death unto life." Such as are risen to this spiritual life, " ShaU be priests of God and of Christ." This general call of all Christians to the office of priest is not to commence only after " the first resurrection." All the members of Christ's body are priests unto Him. Christ 502 THE TRUE CHURCH. did not ordain a selected body of men out of, and separate from, the whole body, but all His faithful ones are kings and priests unto Him. He is their Prince, and they are kings and priests as parts of a whole of which He is the Head. When God established the Hebrew church. He gave instructions to Moses to assign to a tribe the office of priest. The Levites were set apart for the office. This office was one of great importance, and the high priest had consider- able influence, not only in spiritual, but also in temporal matters. When Christ established His kingdom this order was not appointed. His instructions to all were, " Go ye and preach the Gospel in all lands." This command was not confined to a class, but applied universally. It is true, that He appointed certain men to preach, but He did not establish them as a priesthood separate and distinct from the general body of His people. Christ instructed His twelve disciples, then the whole body, to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and, said He, " As ye go, preach, saying, the king- dom of heaven is at hand." He likewise "said unto another, Follow me. But he said. Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, let the dead bury their THE TRUE CHURCH. 503 dead:* but ^^'o thou and preach the kingdom of God." — " And another also said, Lord I will follow thee ; but let me first go bid them fare- well, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him. No man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God." After these, " He appointed other seventy also." From this nar- rative we gather a very different opinion from that formed by the positive appointment of the order of priesthood under the Levitical law. This last was a distinct order vested with certain rights, and to contend against them brought punishment, as is witnessed in the case of Dathan and Abiram. It appertained to this priesthood exclusively to administer the rites and ceremonies of the church, and to ex- pound the law. Under the new dispensation, all, who claim to be followers of Christ, are expected to put their "hand to the plough," and not to do so unfits them *^ for the kingdom of God." It will be observed in the command to preach the utmost simplicity prevails. God appoints : man obeys. No ceremonial. No investment to oflSce. But simply, " Go and preach." Such was the institution during our Lord's personal * We can now comprehend this saying. 504 THE TRUE CHURCH. presence on earth. And this command is not limited to a few. To the last-mentioned would- be follower of Christ, the Lord by His language inferred that he was also expected to " go and preach." Our Lord, after His crucifixion, when He had risen, gives the same simple command, *' Go ye therefore and teach all nations." To carry out the great object of Christ's mission, the renovation of a lost world, it is necessary to preach the Gospel of His kingdom unto all nations. And as this can only be adequately effected by appointing men who can give their whole time to it, and not diverted by other employment, so Christ tells those who are sent to preach that " they are worthy of their hire." And we find also, that the men, appointed for this object, are to be " highly esteemed for their works' sake." Men, are therefore to be selected out of the general body, who are to devote themselves more especially to preach. But these have not given to them any exclusive rights and privileges beyond the right to demand a proper and decent support. Let us now inquire into the mode of appoint- ment adopted in after times. We find the first act done, soon after the departure of the Lord, is the naming of certain men to attend to the THE TRUE CHURCH. 505 daily ministrations. From the whole narrative connected with this, we learn that the appoint- ment was simply to distribute the food out of a common fund, so that all should have their due share. " The twelve called the multitude of the disciples, and said. It is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business." In accordance with this request, the whole body of disciples " chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicholas, a pro- selyte of Antioch; whom they set before the Apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them." In this relation, we find a practice to obtain on the appointment to office, and it is in ac- cordance with a similar act observed by Christ on the occasion of his final departure, " He lifted up His hands and blessed them." It is maintained, by a large body of Christians, that the laying on of hands confers the Holy Ghost. The scriptures do not say this. They contra- dict it. Even the laying on of Jesus' hands did not confer the Holy Ghost. The Com- 506 THE TRUE CHURCH. forter was not sent until Jesus was glorified. In the passage quoted, it is stated that the multitude were to choose men having the Holy Ghost, and they chose Stephen, full of faith and full of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost was conveyed to them, we see, prior to the laying on of hands. There is an instance wherein the laying on of hands conferred the Holy Ghost. It will be found in the 8th chapter of the Acts. Peter and John confer by prayer the Holy Ghost upon the Samaritans. They had been baptized, but " as yet He was fallen upon none of them." Baptism had not conveyed the Holy Ghost.* Peter and John " prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost." This relation appears to be given for the very purpose of conveying a most important lesson, Simon, who " before time in the same city used sorcery," and had acquired great influence among the people, seeing the "miracles and signs which were done," professed himself a convert, and " was baptized." " And when Simon saw that through laying on of the * The words are remarkably significant. " For as yet He was fallen upon none of them : only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesiis." THE TRUE CHURCH. 507 Apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if per- haps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity." We learn by this that the imposition of hands does not necessarily convey the Holy Ghost, but that the agent (to convey) and the recipient must both have the heart right toward God. Failing this, to pretend to convey is blasphemy, to hope to receive is fallacious. Let not a faithful-hearted Christian suppose the Holy Ghost obtainable only through the laying on of hands. In the personal absence of Christ, the Comforter is sent to His people ; nothing doubt- ing, " ask and ye shall receive." With regard to the appointment of Stephen and his coadjutors, it is certain it was only for the distribution of the daily food purchased out of a common fund. Complaints had been made z 2 508 THE TRUE CHURCH. of unequal distribution, and to remedy this these men were appointed. Their office was not therefore to preach, but to act as stewards of the household, or community. But what do we find to be the fact ? Why this, that Stephen is a most fervid preacher, and he did not think it needful to have any command for this beyond the general command of our Lord, " Go ye and preach." That the laying on of hands did not convey to him the Holy Ghost, and thus inspire him to preach, is certain. We are told that before the laying on of hands he was " full of the Holy Ghost." The next important call to preach is that of St. Paul, who, breathing out threatenings, was arrested in his opposition and made an apostle of Christ. What was the mode of his ordi- nation? Having been struck blind, he was instructed to proceed to Damascus, where it should be told him what he must do. " And the men which journeyed with him led him by the hand to Damascus." And Ananias, a dis- ciple, living in the city, was told in a vision to go into a certain street, and to a certain house, where he would find the man Saul, or Paul. " And Ananias went his way and entered into the house ; and putting his hands on him, said. Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that ap- THE TRUE CHURCH. 509 peared unto thee in the way that thou earnest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales : and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized." In this narrative we have the account of, not a man ordained priest or bishop, recollect, but of a disciple made the instrument through whom sight, and the Holy Ghost, and baptism were conveyed. In strict accordance with the character here assigned to the disciple Ananias, the words in the Revelation are written. He "was a priest of God and of Christ." But not a man ordained priest. He was a priest in right of membership with Christ. He had part in a resurrection. A resurrection to him from spiritual death to spiritual life. The words, " Let the dead bury their dead," applied not to him. He was not of the dead. Such as was Ananias, so are all whose hearts are right toward God. They are not only priests, but they are kings. They are priests and kings unto God ; and Christ is their Prince. " Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and 510 THE TRUE CHURCH. priests unto God and his Father." Rev. i. 5; This is a part of the burden of the song of the redeemed on earth, as given in the 5th chapter, in the vision of the anticipated conversion of the earth, " And they sung a new song, saying. Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests ; and we shall reign on the earth." A promise to this effect was made to the people Israel. It was the first promise made through Moses when the people encamped in the wilderness about mount Sinai. " And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel ; ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above aU people ; for all the earth is mine : and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests^ and an holy nation. These are the words which ye shall speak unto the children of Israel." In fulfilment of this THE TRUE CHUECE. 511 promise, the true Israelites, — the holy nation, — the peculiar people, — the members of Christ's body, — the one with Him, — the denizens of the holy city, — the members of Christ's church, — are " kings and priests." They are a " king- dom of priests." This same great truth is maintained by St. Peter, and St. Peter should have some weight with Papists, and self-styled — or whom many call — high churchmen. In his first epistle he writes "to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bi- thynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctiflcation of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the Mood of Jesus Christ.''^ In the 2nd chapter, he tells these elect, " Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to oiFer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." That which pertained only to the Levites under the law of ordinances, per- tains to the whole body of Christ's faithful ones under the law of righteousness. They are "kings and priests" unto God. And they offer up " spiritual sacrifices " acceptable to God. Notwithstanding the statement, that all faith- ful ones are priests, we know that it has been 512 THE TRUE CHURCH. the practice, from the tune of the apostles downward, to set apart certain men to preach. They have been chosen out of the Christian body, and maintained, that they may devote their whole time to teaching. And what is the language of scripture in regard to these people ? We have seen that it is not their exclusive office to teach. Stephen is a memorable ex- ample to the contrary. Yet it must not be denied, that, from the earliest period, certain men have been set apart to teach. What say the scriptures about them ? If we examine the 13th and some of the succeeding chapters of the Acts, we shall learn the primitive mode of appointment of, and the terms used to denote, those set apart to preach. The 13th chapter begins, " Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain pro- phets and teachers ; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they minis- tered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." Here is the account of the origin of the missionary THE TRUE CHURCH. 513 labours of St. Paul and Barnabas. The Holy Ghost instructs certain prophets and teachers to separate out of their body two members, Paul and Barnabas. They do so, and these two pro- ceed on their work. They leave Antioch and visit many places, and let us see what they do to establish churches, or communities, and how they appoint to minister to these. They proceed to many places, and preach every where the gospel. '* And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed." We learn something more about these elders from St. Paul's epistle to Titus, to whom he writes about the kind of persons to be elected elders. He says, " For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee ; if any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of riot, or unruly : for a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God : not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre ; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate : holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by z 5 514 THE TRUE CHURCH. sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers." It is plain that here elder and bishop are synonymous, and if the rest of the chapter be read, it will be found that elder or bishop means one to instruct each small com- munity, a presiding pastor or teacher. Such is found to be the primitive constitution of the church. That a bishop in the early church was a very different personage from a bishop, a lord spiritual and temporal of the present day, is cer- tain. A Pope, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Archdeacons, Deacons as at present constituted, Deans, Canons residentiary, and Canons non- residentiary, are all foreigners. The primitive church knew nothing about them. And what is more, a future church will repudiate them. It must be an admitted fact, that the original constitution of the church was, the apostles and members forming one body. The members had a voice in the affairs of the church. Wit- ness the selection of the seven, Stephen and others, to attend to the daily ministrations. Witness again, the employment of Ananias, a disciple, to baptize Paul. And that little dis- tinction prevailed is shown by the fact that Stephen preaches, though only appointed to attend to secular matters. This was the cha- racter of the church in the apostolic time, as THE TRUE CHURCH. 515 we learn from other portions of the sacred writings. In after times, we learn from profane writings, that, as Christianity extended, the bishops or elders appointed other elders and claimed jurisdiction over them. They extended their influence from small communities to wider districts, embracing the cities in which they had appointed elders. In this respect they followed the example of Paul ; but herein they differed from the primitive practice, they soon excluded the voices of the members of the church, and claimed undivided control. This process pro- ceeded until the term elder was lost sight of, and the bishop became a personage demanding and obtaining extensive influence, temporal and spiritual. That the early constitution of the church was of the character described, we shall be con- vinced, if we examine into the progress of the church as detailed in the Acts of the Apostles. In the 15th chapter is an account of the dispute relative to the question whether to observe a Mosaic ritual. And, having decided the matter, at the 22nd verse is written, " Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole churchy to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men 516 THE TRUE CHURCH. among the brethren. And they wrote letters by them after this manner ; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch, and Syria, and Cilicia." The whole chapter is in strict conformity with this. From the 25th verse it proceeds in these words : " It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth." That Judas and Silas are not elders we gather from the statement: theg are chiefs among the brethren ; the whole body being divided into apostles, elders, and brethren ; and Judas and Silas are of the brethren In this relation we have the description of the primi- tive church. " The church," St. Paul says, " is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief corner stone." The church is the body of brethren, teachers and taught, and built upon the foundation Christ has laid, apostles and prophets. Apostles and prophets have per- formed their work, and live above to behold it. Below are the materials for the structure, and THE TRUE CHURCH. 517 these are elders and brethren. These unitedly are equal to all and every work, guided and directed as they are by their mighty Head. We hear m the mouths of some men of lofty pretensions, " the Church !"— " the Church !"— " the claims of the Church !" — '' cannot permit an interference with the claims of the Church !" — " education belongs to the Church !" And what do they mean when they use these terms ? —" The Clergy !"— " the Clergy !"— " the claims of the Clergy!" — "cannot permit an interference with the claims of the Clergy !" — " education belongs to the Clergy !" Some of these men think, or affect to think, the Church to be lords spiritual and temporal, called Archbishops and Bishops, with the successive grades of Archdeacons and Deacons, Deans and Prebends, Rectors and Vicars. And others again, the Church to be, the Pope and Cardinals, Arch- bishops and Bishops, Priests, Jesuits, Monks, and Friars. All such men are placed upon the horns of a dilemma. They are either ex- cessively ignorant, or excessively sinful. To which class they belong it is not for me to determine. To impute ignorance or sin is severe, but I cannot be brought to think I should withdraw the expression. The laity have little excuse, the clergy none. If the 518 THE TRUE CHURCH. clergy, whose duty it is more especially to study divinity, will not study in that book where alone sound divinity is embodied, what excuse have they ? These men, unhappily, direct others, and their ignorance, or their sin, is the cause of defection in many, and these are passing into the ranks of Antichrist. It will excite a smile in some, that I, a comparatively unlettered man, should dare to accuse of igno- rance a class of men who have evinced great erudition. But is not the accusation true? Do these men know of the truths Scripture and Eevelation disclose, or do they not? If they do not, they are ignorant in matters in which they may and ought to be wise. If they do, they are Satan's own children. If ignorant, their ignorance is in fact criminal. It is a self- imposed ignorance. They study books written to promote their own ends, and to justify their own notions, but books of an opposite tendency they will not look into ; these would disturb their minds, and are called by them dangerous books. But let them cast aside men's books on both sides the controversy, and apply them- selves heartily to God's book, and there is no doubt of the result. This I fear they will not do, they like books of the fathers and of their co-mates better, and the book, the book of life THE TRUE CHURCH. 519 would ruffle their self-complacency. What is an exclamation I have' heard to come from the mouth of one of these men ? — " All or none /" And what do these words mean? Not all Christ, or no religion ! but all rule or none ! I know that I am writing against men of high repute and lofty position, and they may think it beneath them to notice the production of an obscure person ; be this as it may, I defy them to disturb the truths this book enunciates. I would not willingly do injustice to any man or class of men. Though I believe the foregoing accusation to be true in the main of popery men, yet there are some among them, who, led away by a belief that Christ really did set up a kingdom with a visible head on earth, are doing their duty by promoting this kingdom. They show their earnestness and conscientiousness by entering themselves under the rule of the head of a visible form of church government, and some to their apparent worldly disadvantage. I respect such men, but I de- plore greatly their fatuity. They honestly believe the supposed stream from St. Peter to be a living stream, though so muddy and polluted. It must be, that they do not believe Christ and the holy men whom He inspired. They honestly believe, that all who have filled 520 THE TRUE CHU-RCH. the chair of St. Peter, are of Christ's body — the Church. Though the Church is declared to be '' without spot or blemish or any such thing," yet that God winks at the misdoings of St. Peter's successors, as St, Paul told the men of Athens God winked aforetime at their idol- worship. These men lay much stress upon the parable of the tares and the wheat, imagining the tares to be the wicked in the Church, forget- ing that our Saviour explained this parable to be, " He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man ; the field is the world ; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one.'" A king- dom divided against itself would fall. " Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation." Much stress is also laid upon the other parables of our Lord, and these men gather from them that " tlie Church " is a visible body of good and bad. These parables describe cer- tain things liije unto " the kingdom of heaven." I shall show that " the kingdom of heaven " is an expression having a different meaning to "the Church." We have seen that "the Church," the " body of Christ," is " without spot or blemish," the " kingdom of heaven " is like unto a draw- net that gathers " good and THE TEUE CHUECH. 521 bad." Here is a marked distinction, and these expressions have not therefore the like meaning. The scriptures are true, and as they point out a difference, a difference there must be ; and if the difference cannot be discovered, it is ov^ing to man's obtuseness. We have seen what is the meaning of " the Church." And we have seen that it differs from " the kingdom of heaven." We have seen in what that difference consists. As " the king- dom of heaven " does not mean " the Church," what does it mean ? In the first place, " the kingdom of heaven " is plainly a term to represent a kingdom on earth. There are good and bad in this '' king- dom of heaven." The bad are not admitted into the heaven of heavens. This is decisive of its meaning in regard to locality. You wdll remember what I have said when describing the terms heaven, earth, and sea, as used in the Apocalypse. And I described heaven to mean, not the heaven of heavens, God's eternal dw ell- ing place, but the kingdom of Christ on earth. And I stated that here it is that the struggle takes place between the man-child and the great red dragon. You will remember also, that I described another portion of the Apocalypse, wherein is 522 THE TRUE CHURCH. written, " The kingdoms of this world are be- come the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ." And I made it to appear that " the kingdoms of this world " are the kingdoms opposed to Christ's kingdom. They are the Papal, Mahommedan, Braminical, Buddhist, &c., &c. Now the term " kingdoms," is used here in the same sense in which " kingdom " is used in the parables. The terms " kingdom of Christ," and " kingdom of heaven " are synony- mous. They mean the kingdom ruled over by Christ. They do not mean His church. His church is composed of the members of His body : His kingdom, of the subjects of His rule, as the man Christ. When it is predicted in the Apocalypse, that " the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ," it means that the whole heathen world is gathered into one kingdom, the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. It does not mean that the whole world is be- come truly Christian, all a holy people, there will be many then as now like the foolish virgins. Whether Christianity will return to the primitive form soon after the destruction of " Babylon the Great," that is, during the mil- lennial period, is subject for inquiry. That it THE TRUE CHUECH. 523 will be returned to I have not the slightest doubt. Under the co-operative influence of elders and brethren, Christ will awaken in man a thirst for knowledge of Him and of His ways. And far from finding difficulty in the regulation of Christian communities, and the deposition of ungodly pastors, as now experienced, a com- munity of Christians will have the matter in their own hands. I am not saying that a departure from it was not called for in the circumstances of past times. A community unless Christian is not fitted to exercise autho- rity. Just as a community unenlightened is not fitted to receive just and equal laws, and unrestrained liberty. That there will be a return to it at some period we may gather from Ezekiel. The 38th and 39 th chapters contain a parallel prediction to that of St. John with regard to the in- gathering of Pagan nations into Christ's king- dom. I shall have occasion to examine more closely hereafter these two chapters. At present I point attention to the kind of persons predicted to be employed to enlighten the Pagans. They are termed men of continual employment. Not priests, not bishops, or elders, or ministers, but men of continual employment. And the inference is, that these men, such as 524 THE TRUE CHURCH. Judas and Silas chosen of the brethren, will be employed. That a very influential change for the better will take place during the millennial period is certain. Satan shall deceive the nations no more till the thousand years shall be fulfilled, and the lofty pretensions, of self-styled, or by others called, high churchmen, shall drop away like a rope of sand. But, that at this time, a return will obtain to the primitive state of the church, is not so certain. A change will pro- bably be gradual. Men's eyes will be open to the truth, but policy and expediency may render it desirable to continue for a time a portion of the old machinery. A change to some extent must be, and no institution will be maintained subversive of the general good, or about which a nation shall be divided. Peace and amity are to prevail among Christian men. Ezekiel gives a picture of their condition. They live in " un walled villages." Implying that Christians are living, when attacked by Gog, in peace one with another, without walls of defence against attack. They are described as living " in the land of unwalled villages," and as " them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates." In this peaceful con- THE TRUE CHURCH. 525 dition it is not likely there will be dissensions about church government. Christ will reign, and where He reigns there must be peace. Before I proceed to the next subject of inquiry, there is a matter connected with priestcraft it will be well to make a few remarks upon. I mean the power claimed by the clergy of absolution. This power was undoubtedly granted by our Lord to His followers. What is the explanation of this most wonderful power? Upon the two pro- mises made by Christ to His church, " Whose- soever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them, and whosesover sins ye retain they are retained," and " I am with you always even unto the end of the world," priestcraft contrived to hang all the power it acquired. The gifts and promises were wrested to this purpose. And Priestcraft asks, if these promises were not made to the Apostles and their successors, what do they mean? I have said in the first part of this book that Christ limited the first promise or gift to the Apostles. That for the especial furtherance of His mission, he granted especial power. That this power was exercised as proof of possession. That it was not possessed afterward, because never exercised. I was partly, but not wholly 526 THE TRUE CHUECH. « right. It was never 'exercised by those claim- ing to be successors. The line of priests, claiming to be successors, could not possess it : the promise was not made to them. Priesthood, as a separate body, is not recognized in the church. The promise was made, and the gift to absolve was given, to Christ's church, and I believe now in perpetuity. I have shown, by the narration of the early constitution of the church, that a line of man- ordained priests in succession from the apostles is an utter impossibility. That the mode of appointment to office as elders was so irregular, that an order of succession is impossible to be derived. If but one appointment is shown to be made by a disciple, or one of the brethren, the whole appointments made after through that one line must be of the same lay character. The promise then of Christ '* to be always with them," could not mean only to apply to an order of man-ordained priesthood in succession from the apostles, because in the church there is no such order. What then does Christ mean by the words, " to be always with them ?" I have said before, it is a promise to be always with His church. Members of the church are members of His body. They are one with Him. The 17th chapter of St. John is filled THE TRUE CHURCH. 527 with a description of this union. " That they all may be one ; as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us : that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me." Christ cannot be separate from His body, — "the church," — "which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all." Ephesians i. 23. The promise, to be always with His apostles to the end of the world, is thus a promise of mighty import ; and is not a promise to a man-ordained priesthood, many of whom are not of His church ; but is a promise to His own, the faithful members of His own body, — " the church." And now, what do we understand by the promise, " Whosesoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them, and whosesoever sins ye retain they are retained unto them ?" It will be recollected there is a command, " Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." The command and the promise con- tained in this last quotation have relation to Christ's promise and gift to His church. You will observe, it is not " confess your sins to an elder," but " confess them one to another." It is true there is a command contained in the chap- 528 THE TRUE CHURCH ter of St. James from which the above is quoted, in these words, "Is any sick among you ? let him call for the elders* of the church ; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up ; and if he have com- mitted sins they shall be forgiven him." The promise in this as well as that contained in the former quotation is allied, with what ? — not an absolute power granted to an elder, but with " the fervent prayer of a righteous man," and the " prayer of faith." All depends upon "the heart right toward God." It is not the power of one to bestow, or the other to receive, but in the spirit of fervent prayer. It is in this spirit the promise applies, "Whosesoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them, and whosesoever sins ye retain they are retained unto them." No child of God could pretend to a power independent of the power of God. And every child of God must act in conformity to the will of God. Were a man to pretend to a * The Gospel knows nothing of priests as an order distinct from the general body. Priesthood has been famous through- out the world : priests under the Levitical law, priests of Jupiter, &c., &c. ; but the Gospel repudiates the order as a separated part from the church. THE TRUE CHUHCH. 529 power of himself to absolve or to retain, his claim of such power could be only pretension. The very fact of such a claim decides at once that he is not a child of God. A power to absolve and to retain is safely left in the hands of God's children, His church. The promise and gift are to the members of His church, and these members know the will of God and act in conformity thereto. To pronounce a verdict not in conformity to the will of God, would declare the judgment to proceed from a hireling of the Evil One. When we come to understand the perfect unity of God's church, we know at once its character, and that it is impossible for the gates of hell to prevail against it. Every promise and every gift works in harmony with a perfect whole. A power then is given to the members of Christ's church to retain or to absolve. The gospel condemns, and Christ condemns, and a member of His body condemns. The gospel absolves, and Christ absolves, and a member of His body absolves. And this order may not, and cannot be broken. In Christ's kingdom is unity of government, and all members of His kingdom, who are " kings and priests " unto Him, must act in conformity with His will. There is yet another verse connected with A A 530 THE TRUE CHU-RCH. the close of the millennial period, upon which to comment, that the words " where the beast and the false prophet «re," may be understood. I mean the 10th. " And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." After the final attack by Gog and Magog upon "the beloved city," or Christ's church, Satan is described in the figurative language of the Apocalypse, to be "cast into the lake of fire and brimstone." In the beginning of the chapter he is described as " chained," or re- strained " and bound," for a thousand years. He is not to dupe and deceive the nations of Christendom. In the 10th verse he is described as cast into "a lake of fire." An image to convey overthrow. The devil, the parent of death and hell, the first cause of death and hell, or, the first cause of banishment from God's presence, now ceases, after the overthrow of Gog, altogether to influence by rival schemes opposed to God's kingdom. He, and his king- dom, represented by death and hell, are cast into " a lake of fire," or overthrown and sub- merged by and in the "fire of the altar cast into the earth'' by the angel, the great high THE TRUE CHURCH. 531 priest of His people. God has said He will be " a wall of fire " round about His beloved city, the new Jerusalem. Of course this, as well as the other allusions to fire are figures of speech, and are to be understood to convey each a meaning in harmony with its context. St. John, in the portion of scripture in connection with the verse before us, is describing a final conflict, a final overthrow, and he employs, or rather the Spirit of God employs, a figure illustrative of overthrow. But not of extinction. Satan is overthrown, but not destroyed. He is " tormented day and night for ever and ever," and therefore exists still to excite to evil. He, and the systems connected with his kingdom, are overthrown, and cast into the lake of fire. The systems are destroyed, but he lives, and will still excite individuals to sin. We know that in the last days the earth shall be as in the days of Noah : there shall be carelessness, and negligence of God, and sin prevail. Opposing systems shall be overthrown, and God's kingdom shall possess the earth, but individual sinners will lurk with- in it. There shall be free access to the waters of life, but some will not thirst to drink of them. Satan, when cast into the lake of fire, is " tor- mented day and night for ever and ever." He A A 2 532 THE TRUE CHURCH. is tormented by the recurring remembrance of his discomfiture. The seed of the woman has bruised his head. Christ's kingdom has pre- vailed, and the saints of the Most High possess the earth for their rule. The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. Satan's schemes for the pos- session of the earth are frustrated. His kingdom crumbles beneath the weight of Christ's king- dom, now spread over the whole earth. Satan is defeated, and the consciousness of defeat " torments him day and night for ever and ever." It will be observed, that the 14th verse, which describes " death and hell " as cast into " the lake of fire," differs from the 10th, which describes Satan as cast into the " lake of fire." The 10th describes Satan in his personality, the 14th describes his systems. The 10th, to show the continued existence of Satan, as well as his overthrow, states that he " shall be tor- mented day and night for ever and ever." The 14th, which is intended to show only the overthrow of his kingdom on earth, states that death and hell, which is a condition of mankind to represent his kingdom, " were cast into the lake of fire," and omits the words used with reference to Satan, " shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." THE TRUE CHURCH. 533 At the time when Satan and death and hell are cast into the lake of fire, the beast and false prophet are not cast in. The beast and the false prophet are said to be there already. The words are, " where the beast and false prophet are.'' I have attempted to show that the beast and the false prophet are the beast in the opening vision, and the horse and his rider represented in the second seal. History proves that Mahomedanism was set up previously to Popery, and Daniel predicts that Mahomedan- ism should continue long after Popery ceases to be. At the destruction of Popery, or rather at the narration of the downfall of Popery, by retrospection of the ingathered and assembled church, there is great exultation. Something more, however, has yet to be accomplished, and the Spirit of God proceeds to show what this is. When we have traced out the course of the church that succeeds the overthrow of Popery, we shall be able to determine how it is, that John writes "where the beast and the false prophet are." After the exhibition of the ingathered and assembled church "as the wife made ready," the angel directs John to " Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marrijige supper of the Lamb, and he saith unto me These are 534 THE TRUE CHURCH. the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not : I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus : worship God : for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." The marriage of the Lamb is not ready, as we learn in the 21st chapter, until the first heaven and first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea; or in other words, until the heaven and earth of fallen man were passed away, and there was no more heathenism. St. John's vision had progressed to the downfall of Popery, and the above words, that " the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy," would intimate there are yet other things to be accomplished, and the Spirit of God goes on to foretel the future after the overthrow of Popery. The prediction proceeds in two streams. One of struggle, the other of comparative repose. The external and internal condition of the church. The latter part of the 19th chapter, from the 1 1th verse to the close, and the whole of the 20th chapter, together with the last two yet unaccomplished vials, concern this pre- diction. The latter part of the 19th chapter, together with the two vials, contain a prediction of the active condition of the church externally THE TRUE CHURCH. 535 considered, from the overthrow of Popery until the subjugation of the earth to Christ's king- dom. The 20th chapter then commences with the other phase, the state of repose, or internal condition of the church, and closes with the final struggle with Pagan nations. The latter part of the 19th chapter, in which the future is predicted after the overthrow of Popery, begins by describing heaven, or Christ's kingdom, as opened, and Christ, under the names of " Faithful and True," seated on a white horse, as in the first seal. He has on His head many crowns, and He goes forth con- quering and to conquer, followed by armies on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. In this picture we have the emblems of success, and of an advancing condition of the church. The followers of Christ, now a large army, go forth clothed in white, or purity, emblematic of the absence of idol pollutions. Out of Christ's "mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations." The sword of the Spirit which proceeds from His mouth, or word, smites the nations, and He now rules with strength, or " a rod of iron." And with it He subdues His enemies, " and treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath 536 THE TEUE CHURCH. on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." The whole of the foregoing is descriptive of an onward movement. After the overthrow of Popery there will be much to subdue and to gather in. When Popery falls the whole system will not suddenly disappear. But Christ and His armies will go forth "conquering and to conquer." And of this militant character is the whole period, until the final subjugation of the earth to the kingdom of Christ. The re- maining portion of the chapter describes the latter course of the church, prior to, and succeeding the period, when Gog and Magog are gathered to battle. It describes an angel standing in the sun, or in a situation com- manding wide-spread or universal attention, intimating that the action regards the whole earth. It is an action that precedes, and is connected with, the final conflict, described by St. John, and by Ezekiel, as " the supper of the great God." Ezekiel describes it in the 38th and 39th chapters. It is the conflict with Gog and Magog. The 19th chapter of the Revelation concludes with the result of the conflict. " And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse. THE TRUE CHURCH. 537 which sword proceedeth out of His mouth; and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." Having brought down in this chapter the whole course of the church up to the final subjugation of all other systems or kingdoms to Christ's kingdom, the 20th chapter begins by describing the character of Christianity after the destruction of Popery, and goes on to pre- dict more clearly the future, and the precise time when the final struggle shall be. Now the last two vials have reference to the final struggle: the sixth to Mahomedanism, the seventh to Paganism. The sixth vial is poured out upon " the great river Euphrates." A river which flows through the land the seat of Mahomedanism. The seventh is poured *'into the air," intimating universality, or the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, " Gog and Magog." Having reached thus far, we can now under- itand how it is, that the beast and the false pro- phet are in the lake of fire prior to Satan being cast in. Mahomedanism ceases just prior to the final conflict with Gog and Magog. Mahome- danism, in accordance with the prophecy of Daniel, will cease to be, shortly after the beginning of the twenty-ninth century. The struggle with Gog and Magog will not be until A A 5 538 THE TRUE CHUKCH. after the close of it. And this final struggle, as I shall hereafter show, will employ a period of 210 years. The beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire, or overthrown, at the close of the millennial period. And the mention of it in the 20th chapter is in confirmation of the like prediction in the 1 9th, " And the beast was taken, and the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." Now that we quite comprehend, I hope, the character of the millennial period, let us pro- ceed to inquire into THE DISTANT FUTURE. In the comments I have previously made, I have been compelled to forestal the subject of ^he distant future, and by this tiuie it is probable that my readers begin to comprehend it. But as I have very lightly touched upon many parts descriptive of it, I will now fill up what before has been scanty. As the first in order of time is the fate of Mahomedanism, I will begin with this. THE TRUE CHURCH. 539 Daniel has predicted Maliomedanism to fall after existing 2300 years. As it had its rise about 630, it will cease to be, by Hebrew com- putation, about 2900. And therefore will fall about 100 years before the final great struggle, when Satan shall be loosed for a little season to gather Gog and Magog to battle. The sixth vial concerns itself with this movement. And we shall learn by it, that it precedes and connects itself with the final " And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates ; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils w^orking miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place, called in the Hebrew tongue, Armaged- don." Kev. xvi. 12—16. 540 THE TRUE CHURCH. The sixth vial is poured out upon the river Euphrates, that "the way of the kings of the east might be prepared." It is, I think, very- plain at the present day, that when Popery shall cease, Christ's kingdom will extend over Europe, America, the greater part of Africa, and a portion of Asia. The probable opponents will be the inhabitants where Mahomedanism reigns, and those of the eastern nations ex- tending through the heart of Asia to China. The sixth vial is poured out upon the river Euphrates, or upon the land watered by the Euphrates, the land of Mahomedanism, to prepare the way of the kings of the east, or of the eastern kingdoms. The millennial period regards altogether, and only, the kingdom of Christ. Towards its close, the first inroad, upon the remaining enemies to His kingdom, will be upon Mahomedanism, and " the water thereof dried up." This figure is used in consonance with the figure of the water of life, and the river flowing out from the throne of God : the river Euphrates and the water thereof, is put as it were in contrast with the river of God and the water thereof. By the action of the sixth vial the water of the river Euphrates, the symbol for Mahomedan faith, will " be dried up " or wasted away. Mahomedans will cease THE TRUE CHURCH. 541 to regard the Koran ; its precepts and its laws will be unheeded, its waters will be dried up. And this will prepare the way for the kings or kingdoms of the east to be brought into the kingdom of Christ. But this will be by a deadly struggle. " Three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet." There will be croaking about some old cheatings. Satan will be loosed for a little season, and permitted again to cheat. Under the combined action of past schemes, Satan will again deceive. He will have a people to deal with undergoing change: casting off a false, and receiving a true prophet. There will be three unclean spirits, for "they are the spirits of devils working miracles." By this means they will cheat " the kings of the earth and of the whole world," and bring on that great day, the final conflict. That this vial has reference to the event I have spoken of, is gathered from the latter portion of the 14th verse, " to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." This is a parallel prediction to that found in the 19th chapter, 19th verse: "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against 542 THE TEUE CHURCH. Him that sat on the horse, and against His army. This has reference to the battle of the great day, called in the 17 th verse, " the supper of the great God." The 6th vial precedes this o-reat event, and ushers it in under the action of the seventh vial. This is confirmed by Eze- kiel's parallel prophecy in the 38th and 39th chapters, where this gathering together for the final conflict is described. " Son of man, set thy face against Grog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and pro- phesy against him, and say, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them ; all of them with shield and helmet ; Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north-quarters, and all his bands, and many people with thee." Ezek. xxxix. 1 — 6. At this preparation to battle, " the seventh angel pours out his vial into the air ; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne, saying. It is done." The pour- THE TRUE CHURCH. 543 ing out of the seventh vial into the air intimates its influence to be universal. Accordingly, we read, that " there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great." And that it is significantly great beyond comparison, the words, " It is done," show. They point to a final effort and accomplishment. And to what they refer, we may learn in the 21st chapter, where the same words are used, " And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new. And he said unto me. Write : for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me. It is done, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." These last words imply that the fact, " It is done," has opened the fountain of the water of life, so that all who are minded may partake freely thereof. The fountain is opened to all the inhabitants of the earth. The remaining three verses concerning the seventh vial are the followino^ : — " And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell : and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of 544 THE TRUE CIIUECH. the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail ; for the plague thereof was exceeding great." Rev. xvi. 19 — 21. The " great city," it seems to me, is not the city " Babylon." '' Great Babylon came in remembrance before God," intimating that the former judgment was awakened. The great city divided into three parts, I am inclined to believe is, that, at this time, " great city, the holy Jerusalem." Rev. xxi. 10. At the close of the millennial period, Satan is permitted for a short time to deceive. Old questions are mooted. Christ's faithful ones diifer again in opinion, as they now differ upon some points. They are divided into three parts. And much discussion ensues upon perhaps doctrinal and governmental questions. This is probable from the expression that follows, " and the cities of the nations fell." These are probably "the cities" of the "nations in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog." " The cities " have relation to the established systems of faith of each nation, just as the holy city, new Jerusalem, is a figure to THE TRUE CHURCH. 545 represent the Christian faith. The cities of the nations at this time fall. Paganism ceases to be. And this is why the expressions are used, " every island fled away, and the moun- tains were not found." Gog is represented as the prince of the isles of the Gentiles. These isles, or, as it is in the Apocalypse, every island, fled away. The mountains are the mountains opposed to God's "holy mountain." God's " holy mountain " stands, but " the mountains " are not found. Some may object to my view of this portion of scripture on account of the words, " and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the ■fierceness of his wrath^ Some will say these convey a judgment upon the present Babylon. I object, and say, nay, they do not. I have before said, that " great Babylon came in remembrance,^'^ intimates the awakening of a former judgment. And I believe these words to imply, that a state of things having some resemblance to the present state of Christendom will again arise. The last verse leads to this conclusion. " There fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent." There is great hail, or great discus- sion. The overthrow of " the cities of the 546 THE TRUE CHURCH. nations" is not effected without a struggle. The introduction into the Christian community of Mahomedan and Pagan notions will rip up old questions of Papal device, and great Baby- lon will come " into remembrance before God, to give unto her," or to her adopted principles, " the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." The sixth vial poured out upon the river Euphrates, and which dries up the water of that river, has had its influence upon Mahom- medanism. In the words of St. John, " the beast and the false prophet are " cast into the lake of fire. Immediately succeeding to this is the final conflict, the supper of the great God, prior to the marriage of the Lamb, the gather- ing of all nations into the kingdom, or under the rule of Christ. The devil who incites to this great conflict is seized and cast into the lake of fire. But this is not until " fire comes down from God out of heaven," and devours the enemies of the " beloved city." There is a great hail out of heaven, " every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail ; for the plague thereof was exceeding great." The sword has proceeded out of the mouth of Him that sat upon the horse, and with His armies THE TRUE CHURCH. 547 He goes forth conquering and to conquer. He and His armies go forth to conquer, but the final struggle will be a deadly one. "Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail: for the plague thereof was exceeding great." The great conflict, " the supper of the great God," mentioned in the 19th chapter and 17 th verse, St. John describes again in the 20th chapter, as " Gog and Magog," the nations whom Satan deceives, " to gather them together to battle : the number of whom is as the sand of the sea." Of this conflict between "the nations in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog," and " the beloved city," we have a very detailed prediction in Ezekiel. I refer my readers to his 38th and 39th chapters. Perhaps it will be better to transcribe these chapters. Few persons read so patiently and inquiringly as to turn to references. Besides, the two chapters are exceedingly graphic, and from what has been written will now probably be read with attention and interest. " And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say. Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against 548 THE TRUE CHUB.CH. thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them : all of them with shield and helmet. Gomer, and all his bands, the house of Togarmah of the north-quarters, and all his bands, and many people with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. After many days thou shalt be visited : in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste : but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. Thou shalt ascend, and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou and all thy bands, and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord God, It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought. And thou shalt say, I w^ll go up to the land of un- THE TRUE CHURCH. 549 walled villages, I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates. To take a spoil, and to take a prey, to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. Sheba and Dedan, and the mer- chants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee. Art thou come to take a spoil ? has thou gathered thy company to take a prey ? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil ? Therefore, Son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God, In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it ? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north- parts, thou and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army. And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land, it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sancti- fied in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. Thus saith the Lord God, Art thou he of whom 1 550 THE TRUE CHURCH. have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years, that I would bring thee against them ? And it shall come to pass at the same time, when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy, and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken: surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel : so that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God : every man's sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood, and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hail- stones, fire and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord. Therefore, THE TRUE CHUECH. 551 thou son of man, prophesy against Grog, and saj, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Me- shech and Tubal. And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north-parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: and I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou and all thy bands, and the people |that is with thee : I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field, for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles, and they shall know that I am the Lord. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more ; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the holy One in Israel. Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the 552 THE TE.UE CHURCH. bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand-staves, and the spears, and thej shall burn them wdth fire seven years : so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests : for they shall burn the weapons with fire, and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea ; and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog, and all his multitude, and they shall call it, the valley of Hamraon-gog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them, and it shall be to them a renown, the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God. And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth to cleanse it : after the end of seven months shall they search. And the pas- sengers that pass through the land, w hen any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hainmon-gog. And also the name of the THE TEUE CHURCH. 553 city shall be Hamonah : thus shall they cleanse the land. And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord God, Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come, gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice, that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the moun- tains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God. And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God, from that day and forward. And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies; so fell they all by the sword. According to their un- B B 554 THE TRUE CHURCH. cleanness, and according to their transgressions have I done nnto them, and hid my face from them. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name. After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses, whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations ; then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen : but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. Neither will I hide my face any more from them ; for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God," Ezek. xxxviii., xxxix. It will be observed that Gog is described in two characters. One as " the land of Magog," and the other as " the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal." Gog, therefore, has a comprehen- sive meaning. I have shown before that Gog in Hebrew geography, was a country lying to the north of the holy land, having no definite limits THE TRUE CHURCH. 555 northward. Meshech and Tubal are countries contiguous thereto, as are also Gomer and the house of Togarmah. But that no mistake may occur by supposing these countries with their inhabitants to be the only land and people about which Ezekiel is prophesying, the 5th and 6th verses say, " Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them." And to mark more distinctly that Gog and Magog are terms of an extended meaning, the prophet adds to the enumerated people of the before-mentioned lands, " and many people with thee." Gog and Magog are terms intended to represent outlying Pagan lands. That Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya, with the country stretching through Central Asia to China, ''^ describe the actual portions of the earth on which will dwell, " in the latter years," the bands that will come up " against the mountains of Israel," is probable. Mahomedans inhabit a good portion of these lands, and they are the least likely people to receive the Gospel. They have the knowledge of the true God imparted to them. And their predilection for their own prophet will lead them with great pertinacity to resist the claims of One they believe to be a lesser prophet. When the time arrives that * Our Eastern possessions, and China likewise, may before this have become Christianized. B B 2 556 THE TRUE CHURCH. " the waters of the river Euphrates are dried up," or in other words, that Mahomedans cease to regard their prophet and his code of laws, probably great atheism will prevail among them, atheistical and impious sentiments will extend through the then remaining mass of heathens, and one common feeling will animate them to attack Christians, who for some centuries before this have been living in peace. St. John, prophesying of this period writes,, " And when the thousand years are expired Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations Avhich are in th e 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." Ezekiel writes of this same period, " Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord God ; It shall come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: and thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages : I THE TRUE CHURCH. 557 will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, to take a spoil, and to take a prey : to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee. Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey ? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil ?" " And it shall come to pass at the same time, when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face." I think it will not be disputed that both pro- phets are predicting one event. Prior to this event, the prophecy, that nations shall " beat their spears into pruning hooks, and their swords into ploughshares, and shall not learn war any more," will have found its partial fulfilment. In Christendom this peace- able state will have been realized. Christendom is described by Ezekiel in the passage quoted, as a " land of unwalled villages," intimating a peaceable condition, dwelling without walls 558 THE TRUE CHURCH. of defence, and having " neither bars nor gates." That the people of the land of unwalled villages are unitedly Christian is undoubted. It is of them that St. John writes as the nations to be no more deceived during the thousand years that Satan is chained. The people Israel are these people. They inhabit " the mountains of Israel." They are "the whole house of Israel." They are the united sticks prophesied of in the preceding chapter, the 37th of Ezekiel. One stick " for Judah and for all the children of Israel his companions ;" and one stick " for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions." At the time about which we are Avriting, these sticks have been united nearly a thousand years. Israel, the united people of God have been living peaceably in the land of the Gospel, with Christ their recognized and acknowledged Head. The people are made " one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel ; and one king shall be king to them all." In the words of St. John, they " lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." The rich and happy condition of the Chris- tian people excites the cupidity, and rapacity, and jealousy of the yet existing Pagans. Sug- THE TRUE CHURCH. 559 gested by Satan, an evil thought comes into their minds. Gog shall say, " I will go up to the land of unwalled villages ; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, to take a spoil and to take a prey." The devil deceives them "to gather them to- gether to battle." And they go " up on the breadth of the earth," and compass " the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city." And " Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof," shall say unto them, " Art thou come to take a spoil ? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey ? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil ?" Sheba and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarsh- ish, with all the young lions thereof," represent the ingathered Heathens, at this time compos- ing with Jews, the people Israel. In Hebrew geography, which was extremely limited, Sheba and Dedan lay to the remote south-east, and were countries now our Eastern possessions. The city Tarshish lay at the extreme western limits of the African coast of the Mediterranean, now colonized by the French. The country Tarshish, the whole unknown country lying to the south and east of Egypt and Ethiopia. A 560 THE TRUE CHURCH. country that will most likely be Christianized. The French now on the Mediterranean border, and the Dutch and English on the Atlantic and Indian borders, will very probably progress inwards, and push on their pioneers, until the whole of this part of Africa is inhabited by a Christian people. Gog is said to come " from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee." From what I have stated, it will be seen that Africa and the East Indies are parts of the earth where the people Israel will at this time dwell. The whole southern hemisphere will most likely have become Christianized, and the attack will be in that direction. This country will offer more inducements for invasion than the other parts of the earth. Western Europe will be too remote, and Northern Asia too uninvitino:. The rich and fertile countries of the South will probably be the direction of attack. Allured by the wealth of Christian people, and cheated by Satan into a belief that they were an easy prey, the multitude, "Gog," pour down upon them " as a cloud to cover the land." Satan had before triumphed and won back a land, because Israel was a backsliding people, and he hoped for success again. But THE TRUE CHURCH. 561 now the people Israel are true to their God, and their enemies hurry on to judgment. God will be magnified and sanctified in the eyes of* all people. He will witness before all men that He is against Goo;. He will be a shield to protect His people Israel. And He will pour down upon Gog His fury. God says, through the mouth of Ezekiel, " I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood ; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an over- flowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord." Having declared in the 38 th chapter the destruction of Gog, the 39th describes more fully how this is accomplished. The first pro- ceeding is that of carnal conflict. An attack is made upon the' apparently defenceless Chris- tians; but God watches over them, and their enemies are overthrown. God says, " I am against thee,0 Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal : and I will turn thee back and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel : and I will B B 5 562 THE TRUE CHURCH. smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee : I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field, for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles, and they shall know that I am the Lord. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the holy one in Israel. Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God ; this is the day whereof I have spoken. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand-staves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests : for they shall burn the weapons with fire, and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God." THE TRUE CHURCH. 563 In this quotation you will remark that it is said, " Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God, this is the day whereof I have spoken," This day is repeatedly alluded to in all the prophets. It is the day when God's judgment shall be upon the Heathen. It is the day predicted by St. John in the Apocalypse, when God "shall sit upon the great white throne," from whose face "the earth and heaven " of Paganism shall flee away, and there shall be found " no place for them." It is the day when the seventh angel pours "his vial into the air," and the voice from the temple says, " It is done." It is the day when " the Church " is prepared " as a bride adorned for her husband." It is the day when the Alpha and Omega pronounces, " It is done," and He " will give unto him that is athirst of the foun- tain of the water of life freely." It is the day predicted by Isaiah in his second chapter, when, "the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills ; and all nations shall flow into it." It is the day when " the idols He shall utterly abolish," and " the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." It is the day mentioned by Jeremiah in his 46th chapter, " For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, 564 THE TRUE CHURCH. a day of vengeance, that He may avenge him of His adversaries : and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood : for the Lord God of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates." It is the day about which the pro- phet Zephaniah writes, when God " will banish all the gods of the earth," and when God " will turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent." It is the day about which Joel writes, " Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jeho- shaphat, for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe : come, get you down ; for the press is full, the fats overflow ; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision : for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem ; and the heavens and the earth shall shake : but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the child- ren of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my THE TRUE CHURCH. 565 holy mountain : then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed, for the Lord dwelleth in Zion." You will perceive in the quotation from Ezekiel, a prediction of time wherein the carnal warfare is carried on. " They that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shield and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand-staves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years." These words portray a continual conflict for seven years, during which the arms and weapons of warfare of Gog shall be destroyed. When a prophecy of time is conveyed by the term years, it is 566 THE TRUE CHUECH. sometimes used literally: — for example, the prophecy in Genesis, of the sojourn in Egypt of Abraham's seed four hundred years ; and again, the thousand years in the Apocalypse, during which Satan is bound. I take the seven years [of Ezekiel's prophecy to be literal years, for if divided into months and days, and the days counted for years, it would intimate a long period. St. John says, Satan is loosed for a little season, and the little season is probably these seven years. At the conclusion of this carnal warfare, the missionary spirit of the people Israel is to be called into earnest activity. " And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea : and it shall stop the noses of the passengers ; and there shall they bury Gog, and all his multitude, and they shall call it, the valley of Hamon-gog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them, and it shall be to them a renown, the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God." Ezek. xxxix. 11 — 13. " Gog " is to have " a place of graves in Israel." The place of graves in Israel denotes THE TRUE CHURCH. 567 the character of the burial. If it were a mate- rial or mortal burial, the graves would not be wholly in Israel. We find that Gog and all his multitude are buried, though before it is said, " I will leave but the sixth part of thee." It therefore, does not mean that every Pagan man shall be literally killed. It is said in a sub- sequent verse, " I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judg- ment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them." We see then that the burial of Gog and his multitude is not a literal burial, but it is a burial of their Paganism. The whole Pagan world, " Gog and all his multitude, find a place of graves in Israel." And they themselves witness the burial of Paganism. After the carnal conflict, and the weapons of war are destroyed, the survivors are made witnesses to the overthrow of Pagan worship. At this time, I think, will the prediction in the 16th chapter of Revelation, in connection with the pouring out of the seventh vial find its fulfilment. It is said, " and the cities of the nations fell." The cities of the nations are the cities of Pagan gods. The term city is used as a figure illustrative of a corporate community. The city of our God, "the holy city, new 568 THE TRUE CHURCH. Jerusalem," is a figure to express the Christian community : the " city of Babylon," the Papal community: and the cities of the nations, the several Pagan communities. These last fall, when Gog has a place of graves in Israel, and he and all his multitude are buried therein. The cities of the nations of Christendom, I mean the ecclesiastical corporations, are, since the Reformation, undergoing change, and after the downfall of Popery, will rapidly amalgamate into a simple form of church government. It is impossible that the original simple form can always remain a nonentity — that it shall never operate as an example. The departure from it having produced vast evil in setting up sacer- dotal government, a return to it may be safely predicted. In fact it is predicted. If the writ- ings of the prophets be examined, in the stream of prophecy will be found denunciations against the shepherds of Israel. Now the shepherds of Israel are plainly not the priests under the Levitical law. They are the ministers and stewards of the present household of God. They are the shepherds upon the mountains of Israel in the kingdom of heaven. If the stream of prophecy in Ezekiel be studied, it will be found that the denunciations against the shep- herds are connected with the overthrow of THE TRUE CHURCH. 569 Popery and the ingathering of the Jews into Christ's kingdom. The prophecies therefore relating to the shepherds of Israel in the 34th chapter, concern the shepherds of the present day. After the overthrow of Popery, every relic of its desolating character will be removed. '* Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds ; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock ; neither shall the shep- herds feed themselves any more ; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them." I have said that the burial of Gog and his multitude is not a literal or corporeal burial, but a burial of Pagan doctrines. Ezekiel pre- dicts the time that shall be employed for this burial. " And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land." This is not the precise period that will be occupied, because after it is written, " and after the end of seven months shall they search.'' It approximates to the time that will be employed to cleanse the land. We have seen before, that days and months, 570 THE TEUE CHUECH. as prophetical periods of time, are not to be read literally. Sometimes they are, but rarely. In this instance, I presume the months, as in the " forty and two months," during which " the holy city is trodden under foot of the Gentiles," must be turned into days, and count each day for a year. This mode of calculation gives 210 years as the time during which the house of Israel is to be burying Gog and his multitude. That this is a right mode of computation may be inferred from a succeeding prediction, the mode of burial being evidently by missionary effort, and if by missionary effort, then seven literal months would not effect the object. The prophet when predicting the restoration of the people, the whole house of Israel, says, '* they shall come up out of their graves." And again, by another figure he intends the same meaning, " 0 ye dry bones, hear ye the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live." Both these figures represent a resurrection, and the first resurrection. Now, a similar figure is used to predict the overthrow of Paganism. With regard to Israel, a resurrection was predicted ; with regard to Gog, a burial. Israel rose up out of their graves, Gog finds a place of graves. THE TRUE CHURCH. 571 In the first, words are employed to show a restoration and re-invigoration ; in the latter they represent an overthrow. The people Israel are in a state of torpor from which they are to be roused, the Pagans in a state of vigorous evil from which they are to be cast down. " Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown, the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God." The burial is by missionary effort. ** And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth to cleanse it : after the end of seven months shall they search. And the pas- sengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog. And also the name of the city shall be Hamona: thus shall they cleanse the land." The men of continual employment are to bury those of Gog that remain upon the face of the earth. It is not only those who are found in "the land of unwalled villages," but all that remain upon the face of the earth. For seven months, and "after seven months shall they 572 THE TRUE CHURCH. • search," and if a bone be found, that is a bone of Gog, or a member of the multitude, they shall set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog. The death-like condition of Israel is likened to a valley full of hones. The burial of Gog is said to be in the valley of Hamon-gog^ that is, the valley of the multitude, Gog. Israel is to seek out " men of continual em- ployment,^^ to pass through the land as buriers. We have seen the character of this burial, that it is a spiritual burial. Heathen systems and heathen idolatry are to be buried. In the words of St. John, " death and hell are cast into the lake of fire." " The earth and the heaven" of Pagans flee away. "Every island fled away, and the mountains were not found." To eflfect this great result men of continual employment pass through the land. It will be observed, they are not priests, they are not bishops, they are not ministers, they are not elders, they are not shepherds, but men of continual employ- ment. After what we have seen of the predic- tion concerning the shepherds of Israel, we may believe that these men of continual employment are like Stephen, like Ananias, like Paul and Barnabas. They are men selected out of Christian communities to pass through the THE TRUE CHURCH, 573 length and breadth of the land, and devote their whole energies to bury Gog and his multitude. What can more clearly evidence against sacer- dotal systems than this prediction ? At a time when priesthood was the appointment, and therefore had the sanction, of the Almighty, Ezekiel is made to look into futurity, and, through a vista of nearly three thousand years, to see its extinction. He proclaims its abolition in Christian lands, first, by a departure from the term priest as applied to the priestly office, and styling God's servants shepherds ; he de- nounces them, and says they shall cease from feeding the flock, and then styles those who labour in the priestly office, " men of continual employment." The supper of the great God, that precedes the marriage of the Lamb, is described in the latter part of the 19th chapter of Kevelation. " 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 ye 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 574 THE TRUE CHURCH. 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 worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brim- stone. 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." The parallel prediction of Ezekiel runs thus : — " And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord God, speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field. Assemble yourselves, and come, gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice, that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the m'ghty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. THE TRUE CHURCH. 575 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God. And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them." It is easy to perceive that both prophets are predicting one event. The language is almost alike. There is the same comprehensiveness. The imagery is of a character to imply univer- sality. An angel standing in the sun, an image to convey the announcement of an event com- mandinoj universal attention. The ano^el cries in a loud voice to all the fowls of heaven. Ezekiel is told to " speak unto every feathered fowl," or, as rendered in the margin, to the fowl of every wing. They are to assemble to eat flesh of all kinds, of captains, of mighty men, of horses, and of them that sit on them, of all men free and bond, small and great, and to drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, of goats, of bullocks, " all of them fallings of Bashan" David, in the 22nd Psalm, prophesying of the sufferings of Christ, writes, " Be not far from me ; for trouble is near ; for there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me : strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me 576 THE TRUE CHUUCH. with their mouths, as a raveniDg and a r<5anng lion." The bulls or fatlings of Bashan are the enemies of Israel. They are now to be subdued, and God says, " I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judg- ment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them." In connection with this prophecy, St. John writes, " 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 worshipped 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." We may now comprehend that " the beast " is not the Papal beast. This prediction has reference to an event that will transpire a thousand years after the overthrow of Popery. The beast and the false prophet are intended for the remaining beasts, which, after Popery THE TEUE CHURCH. 577 falls, have to be ingathered to the kingdom of Christ. In the latter part of Ezekiel's prophecy is declared why the whole house of, or people Israel, have been so often in trouble : and the reason is declared now to the heathen that they may know it. Israel '* went into captivity for their iniquity." Because of this "they were given into the hands of their enemies." " Ac- cording to their uncleanness, and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them." For this was Israel prostrate 2000 years. But the people Israel, the united body of Jew and Gentile, have been raised to God's favour, and living in prosperity for nearly a thousand years pre- viously to the final conflict. There is obscurity in the latter part of the chapter relating to the condition of Israel, and, but for other portions of scripture, it would be difficult to gather out the fact of previous prosperity. The land of unwalled villages, without bars and gates, however, in connection with the account of Gog, sufficiently speaks to this fact. The 26th verse of the 39th chapter would seem to allude to it. "After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses wherewith they have trespassed against me when they c c 578 THE TRUE CHURCH. dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid." The old scriptural language is maintained throughout, and that which formerly had a literal meaning becomes a figure of speech. In the portion of scripture we are examining, it is written, " when I have gathered them out of their enemies' lands," and gathered them " unto their own land." That these are figures of speech is quite evident from the past predic- tions, which show the people Israel, the whole house of Israel, to be the Christian community, and who possess the greater part of the earth previously to the conflict, and who, after the conflict with Gog, possess the whole earth. The last three verses convey in figure the prosperity and advanced condition of Christ's kingdom, — the people Israel. These people now cover the earth, and God says that He will no more hide His face from them. The three verses run thus, " When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, 'and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, w^hich caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen : but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of THE TEUE CHUHCH. 579 them any more there. Neither will I hide my face any more from them : for I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God." When the typical kingdom, the old Jerusalem with the ceremonial law, was abolished,' the new Jerusalem was set up. The city of the living God being wholly spiritual, scriptural language, having any relation thereto, must be interpreted to have a spiritual mean- ing. Thus, this language of Ezekiel is simply figure of speech, to indicate the full possession to Israel of their own inheritance, the promised blessing to the seed of Abraham, in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed. The beiug "gathered out of their enemies' lands," signifying that God had gathered His people from heathen lands, and being " gathered into their own land," signifying the possession of the promised inheritance. To the Jews were granted the literal possession of a promised territorial land, to the Christians is granted, an equally positive possession, but it is a spiritual land. It is the land of spirits, over which Christ rules. And into this land, shall Israel, the seed of Abraham, be gathered. The next chapter opens by the vision of a city "in the land of Israel." No less than eight chapters are employed in depicting the c c 2 580 THE TEUE CHURCH. city, and these not very short chapters, and all having a spiritual meaning. They are filled with descriptions of impossible physical com- ])inations, all tending to show the falsity of attempting to set up for God's glory a material or temporal kingdom. He has expressly said, " My kingdom is not of this world." The man that would offer sacrifice to God, must offer spiritual sacrifice, a clean heart and right to- wards God. See what Isaiah, in his 58th chapter, writes on the subject. Ezekiel says, " And in the day that he goeth into the sanc- tuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord God. And it shall be unto them for an inheritance : / am their inheritance : and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession,^' (xliv. 27, 28). The Apoca- lypse teaches the same great truth. " I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it : for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." In these words is shown that all lesser lumina- ries are needless. God and the Lamb are sufficient lights to direct man aright. What are called the " offices of the church," and the THE TRUE CHURCH. 581 " seven sacraments," are superfluous and useless as lights. Some of them are sinful, and all of them become so when set up as idols. " Shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God : they ask of me the ordinances of justice, they take delight in approaching to God. Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and Thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and Thou takest no knowledge ? Be- hold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness : ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen ? a day for a man to afilict his soul ? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him ? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord ? " (Isaiah Iviii). In the condition of mankind to which the prophecies point, "the first heaven and first earth are passed away." The new heaven and new earth implanted by Christ have supplanted the first heaven and the first earth. Like the shifting scenes of dissolving views, the old have 582 THE TRUE CHURCH. been passing away, the new advancing to supply their place. In the new heaven and new earth is no more sea. The heaven and earth, without sea, or Paganism, have replaced the old heaven and earth. Paganism has been overthrown in the final conflict, and the buriers have buried *' Gog and his multitude in the valley of Ham- on-gog." The whole earth is subdued to the kingdom of Christ. " This is the day whereof I have spoken." The heathen are given Him for His inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession. The church hath now made herself ready. She is prepared as the bride adorned for her husband. She has been growing into woman- hood, and is now arrived at full stature. From being a little band, she has become a large company. From being confined to the wilder- ness, and dwelling in obscurity, she has enlarged her tents, and occupies the whole earth. Every system opposed to Christ is overthrown. Death and hell are cast into the lake of fire. Christian worship obtains over the whole earth. " The tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." All Pagan gods are overthrown, and God shall reign over the whole earth. And THE TRUE CHURCH. 583 out of every people shall be gathered into His church. Let us not, however, make the mistake to suppose that there will be a total absence of evil. Chrst's kingdom on earth, is not Christ's church on earth. In Christ's kingdom are good and bad, the tares and the wheat will continue until the end. In Christ's church, the spouse of the Lamb, the body of Christ, are good men. But these are mingled in the mass, and known only of Him, their Head. He, their shepherd, knoweth His own, and which are the sheep the flock of His pasture. I have already pointed out the difference between the kingdom of Christ and the church of Christ, but a few words more upon the subject may be useful. The church we have found is without spot or blemish, or any such thing, as declared by the Apostle Paul. And this truth we have seen to be confirmed by numberless other declara- tions. Isaiah is especially prophetic of it in his 60th chapter. To this I have before alluded. At the close of this chapter which foretells the prosperity of Zion, he writes, " Thy sun shall no more go down : neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall he all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever. 584 THE TETJE CHUECH. the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation ; I the Lord will hasten it in His time." The saints of the Most High are to rule over the whole earth. But all will not be the saints of the Most High. The people of Zion only shall be all righteous. And, accord- ingly, we find St. John to write of the holy city, new Jerusalem, that the *^ glory and honour of the nations" shall be brought "into it." " And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie : but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." Having this comprehension of the church of Christ we see the marked distinction there is between the church and the kingdom. The kingdom of heaven, or the kinordom of Christ on earth, as before shown in reference to the parables of our Lord, and to the expression used in the Apocalypse, include all within His rule, or recognized sovereignty. " The king- doms of this world " are in opposition to His kingdom. When Pagan kingdoms are subdued Christ's kingdom will extend over all the earth. And within this kingdom will be included good THE TRUE CHURCH. 585 and bad, as He has declared in the parables. Death and hell are destroyed, that is the spiritual death consequent upon the withdrawal of God's presence. God will now dwell with man, and the earth shall be subdued to His kingdom; the saints of the Most High shall possess it : all other rule shall be put down ; but there will be individual wickedness. " He that is unjust let him be unjust still : and he which is filthy let him be filthy still : and he that is righteous let him be righteous still : and he that is holy let him be holy still." And we know that in the last days, " There shall be scoffers, saying. Where is the promise of His coming, seeing that all things continue as they were?" And we know there shall be srreat tribulation in those days : "That as in the days of Noe, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." There will be elect people then as now. At the coming of the Son of man, "He shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." A difficulty presents itself not easily removed. As Satan is the author of evil, how comes it that evil remains after he is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone ? Let us try and com- prehend this. It is certain that Christ's second coming will c c 5 586 THE TEITE CHURCH. not be until the Gospel is preached in all lands for a memorial. And this word preached must not be understood as simply announced. The Gospel must be taught and understood. " This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations ; and then shall the end come." There is not a shadow of doubt in my mind, that I have rightly expounded the various portions of scrip- ture which have come before me descriptive of the progress of Christ's kingdom. And while I make a marked distinction between the church and the kingdom, and I have as little doubt about the correct exposition of scripture with regard to both truths, yet I confine my present argument to the kingdom. The Gospel is of the kingdom. It was predicted six thousand years ago, that there should be enmity between the serpent and the woman, and between his seed and her seed. To Satan God says, " It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." You will observe the enmity is between " his seed and her seed." Now all are derived from a common parentage in regard to the flesh, and all owe their existence to God. But all are not the children of God. Some are the children of the evil one. This is beautifully explained by St. Paul, in the 8 th and 9th THE TRUE CHURCH. 587 chapters to tlie» Romans. From these two classes spring up opposite faiths. Cain and Abel give the first proofs of this. After the slaying of Abel Seth is born, and we are told " then began men to call upon the name of the Lord." From Seth descended Noah, who was a just man, and walked with God. At this time the seed of the serpent had so multiplied, that the earth was corrupt before God, and He destroyed every living man but Noah and his family. From Noah descended children in whom the active enmity continued that had been implanted after the fall. Nevertheless, God did not leave himself without a witness. In faithful Abraham was found a man after God's own heart. In the extension of the people Israel, the descendants of Abraham over the whole earth, is the fulfilment of the prophecy, " that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head." I know that this prophecy is said to be fulfilled in the man Jesus. And so it is, " Jesus Christ " being " the Son of David, the Son of Abraham." And it is fulfilled more especially in Him as the Head of the house of Israel, — the seed of Abraham. From the fall of man to the present hour there has been enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. The seed of the woman 588 THE TRUE CHURCH. made after God's image, and, the seed of the serpent transfused into Satan's image. These are the subjects of two opposing kingdoms, Christ's kingdom and Satan's kingdom. When Paganism is entirely overthrown, Christ's king- dom has subdued Satan's kingdom. St. John employs words to show this. That the w^ords *^ the devil w^as cast into the lake of fire and brimstone," must be taken in this sense, may be gathered from the whole of the chapter. Throughout is employed imagery of a lofty character. The first three verses are of this character, and would lead to the belief, that the influence of Satan at the beginning of the millennial period is to be wholly removed. But v^e have seen that this is not so. A figure is employed illustrative or descriptive of restraint. But that restraint is confined to nations in their collective character. Satan still has power permitted him over individuals. Christ has won over the nations of Christendom to His rule or kingdom, " And out of His. mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations : and he shall rule them with a rod of iron." As in the case of the Jews, the nation was punished for national sins ; for sins of indi- viduals, independent of the nation, the nation was not punished. So the predictions, which "the true church. 589 regard Christ's warfare, concern themselves with the great leading features ; and when St. John writes, that Satan is bound and chained for a thousand years, he means with respect to some especial feature of the warfare in which he is engaged. It is therefore said that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled. Just so with regard to the 10th verse. Satan was per- mitted again to deceive, and in an especial manner to deceive the nations in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog. The Holy Spirit employs language to show that this movement is defeated, and John writes by the Spirit's dictation, " And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." The beast and the false prophet are said to be in the lake of fire. As the beast and the false prophet are figures to express certain things, and these things themselves could not be cast into a lake of fire, no more than death and hell could be literally cast into a lake of fire, so the language employed is meant to con- vey overthrow, or subjection. With regard to the particular event or action, which the Spirit 590 THE TRUE CHURCH. of God is foretelling, Satan, is subdued, or, in the words of St. John, cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. But that he is not ex- tinguished, or, that he ceases to be, is shown by the words, " and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." The language is meant to convey, that he and the systems he has maintained have been subdued and overthrown. In this explanation, I think, is to be found an answer to the difficulty suggested. Satan's deceptive systems are swept away, and he has been vanquished. Christ's kingdom has become universal. The heathen and the uttermost parts of the earth are His possession. Never- theless, Satan, the author of evil, still lives to excite to individual sin. There is free access to the water of life, but only those that are athirst will partake thereof. This earth, until the second coming of our Lord, will be a pro- bationary scene. It is only " he that over- cometh shall inherit all thinirs." We may now comprehend the two last verses of the 20th chapter of Revelations. " And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And who- soever was not written in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire." THE TRUE CHURCH. 591 The lake of fire is plainly figurative, just as, in the opening scene of the great drama, is the " flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." As I have said, it signifies overthrow, as the flaming sword to keep the way of the tree of life, signifies God's judgment upon man, that he should not be permitted to taste of the fruit of the tree of spiritual life, until the seed of the woman had bruised the serpent's head. Death and hell, w4iich is the second death, I have shown, personify that condition of man in which he is placed when God altogether hides His face from him. They personify Paganism* And they comprehend the fearful, and the un- believing, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars. These, as a class, are banished from God's presence, and death and hell are the consequences. When Paganism is de- stroyed, these are destroyed, and death and hell, which personify them, are said to be cast into the lake of fire. The book of life, I have shown to be God's book, in w^hich alone is life. All not written in this book, or recorded in this book, as re- ceived or baptized into the kingdom of which the book is the Gospel, are cast into the lake of 592 THE TRUE CHUECH. fire, or overthrown. In the words of Ezekiel, " And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog." The peaceable condition of the earth has now truly arrived. " He that sat upon the throne, said, Behold, I make all things new." The former things are passed away, and God shall wipe away all tears. By sin came death and woe into the world ; by righteousness shall all be made alive. " There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. Nationally, there shall be no more spiritual death, no more banishment from God. Every nation shall be a Christian nation. Israel shall no more run after false gods. Israel shall not again depart from God. God says, by the mouth of Ezekiel, " Neither will I hide my face any more from them : for I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel." This is said of Israel collectively. Individually there will be sinful men. Precisely as in predicting the peaceable state of the earth, when men "shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into priming hooks," and when " every man shall sit under his vine and under his fig-tree, none making them afraid," it is THE TRUE CHUECH. 593 not intended to be conveyed that there shall be no individual violence, but there shall be no national violence. While this earth is a pro- bationary scene, though the law of righteous- ness is the governing law, yet all incentives to evil will not be removed. Though the saints of the Most High reign, yet some men will err. When all things are made new by being gathered into one kingdom, the enemy will sow tares. But there shall be no more national death, no more national sorrow, or crying. Israel shall never again see death, or sorrow, or crying, or pain. We must recollect, that the last two chapters of the Revelation are not written only to dis- close a knowledge of the condition of man after the ingathering of all nations into the kingdom of Christ. They are written for the instruction of all ages, and intended to guide to a know- ledge of the spiritual kingdom of God. We gather from other portions of scripture, as I have shown, the state of man when the king- doms of this world are become the kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ. These chapters, however, imply trial and election. Immediately after it is said, " Behold, I make all things new," it is declared, " I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 594 THE TRUE CHURCH. He that overcometh shall inherit all things." \nd though the unbelievers, and murderers, and idolaters, and all liars, in the primary sense of these words, mean the Pagans, and they are thus designated the second death, yet undoubt- edly they have a secondary meaning. This may be gathered from the last chapter, wherein these words occur again. When it is said, " Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book : for the time is at hand,'^ that is, not far distant, that the prophecy shall be fulfilled, it goes on to pronounce, " He that is unjust let him be unjust still : and he which is filthy let him be filthy still : and he that is righteous let him be righteous still : and he that is holy let him be holy still." And again, it is declared, " Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murder- ers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." Gross idolatry will undoubtedly cease, but individual idolatry will not. Man can make an idol of many things, his person, his attire, his gold, his attainments, his position, his connections, his relations. Christ hath said, " he that loveth father or mother more than me THE TRUE CHURCH. 595 is not worthy of me : and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Our most dearly cherished natural feelings are to be consecrated to God, and when they take such possession of us as to crave undue indulg- ence, an idol is set up in the heart to the displacement of God. A rightly constituted mind will see all things in God, and praise and bless Him both when giving and when withholding. In the minds of many an opinion is formed that this dispensation comes to an end shortly. How this notion fares with me, my readers can now judge. The probability is, that so far from coming shortly to an end, it is only in its infancy. Throughout all Nature's works her operations are progressive, and when maturity is reached decay is gradual. The object of the mission of Christ is to renovate a world, and having formed a new Creation, in which the saints of the most high shall reign, it is not likely that when the saints do reign over the earth God will at once destroy all His labours. Time, reckoned by us in ages, seems very long when a few centuries have passed away, but the Scriptures note time differently. How often do we meet with a similar expression to 596 THE TRUE CHURCH. " the time is at hand." Compared with eternity everything connected with this dispensation is at hand. " Behold, I come quickly." Should the kingdom of Christ continue many ages after being established over the whole earth, yet He will come quickly. If the personal coming of Christ is remote according to our computation of time, and if a conviction of this should operate in some to produce lethargy and carelessness, let such remember that to each individual this dispensa- tion may close ere an hour passes away. This dispensation to each is probationary. While here, the most hardened may hope, and peace and joy are within their reach. But let us not be supine and careless, to-morrow may never come. The days to us may cease, and when this day closes, the forthcoming may be to us one unchangeable, vast hereafter. To-day, while it is called to-day, let us lay hold of the hope set before us, that when the summons comes we find ourselves prepared. On the plea of self-preservation, to some may be argued the necessity for watchfulness. To others, a much higher aim may be offered: — the tender love of, and the communing with, a gracious God. Communion with God is no THE TEXJE CHXJRCH. 597 light matter. It is not to be thrust aside as an indifferent good. It is something to commune with our kind. It is something to have an earthly friend. It is something to share our joys and onr sorrows with those linked to us by human ties. How much higher is it to commune with God : to have a heavenly friend : to pour our joys and our sorrows into the ear of One who is ever near, ever watchful, ever kind ; who knows all our necessities, all our sympathies, all our innermost thoughts, and who, when all else are gone, still remains with us, to whom we can cling, and who never denies support. 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Uniformly printed in square 16mo. handsomely bound in cloth, price 2s. 6d. each. 1. With Plates on Steel, Second Edition, HOW TO WIN LOVE; OR, rhoda's lesson. BY THE AUTHOR OF " MICHAEL THE MINER," ETC. " A very captivating story ." —Morning Post. " Truthfulness, descriptive talent, and pure morality in every line."— Literary Gazette. " Just -what a story for children ought to he."— Douglas Jerrold's News- paper. PIPPIE^S WARNING; , OR, THE AD^TINTURES OF A DANCING DOG. By CATHERINE CROWE, Author of " Susas Hopley," etc. " A capital story." — Athenceum.' " This is a capital child's hook."— Scotsman. 3. STRATAGEMS. By MRS. NEWTON CROSLAND, (late Camilla Toulmin.) •' A sweet tale, penned in a fair mood, and such as will make a rare gift for a child.."— Sun. 4. With Four Illustrations. MY OLD PUPILS. *»» The former work of this Author, " My Schoolboy Days," has at- tained great popularity, upwards of ten thousand copies having been circu- lated in this country alone. 5. Third Edition, with gilt edges, STORIES FROM THE GOSPELS. By MRS. HENRY LYNCH, Author of " Maude Effingham," etc. 6. Just published, PLEASANT PASTIME; Or, DRAWING-KOOM DRAMAS, for Private Representation by the Young. ARTHUR HALL, VIRTUE & CO. 25, PATERNOSTER ROW. NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS. 13 NEW TALE FOR THE YOUNG, BY SILVERPEN. JUST PUBLISHED, In foolscap 8vo. price 75. 6d. elegantly bound and gilt, WITH !K](y]K!iiK©iy)i aL[LyiT[^^Tfl@!Ki§ ©y k^'^^iy, THE DOCTOR'S LITTLE DAUGHTER. THE STORY OF ELIZA METEYARD. "This is a very delightful book, especially calculated for the amusement and instruction of our young friends ; and is evidently the production of a right-thinking and accomplished mind."— CAwrcA of England Review. " An elegant, interesting, and unobjectionable present for young ladies. The moral of the book turns on benevolence." — Christian Times. " This Story of a Child's Life is so full of beauty and meekness, that we can hardly express our sense of its worth in the words of common praise." — Nonconformist. " This'.will be a choice present for the young."— British Quarterly Review. ARTHUR HALL, VIRTUE & CO. 25, PATERNOSTER ROW, 14 NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS. A GIFT BOOK FOR ALL SEASONS. In square post 8vo. price 5s. handsomely bound and gilt, THE JUVENILE CALENDAK, AND ZODIAC OP FLOWERS. By Mrs. T. K. Hervey. WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE MONTHS, By Richard Doyle. '• Never has the graceful pencil of Mr. Doyle been more gracefully em- ployed than in sketching the charming illustrations of this charming volume." — Sun. " A very pretty as well as very interesting hoo\i." —Observer. " One need not seek for a prettier or more appropriate gift." — Atlas. " One of the most charming gift-books for the young which we have ever met with." — Nonconformist. In fcp. 8vo. price 5.?. cloth gilt, illustrated by Franklin, COLA MONTI; OR, THE STORY OF A GENIUS. A TALE FOR BOYS. BY THE AUTHOR OF " HOW TO WIN LOVE," ETC. " We heartily commend it as delightful holiday reading."— Crj/ic. " A lively narrative of school-boy adventures." " A very charming and admirably written volume. It is adapted to make boys better." " A simple and pleasing story of school-boy life." — John Bull. In ISmo. price Is. 6d. cloth, with Frontispiece, MY YOUNG COMPANIONS. By the Author of " My School-boy Days," " My Old Pupils." In square post 8vo. price 3s. Gd. with Illustrations by A. Cooper, R.A. THE VOICE OF MANY WATERS. BY MRS. DAVID OSBORNE. ARTHUR HALL, VIRTUE & CO. 25, PATERNOSTER ROW. NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS. 15 NEW CHRISTMAS BOOK FOR THE YOUNG. Just published, in fcap. 8vo. price 55. handsomely bound, with gilt edges, THE ILLUSTRATED YEAR BOOK. SECOND SERIES. THE WONDERS, EVENTS, AND DISCOYERIES OP 18 50. BY JOHN TIMES. •WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD. Among the Contents of this interesting Volume will he found THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. OCEAN STEAMERS. CHURCH BUILDING. THE KOH-I-NOOR. TROPICAL STORMS. NEPAULESE EMBASSY. SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH. PANORAMAS. OVERLAND ROUTE. COLOSSAL STATUE OP "BAVARIA. INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION, 1851. The former Volume, for 1849, still continues on Sale. ARTHUR HALL, VIRTUE & Co. 25, PATERNOSTER ROW, 16 NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS. NEW GIFT BOOK FOR THE SEASON. In 8vo. price 16s. handsomely bound and beautifully illustrated, PILGEIMAGES TO ENGLISH SHRINES. BY MRS. S. C. HALL, AUTHOR OF " SKETCHES OF IRISH CHARACTER." With upwards of One Hundred Engravings on Wood, S"ROM DESIGNS BY MR. FAIRHOLT. Among the interesting subjects of this Volume will be found, The Birth-place of John Bunyan. The Burial-place of John Hampden. The Residence of Hannah More. The Tomb of Sir Thomas Gresham. The Tomb of Thomas Gray. The Birth-place of Thomas Chattcrton. The Birth-place of Richard Wilson. The House of Andrew Marvel. The Tomb of John Stow. The Heart of Sir Nicholas Crispe. The Printing Office of William Caxton. Shaftesbury House. The Dwelling of James Barry. The Residence of Dr. Isaac Watts. The Prison of Lady Mary Grey. The Town of John Kyrle (the Man of Ross). The Tomb of William Hogarth. The Studio of Thomas Gainsborough, R.A. ARTHUR HALL, VIRTUE & CO. 25, PATERNOSTER ROW. Date Due -..---^ «. :,,.««.«*i^ r MY 1 7 TX. 'lil iii(V^^ aii--.----^ *** . f