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THOUGHTS 
 
 COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 LORD JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 / 
 
 BY JOHN COX, 
 
 MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL, WOOLWICH. 
 
 The God of heiven shall set up a kingdom which stall aeier be deslroyeJ . . . . it stall bn.sk in pieces i 
 consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.- I 
 
 A certain nobleman went into a far country, to receive for himself a kiugiom and to return— Luke xix. 1- 
 Occupy till I come.— Luke six. 1> 
 
 Come, thou Daire of nalioni, quickly come ! 
 
 Conqueror of dtalh, break up the gloomy tomb ; 
 
 Star of thine hracl, call the wanderer* in; 
 
 ffedkr of natural tooundi, thy work begin ; 
 
 Thou nearat Kinsman, come, avengsour wrong", 
 
 Our sorrows turn to joy, our sighs to «on?s. 
 
 FROM THE SECOND LONDON EDITION, REVISED. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 ORRIN ROGERS, 67 SOUTH SECOND STREET 
 
 E, G. Dorsey, Printer. 
 
 1842. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. I. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 The Importance and General Scope of Prophecy, - - - 11 
 
 Chap. II. 
 The Gospel Dispensation considered; not final, but preparatory, - 17 
 
 Chap. III. 
 
 Events which must occur previous to the setting up of The Kingdom 
 of Christ, ---..... 26 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 The Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, ' - - - 59 
 
 Chap. V. 
 The glorious Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ; or, the Millennium, 00 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 Objections against the pre-millennial Coming of Christ, and his Reign 
 on Earth with his Saints, considered. - - - -.1-20 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 
 The Practical Tendency of the Doctrine of the Coming and Kingdom 
 of Christ, - - - - - - - -144 
 
l'UKFACE. 
 
 It is a cause for joy, that there arc so many things in religion 
 in which God's people are agreed; while there is much reason 
 to mourn, that there are still so many things ahout which they 
 differ, and that at present the church is very far removed from 
 any thing like unity of faith. The former shows the power of 
 the Spirit of God, the latter the force of prejudice; for it is 
 this principle which is the great bar to unity. May the Lord 
 in mercy remove it; make us all willing to submit to his word; 
 ready to unlearn what is wrong; and willing to give up every 
 system or sentiment, however cherished, which will not bear 
 the test of truth. 
 
 It must be acknowledged, that against the sentiments advo- 
 cated in the following pages, a strong tide of prejudice is run- 
 ning. These doctrines are, the pre-millennial coming of Christ; 
 the first resurrection of the saints; their reigning with Christ 
 on earth; the restoration, and future glory of the Jews; and 
 the renovation of creation. Now it is well known, that many 
 good people will scarcely hear these things mentioned; so 
 strong is their prejudice. Could the author of the following 
 pages believe that those who thus despise these views, and who 
 also despise, or else pity those who advocate them, had dispas- 
 sionately attended to their claims, and prayerfully studied God's 
 word on this subject, unfettered by a system received from 
 others, he would blot out the word prejudice, and supply its 
 place with a softer word. But he cannot think that many who 
 cry out against millenarianism have thus done; and therefore 
 painfully feels that, in speaking or writing upon this subject, 
 he has so great an enemy as prejudice to contend against. Still, 
 he does not question the sincerity of those who thus act, though 
 he believes them to be sincerely wrong; neither is the exist- 
 ence of this difference, a draw-back upon Christian affection. 
 No, rchcrcver God's image is, there he would nish his love to rest; 
 even though he sees not every sentiment he considers scriptu- 
 ral reflected in the mind of his fellow saint. Yet is it painful 
 
y j PREFACE. 
 
 to differ from those we love, on any point; and painful to avow 
 opinions, which many whom we esteem, consider as useless, if 
 not hurtful. 
 
 It may be said, then why avow them at all? — If you agree 
 on the grand points, if you hope to spend an eternity together, 
 why say any thing that has the least tendency to create disu- 
 nion? The answer is simply this, we love the truth; we prize 
 it above the good opinion even of our fellow saints. God has 
 given us a commandment to study the whole, and we must ne- 
 glect no part. Beside, we might also reply on this principle; — 
 say nothing about peculiar doctrines, disputed ordinances, dif- 
 ferent forms of church government; — persons love the Saviour, 
 and go to heaven, who take all sides of these questions; and 
 yet the agitation of these points is deemed of importance 
 enough for volumes to be written, and contentions to be car- 
 ried on, which, alas! often destroy Christian love. 
 
 The author would by no means affirm, that a reception of 
 the doctrines here pleaded for, is of equal importance with faith 
 in Christ. Although he does not admire such distinctions with 
 reference to what God has revealed, and his claims upon the 
 faith of his creatures, yet he does consider these things impor- 
 tant, yea, and very important; else he would not have written 
 upon them. He considers them important, because so large a 
 portion of God's word relates to them; because their neglect 
 leads to a misunderstanding, both of God's word, and his dis- 
 pensations; (consequently, wrong hopes are cherished, while 
 there is a want of readiness to meet coming events;J and be- 
 cause this subject is interwoven with so many of the exhorta- 
 tions, consolations, and encouragements in the New Testament. 
 
 Convinced, then, of the importance of these things, the au- 
 thor is anxious to lead others to think upon them. He trusts 
 that this subject is somewhat more to him than an opinion. 
 He believes, and therefore speaks; and, without venturing to hope 
 that he has not made some mistakes, or given some wrong view 
 in the filling up, he cannot help affirming, that with reference 
 to the main subjects before enumerated, he can no more doubt 
 their truth, than he doubts concerning the truth of any doctrine 
 which all hold to be necessary to salvation. He as much be- 
 lieves that Christ will come personally, before the millennium, 
 to set up his kingdom, as that he came in the fulness of time, 
 to lay the foundations of it by his incarnation, death, and resur- 
 rection. 
 
 While upon this point of the coming of Christ, he would beg 
 leave to remind the reader, that this is the grand point.* Many 
 
 * There are many subjects dwelt upon by the students of prophecy, which 
 the author has omitted, or but slightly mentioned; such as the prophetic num- 
 
PREFACE. vii 
 
 pass over this, and light down among some difficulties belong- 
 ing to the subject, or begin reasoning upon the incongruity of 
 Christ and his saints reigning on earth. Leave, for the pre- 
 sent, all difficulties alone; reason not about the personal reign: 
 come at once to this question, What does the Bible say about 
 Christ's second coming? Docs it give us to understand that 
 there will be a millennium first? If so, where is the promise? 
 Or, does it tell us that tribulations and wars will last till his 
 coming, and happiness and peace be the characteristics of the 
 kingdom which he comes to set up? Let Psal. xcvi.; Dan. ii.; 
 vii.; Matt, xxiv.; 2 Thess. ii. 8; Rev. xi. 15—17, and various 
 other places, be well studied. 
 
 In the following pages, there is reference made to Mr. 
 Jones's Lectures on the Apocalypse; and many of the objec- 
 tions urged against the system advocated, are derived from 
 thence. When the author was inquiring concerning this sub- 
 ject, he was quite willing (as it would havejbeen to his inte- 
 rest, in some respects, to think otherwise than he hath done,) 
 to hear what could be said on both sides. Accordingly, hav- 
 ing seen Mr. Jones's work highly praised in nearly all the re- 
 views, he bought it, and read it through; but arose from the 
 perusal with a conviction that the lecturer's views were at 
 variance with truth, and that whatever share of praise was due 
 to Mr. Jones as an historian, biographer, or reviewer, (and in 
 these he appears to advantage,) as an opponent of millenarian- 
 ism, he has signally failed; but supposing that the strongest 
 arguments against the doctrine would be brought forth by one 
 who has spent his life in selling and reading books, and in 
 scourging poor book-makers, the author preferred taking the 
 quotations from his book, in preference to Dr. Hamilton, Mr. 
 Gipps, or other authors which he has read. 
 
 About four years ago, the author published a little work, en- 
 titled "A Millenarian's Answer of the Hope which is in him." 
 A considerable number of this tract has been sold; and some 
 have been led thereby to consider this subject, and embrace 
 the views therein contained. At the close of that book, the 
 author promised the present volume in a few months; many 
 things induced him to delay it, which need not here be men- 
 
 bers— the personal antichrist— the structure of the Apocalypse— and the lan- 
 guage of symbols; he has read a good deal on each of these subjects, but does 
 not feel himself competent to enter upon them. He does not undervalue the 
 nf good men, who have written on these points, and would recommend 
 howish to study them, to the writings of Cuninghame, Freer 
 shon, Fry, Tyso, &c. &c. But he cannot help saying that he has 
 tions against the system which would overturn the Protestant interpretation ol 
 Scripture with reference to popery, represent the Apocalypse as all unfulfilled 
 and literalize its symbolic language. On these subjects he is waiting for fur- 
 ther light, and he trusts, earnestly desires, to be led into all truth. 
 11* 
 
Vlll 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 tioned. He had almost laid aside the thoughts of publishing 
 it, not because the subject was less important to his mind, but 
 because other works on the subject, far better than his, had 
 been published; such as Bickersteth's Guide to the Prophecies, 
 Abdiel's Essays, and Begg's Scriptural View; all of which are 
 about the size and price of the present volume. Could he 
 have placed these works in the hands of those who will read 
 this volume, he would have kept back his own; but having 
 been repeatedly solicited to send it forth, he now does so, with 
 humble hope, and earnest prayer, that it may be the means of 
 throwing some light on God's word, stirring up to diligence in 
 God's ways, and producing a readiness of mind for the coming 
 of the Son of man. 
 
 Christians, how solemn is our situation; how great our re- 
 sponsibilities; how glorious our prospects! The Lord says, 
 "Occupy till I come:" the Lord is coming to reckon with us, 
 and we must give an account of our stewardship. The doc- 
 trine of the second coming will not, when rightly received, 
 thrust any other doctrine out of its place; and so far from 
 drawing our attention away from the cross, or the claims of 
 Jesus, it will make the former appear more necessary and glo- 
 rious, and stir us up to attend to the latter. In the prospect of 
 that great day, our language will be, 
 
 "Jesus, I throw my arms around, 
 I hang upon thy breast;" 
 
 and thus resting on the atonement, our spirits will be attuned 
 to rejoice in his coming, and we shall labour that we may be 
 found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. Soon 
 may the glorious scene so beautifully portrayed in the follow- 
 ing lines, be realized; happy the soul prepared for that glorious 
 revelation of Jesus! 
 
 Behold! heaven opens! glory bursts at once 
 
 Upon the sight! Messiah; King of kings 
 
 And Lord of lords! Hosanna! sing aloud 
 
 Hosanna, hallelujah! See the Lamb 
 
 Comes in his wedding garments! Hark! the church, 
 
 The new Jerusalem, his favoured bride. 
 
 Arrayed in white, attending him through heaven, 
 
 Tunes her unnumbered voices to the song 
 
 Hosanna, hallelujah! Angels join 
 
 The glorious anthem in melodious tones, 
 
 And through the skies re-echo far and wide 
 
 Hosanna, hallelujah! Saints on earth 
 
 Catch the glad sound of joy; and, as they rise 
 
 To meet their Lord in airy regions, shout 
 
 Hosanna, hallelujah! Earth, redeemed 
 
 From thine oppressors, highly favoured world, 
 
 Thou birth-place and thou dwelling-place of God, 
 
 Join every voice to swell the mighty choir, 
 
FREFACE. i x 
 
 Hosanna, hallelujah! Ocean, tune 
 
 Thj uevei ceasing music to the theme. 
 
 ] [osanna, hallelujah! Mountains, lulls, 
 
 Groves, forests, valleys, lakes, and flowing streams, 
 
 in one united strain, 
 HosannaJ hallelujah! And [el all 
 The full creation, the glad ehonis join, 
 Till the frast echo fills the realms of space, 
 Hosanna, hallelujah! Praise the Lord! 
 
 Ragg's Poem on the Deity. 
 
 But, that this truth will be any tiling like generally received 
 by the professing church of God, the author has no idea; no- 
 thing would more astonish him than to see it become a popular 
 doctrine, because "that day is to come as a snare upon them 
 that dwell on the earth;" "In an hour when men look not for 
 him, shall the Son of man come," even while they are saying, 
 "Peace and safety." But the testimony must be borne, and 
 blessed be God! has been borne; things which had a tendency 
 to make persons stumble, and which sober persons have deeply 
 deplored, have but served to spread far and wide the midnight 
 cry, "Behold the bridegroom cometh;" and "Blessed is he 
 that shall not be offended in Jesus." 
 
 "Yes, God, even our God, is coming," (not figuratively, as 
 the talented author* of the following sentences believes, but 
 literally.) "The day of vengeance and the day of redemption 
 are contemporaneous. When all nations are shaken, as with 
 an earthquake, it is that the Desire of all nations may come. 
 Even now, while the powers of darkness are working, the 
 foundations of his universal kingdom are begun. The voice 
 of prophecy, the finger of Providence, the wickedness of the 
 wicked, and the strange expectation in the hearts of all men, 
 tell us that he is coming. Already the streaming glory of his 
 approach has shot across the deep darkness of our world. Al- 
 ready the thunder of his wheels is echoing over the distant 
 worlds of light. Yes! He, the holy One, whose voice is har- 
 mony, whose smile is life, whose will is law, and whose law is 
 love, is coming! and murder, and oppression, and superstition, 
 and ignorance, shall die at his feet; and his throne shall be 
 established in righteousness, and his people shall dwell in peace. 
 The forms of nature shall be renovated in beauty, and all the 
 graces of heaven shall attend and adorn the spirits of men. 
 The eye shall be satisfied in seeing, the ear in hearing, and the 
 heart in loving. Man shall be restored to his right position 
 in the world, the world to its right position in the universe, 
 and illimitable universe shall break forth into joy and praise 
 over a world that was lost, but is found. 
 
 * Dr. A. Reed's Missionary Sermon. 
 
x PREFACE. 
 
 "0 Thou who art the Joy of the universe, the Saviour of the 
 lost, whose right it is to reign, come, wear thy many crowns. 
 Thy saints are waiting for thy coming! The earth groans for 
 thy coming! Hell is moved at thy coming! Heaven is silent 
 for thy coming! Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. 
 
 "Hark! there is a voice that says, Behold, I come quickly. 
 Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen, amen." 
 
THE 
 COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 ■ OF OUR 
 
 LORD JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE IMPORTANCE AND GENERAL SCOPE OF PROPHECY. 
 
 It is very desirable that all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ 
 should have clear views of all that relates to him. Unless we 
 rightly know him, we cannot fully believe in him; and if faith 
 be defective, our hope and comfort must necessarily be defec- 
 tive too. 
 
 It cannot be denied, that believers in the present day are 
 very far below the primitive saints, as it regards the exercise 
 of hope, and the enjoyment of consolation; and is not this one 
 reason, because we are very far below them in knowledge and 
 faith? I shall instance this in reference to one subject, viz., 
 the coming and kingdom of Christ. If we examine their brightest 
 expressions of joy, or contemplate their highest soarings of 
 hope, we shall find them connected with faith in that great and 
 glorious event, 1 Thess. iv. 14—16; Phil. i. 6: Tit. ii. 13, 14; 
 1 John iii. 2; Rev. xxii. 20. These texts, with many more, 
 shew that this subject was to them as practical, as it was con- 
 soling. This "blessed hope" supported them under all their 
 trials, both outward and inward, and enabled them to purify 
 themselves after the pattern of Christ. 
 
 It will not, then, be an unprofitable employment to endea- 
 vour to trace what their views of this subject were, and how 
 their faith and hope were-exercised daily upon it. The advent 
 of Christ was one of those future, hoped-for things, which their 
 
 VOL. III. — 12 
 
J2 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 faith was to them the substance and evidence of. They looked 
 at it, thought of it, and were influenced by it, as though they 
 knew not but that it might lake place soon, even in iheir time. 
 But now this feeling is almost gone, and instead of "the glo- 
 rious appearing of the great God," the certain coming of the 
 king of terrors is set before the Christian as the ground of en- 
 couragement. Thus, has the coming of Christ ceased to be 
 what it once was — the object of hope, the fountain of comfort 
 and the main-spring of holy walking, 2 Pet. iii. 11. But though 
 this subject is nearly gone from our churches, it still remains 
 in the word of God, and it becomes us reverently to inquire 
 what God hath spoken, and diligently to seek to understand 
 the same. Negligence of any part of God's word cannot be 
 commended, while ignorance stands branded as a sin, 2 Thess. 
 i. 8. "If," (says a writer on the subject) "you should think, 
 that already knowing what is necessary to salvation, you may 
 discard other parts of divine truth, as too deep or too specula- 
 tive, or as unedifying; then you have mistaken the very end 
 for which divine revelation was given, which is not to bring 
 you acquainted with a certain number of truths, however im- 
 portant in themselves, but to bring you acquainted with the 
 truth; that is, with God in Christ."* Jehovah saith to us, 
 with regard to his revelation, as he did to Abraham, with re- 
 spect to Canaan, "Arise, walk through the land, in the length 
 of it, and in the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee;" and 
 while engaged in these holy excursions, the diligently seeking 
 soul finds that God has not only revealed glorious doctrines, 
 precious promises, and suitable precepts, but that the full-toned 
 harp of prophecy fills the temple of revelation with awful and 
 entrancing melody. Such a one listens to its spirit-stirring 
 sounds with deepening emotions, as he recollects that its sacred 
 strings have not only been touched by holy seers, mighty kings, 
 inspired apostles, and glorious angels, but that many of its 
 sweetest, fullest notes, are awakened by His fingers who first 
 tuned the spheres, and filled the new-made universe with the 
 harmony of a happy and blessed creation; even the incarnate 
 Son of God, by whom God in these last days hath spoken unto 
 us, and from whom we do well not to turn away, Heb. xii. 25. 
 It ought not to escape our notice, that a very large portion 
 of divine revelation is prophetical, and that much of it remains 
 yet to be fulfilled. Believing this to be part of that goodly 
 heritage which belongs to God's people, let us humbly and 
 thankfully meditate upon it, encouraged by his word, who said, 
 Blessed is he that readeth,and they that hear the words of this 
 prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein; 
 * Dodsworth. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 13 
 
 for the time is at hand, Rev. i. 3. Let us pray earnestly, that 
 we may be helped to cast away that indifference to God's word, 
 which is too prevalent, and address ourselves in good earnest 
 to this truly delightful employ. In doing this we shall come 
 to the spirits of ttie just made perfect,* and to an innumerable 
 company of angels, 1 Pet. i. 11, 12: Rev. v. 10, 11. 
 
 In looking over the prophecies, both of the Old and New 
 Testaments, we find two things continually alluded to in them. 
 With these two things doth both promise and prophecy travail, 
 and when they are fully brought forth and manifested, then 
 shall the mystery spoken of by the prophets be fulfilled. These 
 two things are vengeance and love, an awful time of trouble 
 and a glorious season of blessedness; or, to speak in scripture 
 terms, "The day of vengeance," and ''the year of the redeem- 
 ed," Is. lxiii. 4. All prophecies minister to this great end. 
 This is the goal towards which all providences tend, and every 
 promise will be fulfilled, when these great events have come to 
 pass. 
 
 The very first promise carries these two things in its bo- 
 som: vengeance and mercy pervade every syllable of Gen. iii. 
 15; "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and be- 
 tween thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou 
 shall bruise his heel." Many thousands of years has this pro- 
 mise been gradually opening. It was at first a lovely bud 
 only, but its leaves shall at length be fully expanded, and all 
 its glories traced. Then shall it be seen that its fulfilment in- 
 volves in it hell's discomfiture, the church's salvation, the 
 earth's renovation, and what is above all, the Redeemer's glo- 
 rification. For this, all creation groans, Rom. viii. 20 — 23; 
 for this, all disembodied spirits long, Rev. vi. 10: this, the 
 Mediator now sits expecting, at God's right hand, Ileb. x. 13; 
 it were well, if I could with truth add, for this, all the church 
 on earth pray and hope. 
 
 Enoch, as he. walked with God, saw this day of terror and 
 of triumph from afar, Jude 14, 15, and made it a subject of 
 discourse to his antediluvian brethren, while earth was yet in 
 her infancy. Abraham "saw this day of the Son of man, and 
 was glad," Gen. xxii. 17, IS; John viii. 56. Moses sings of 
 
 * Prophecy, and especially that of the Apocalypse, is given for the illumina- 
 tion of the church in heaven, as well as the church militant on earth, and pro- 
 bably in a far higher degree for the former than the latter. That it is 80, 
 might have been inferred from the song of praise addressed to the Lamb, when 
 he hail taken the book with seven seals from the hand of him that sitteth on 
 the throne, Rev. v. 8 — 14. Bui all doubt on the subject is removed by the 
 words of the angel to John, Rev. xxii. 9, I am thy fellow servant, and 0* th> 
 brethren the prophets, and of 'them that keep the sayings of this book. — Cun- 
 inshame. 
 
14 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 mercy and judgment in notes sublimely grand, Deut. xxxii. 
 And every prophet, from Moses to him that lay in Jesus' bo- 
 som, prolongs the strain. They all bring forth Jesus with his 
 garments stained in the blood of his enemies; they all exalt him 
 to the throne of his glory, with his peaceful sceptre stretched 
 forth over his ransomed flock, and new creation, Rev. xxi. 5. 
 The curse flies before their lofty numbers, and the river of life 
 rolling from their strings, makes to the eye of hope, earth 
 bloom like an Eden, and creation shine in more than its ori- 
 ginal loveliness; so that the heart of the contemplatist is attuned 
 to join the song of David, ''the glory of the Lord shall endure 
 for ever, the Lord shall rejoice in his works." 
 
 If the reader will turn to his Bible, he will find that nearly 
 all the prophets end their strains with an account of a time of 
 trouble, triumph, and blessedness, in which prosperity the nation 
 of Israel are set forth as largely sharing. The same remark 
 holds true with regard to the writings of Moses, the book of 
 Psalms, and the Apocalypse, such a harmony is there through- 
 out the word of God, with regard to these great events. Surely, 
 this deserves the closest attention, and every one may soon 
 assure himself of the truth of this remark. 
 
 It is most important that our minds should be deeply im- 
 pressed with the certainty there is of every word of prophecy 
 being fulfilled. "Hath he said, and shall not he do it?" We 
 should seek to feel as holy John must have felt when the words 
 were spoken in his ears, "These are the true sayings of 
 God." If the mind were penetrated through and through with 
 this conviction, then would the study of prophecy become 
 truly profitable; it would humble, elevate and enrich the mind; 
 we should feel our nothingness while standing amidst such 
 mighty wonders — should feel our dignity as the expectants of 
 such glory, and thus made rich in faith, spurn the low things 
 of time, and be found "looking at the things not seen." How 
 then may this conviction be produced, and the steady expecta- 
 tion of "the glory to be revealed" become the habit of the 
 mind? He under whose influences holy men uttered these 
 wondrous oracles, can alone bring the mind into a real belief 
 of them, and profitable communion with them. Without his 
 guidance the study of prophecy will lead to little else than pre- 
 sumptuous speculations and rash surmisings. Let then the 
 eye of the student be up to Him who "hath the seven Spirits 
 of God," and who hath promised to bestow the Holy Spirit as 
 our Remembrancer and Teacher; and, receiving his gracious 
 influences, the prophecies will be studied with right feelings, 
 in a right spirit, and for a right end. 
 
 As a means to be used to produce this conviction, the com- 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. J5 
 
 paring of fulfilled prophecy with the events by which it has 
 been accomplished, may be recommended. There was a time, 
 when many, very many things which have now become matters 
 of history, were subjects of prophecy: by musing on these, and 
 beholding the very literal way in which God's providence hath 
 fulfilled them, our faith will be strengthened to expect unful- 
 filled prophecies to be accomplished in like manner. In the 
 "Child born," the "Son given" — in the "King meek and 
 lowly" — in the ''Man of sorrows," how literally were the 
 words of David, Isaiah, and Zechariah fulfilled!* The history 
 of Jerusalem, and the dispersion of her children, show that the 
 words of Jesus have been fulfilled to the very letter. Babylon 
 Greece, Moab, Edom, Arabia,! all bear witness to the fact that 
 God fulfils his words (not figuratively, but) literally. If then, 
 with these facts before my eyes, I read in God's word the fol- 
 lowing announcements: "Fear thou not, Jacob my servant, 
 saith the Lord, for I am with thee; for I will make a full end 
 of all the nations whither I have driven thee, but I will not 
 make a full end of thee." Jer. xlvi. 2S; "Then shall that 
 wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume witli the 
 spirit of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his 
 coming," 2 Thess. ii. S; "I saw one like the Son of man come 
 with the clouds of heaven, and there was given to him a king- 
 dom under the whole heaven," Dan. vii., with a vast number 
 more of similar import, may I not expect judgments on the 
 nations among whom the Jews have been scattered, deliverance 
 to that guilty and afflicted nation, and the personal coming of 
 Jesus to destroy his arch-enemy, and set up his kingdom? If 
 God has hitherto fulfilled prophecy literally, why am I not to 
 expect him still to do so? 
 
 Seeing, then, God hath declared that he will effect the 
 mightiest revolutions among the kingdoms of the earth, in 
 order to introduce his own eternal kingdom, Dan. ii. 35; vii. 11; 
 Psalm ii. 9; Jer. Ii. 20, with what wondering adoration should 
 these records be studied, lest "that day come upon us as a 
 thief," and we are found crying ''Peace, peace," till sudden 
 destruction overtake us? With what hope should we look for- 
 ward to that era of blessedness when the Lord shall take unto 
 him his great power and reign, Rev. xi. 17, cast out the prince 
 of darkness, and fill the earth with his glory! 
 
 This reign of blessedness, which is called in Scripture "the 
 times of refreshing," the "times of the restitution of all things," 
 
 * Simpson, in his "Pica for Religion," shows how the prophecies of the Old 
 Testament respecting Christ were literally fulfilled in bin) in 1 * »". * instaocw 
 pp. 125—144. See also Home"- Entrodtrction, vol. i. 499— 607. 
 
 t See Newton's Dissertations, and Keith on Fulfilled Prophecy. 
 12* 
 
IQ THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 Acts iii. 19 — 21, the kingdom of Jesus Christ, 2 Tim. iv. l,the 
 kingdom of our Father, Matt. xiii. 43, "the dispensation of the 
 fulness of times," Eph. i. 10, "the end," and "end of the days," 
 Dan. xii. 13, 1 shall endeavour to prove is to be brought about 
 by the personal coming and continued presence of Him who 
 is heir of all things, and with whom his people are joint-heirs. 
 To this endeavour I now beg my reader's serious and prayer- 
 ful attention. Reject not any thing because it may appear new 
 to you, or because it militates against some favourite scheme 
 already embraced; but weigh considerately the testimony of 
 the word of God, and frittter not away its meaning by a vain 
 attempt to spiritualize plain declarations.* The Jews did so 
 as it regarded Christ's humble condition; let us look at them, 
 and tremble to do so as it regards his exalted state and coming 
 glory. It is to be feared that as the first advent of Christ was 
 a stumbling-block to the Jews, his second will be so to the Gen- 
 tiles; for "when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on 
 the earth?" Luke xviii. 7, 8; that is, shall he find faith in his 
 coming as the avenger of his elect? Rev. vi. 9 — 11; xi. 18. 
 But few believed that the deluge would come, and the coming 
 of the Son of man is compared to the days of Noah. 
 
 The plan I shall adopt in treating of this subject will be — 
 to set before you what the Scriptures say about the coming 
 and kingdom of Christ; then to consider the objections urged 
 against this manner of interpretation; and lastly, to show what 
 practical and consolatory considerations arise out of this view 
 of the subject. Before I enter on these points, some few re- 
 marks on the present dispensation, and on the concomitants of 
 
 * The following admirable rules for the right study of prophecy are found 
 in Bickersteth's "Practical Guide to the Prophecies," a book which fully an- 
 swers to its title. 1. Seek the teaching of the Holy Spirit. 2. A believing, 
 prayerful, humble, submissive, and obedient state of heart is very needful, to 
 give effect to every other rule. 3. Commence this study with the word of 
 God. 4. Take the plain, literal meaning of the expressions where they are 
 not evidently symbolical. 5. Diligently compare one part of Scripture Avith 
 another. (J. Carefully mark the Scripture interpretation of prophecies. 7. 
 Note as accurately as you can the line between what has been fulfilled, and 
 what has not. 8. Attend to the prophetic meaning of the Psalms and para- 
 bles. 9. Study and compare the best interpreters of prophecy. 10. Attain 
 historical knowledge. 11. Keep in view the great end of all prophecy, Christ 
 Jesus. 12. Remember one great use of prophecy is the sanctification of the 
 heart. To these rules some cautions are added: 1. Do not be stumbled at the 
 various and opposing interpretations of good men. 2. Remember an impor- 
 tant distinction between the facts predicted and the time when th'ey shall take 
 place. 3. Do not be offended at the reproaches to which the professed expecta- 
 tion of the coming of Christ exposes you from all classes of men. 4. Guard 
 against human systems. 5. Be not afraid to suspend your judgment about 
 more obscure and hidden things. 6. Neglect not prophecy because of the 
 errors, controversies, and misinterpretations of those who have interpreted it. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 17 
 
 the Lord's coming, or the antecedents of his kingdom, will be 
 necessary. These last mentioned topics will be briefly handled 
 in the two following chapters. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE GOSPEL DISPENSATION CONSIDERED; NOT FINAL, BUT 
 PREPARATORY. 
 
 Nearly all who bear the Christian name are looking forward 
 for the church of Christ to flourish more than it has ever yet 
 done— are expecting a time when all shall know the Lord. In 
 this expectation the Word of God fully bears them out: but 
 whether this glorious state of things will resemble what is ge- 
 nerally expected, or be brought about by the means now used, 
 remains to be considered. It is commonly believed that, in 
 the millennium, churches will exist as they do now; that there 
 will be a universal spread of the gospel; that all possessors of 
 religion will have clear views and glowing affections, and live 
 holy; will have "one faith, one Lord, one baptism;" but whose 
 faith, whose Lord, or whose baptism this will be, that will, 
 like the rod of Moses, swallow up all the rest, is not yet set- 
 tled. This wonderful change is to be brought about (and Jews, 
 Turks, and heathens are to be converted) by God's blessing 
 being poured out on the means now used without the interven- 
 tion of judgments on God's enemies. Scarely any alarm is 
 sounded in God's holy mountain; men cry peace, peace, to one 
 another, the Church joins in the cry, and' thus the warning 
 voice of God's word is stifled, and baseless hopes are cherished. 
 That the millennium is not the gospel dispensation matured, 
 but a different one, varying from it even as the present' dispen- 
 sation doth from any that preceded it, I believe is clearly set 
 forth in Scripture. It would be premature now to produce 
 proofs; they will come forward presently. I no less cordially 
 believe that the millennium will never be brought about by 
 the means now used.* I shall here only assign a few reasons 
 
 * "Where," (says Mr. Cuninghamc, in his able reply to Dr. WardJaw,) 
 "does the learned divine discover any trace of a latter-day glory in the absence 
 of the bridegroom, in the apostolic epistles, or the book of Revelation'? In the 
 epistles, the one event which the saints are said to expect, is the coning <>l tie 
 Lord. 1 Cor. i. 7. In the first epistle to the Thessalonians, short as it i^. the 
 coming of the Lord is introduced no less than five times; in the second epis- 
 tle to the same church, it is introduced three times; in the two epistles to 
 
18 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 why I do not believe in the universality of the gospel dispen- 
 sation. 
 
 1. If we look back to the commencement of this dispensa- 
 tion, and consider the language of its Founder, it strikes me, 
 we may derive one argument against its universality, sove- 
 reign, eternal, and distinguishing election is a prominent feature 
 of the gospel: it pervades its doctrines, and is exhibited by its 
 triumphs: and there is nothing in the doctrines or triumphs of 
 the gospel, but what confirms the idea, that this election is the 
 selection of a kw from the many. Our Lord says, "Many are 
 called, but few chosen." Matt. xxii. 14. This passage evi- 
 dently refers to the end of the gospel dispensation; and I argue 
 from thence, that if our Lord would have to know that mi- 
 nority should then be its characteristic, we have no reason to 
 conclude that any such prolific era as the millennium undoubt- 
 edly will be, shall take place previous to the end of the gospel 
 state. 
 
 But Acts xv. 14 — 17 casts most light upon the real design 
 and duration of the present dispensation. "Men and brethren 
 (saith James), hearken unto me; Simon hath declared how 
 God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a 
 people for his name. And to this agree the words of the pro- 
 phets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build 
 again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will 
 build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the 
 residue of men might seek after the Lord,_and all the Gentiles 
 upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all 
 these things." It is evident to me, that after the bestowment 
 of the Holy Spirit, (as well as before that event,) the apostles 
 believed that the Jewish nation would be peculiarly honoured 
 of God, and that, it was destined to enjoy supremacy among 
 the nations. How could they believe otherwise, who believed 
 and understood what the prophets had written? This, Peter's 
 sermon, Acts iii. 12 — 26, — the Lord's dealings with him con- 
 cerning the Gentiles, — and his manner of address to them, Acts 
 x. 28, as also the way in which the brethren dealt with Peter 
 after he had gone in 1o the Gentiles, Acts xi. 1 — 1, serve to 
 confirm. The passage quoted above out of Acts xv. , is part 
 of an address given by James at a conference held by the apos- 
 tles at Jerusalem, in order to settle certain matters relating to 
 the believing Gentiles. Among other things, James labours 
 
 Timothy, we find direct mention of it three timet,- in that to Titus, once; and 
 in the epistles of Peter, ii is found no less than five limes, besides several allu- 
 sions to it. Now we challenge Dr. Wardlaw, and the clergy of Scotland, to 
 produce one passage in all these episiles, even, hinting at the latter-day glory 
 they expect." 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 19 
 
 to show, that the calling of the Gentiles did not at all interfere 
 with their national hope of the outward glory and spiritual dig- 
 nity of Abraham's literal children. In doing this, he likewise 
 shows the intention of God concerning the Gentiles, and the 
 nature of that dispensation, which, through the unbelief of the 
 Jews, should principally belong to the Gentiles, Rom. xi. 30. 
 Mark his reasoning: he tells them, (ver. 14,) that God did visit 
 the Gentiles, not to convert all, "but to take out of them a peo- 
 ple for his name." He then quotes Amos ix. 11, 12. By 
 comparing together Acts xv. 14 — 17, and Amos ix. 11, 12, I 
 arrive at this conclusion, — that when the gospel, "the minis- 
 tration of the Spirit," shall have fulfilled all the designs of 
 electing love, in gathering out of the nations of the Gentiles a 
 people for God's glory, the Jewish tabernacle, which shall lie 
 in ruins while this day of the Gentiles' visitation lasts, shall 
 then be built up, in consequence of the return of him who 
 came first "to his own, and his own received )iim not." John 
 i. 11; Matt, xxiii. 39. And at the same time, the rest of the 
 nations who had not heard the gospel, together with the rem- 
 nant of mystical Edom, who should survive the fiery judg- 
 ments that will accompany the reappearance of the Son of man, 
 (see Amos ix. 1 1.) shall be blest in the restoration of the Jews,* 
 and shall, with them, seek and serve God, in that glorious dis- 
 pensation which shall follow upon this; in which he who is 
 now the light of the Gentiles, will be the glory of his people 
 Israel. 
 
 2. I do not find that it is any where promised that the whole 
 world shall be first converted, and then ruled by the gospel. 
 It is generally believed that this will be the case, but upon what 
 grounds I know not. That the nations will be all converted 
 is again and again declared; but that this is to be done by the 
 gospel, without any fresh visible manifestation or interference 
 of Divine power is unsupported by scripture evidence. Christ, 
 indeed, commanded his disciples, and he commands his minis- 
 ters now, to "go into all the world, and preach the gospel to 
 every creature; but what follows, intimates something very 
 different from a universal reception of it: "He that believeth 
 and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall 
 be damned." Our Lord says, Matt. xxiv. 14. "that the gos- 
 
 * "No permanent blessing has yet reached the world, but through the me- 
 dium of that singular people, the Jews." — Noel's Brief Inquiry. 
 
 Justin Martyr thus speaks, in his dialogue with Trypho: alter quoting IstU 
 lv. 3—13, he says, "These and other similar words spoken by the prophets, < » 
 Trypho, are partly spoken of the first coming of Christ, when he was pro- 
 claimed as about to appear without honour, and in part of his second advent, 
 when he shall come in glory, 'and with the clouds, and when your people shall 
 see him, and recognise whom they have pierced." 
 
20 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 pel must be preached unto all nations for a witness, and then 
 shall the end come." In most instances, it is to be feared, it 
 will be a witness against them, even as the healed leper was 
 a witness against the Jewish priests. The following scriptures 
 (says a writer on the subject) are I think all in which Christ 
 has accompanied his commands of preaching the gospel to all 
 nations, with any approach to explanation for what end it was 
 intended, Matt. xxiv. 14; Mark xvi. 15, 17; Luke xxiv. 47, 
 48; Acts i. 8. He adds, to assist us in attaching the true 
 meaning to the above, let us consult other parts of Scripture, 
 Psa. ii. 2, 9; Is. xxiv. 1, 3, 21—23; Luke xviii. 8; 2 Thess. i. 
 7, 8; ii. 7, 8; Rev. xi. IS. 
 
 3. Many of our Lord's parables plainly declare, that univer- 
 sality is not a characteristic of the gospel dispensation. The 
 parable of the sower, Matt. xiii. shows that a large majority of 
 those who hear the gospel preached, hear it to no profit; and 
 we have no reason to believe but that this will be the case, as 
 long as preachers go forth to scatter the "word of the king- 
 dom," but it will be otherwise in that kingdom of which they 
 ploclaim the glad tidings. The parable of the importunate 
 widow shows what will be the character and employment of 
 the church of Christ, until he comes to avenge her, Luke xviii. 
 1 — 6. The parable of the tares and wheat, Matt. xiii. shows 
 that God's church will never be the praise of the earth, on this 
 side "the harvest," which Christ interprets to be the end of 
 the world, or age;* for till that time the wheat and tares are to 
 grow together; but then the ministers of vengeance are "to 
 gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and that do 
 iniquity, and then shall the righteous shine, as the sun in the 
 kingdom of their Father," &c. Mark! "gather the wicked 
 out," not translate the righteous to heaven. The parable of 
 the net shows us, that as long as it continues to be cast, or as 
 long as the gospel is preached, good and bad will be gathered 
 together. How could that be if the earth was full of the know- 
 ledge of the Lord? Where shall we find a sea, or wicked world, 
 for the net to be cast into? The parable of the virgins shows 
 forth likewise, the mixed state of the professing church, at the 
 time that the Son of man comes to put an end to this dispen- 
 sation, and introduce another, Matt. xxv. 1 — 10. 
 
 4. The gospel itself furnishes a body of evidence against 
 
 * So the learned tell us this and similar passages must be rendered; the 
 term "end of the world," both here, Matt. xxiv. 3."and Heb. ix. 26, not refer- 
 ring to the destruction of the material world, as generally understood, but to 
 the closing of the dispensation referred to. The apostle during the gospel 
 age (or dispensation) speaks of "ages to come,*' Eph. ii. and Isaiah calls "the 
 Saviour, the everlasting Father," that is, as Lowth and others have it, "the 
 Father of the everlasting age." 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 21 
 
 this idea of universality. Look at the accounts it gives concern- 
 ing the number of its votaries. "Many are called and lew chosen." 
 "Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, 
 and few there he that find it." "Fear not, little Mock." If 
 ever there come a period during this dispensation, when these 
 descriptions are not applicable, what are we to do with these 
 scriptures? Jesus could not be mistaken. Consider the promises 
 of the gospel. Promises of support, deliverance and victory, 
 suited only to those who are in a suffering, tempted, afflicted 
 state. Consider its precepts." "Come out from among them, 
 and he ye separate." "Love not the world." If all fear God, 
 from whom are believers to come out? If the world be changed, 
 they must love it. In short, on the supposition of the gospel 
 having a universal reception, that Satan being shut up, and 
 there being no world to persecute, a great part of the Bible 
 would be of little use. Its descriptions would not be right; its 
 warnings would not be necessary; the armour it bids us take 
 would not be wanted. It may be objected, N that this applies 
 with equal force to the other view of the subject. Though 
 this is not the place to answer objections, I just observe that I 
 believe, that in the millennium state, a written revelation will 
 be in some measure superseded by the personal presence of 
 Christ and his saints on earth; and I likewise believe that many 
 things in God's word which are applicable to this, will not be 
 applicable to that dispensation. Once more, consider the direc- 
 tions given. "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may 
 be able to stand in the evil day," &c. How could a minister 
 read, or preach from this, if Satan was bound so that he could 
 not deceive the nations? We are told to pray always y "Thy king- 
 dom come." Will there ever be a period, on this side of the 
 personal coming of Christ, when the people of God ought not 
 to use this prayer? I believe not. Then when he doth come 
 as King, to establish his kingdom, and not before, "the will of 
 God will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven." The 
 kingdom he will then sot up, and into which the righteous will 
 enter and shine, will be the kingdom of their Father, Matt. 
 xiii. 43; xxv. 34; and they are here directed to pray, "Our 
 Father, thy kingdom come." 
 
 5. The order in which our Lord places the events that arc 
 to precede his second coming, will not admit of the idea of a 
 millennium on this side of that great event. Look through 
 the 24th chapter of Matthew, together with the accounts by 
 Mark and Luke, and see if they say any thing concerning a 
 universal reception of the gospel. Surely, (one well observes) 
 our Lord would not have omitted this great event among the 
 rest, as a sign of his coming, had it been antecedent thereto. 
 
22 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 After the world had for thousands of years been torn by dis- 
 sension, and been the scene of every wickedness, such a length- 
 ened period of universal purity and peace must have proved 
 a very notable sign. But the words "immediately after the tri- 
 bulation" prove that the coming of the Saviour shall precede 
 the commencement of the millennium, and therefore, its ex- 
 istence could not have been given as a sign of his coming."* 
 This plain and powerful argument is evaded by saying, that 
 the 24th of Matthew is to be referred to the destruction of Je- 
 rusalem; but will any one, after a fair examination of the sub- 
 ject, say that verses 27, 29, 30, 31, and 47 received their ful- 
 filment in that event. Did Christ then send forth his angels 
 and gather together his elect? Did he then make his faithful 
 servants rulers? Again, on such principles of interpretation 
 how is Matt. xxv. 1 — 13, with the connecting then to be in- 
 terpreted, as it is by all with reference to Christ's second com- 
 ing, and what right have ministers to make use of the various 
 exhortations in Matt, xxiv., as incentives to watchfulness, see- 
 ing the reason why Christ told those to whom he addressed his 
 discourse to watch, is, according to this explanation, long since 
 gone by? Besides, if the parallel passage in Luke xxi. be ex- 
 amined, we shall see that our Lord expressly foretold the dis- 
 persion and depression of the Jews — the dispensation of the 
 gospel to the Gentiles — the finishing of both — great and sore 
 troubles; which events were to be followed by his own com- 
 ing, and the redemption of all who longed for it. This work 
 of ages is thus briefly but luminously sketched by the hand of 
 the great Master of Prophets. "And they (the Jews) shall 
 fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive 
 into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the 
 Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there 
 shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; 
 and upon the earth distress of nations; the sea and the waves 
 roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking 
 after those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers 
 of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son 
 of man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory. And 
 when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift 
 up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh." Luke 
 xxi. 24 — 28. Where is there the least hint of a millennium 
 preceding his coming; and if this passage does not refer to his 
 personal coming, it would be difficult to find one which does. 
 From these considerations it is plain tome, that there is yet 
 another dispensation, which this present one is preparing for, 
 and, in fact, is the herald of: for more than once we read of 
 "the gospel (or good tidings) of the kingdom," Matt. xxiv. 
 * Begg's Scriptural View. 
 
OP OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. -j ; > 
 
 14; Luke viii. 1. This coming dispensation will be the final 
 one, it will be introduced by the coming of the Son of man 
 and followed by the general judgment; then shall all the glo- 
 rious promises of God's word be fulfilled; then Christ shall 
 reign triumphantly, and all nations shall be blessed in him. 
 Then shall there be one Lord, and his name one. Ah! could 
 the millennium be brought about by the means now used, and 
 under the circumstances in which the church now exists, what 
 a sad mixture it would be! The servants of God are now cry- 
 ing one against another, instead of crying one unto another, 
 Isa. vi. 3. It will be otherwise when God shall bring again 
 Zion, Isa. lii. S. "Peter asked leave to build only three taber- 
 nacles; but three hundred would not suffice for the present 
 professing followers of Christ, that each may glorify God after 
 his own manner. There 'is one Lord, and his name one;' and 
 one tabernacle will at length suffice for all who worship God 
 in spirit and in truth; and this will be that which God hath 
 pitched, and not man."* when shall the present state of 
 division and distraction cease, and the church realise the prayer 
 of her great Intercessor, "that they may be all one?" When 
 shall we again behold that goodly sight, "a multitude of be- 
 lievers, all of one heart and one soul?" When shall Chris- 
 tians be as united in serving God, as the heavenly hosts are in 
 praising him? "When the times of refreshing shall come from 
 the presence of the Lord," then shall these things be. But 
 while contemplating and desiring this day of order and beauty, 
 let us not overlook our present advantages and blessings, our 
 present responsibilities and duties. It is very desirable that 
 we should have right views of the pature, importance, excellency, 
 and termination of the gospel dispensation; and lest any one 
 should think the foregoing remarks have a tendency to dispa- 
 rage the same, I will, before closing this chapter, make a few 
 observations on these points; also on the responsibility of those 
 who live under, the gospel dispensation, and the obligations of 
 those who profess to be enriched by it. 
 
 Respecting its nature, the word of God attests it is spiritu- 
 ality, and herein it differs from the Levitical dispensation, which 
 immediately preceded it: see 2 Cor. iii. 7, S. "How shall not 
 the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious?" This title 
 bears testimony to its efficiency and spirituality. It is "the 
 power of God unto salvation;" ''it is the kingdom of God in 
 the heart," Rom. xiv. 17; which is "righteousness, peace, and 
 joy in the Holy Ghost." Its blessings are spiritual, its subjects 
 spiritual, its rule spiritual. The Levitical dispensation receiv- 
 ed into its bosom a whole nation; the gospel dispensation, 
 * Basilicus. 
 
 VOL. III. 13 
 
24 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 while it proclaims to all the world, "All things are ready, come 
 ye to the marriage," only acknowledges those as its subjects 
 who have on the wedding dress, and who love the bridegroom. 
 
 The importance of the present dispensation will be seen, by 
 considering the prophecies which predicted its establishment, 
 Isa. lxv. 1 ; — the promises made concerning it, Isa. lv. 10, 1 1 ; — 
 the testimony of the apostle Paul to it, Eph. ii. 11 — 22, iii. 
 1 — S, Col. i. 2G, 27. Oh! how did his heart run over with 
 grateful, wondering praise, as he mused upon the calling of the 
 Gentiles; and beheld them, with the Jews, "builded up, a tem- 
 ple for God, through the Spirit." The glory arising to God 
 from this dispensation shows its importance; the gospel is called 
 "the wisdom of God, in a mystery," the "hidden wisdom," 
 yea, "the glorious gospel of the blessed God." Other dispen- 
 sations were wise, this is zvisdom; others were gracious, this is 
 grace, yea, glorious grace, triumphing over sin, and bringing 
 the poor wandering sinner to find rest in God. 
 
 The excellency of the Gospel dispensation is seen in the change 
 it effects in the hearts of sinners, in the blessings it communi- 
 cates, and in the certain and glorious hopes it begets and 
 cherishes. It is a matter worthy of most profound admiration 
 and grateful praise, that God should ever bless wretched man 
 with such a revelation of his will, such a dispensation of mercy. 
 Well might angels sing — "Glory to God in the highest, on earth 
 peace, good-will toward man," as they saw the day of salvation 
 dawn with mild and beauteous radiance on this wretched earth, 
 and beheld eternal love give birth to that "acceptable year of 
 the Lord," during whose majestic round, life and immortality 
 should dawn on millions of dead sinners. And our wonder 
 should increase, when we consider that the earth was some 
 thousands of years old in crime, when the mighty scheme of 
 gospel grace was revealed. These two facts cannot be contro- 
 verted, that while mankind grew worse and worse, every suc- 
 ceeding dispensation of God grew brighter and brighter; until 
 that came, in which mercy takes her stand on Calvary, and 
 pointing to the cross says, He is able to save to the uttermost. 
 Look at the state of the world, when "Jesus Christ came into 
 it to save sinners." The first chapter of the Romans describes 
 the Gentile world, and the 23d chapter of Matthew, with few 
 exceptions, the Jewish church. But 0, the aboundings of grace, 
 "the word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preach- 
 ing peace by Jesus Christ," Acts x. 36; and "he came, and 
 preached peace to us (Gentiles) which were far off," Eph. ii. 
 17. And notwithstanding all the smoke from the pit of hell, 
 and all the ingratitude of man, the gospel sun still shines; the 
 heavenly Dove still broods over the chaos of nature; and sin- 
 ners still prove that this is "the acceptable year of the Lord." 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. •»;, 
 
 But the day of salvation must decline, the acceptable year come 
 to an end, and the dark midnight and the time of vengeance 
 must succeed it. Already are the shadows of the evening 
 lengthened out, and the tempest is lowering. Ah! few believe 
 this, and as a snare it will come upon them, even while they 
 are saying, "Peace and safety." Suddenly shall the sun dis- 
 appear, though they think it hath not reached its meridian 
 height; and with a clap that shall shake heaven, earth, and 
 hell, "the door shall be shut." "Hear ye, and give ear, be not 
 proud, for the Lord hath spoken. Give glory to the Lord your 
 God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble 
 upon the dark mountains; and while ye look for light, he turn 
 it to the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness." Isa. 
 xiii. 15, 16. Yes, the Lord hath spoken, and spoken to the 
 Gentiles, and that all would study the 11th chapter of Ro- 
 mans. "Be not high-minded, but fear; for if God spared not 
 the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee." 
 
 But this is not the place to enter upon the consideration of 
 God's reckoning-day with Gentile sinners; only let it be con- 
 sidered, that "the acceptable year of the Lord," is followed by 
 "the day of vengeance of our God." Isa. lxi. 2: lxiii. 4. It 
 becomes, then, an interesting and solemn inquiry, Will the 
 eternal condition of those who have heard the gospel, and been 
 favoured with its privileges, be affected by that connection? 
 Will it be remembered at the judgment throne, that many have 
 heard the word and smarted under the word and yet still cleave 
 to their sins? Let the following scriptures be studied, and 
 who will dare to answer in the negative? if any one will, I 
 doubt not but the great day of God will undeceive him, how- 
 ever deeply prejudice may blind him now. — Matt. xi. 21 — 24; 
 John iii. 19; xi'i. 4S; xv. 22—24; Acts xvii. 30, 31. Then 
 will it be seen that under the Gospel unbelief is the damning 
 sin, and that neither God's decrees nor man's impotence afford 
 the unbeliever any shelter or excuse. 0, how fearful will it be 
 to stand before a despised Saviour, to be judged by a neglected 
 gospel, and cursed by a slighted God! "0, better never to 
 have known the gospel, than to meet with such a doom; Bet- 
 ter never to have been born than to meet such a doom! Any 
 thing rather than this: better rather ten thousand times have 
 died a pagan, better have fallen with Lucifer, better have been 
 burnt with Sodom, better have sunk with Babylon, than have 
 lived and died rejecting the Saviour." 
 
 Nor is it less important to inquire what is incumbent upon 
 those who have by faith received the gospel: their duty, their 
 privilege it is to spread- it; to endeavour to make "manifest the 
 knowledge of Christ in every place." If they feel its power, 
 
26 TH E COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 know its value, taste its sweetness, let them, while they know 
 they are of God, remember that "the world lieth in the wicked 
 one," and needs the gospel; and that they have a positive com- 
 mand to preach it to them; see Matt, xxviii. 18; Mark xvi. 
 15. Woe to that professor who, with heathens at home perish- 
 ing around him by thousands, and heathens abroad perishing 
 by millions, neglects this plain command of Jesus, to pamper 
 the flesh, or hoard up mammon. Yet a little while, and "judg- 
 ment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, 
 what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 
 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly 
 and the sinner appear!" 1 Peter iv. 17, 18. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 EVENTS WHICH MUST OCCUR PREVIOUS TO THE SETTING UP OP 
 THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST. 
 
 Great and beneficial changes are generally introduced by 
 great and dreadful commotions. This chiefly arises from the 
 opposition made by the old state of things about to be super- 
 seded. An eminent writer observes, "In every new develop- 
 ment of his plan of mercy and salvation to the human race, it 
 has hitherto pleased God that mercy and judgment should as it 
 were go hand in hand. The calling of Abraham and the birth 
 of Isaac were nearly coeval with the destruction of Sodom and 
 Gomorrah by fire from heaven. The exodus from Egypt was 
 associated with the desolation of that kingdom by the ten 
 plagues, and the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in the 
 Red sea. The establishment of Israel in the land of Canaan 
 was affected by the extirpation of a great part of the aboriginal 
 inhabitants. The settlement of the crown of Israel in the per- 
 son and family of David, was accompanied with dreadful wars. 
 The return of Judah from the Babylonish captivity was pre- 
 ceded by the fall of the empire of Assyria. That dispensation, 
 whereby the Gentiles were brought into the church in the room 
 of the Jews, was followed by the destruction of Jerusalem, with 
 circumstances of so awful a nature, as made it a fit type and 
 emblem of the judgments of the last days. In concluding, 
 therefore, that the glorious inauguration of our Lord in his 
 millennial kingdom, which is to be ushered by his second ad- 
 vent, with the clouds of heaven, shall likewise be signalized 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 27 
 
 by the most terrific displays of the Divine wrath against an un- 
 believing world, we not only are guided by the unerring testi- 
 mony of prophecy, but we might even a priori, without any 
 express assurances to that effect, have been led to form similar 
 expectations, from an attentive study of the dispensations of 
 Providence in past ages."* 
 
 We now come to consider some of the great events, which 
 must transpire in the world before the glorious kingdom of 
 Christ is set up in it. This if rightly understood is an awful 
 and alarming subject, a subject which the prophicies speak fre- 
 quently and largely upon. Nations will he reckoned with, 
 long arrears of vengeance will be paid ofT, thrones and king- 
 doms will be overturned, all false religions foil, and oppressors 
 feel the weight of God's wrath. These and like things will 
 make way for Him whose right it is to reign. This is the 
 judgment of the quick or living, which is to precede the judg- 
 ment of the dead, both of whom Christ will judge at his ap- 
 pearing and kingdom, 2 Tim. iv. 1. The natuVe, progress, and 
 design of these judgments, will be best understood by a diligent 
 search of Ps. ii. S — 12; xlvi. G — 10; Isa. xxiv. IS— 22; xxxiv. 
 1—8; Jer. xxv. 27— 33; Dan. vii. 9—12; Rev. xi. 15—19; xiv. 
 IS— 20; xvi. 13 — 21; and xix. 11 — 21, with many other pas- 
 sages too numerous to cite, to some of which we shall have 
 occasion to refer. 
 
 But to particularize; 1. Before the establishment of Christ's 
 reign, popery must be entirely destroyed. The kingdom of Christ, 
 and that of Antichrist, cannot be dominant on this earth at the 
 same time. The papacy has been termed Satan's masterpiece,! 
 and the Pope, Satan's Melchisedec; and some have considered 
 that the whole system of popery is an infernal mimicry, or 
 rather anticipation of that kingdom Christ is to set up in the 
 world; something of which Satan might learn from the word 
 of God; and some were foolish enough to prophesy in the days 
 
 ♦ Cuninghame's Dissertation, p. 12. 
 
 t "Popery was the masterpiece ol* Satan. I believe him utterly incapable of 
 .such another contrivance. It was a systematic and infallible plan for forming 
 manacles and mufflers for the human mind. It was a well-laid design to ren- 
 der Christianity contemptible, by the abuse of its principles, and its institu- 
 tions. It was formed to overwhelm — to enchant — to sit as the great whoie 
 making tin' earth drunk with her fornications." — Cecil's Remains, p. 361. 
 
 Dr. Goodwin thus accounts for the rise of popery, "Satan seeing the world 
 was turned Christian, (viz. in the time of Constantine) he applied ins govern- 
 ment of the world unto the spirits of men, and he would be a Christian tOO; 
 
 that is, carry on his designs and affairs under the profession of Christianity. 
 
 And so that corrupt, ignorant world, that then was, being brooded uporf by this 
 spirit that breathed upon tbese waters, did in the end bring forth a new form 
 of government, and religion of popery; the powers and laws phi reof, through 
 Satan's efficacy, the whole world that then was. went again alter, and made 
 war against the saints, and overcame them." — Goodwin's TYumpht 
 13* 
 
23 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 of Constantine (Zedekiah-like) that the glorious era described 
 Rev. xxi. was about to be introduced, when, alas! the building 
 of mystical Babylon was going rapidly on. It is impossible to 
 declare the whole truth concerning this horrible delusion, which 
 is alike opposed to reason and revelation, to civil and religious 
 liberty, to the interests of man for eternity, and to his happi- 
 ness in time; it is a "strong delusion," and "a mystery of ini- 
 quity;" and it is a most astounding fact, which is a proof of the 
 power of the devil, and the wickedness and folly of man, that 
 Satan should be able to palm such a system upon the world un- 
 der the name of Christianity, yea, and retain some of the essen- 
 tial doctrines of our most holy faith therein. The characteris- 
 tics of Christianity are knowledge, holiness, and love; it is most 
 simple, most beneficial, most beneficent; but tbe characteristics 
 of popery are ignorance, sin, and cruelty; it is a religion of 
 pomp, of darkness, and of blood. Well might John "wonder 
 with great admiration," Rev. xvii. 6; as Mr. Fry observes, 
 "Wonderful indeed must it have appeared in the age of John, 
 that the apostate church should one day possess in sovereign 
 state, the capital of the Roman empire, and should from the 
 seven hills deal out her spiritual corruptions, to intoxicate and 
 subdue tbe same world that the legions of the imperial city 
 had conquered by the sword. But now we must shut our eyes 
 indeed if we refuse to recognise, in this emblem of "the wo- 
 man sitting on the scarlet beast," the vaunted apostolic sea of 
 Rome. "Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots," 
 as the churches in the Roman Catholic communion remarkably 
 express themselves when they speak of the Romish church, 
 
 "Rome, MOTHER, AND MISTRESS." 
 
 The papacy did not spring into being and maturity at once; 
 it was slowly matured, until it. reached a height of despotic 
 power before unequalled. It is not our province at any length 
 to trace its growth, or rehearse its deeds of blood. The pro- 
 fessing church was judaized, and philosophized, before the time 
 of Constantine, but then it became paganized, and shortly after 
 Satanized. This mystery of iniquity worked in the apostle's 
 days, and during the second and third centuries every kind of 
 heresy was promulgated, ceremonies and forms were intro- 
 duced, and spirituality displaced by superstition. The mate- 
 rials for popery were thus prepared, and by the union of the 
 church with the Roman state, its foundation was openly laid, 
 and the building rapidly carried on. An oralor at Constanti- 
 nople in the reign of Jovian, 50 years after the accession of 
 Constantine to the Roman purple, says, "In the recent changes 
 (he is adverting to Julian the apostate) both religious, pagan and 
 Christian, have been alternately disgraced by the seeming 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 09 
 
 acquisition of worthless proselytes of those votaries of the 
 reigning purple, who could pass without a reason and without 
 a hlush, from the church to the temple, and from the altars of 
 Jupiter to the sacred tahle of the Christians."' Surely such 
 religionists as these, must be just such tools as Satan wished 
 for. Thus did the enemy of man mould the professing church 
 of Christ until it exhibited his own image, and wrought the 
 desires of his cruel and malicious heart. 
 
 Curs'd system, bitter root of every crime, 
 Of sin the ugliest, foulest incarnation; 
 The darkest blood-spot on the face of time, 
 Sure source of ruin onto many a nation: 
 The bane of peace, the hind'rerof salvation, 
 The severer of every tender tic; 
 Fountain of broken hearts — true imitation 
 Of Satan's regal power and dignity. 
 
 A few facts recalled to mind, will show that these heavy charges 
 are not without foundation. Look at its image worship, and 
 other hundred senseless, mischievous mummeries, both for the 
 dead and the living. Think how it takes away the book of life, 
 the lamp of eternity. Consider how it exalts saints and angels, 
 and degrades the Redeemer. Behold its course traced in blood. 
 Who can unfold the horrors of the Inquisition, or number the 
 thousands of the Waldenses, Lollards, and Protestants it hath 
 butchered? What tablet records how many millions of Indi- 
 ans, Spain, now so degraded by her ill-gotten gold, sent into 
 eternity? but there is no end to this tale of woe; France, Spain, 
 England, Ireland, has each furnished hetacombs of victims.! 
 But we are told that popery is changed, and that these things 
 should not now be mentioned; but because I believe it is un- 
 changed, and unchangeable, I have hinted at these things. I 
 
 * Jones's Historv of the Church. 
 
 t Joseph Mede reckons up 1,200,000 of the Waldenses and Albigense-s put 
 to death in 30 vears. 
 
 "It is calculated, that the Roman Catholics, since the rise of persecution in 
 the seventh or eighth centurv to the present time, have butchered, in their 
 blind and diabolical zeal for ilie church, no less then 50,000,00(1 of 'those they 
 term heretics. 
 
 "Since the Spaniards set foot on the shores of America, it is calculated they 
 have butchered 12,000,000 on the continent, besides the many millions who 
 fell in t!i" islands,"— Simpson's Plea, p. 195. 
 
 Poperv must bear the blame of this; for the pope, by virtue of his blasphe- 
 mous titleas God's vicar and vicegerent, gave Philip of Spain all those* oun- 
 tries, and his blood-thirsty soldiers lii^t took possession of them in the pope's 
 name, and then proceeded to extirpate the inhabitants. 
 
 Lorentes calculates that the Inquisition in the Spanish peninsula alone, un- 
 der the uninterrupted dominion of 45 grand inquisitors, has sacrificed 241,000 
 individuals. 
 
 When Charles 2nd was married to the niece of Louis the 14th, there was an 
 auto-da-fe, in which 11H human beings were sacrificed, in order that a divine 
 blessing might rest upon their nuptials. 
 
30 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 believe popery as a system, to be like sin; both may, yea, both 
 shall be annihilated, but neither can be changed, while they 
 live they will retain their nature, and restlessly follow up then- 
 grand object, which in both is — dominion. 
 
 All means will be used, all craft, all lies, all hypocrisy, will 
 be resorted to in order to obtain dominion. Let. protestants 
 consider two things; that popery is unchanged, and that it is 
 on the increase in these lands. Let us hear their own testi- 
 mony. In 1S12 was published a book presumptuously en- 
 titled, "Liturgy, or a Book of Common Prayers, and Admi- 
 nistration of Sacraments, with other Rites and Ceremonies of 
 the Church, for the use of all Christians in the United King- 
 dom;" by which, says Mr. Cuninghame, it is plainly insinuat- 
 ed, that all the protestants of the United Kingdom who reject 
 this liturgy, are not Christians. In this liturgy, the old idola- 
 try of the church of Rome in adoring the sacramental wafer 
 and cup is still retained, as appears by the following words 
 taken from the directory of the mass. "After pronouncing 
 the words of consecration, the priest kneeling, adores and ele- 
 vates the sacred host (or consecrated bread) and the bell at the 
 altar is rung to give notice to the congregation;" in like man- 
 ner it is said after the consecration of the cup, "Here also 
 kneeling, he adores and elevates the chalice or cup." 
 
 Mr. C. observes, "The following words are taken from the 
 litany, in honour of the blessed Virgin Mary, commonly called 
 the litany of Loretto. We should scarcely believe it possible, 
 that such matter should be published in this enlightened coun- 
 try, in the 19th century, as a form of Christian worship. But 
 as it has been printed, it is fit to make it generally known, in 
 order that all men may see that the Romish church obstinately 
 cleaves to its abominations. 
 
 "'We fly to thy patronage, holy Mother of God! despise 
 not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us from all dan- 
 gers, ever glorious and blessed Virgin.' Then come forty- 
 two titles by which they address her, adding after each, 'Pray 
 for us.' Some of these titles are names of Christ, and can only 
 be properly applied to Deity. The following are selected: — 
 'Mother of Divine Grace — Virgin most merciful — Mirror of 
 Justice — Seat of Wisdom — Ark of the Covenant — Gate of 
 Heaven — Morning Star — Refuge of Sinners — Queen of Angels 
 — Queen of all Saints.' After this is added, 'Pray for us, 
 holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the pro- 
 mises of Christ.' Such is popery now, as it regards its idola- 
 trous worship, and its exclusive spirit; and there is no doubt 
 in my mind but that, if papists had the power they would en- 
 force this religion as heretofore: they must do so, in order to 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. %\ 
 
 be consistent, for believing tbat tbere is no salvation out of 
 their own church, they must deem any means lawful and right 
 which may bring the wanderers hack: 'never mind torturing, 
 or burning the body, so that we save the soul.' This dreadful 
 system is again increasing in our land. The following extract 
 will convey much information on this subject: — 'The great and 
 alarming increase of the Romish church since ISIS, is not ge- 
 nerally known to the Christian public. It becomes, therefore, 
 necessary to state some particulars for the information of pro- 
 testants, who are not so swallowed up with the politics or the 
 affairs of this world, as to be dead to the interests of the king- 
 dom of God. 
 
 "It appears, then, from the Laity's Directory, a Romish 
 work for the year 1S14, that the number of chapels of that 
 church at that time, in London and its vicinity, was twenty- 
 two, and in the whole kingdom besides, the number reported 
 was only twenty-three. N 
 
 "Now, however, according to a letter I have recently re- 
 ceived from the Secretary of the Reformation Society, the num- 
 ber of chapels in Great Britain (of course excluding Ireland), 
 is 497, and the increase, since 1824, has been eighty-eight, viz: 
 sixty-five in England, and twenty-three in Scotland. 
 
 "In speaking of this large increase of their numbers, the ad- 
 vocates of the Romish church use the following language: — 
 'If any proof were wanting of the rapid and wide progress of 
 the (Roman) catholic religion in this kingdom, it would cer- 
 tainly he found in the amazing increase of places of worship, 
 which are springing up in every direction, with astonishing 
 rapidity, throughout this country. Unlike the meretricious 
 exertions of the established churches, raised only to make a 
 show of fictitious numbers; and, after spending large sums of 
 the public money, are left to the delightful solitude of the par- 
 son intonating to the deputy below, and receiving the faithful 
 echo, to their mutual edification: the new (Roman) catholic 
 chapels, and the enlargement of others, are solely of necessity, 
 for no other purpose than the reception of an overflowing sur- 
 plus of persons, eager for the blessings which the (Romish) 
 catholic church alone can unfold and communicate.'"* The 
 same author informs us, that there is a Jesuit's college at Stony- 
 hurst, in Lancashire; and other establishments of a similar 
 character forming, on a very large scale, near Bath and Bir- 
 mingham. In a late number of the Catholic Magazine, a writer 
 says, "Times have changed very much, and we are not insensi- 
 ble to the exertions of those liberal and enlightened statesmen 
 that brought about the change." He then enumerates some of 
 * Cuninghame's Church of Rome the Aposlarv. 
 
32 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 their chapels, together with the number of the congregations 
 connected with them: — "We have now a chapel at Moorfields, 
 which all the world frequents. ' The Borough Chapel has a 
 congregation of near 20,000; East Lane Chapel 2 or 3000; 
 Virginia Street Chapel, 10,000; Lincoln's Inn Fields, 10,000, 
 at the least; Spanish Place Chapel, 6000. It should be remem- 
 bered that several different congregations meet in each of these 
 places. The same periodical (says the Christian Ladies' Ma- 
 gazine, from which' I extract,) contains many exulting an- 
 nouncements of the liberality of nominal protestants, in con- 
 tributing to the erection of mass houses, and being present at 
 their opening." Supposing, now, for the sake of argument, 
 that we have nothing to fear from popery, as a persecuting 
 power; ought we so contentedly to see it extending its fatal influ- 
 ence, and still shut our eyes to the fact that popery is certainly 
 increasing? Is not this a plain proof of the insufficiency of 
 mere intellect, or the light of science, to preserve persons from 
 falling into the most childish and mischievous superstitions? 
 
 But from these facts, which the past and present unfold, let 
 us come to Scripture testimony, and there we shall find the 
 features of this system accurately delineated, and its approach- 
 ing destruction clearly and solemnly foretold. I shall just 
 point out the places where the description occurs, and hasten 
 on to consider its downfall, and the means by which it will be 
 effected. 
 
 In Dan. vii. popery is described as a little horn, growing up 
 among the ten horns of the Roman empire. In this horn were 
 eyes like the eyes of a man, denoting spiritual power, and a 
 mouth speaking great things. In the interpretation it is said, 
 this same horn made war with the saints — that he should sub- 
 due three kings; (which history informs us was the case) and 
 that "he shall speak great words against the Most High, and 
 shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and think to change 
 limes and laws: and they shall be given unto his hand, until a 
 time and times and the dividing of time," which denotes a pe- 
 riod of three prophetical years and a half, or 1260 years, which 
 will be the period of the papal domination. 
 
 In 2 Thess. ii. 3 — 12, is a description of this same evil sys- 
 tem, here called "the mystery of iniquity," which the apostle 
 said was working even in his time, but that something with- 
 held it from manifesting itself, ver. 6. This withholding power 
 was the pagan Roman empire; and when this was removed 
 the man of sin was revealed, and for several hundred years 
 the popes and the papacy have been living commentators on 
 this most solemn and remarkable passage; so that almost all 
 students of God's word, as they looked towards Rome, have 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 :<3 
 
 said, "There is the man of sin, the son of perdition, who op- 
 poseth and cxalteth himself above all that is called God, or that 
 is worshipped; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of Gud. 
 showing himself that he is God." ver. 1. The following pas- 
 sage also traces some well-known features of popery: — "Now 
 the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some 
 shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and 
 doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy, ■ having their 
 conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to many, and 
 commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to 
 be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and 
 know the truth," 1 Tim. iv. 1 — I. 
 
 In Rev. xiii. there is mention made of two beasts; the for- 
 mer (ver. 1 — to 10,) describes the Roman empire, the second 
 (ver. 11 — IS,) describes the papacy. The description is simi- 
 lar to that of Daniel's little horn. The same power is alluded 
 to by the term of false prophet, Rev. xix. 20. But we hasten 
 on to Revelation xvii. in which the destruction of this enemy 
 to God and man is foretold. Yes, the word is gone out of Je- 
 hovah's mouth in righteousness, that Babylon shall sit low in 
 the dust; yea, be debased to the depths of hell: as a millstone 
 is overwhelmed by the ocean, when cast into it, so shall Baby- 
 lon be overwhelmed by the long treasured-up vengeance of 
 God. Over her the traffickers shall lament; and over her the 
 heavens shall rejoice, Rev. xix. 1 — 3. Already are the golden 
 harps strung to swell the loud alleluia, when the smoke of her 
 torment ariseth up for ever and ever; and then shall be heard 
 
 * "Speaking lies in hypocrisy!" How dreadful must be tlieir case to whom 
 these words apply! What dangerous characters must such !»• m so 
 systematic liars, and consummate hypocrites'. Woe be to the nation that trusts 
 their professions, or even their oaths. I have though! whether the lio here 
 mentioned may not be considered as doctrinal lies, and that nt the present time 
 they are spoken in hypocrisy, seeing it has been'proved that the Papists deny 
 many things before others which are held among themselves, particularly the 
 impossibility of salvation out of their church, and the duty of the chinch to 
 punish and put to death heretics. The late pn ting h'as proved 
 
 clear enough these are their doctrines: and yel some of them talk of charity 
 and tolerance. I should as soon expect to find ease in hell as toleration in 
 popery, if once ascendant. It may be said that thus speaking I am guilty of thai 
 with which 1 charge' them. Nay, lei them worship as they please, hinder 
 them not by any force; but give them no power to hinder inc. ' It may also be 
 said that protestants arc equally intolerant in d< nying salvation to the Roman 
 catholics. This again must be mel with anegative. I 
 been, and should hope ihere still are, Christians id her communion, tl I 
 
 think they are very few. Some, in all ages, in thai degraded apostacy, have 
 simply clung to the cross, and, in theii hearts, counted all else as df" 
 dung. Query, will popish priests allow their people thus to think concerning 
 Protestants'? For my own part I heartily wish papists nothing bul good, even 
 a real conversion to'God; but for their system I feel nothing but utter abhor- 
 rence, and an earnest longing for its downfall. 
 
34 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 the long-desired announcement, "Alleluia, for the Lord God 
 omnipotent reigneth." 
 
 In Rev. xvii. one of the seven vial angels said to John, 
 "Come hither, I will shew thee the judgment of the great whore 
 that sitteth upon many waters." John was then shown this 
 apostate church, under the figure of a woman sitting on a scar- 
 let coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven 
 heads and ten horns. There appears to me good reason to 
 conclude that this beast is the Roman empire in its last form 
 of infidelity. As pagan, its symbol was a great red dragon, 
 Rev. xii. 3. As under the influence of popery, it is called a 
 beast rising out of the sea, Rev. xiii. 1 — 10. But this beast is 
 said to rise out of the bottomless pit, or abyss, Rev. xi. 7; xvii. 
 8.; and to be full of names of blasphemy. Another reason for 
 considering this beast to be the Roman empire in its infidel 
 form is, the office assigned to it, "to hate the whore, make her 
 desolate and naked, and eat her flesh and burn her with fire," 
 ver. 16, (none but an infidel power could do this), and, after 
 having clone so, make war with the Lamb, which this beast 
 doth, ver. 14. But it may be asked, does not the vision re- 
 present the great whore as riding upon this beast of infi- 
 delity? Yes; and this seems to say, that between infidelity 
 and popery there will be, for a time, a coalition; that the latter 
 will owe its support to the former; but that, after awhile, hav- 
 ing gained that which it wished by its alliance with popery, 
 and, perhaps, having both joined together to persecute the 
 church of God,* the beast, or infidel power, to whom the ten 
 kings shall give their power, shall destroy the whore by the 
 agency of these kings. 
 
 We have had some foreshowing of this in the French revo- 
 
 * It is an important question whether the church of God has reason to ex- 
 pect another period of persecution. Many of our old writers expected that 
 popery would gain the ascendancy, and again oppress God's church. Dr. Gill 
 says, "Before the utter destruction of Antichrist, he shall go forth again with 
 great fury to destroy:" he then applies Dan. xi. 45, to Great Britain,— Watch- 
 men's Answer. Mr. Cecil observes, "The Church has endured a pagan and a 
 papal persecution: there remains for her an infidel persecution; general, bit- 
 ter, purifying, cementing." Those who expect another persecution, in gene- 
 ral consider that the witnesses are not yet slain, Rev. xi. I would speak with 
 diffidence on such a deep subject, but I cannot help thinking that this scripture 
 remains yet to be fulfilled. But even if that be fulfilled, I have thought some 
 further trial yet awaits the church, out of which the Lord will save her, an- 
 swering as a parallel to the trial of the Jews, Zech. xiv. 1. 2. Still, as I have 
 said elsewhere, there appears to be much mystery around this subject; and, no 
 doubt, there are wisdom and love in this, that we might not say such and such 
 things must happen before the Lord comes. If we are prepared for his com- 
 ing, we shall be prepared for whatever trials await us. If we are but "dili- 
 gent to be found of him in peace, looking for and hasting unto the coming of 
 the day of God," then persecution shall not affright us, this seducing world 
 allure us, or the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ injure us. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 35 
 
 lution and its effects.* Popery has already suffered much from 
 infidelity; and notwithstanding their apparent agreement in 
 these liberal days, it must suffer still more from its iron hand. 
 But still it is plain from the word of (rod, that however the ten 
 kings may waste the whore, there is to be some signal and 
 finishing act of vengeance, which will complete the work of 
 destruction. This is set forth by the angel's throwing the mill- 
 stone into the sea; and Rev. xviii. S, her plagues arc said to 
 come in one day; the false prophet perishes finally with the 
 beast and the kings of the earth, Rev. xix. 19, 20. The strong 
 hand of Zion's avenger will hurl her down from her eminence, 
 drag her out of all her fastnesses, and give her an eternal por- 
 tion in the lake which burnetii with fire and brimstone, to- 
 gether with the beast on which she rode, even all who helped 
 forward her deeds of idolatry, superstition, and blood. Rev. 
 xix. 20. 
 
 There is one consideration connected with this subject which 
 claims our most serious attention. How wide, how searching 
 will those judgments be by which Babylon shall be destroyed! 
 Where is the church that hath not been contaminated by her 
 poisonous breath, that doth not manifest somewhat of her spirit 
 and conduct? Persecution, pharisaism, heresy, formality, out- 
 ward show, crying up of the creature, are but too manifest 
 among professors; — in some, one anti-Christian feature is ex- 
 hibited; and in some another — but arc any wholly free? In- 
 stead, then, of one sect quarrelling with another — had we not 
 better be found praying, both for ourselves and them, that God 
 would give us all humility to unlearn what is wrong, and hon- 
 esty to avow it? Surely all classes of religious professors need 
 much purification. "And behold the day cometh that shall 
 burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, 
 shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, 
 saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall- leave neither root nor 
 branch." Isa. xiv. 22, 23; Mai. iv. 1. It is easy to cut down 
 a tree, however great and lofty; this may be done without 
 much disquieting the soil around, but in order to pull up every 
 root and fibre of an ancient tree, the ground all around must 
 be moved and separated. Thus will the whole of Christendom 
 be shaken by the rooting up of Babylon; nothing but pure 
 truth will escape; Cod will deliver all beside over to infidelity, 
 
 * France contained, before the revolution, 1793, upwards of 366,000 seculai 
 and regular clergy, besjde an immense number of nuns. About 94,000 
 were butchered during the revolution.' 
 
 In the whole of Christendom, there were no less than 235, 1 1 1 monasteries, 
 about 15() years ago: 3180 were suppressed by Hebry Vlli.. and Ins predeces- 
 sor?, in England; there were 50,000 persons in them. — Simpson's Pie*, 
 
 VOL. III. — 14 
 
36 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 and the fire of wrath. That beast of hell will, doubtless, seek 
 to devourtruth likewise, and to destroy those who love it; but 
 truth is immortal; — the teeth of time, the rage of hell, and the 
 violence of infidelity cannot destroy it, nor ultimately injure 
 its honest professors; for he who sitteth above the water-floods 
 hath said, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I 
 also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall 
 come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the 
 earth." Rev. iii. 10; 
 
 One thing yet remains on this head, which is, to show how 
 the destruction of popery, and the coming and kingdom of 
 Christ, stand connected with each other in God's word. This 
 is set forth in Dan. vii. S — 14, 24 — 27; where papacy is de- 
 scribed under the symbol of "a little horn speaking great 
 things," in consequence of the blasphemies uttered by this 
 ecclesiastical power, utter destruction from God overtakes it, 
 as likewise, at the same time, the whole of the beast, or Ro- 
 man empire, out of which this little horn grew, Dan. vii. 11. 
 Now mark when this is done; the Son of man comes with the 
 clouds of heaven, (ver. 13,) which is a symbol that is always 
 attached to the second advent of Christ; compare with this 
 text, Matt. xxiv. 30; xxvi. 64; Acts i. 9—11; Rev. i. 7. It 
 may be objected, that the text does not say that the coming of 
 Christ follows immediately on the destruction of the fourth 
 beast; centuries may pass between. I answer, allowing this 
 idea to be true, then it follows, that the kingdom of Christ must 
 likewise be postponed; for it is positively asserted, that this 
 kingdom is subsequent to the coming of Christ with the clouds 
 of heaven. But a consideration of the 22nd, 26th, and 27th 
 verses of this chapter will showj that the coming of the Re- 
 deemer is at the destruction of the fourth beast. 
 
 The next passage I would point out is 2 Thess. ii. 8. "And 
 then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall con- 
 sume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the 
 brightness of his coming." The connexion very plainly speaks 
 of Antichrist; and that the text just quoted refers to a personal 
 coming, is, to me, very apparent. In the preceding epistle, 
 the apostle had spoken much concerning the Lord's second 
 coming. No one can or doth deny, but that 1 Thess. iv. 13 — 
 18, v. 1 — 4, refer to it. It seems that the Thessalonians thought, 
 from what the apostle had written, that this great day was very 
 near; he therefore tells them, 2 Thess. ii. 3, that this supposi- 
 tion was unfounded. His mode of addressing them is very 
 peculiar and beautiful. He beseeches them by the coming of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering unto him, (by 
 which he means the resurrection of the saints,) not to be soon 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 37 
 
 shaken or troubled, as that the day of Christ was at hand; for 
 that day shall not come except there be a falling away first; 
 and then he gives a description of this falling away, 2 These. 
 ii. 1 — 3. Now I ask what day can he refer to? Is it not the 
 day of his coming, — the day of our gathering? And mark! he 
 doth not say that a millennium must come before that day, but 
 an apostacy; and then, when that man of sin hath been re- 
 vealed and completed, that day shall come, and our gathering 
 shall come, and he will destroy that wicked with the bright- 
 ness of his personal coming. As many, in the face of all this 
 evidence, will apply this eighth verse to a spiritual coming, I 
 beg leave to quote the following hints upon it. "This coming 
 must therefore be before the millennium; and if it be of a per- 
 sonal nature in the second verse, it must be the same in the 
 eighth. The same word is used in both cases; and to imagine 
 that the apostle, while professedly correcting a mistake into 
 which his readers had fallen, about the personal coming of the 
 Lord, should, instead, inform them of the period of a spiritual 
 advent, without giving them any intimation of the substitution. 
 is to suppose him guilty of a sophism which would not be prac- 
 tised by any honest man. Besides, it deserves to be remarked, 
 that the word here translated 'brightness,' Parkhurst observes, 
 the Greek writers particularly apply to the appearance of some 
 deity. In scripture it is never used but to denote a personal 
 manifestation, as in the following passages relative to Christ's 
 glorious appearance at his return, see 1 Tim. vi. 14; 2 Tim. iv. 
 1,8; Titus ii. 13. In these instances, the word translated 'ap- 
 pearing' and 'appearance,' is the very word translated 'bright- 
 ness' in the passage before us. How then is it possible to evade 
 the conclusion, that Christ's return will take place at the de- 
 struction of Antichrist!"* I conclude this part with repeating, 
 with some little variation, the apostle's words, Let no man de- 
 ceive you, for that day will come when.there bath been a falling 
 away, 2 Thess. ii. 3. "Therefore, brethren, let us not sleep, 
 lest that day should overtake us as a thief." 
 
 2. Mahometanism must be destroyed to make way for the 
 kingdom of Christ. Long hath this abomination profaned and 
 degraded both scripture and classic ground. Age after age has 
 the wild shriek of agony and despair, caused by the sting of 
 
 * Begg's Scriptural View, p. 146, 147.— If, says Mr. Cuninghame, neither pf 
 these nouns, brightness or raining, when used singly, even in the original Greek" 
 denotes a spiritual advent, much less can they when conjoined; and ifVeach of 
 them when employed separately, indubitably means a personal corporeal mam 
 testation and presence, much more must they when united. So thai if ttv 
 foregoing expression does not mean the personal and glorious advent of our 
 Lord, then is human language incapable of being interpreted on any fixed 
 principles. — Pre-millcnnial Advent. 
 
38 TH E COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 these locusts, resounded. The groaning earth has drunk up 
 oceans of human blood, which the swords of Mahomet and his 
 successors have caused to flow. But the crescent waxeth pale. 
 Those who have long been slaves to the Turkish despot, now 
 begin to inhale the air of freedom, and once more to feel them- 
 selves to be men. The tyrant trembles in his den, and, almost 
 without any resistance, sees his fairest provinces shorn off. All 
 these are proofs that he shall soon come to his end, and none 
 shall help him. 
 
 In Rev. ix. 1 — 21, we have an account of the character and 
 actions of this dreadful power. Ver. 1 — 11 describe the Sara- 
 cens: from 12 to end the Turks are set forth; but it is with 
 their destruction we have now to do. Dan. xi. 36 — 45, has, by 
 many able commentators, been considered as setting forth the 
 character, progress, and fall of the Mahometan power. Now 
 connect the close of the 11th chapter with the beginning of the 
 12th chapter. When this prince comes to his end, Michael, 
 the great prince, stands up for the children of Daniel's people, 
 or the Jews. The consequence will be, that there will be a 
 dreadful and unequalled time of trouble. The Jews will be 
 delivered — a resurrection will take place, when all the faithful 
 servants of God will be rewarded, see Dan. xii. 1 — 3. I would 
 observe, that the passage just referred to in Dan. xi. has been, 
 by other commentators, applied to the personal infidel Anti- 
 christ, who consider that it was partly fulfilled in that most 
 extraordinary character,* Napoleon Bonaparte, who they 
 think was the seventh or short-lived head of the beast, Rev. 
 xvii. 10. In the eighth head, Rev. xvii. 11, they consider the 
 rest of this scripture will be fulfilled. There are also the same 
 differences of opinion respecting the little horn of Dan. viii. 
 23, some applying it to Mahometanism, and others to the 
 eastern Roman empire. But there is one passage which we 
 
 * "Napoleon was thus called because he was born on the saint's clay who 
 bore that name: it signifies, 'lion of the desert,' which he was very fond of 
 observing." The following extracts from his proclamations in Egypt, show 
 he richly deserves all that has been said of him as an infidel and despiser of 
 every thing sacred — "In the name of God, gracious and merciful. There is 
 no God but God; he has no son nor associate in his kingdom." "The French 
 adore the Supreme Being, and honour the Prophet and his holy Koran." 
 Again, "I reverence, more than the Mamelukes themselves, God, his Prophet 
 Mahomet, and the Koran." In a conversation with Mahometans, he said, "I 
 thank thee, Mufti: the Koran delighteth my soul, and is the object of my con- 
 templation: I love the Prophet, and I hope ere long to see and honour his tomb; 
 in the Holy City. But my mission is first to exterminate the Mamelukes." 
 
 The self-righteousness of this extraordinary character is as evident as his 
 infidelity. He said, at St. Helena, "One fact most extraordinary, and, I be- 
 lieve, unparalleled in history, is, that I rose from being a private person to the 
 astonishing height of power I possessed, without having committed a single 
 crime to obtain it. If I were on my death-bed I would make the same declara- 
 tion." — Ireland's Life. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. \{<j 
 
 may with more confidence apply to the destruction of the Maho- 
 metanism, viz. Rev. xvi. 12 — 15: "And the sixth angel poured 
 out his vial upon the great river Euphrates, and the water 
 thereof was dried up." The sixth trumpet called the Turks 
 into political existence, Rev. ix. 13 — 81: the sixth vial exter- 
 minates their power from the prophetical earth. If we look at 
 Rev. ix. 14, we cannot hut see that the river Euphrates is a 
 symbol -of the Turkish empire. Indeed this is one point on 
 which almost every commentator on prophecy agrees (except 
 those who consider the Apocalypse as all unfulfilled) however 
 different their views may be on other points. It is nearly as 
 generally allowed that Rev. xvi. 12, refers to the same people: 
 and most modern writers avow their belief that we are living 
 at the very time when this drying up of the Euphrates is going 
 on. And who that looks at the history of the Turks for this 
 last few years, but must see it? How gradually has their 
 strength been dried up and wasted! How have the tributary 
 streams that fed their flowing might of empire been cut off! 
 The Russian sun has exhaled many of their resources, and their 
 own faithless banks have let their waters run to waste. 
 
 Not to notice, at present, other things contained in this vial, 
 which are evidently likewise fulfilling, I pray you consider 
 the 15th verse, "Behold I come as a thief," &c. It is as if 
 our Lord had said, "When you see the Turkish power dry 
 up, and all her glory to fade slowly and irrevocably away: 
 when you see evil in its threefold form of tyranny, superstition, 
 and infidelity, more busy than ordinary, be you sure my coming 
 is not far distant; and having given you this plain warning, a 
 warning that all may hear and understand if they please, expect 
 7io other; for, 'behold I come as a thief.'" It may be objected 
 that this coming is not a personal but a spiritual one. But I 
 ask, on what authority is this assertion made? The comparison 
 made use of, viz., that of a thief, is altogether against it. A 
 thief comes really and personally; not figuratively, nor even by 
 proxy. And all the parallel passages are against this interpre- 
 tation. Look at Matt. xxiv. 42 — 44; Luke xii. 36 — 10: 1 
 Thess. v. 2 — 4; 2 Pet. iii. 10; Rev. iii. 3; if these mean a per- 
 sonal coming, so, I argue, does Rev. xvi. 15. Every stroke, 
 then, of God's providence on the eastern Antichrist, is a warn- 
 ing voice to Christendom to prepare for her Lord's speedy 
 coming. 
 
 3. The overthrow of tyranny, and the destruction of the 
 fourth beast, as now existing in ten kingdoms, is another thing 
 that must take place before the kingdom of Christ can be set 
 up. Almost every one knows that the four beasts which Da- 
 niel saw (chapter vii.,) mean four successive forms of tyran- 
 14* 
 
40 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 nical dominion, viz., the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian, 
 and Roman empires. The political existence and superiority 
 of the last beast still continues in ten kingdoms, which include 
 most of the nations of Europe, and which are set forth by the 
 ten horns of the beast. The great image in Dan. ii. teaches us 
 the same things. Both of these passages inform us that a heavy 
 weight of divine vengeance will fall upon the ten kingdoms of 
 this fourth tyranny; and that after this, the kingdom of Christ 
 will be set up. In Dan. ii. this judgment is set forth by the 
 figure of a stone smiting the ten toes (which symbolize the ten 
 kingdoms,) and pursuing the work of destruction until the 
 whole of this great image becomes like the chaff of the sum- 
 mer's threshing floor, and is carried away of the wind, while 
 the stone becomes a great mountain, and fills the whole earth, 
 Dan. ii. 35, 44. In Dan. vii. 11, the judgment is likened to 
 sword and fire.* In both places the judgment commences with 
 the fourth beast, falling dreadfully heavy on the ten kingdoms, 
 and in both instances these acts of vengeance are succeeded by 
 a peaceful and happy reign. 
 
 Many, very many other passages which refer to the great 
 event might be here introduced. Is. Ixiii. 1 — 4, will then 
 have its fulfilment. Then will Armageddon's blood-stained 
 field be no longer the subject of speculation, but the place of 
 awful retribution, Rev. xvi. 16. But the plainest and most 
 awful description of this dreadful event is recorded Rev. xix. 
 11 — 21 ; read this passage together with Is. xxiv. 19 — 23; xxx. 
 27—30; Ixvi. 15, 16; Joel ii. 1—11; iii._ 1—16; Zep. i. 14— 
 IS; Hag. ii. 22; Matt. xxiv. 21, 22. It would be easy for me 
 to fill pages with references, but I beg my reader to turn to 
 that awful burden of the prophet -Jeremiah's xxv. 15 — 3S, the 
 reading of which is enough to make our ears to tingle, and our 
 cheeks to gather paleness. If we consider aright these pass- 
 ages, we shall see the propriety of our Lord's language, Matt. 
 xxiv. 21, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not 
 since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall 
 be." There are two or three other places where similar lan- 
 guage is used, which may be profitably quoted: "Alas! for that 
 day is great, so that none is like it; it is even the time of Ja- 
 cob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it," Jer. xxx. 7. 
 "And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since 
 
 * "Closely connected with a pouring out of the seventh vial, is the total de- 
 struction of Babylon the Great. Independent of her other plagues, which shall 
 come upon her in one day, death, and mourning, and famine, — she shall he 
 utterly burned with fire." Now it is well known to those persons who have 
 visited Rome, that the city is built on subterraneous fires: sulphur impregnates 
 the soil." — Millennial Church. 
 
 Many commentators are of this opinion. 
 
OF OUR LOUD JESUS CHRIST [{ 
 
 there was a nation, even to that time, and at that time thy 
 people shall he delivered." Dan. xii. 1. '-There hath not 
 been ever the like, neither shall he any more after it, even to 
 the years of many generations." Joel ii. 2. Now, taking 
 these four passages together, I infer two things from them: 1. 
 That the passage quoted out of Matt. xxiv. 21 was not com- 
 pletely, fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem; the reason is 
 plain and unanswerable; there cannot he two days or times of 
 trouble, of each of which it may he said by dud. who knoweth 
 all things, "There is hoik like it." If one passage refers to the 
 destruction of Jerusalem, all mi/xi. If any one asks why may 
 not all refer to that event, I answer, because both Daniel and 
 Jeremiah say that this time of trouble is to be the immediate 
 harbinger of deliverance to the Jews; "at that time (says the 
 former) thy people shall be delivered," but every one knows 
 this was not the case at Jerusalem's destruction. It may be 
 inquired, What do you gain — this being allowed? The answer 
 is, We arrive at a certainty that Matt. xxiv. arid parallel pass- 
 ages look forward to the personal coming of Christ, and we arc 
 thereby enabled to identify the coming of Christ with the time 
 of universal trouble. 2. I infer that the desolations which 
 will overwhelm apostate Christendom, the seat of the fourth 
 beast, will be more dreadful by far than those which over- 
 whelmed the Jews. To those who have taken a glance at 
 Josephus, this is an appalling consideration;* but who can deny 
 it if they believe the scriptures quoted above? The desolation 
 will be more extensive; — that was confined chiefly to a city 
 and wholly to a province; but this awful whirlpool will in- 
 volve in its vortex great and mighty nations. We may expect 
 it likewise to be attended with more dreadful circumstances 
 than even the war of Titus. Look at the lirst French revolu- 
 
 * According to Josephus there perished in Judea and the neighbouring 
 countries 1,357,660 Jews, 97000 were doomed 10 slavery, 11,000 starved to 
 death, besides an innumerable multitude winch perished in wo ids, cavi s, de- 
 serts, &c. [f this be but a chastening in raeasun . c< mpared with the full end 
 God will make of the nations among win mi they have been scattered, Jer. xxx. 
 Qay well say, "Alas! who shall live when God doeth this?" and that 
 this desolation of the Jews is but a type of the greater destruction of the Gen- 
 tiles, there is every reason to conclude. 
 
 1 would also jusl observe, thai by comparing Matt, xxiv.21— 28 with Luke 
 . .' -27, we shall perceive that the tribulation spoken of takes in the whole 
 time of the Jews' troubles, including their conquest by the Romans, their long 
 dispersions, and their great afflictions at the timeof their restoration. "They 
 shall fall by the edge of the -word, and shall be led away captive into all na- 
 tion-: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of 
 the Gentiles be fulfilled," Lukexxi.24; then comi 
 
 litical convulsions which shall usher in'the coming ol the Son of man. This 
 i- the climax of the day of tribulation, to which Daniel, Jo si, and Jeremiah 
 refer in the passages above cited. See this subject ably bandied in Abdiel's 
 E . 123—129. 
 
42 
 
 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 tion, and its wide-spreading consequences, as a sample.* And 
 have we not sinned against greater mercies and under a nobler 
 dispensation than the Jews did? We have. And have not the 
 European nations hated truth, despised and persecuted its mi- 
 nisters — trampled under foot the afflicted Jews — made religion 
 a pretext for unjust and bloody wars — a stepping stool for am- 
 bitious men and a tool of the state? Doth not the blood of the 
 martyred saints cry from the lonely valleys and bleak moun- 
 tains — from the dungeons and market places of every nation 
 who have named the name of Christ! Do not the living and 
 the dying groans of millions of negroes urge forward the car of 
 vengeance loaded with heaven's heaviest woes, towards cruel, 
 bloody, slave-making, slave-holding Europe? Even now, some- 
 times, the dismal, foreboding fear fills every heart, and runs 
 from man to man, from king to peasant, from nation to nation, 
 "Alas! who shall live when God doeth this?" 
 
 Let us all seriously consider that our beloved country forms 
 a part of the doomed image.! Without question she was one 
 of the ten horns of the beast; and in Rev. xvii. 12, we find that 
 
 * "The sittings of the famous French Convention lasted for a period of 
 thirty-seven months and four days, during which time the death-warrant of 
 Louis XVI. had been ratified, thus consigning to the scaffold the successor of 
 more than a hundred kings; while France becoming a military nation, sent 
 nearly two millions of men into the field to repel her enemies. During the con- 
 tinuance of that government 11,210 laws had been enacted. 3G0 conspiracies 
 and 40 insurrections denounced, and 18,613 persons guillotined. The civil 
 commotions at Lyons and Marseilles cost the country 31,900 souls, 14,300 were 
 destroyed at Toulon, and in the south 750, subsequently to the decapitation of 
 Robespierre. In La Vendee 900,000 individuals -were sacrificed, and 20,000 
 dwellings razed to the ground, independent of which, several thousands com- 
 mitted suicide, or became insane from the daily horrors witnessed. In the 
 colonies 124,000 whites and 00,000 men of colour were slaughtered. The 
 effects of war consumed at least 900,000; and 24,000 royalists were banished 
 from their native country: yet this very republican government, that had wit- 
 nessed the flowing of such an ocean of human blood, concluded its memorable 
 career by a decree, enacting that, upon the termination of the war, an aboli- 
 tion of the punishment of death should take place.'' — Ireland's Life of Napo- 
 leon. May the Lord preserve Britain from such madness. 
 
 + Mr. Habershon observes, "There appears to be no exception made in the 
 denunciation of wide-spread ruin and desolation coming upon the world, in 
 favour of any people except the literal Israel, and a spiritual people, typified 
 in Rev. vii. by that nation." 
 
 If we look at the increase of crime— the abounding of infidelity— the spread 
 of popery— have we not, as a nation, reason to fear'? Never, surely, were those 
 two judgment-attracting sins, drunkenness and uncleanness, at such a fearful 
 height as they are now. Who can think of more than £-20,000,000 spent every 
 year on ardent spirits— of 80,000 profligates in the streets of our metropolis— 
 of hundreds of thousands who regularly profane the Lord's day, without 
 trembling for the consequences!— See Noel's Stale of Ike Metropolis. It may 
 be pleaded that God is making use ofthis country to spread his truth, and that 
 religion is increasing amonc,' us; and so it was at Jerusalem, just before their 
 destruction; multitudes of them believed, Acts v. 14; vi. 7; their heralds went 
 forth with the gospel— but yet Jerusalem fell. "Revivals of religion (says Mr. 
 Douglas) have often gone before the destruction of the nations in which they 
 have taken place/' 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 43 
 
 all ten serve the infidel power, as they had hefore served the 
 papal power. Our country is stained with spiritual fornication, 
 with cruelty, with oppression — and shall we escape? God hath 
 been favourable unto us, he hath honoured us greatly; how 
 have we repaid him? And will he not be avenged of such a 
 nation as this? Very appropriately, hath the poet put the warn- 
 ing voice into fallen Babylon's mouth: — 
 
 "Cry aloud! thou that sittest in the dustj 
 Cry to the proiul, the cruel, and unjust. 
 Knock at the t'-.wvs of nations; ronse their fearsj 
 Say wrath is coming; and the storm appears: 
 But raise the loudest cry in British ears." 
 
 COWPER. 
 
 let all the saints of God seek the throne of grace, and there 
 wrestle for their guilty land; that God in the midst of wrath 
 would remember mercy, and if God does not cause the storm 
 to pass by our nation, they shall hear a voice inviting them to 
 their chambers till the indignation be overpast? 
 
 If any will still maintain that Christ's kingdom will come 
 without any of these acts of vengeance, and by the various 
 means now used, I must leave them to enjoy their pleasing 
 delusion;* still I must say that I think in this respect the fears 
 of most belie their hopes, Luke xxi. 25, 26. But Christian, 
 recollect what is your exalted privilege: "And when these things 
 begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for 
 your redemption draweth nigh," ver. 2S. What redemption is 
 this, but that spoken of Rom. viii. 23. Eph. i. 14? — even the 
 redemption of the body from the grave, and the redemption of 
 the inheritance; and this by the actings of almighty power, 
 putting God's people into the possession of a glorified body 
 and a glorious inheritance. Then will the expectations of the 
 Mediator be realized, Heb. x. 13; the longings of separate 
 spirits be fulfilled, Rev. 5. 10; vi. 10; the groanings of saints 
 on earth be over, 2 Cor. v. 2 — 4; and the triumphing of the 
 wicked be no more. I ask, Are not the things our Lord men- 
 tions, Luke xxi., beginning to come to pass; then lift up your 
 heads, ye saints; fear not, for your Redeemer corheth; and 
 
 * It was not very probable, according to reason, that Babylon and Jerusalem 
 should be overturned as they have been. "If (says M I 
 there was a city that seemed to bid defiance to any predictions of its fall, 
 that city was Babylon." Hut when' is she nowl "Lo! Babel's desolate, and 
 God is true." The same writer thus speaks concerning Jei usalem. "At the 
 time of the Saviour's delii ei ing Ins prophecies there was perfect peace; they 
 
 retained their own laws, and were living under the protection of the r: an 
 
 empire; no sign of change appeared.' 3 • And this is another prooi of the deceit- 
 fulness of present appearances, and the suddenness of Divine judgments. 
 "When they shall say, Peace and safely, tht it sudden destruction cometh " — 
 
 Dissertation, p. 125, L61. 
 
44 T HE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 though the nations tremble, let the people rejoice. We learn, 
 then, that the troubling of the tuitions — the coming of Christ — the 
 resurrection of the saints — and the consummation of redemption, are 
 synchronic al, or nearly so, see Luke xxi., 25 — 2S. Matt. xxiv. 
 29 — 31; and that a readiness and preparation of mind in the 
 saints are closely connected with a believing realization of these 
 subjects. 
 
 4. The return of the Jews to their own land, and their ac- 
 knowledgment of Jesus as the Messiah, must precede the esta- 
 blishment of Christ's kingdom. I shall not touch upon their 
 past history, but endeavour to point out what events yet await 
 them, and to show that their national restoration and conver- 
 sion are identified in the Scriptures with the second coming 
 and glorious kingdom of Christ. 
 
 That remarkable and once highly favoured nation shall not 
 always remain homeless wanderers; long have they been, as 
 the poet describes them, "tribes of the wandering foot and 
 weary breast;" but the wandering foot shall yet again press the 
 soil of their fathers, and the weary breast shall cease to long in 
 vain. The joy experienced by their ancestors when the jubilee 
 trumpet sounded from hill to hill, shall be nothing to the joy 
 they shall feel in that day when the great trumpet shall be 
 blown, and when they that were ready to perish shall come 
 and worship God in the holy mountain, Isaiah xxvii. 13. 
 
 I will now produce a few scriptures out of a vast multitude, 
 in confirmation of the assertion that Israel shall return to and 
 possess Canaan again. I begin with the original promise made 
 to Abraham, Genesis, xiii. 14 — 17: "And the Lord said unto 
 Abraham, Lift up thine eyes, and look from the place where 
 thou art ... . for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I 
 give it, and to thy seed for ever." Here God fulfils the promise 
 he made, Gen. xii. 1. With these scriptures compare Gen. 
 xvii. 7, 8: — "And I will establish my covenant between me 
 and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an 
 everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed 
 after thee. And I will give unto thee, and unto thy seed after 
 thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Ca- 
 naan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God;" 
 also Gen. xxii. 17, where God confirms all by an oath. Taking 
 these scriptures all together, I arrive at the following conclu- 
 sions: — 1. That the original and mother promise of Canaan to 
 Abraham and his seed, was free, sovereign and unconditional. 
 There is no condition or stipulation, but God positively under- 
 takes for all: I will give; they shall receive and possess. Is it not 
 then fair to conclude, that though the sins of the Jews may de- 
 prive them of the enjoyment of Canaan for a time, they shall 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. j;, 
 
 at last enjoy it again, by virtue of the original promise? 2. That 
 the gift of Canaan is by an everlasting covenant, and for an 
 everlasting possession. 3. That all these previous promises 
 were afterward confirmed by the oath of God, Gen. xxii. 1(>, 17. 
 There is another consideration connected with this promise 
 to Abraham worthy of notice. The Jews have never as yet 
 possessed and enjoyed to the full extent all the land God pro- 
 mised to Abraham. During the reign of Solomon, he ruled 
 over the whole; but Israel's tribes did not possess it. Whether 
 this domination, considering the short time it lasted, is a ful- 
 filment of those absolute and splendid promises God made to 
 Abraham, judge ye. This is not the way the faithful God ful- 
 fils his promises. If the Lord has not as yet fulfilled all he 
 promised to Abraham, on account of Israel's sins, it does not 
 follow but that he will, seeing it was, as we have noticed, un- 
 conditional: see Lev. xxvi. 44, 45, where God declares that 
 not all their aggravated sins shall cause him to break his cove- 
 nant. how sweet does he break in upon the story of his 
 people's rebellion, with a "yet for all that!" Micah likewise, 
 in speaking of the restoration of the Jews, the terror of the 
 nations, and the pardoning grace of God, thus concludes his 
 prophecy by celebrating divine faithfulness: — ''Thou wilt per- 
 form the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which 
 thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old." Micah 
 vii. 20. Here he shows us that, in the latter-day restoration 
 of the Jews, God's power will go forth to give a glorious and 
 perfect fulfilment to the promise made to Abraham. Turn 
 next to Deut. xxx. 1 — 5: here the Lord promises to gather 
 them from the outmost parts of heaven, to bring them into the 
 land that their fathers possessed, and promises that they shall 
 possess it, and be multiplied above their fathers. This has not 
 been done, for at their return from Babylon they were not a 
 tenth part so many as came out of Egypt; neither is there any 
 reason to suppose that they were ever so numerous as in Solo- 
 mon's time. It may be said that the scripture just quoted is 
 conditional. True; but God undertakes for that also: "They 
 shall come with weeping, and with supplication I will lead 
 them," Jer. xxxi. S, 9. In the song of Moses, Deut. xxxii., 
 we have a complete prophetical history of the Jews, from their 
 coming out of Egypt till the latter-day glory: we arc also 
 taught much concerning the Gentiles' dispensation of mercy, 
 and the destruction of the oppressors of Israel. I will attempt 
 a brief analysis of this wondrous song. After the invocation 
 and ascription, verses 1 — 1, ihe prophet, 5, 6, touches a 
 mournful string, and reveals what God had disclosed to his 
 prophetic eye of Israel's ingratitude. In order to set forth the 
 
46 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 heinousness of this, 7 — 14, he, in a lofty strain of poesy, de- 
 clares God's great love to, wondrous care of, and infinite be- 
 nevolence towards this ungrateful people. He then, dropping 
 from these sublime heights, more fully exhibits, 15 — 20, their 
 rebellion and its sad consequences. Verse 21 contains God's 
 resolution to call the Gentiles, who are here termed "a foolish 
 nation," see Rom. x. 19, which act was designed to move Is- 
 rael to jealousy (this is the mystery discussed in Rom. xi.) In 
 22 — 25 we have an account of the miseries endured by the 
 Jews, after they, as a nation, had put the gospel from them, 
 and the Gentiles had received it. Josephus's history of the 
 Jews is a terrible comment on these verses. Verses 26, 27 
 reveal some of the deep thoughts of Jehovah, and manifest the 
 workings of his mind over Israel, Hosea, xi. S, 9: he would 
 not scatter Israel into corners, nor make a full end of them, 
 lest the Gentiles should be "high-minded:" no; the Jews were 
 to remain among the Gentiles scattered and peeled, but not de- 
 stroyed, in order that the Gentiles might learn to be humble 
 before God, and to tremble at his majesty.* God speaks after 
 the manner of men when he says, "I feared the wrath of the 
 enemy." Verse 28 contains a description of the Gentiles, 
 whence it would seem that they have not learned wisdom from 
 God's dealings with the Jews, nor taken the apostle's advice, 
 Rom. xi. 18, 20, 25. They have ceased to fear, and become 
 high-minded: their language is, the Jews are nothing, we are 
 all; they were broken off that we might be grafted in; if ever 
 they are grafted in, it must be into us, and not into their own 
 olive tree, Romans xi. 24. This is the language of Gentile 
 infidelity, for professing Christendom in general is as much 
 opposed to God's calling and exaltation of the Jews, as the 
 Jews were to the calling of the Gentiles: both of them have, in 
 general, mistaken the nature of their respective dispensations, 
 and the nature of God's promises. 
 
 In verse 29, the prophet utters a mournful lamentation over 
 the Gentiles, similar to that which our Lord uttered over 
 Jerusalem. He expresses, likewise, a strong desire on their 
 behalf, in which we see that their great failing, is not consider- 
 ing their latter end, viz., the close of their dispensation, and 
 coming of their Lord, a subject on which their great Teacher 
 dwelt much and often, but which they put away, saying, His 
 coming is not yet. This is for a lamentation, and shall be a la- 
 
 * "God will not quench nor slay them quite, 
 Hut lifts them like a beacon light 
 
 Th' apostate church to scare: 
 Or like |>ale ghosts that darkling roam, 
 Hov'ring around their ancient home, 
 
 But find no refuge there. - ' — Kceble. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. fl 
 
 mentation. "When the Son of man eometh, shall he find 
 faith on the earth?" Verse 30 shows that it was the hand of 
 God, and not the might of man, that brought such terrible dis- 
 comfiture on the Jews: ver. 31 — 33 give an account of the 
 grand apostacy of the Gentiles, and the degraded slate it re- 
 duced them to: ver. 34 — 42 in most sublime terms set forth 
 God's vengeance on the enemies of the Jews. In these verses, 
 the judgment of anti-christian nations is awfully portrayed; 
 after which, the song thus concludes — "Rejoice, ye nations, 
 with his people; for he will avenge the blood of his servants, 
 and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be mer- 
 ciful to his land and to his people." The people here spoken of 
 doubtless are those who in verse 9 are said to be the Lord's 
 portion, even Jacob. The land is that which the Lord careth 
 for, and upon which his eyes are from the beginning of the 
 year even unto the end of the year, Deut. xi. 12. Mark, the 
 land and people are distinguished; so that the upshot of this 
 wondrous strain of prophecy is, that God possesses Israel, his 
 portion; and his portion possess their inheritance; and mercy, 
 boundless mercy, is the cause of all, according to God's pro- 
 mise concerning Ephraim, "I will surely have mercy upon 
 him, saith the Lord," Jer. xxxi. 20. 
 
 After Moses had concluded this song, he blessed the people; 
 (Deut. xxxiii.) as Jacob had done before him, but with this 
 difference; Jacob's announcements contained evil as well as 
 good, prophecies of afflictions as well as prosperity; but Moses 
 only spoke of good; of prosperity and glory. The reason for 
 this difference I believe to be, that Jacob surveyed Israel's 
 tribes from the moment he spake downward through distant 
 ages, whereas Moses overleaped "the long, long age of guilt 
 and pain," and viewed Israel from where his song ended, so 
 that Moses' benedictions shall yet be possessed by Israel, 
 when the Lord sets his hand the second time to recover them. 
 After he has thus blessed them, he concludes with a sweet and 
 rapturous strain, descriptive of Israel's blessedness under the 
 reign of their Messiah, which thus concludes: "Israel shall 
 then dwell in safety alone, the fountain of Jacob shall be upon 
 a land of corn and wine, also his heavens shall drop down 
 dew. Happy art thou Israel! who is like unto thee, O 
 people saved of the Lord? the shield of thy help, and who is 
 the sword of thy excellency; and thine enemies shall be found 
 liars unto thee, and thou shalt tread upon their high places." 
 Deut. xxxiii. 2S, 29. Having thus sung, he went up Pisgah's 
 mount, saw the land that was to be the theatre of so many 
 wonders both of judgmeut and mercy, and the scat of so much 
 glory and blessedness, and having gazed around — he died. 
 
 vol. in. — 15 
 
48 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 "Softly his fainting head he lay 
 Upon his Maker's breast; 
 His Maker kissed his life away, 
 And laid his flesh to rest." 
 
 Having thus gone his way, he rests; and when the end of 
 the days come, shall stand in his lot, Dan. xii. 13. With him 
 may we be numbered, Amen. I cannot dismiss this subject, 
 without just asking the unprejudiced reader, whether in Israel, 
 as a nation, Deut. xxxiii. 2S, 29, quoted above, has yet been 
 fulfilled. If he will turn to Hosea ii. 19 — 23: xiv. 4 — 8; Joel 
 iii. 16 — IS; Ezekiel xxxiv. 25 — 27; he will find that these 
 verses are strictly descriptive of their restored and glorious 
 state. 
 
 From Moses let us turn to David. In Psal. cv. 6 — 11, we 
 have plainly set forth the certainty of Israel's possessing Ca- 
 naan. In the sixth verse, the seed of Abraham and Jacob are 
 called to remember the marvellous works of God, his wonders, 
 and the judgments of his mouth; they are comforted with the 
 assurance that he who spake to Abraham and Jacob, is their 
 Lord God; and that, consequently, it is for their good that his 
 judgments are in all the earth (verse 7): from whence it would 
 seem this psalm has a prophetic, as well as historic aspect, and 
 that part of it looks forward to the Jews' time of triumph. The 
 divine penman next celebrates Jehovah's faithfulness, and 
 speaks of his remembering his covenant for ever; of his com- 
 manding a word to a thousand generations; of a covenant made 
 with Abraham; of an oath sworn unto Isaac; of a confirmation 
 of the same to Jacob, and then to Israel for an everlasting co- 
 venant. Now pause a moment, and ask what do these six 
 things refer to? The eleventh verse informs us, "Unto thee 
 will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance." 
 Accordingly we find the hoi)' - poet, after having mourned 
 deeply through this and the following psalm, concluding his 
 song with the never-to-be-forgotten subject of Israel's restora- 
 tion; "Save us, Lord our God, and gather us from among 
 the heathen; to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph 
 in thy praise." Having breathed forth this prayer, he then, 
 with all that impassioned fervency which a certain hope in- 
 spires, dashes from his trembling strings a sacred doxology of 
 praise to Israel's God. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel 
 from everlasting to everlasting, and let all the people say, 
 Amen. Hallelujah. Psal. cvi. 47, 4S. 
 
 Look also at Psal. exxxv. 12 — 14, where we are informed 
 that the Lord's name and glory are connected with Israel's 
 possession of Canaan; and therefore, (ver. 14,) the Lord can 
 but judge his people, and repent himself concerning his ser- 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 49 
 
 vants. From Psal. cxxxvi. 21, 22, I might argue, how can 
 God's mercy be said to endure for ever, if Israel does not pos- 
 sess Canaan again? Once more, turn to Ezek. xxviii. 25, 26; 
 "Thus saith the Lord God, when I shall have gathered the 
 house of Israel from the people among whom they are scat- 
 tered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the hea- 
 then, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to 
 my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell safely therein, and 
 shall build houses, and shall plant vineyards; yea, they shall 
 dwell with confidence." This is so plain it needs no com- 
 ment; if the connexion be examined, it will be found impos- 
 sible to apply this to any deliverance they have yet experienc- 
 ed. The reader may find numbers of scriptures equally plain; 
 as a specimen see Gen. xxviii. 13; 1 Kings viii. 46 — 53; Isa. 
 lxv. 9; Jer. xvi. 15; xxiii. 3 — 6; xxx. 3, 9, 10, IS; Ezek. xx. 
 40 — 42; xxxvi. and xxxvii; Joel iii. 1, 2, 16; Amos ix. 14, 15; 
 Obad. 17—21; Luke xxi. 31. 
 
 The word of God likewise plainly foretels that Israel, or the 
 ten tribes, as well as Judah, or the two tribes, shall be brought 
 back from their wanderings. God will find them out wher- 
 ever they are, and bring them to their own land. Some con- 
 sider that they are meant by "the kings of the east," spoken 
 of in Rev. xvi. 12, and that the desolation of the Turkish em- 
 pire will prepare the way for their return; but whether this be 
 the case or not, their return is most certain: see Jer. xxxi. 4 — 
 9. The Lord here addresses the virgin of Israel; speaks of the 
 mountains of Samaria, (their capital city,) and of the watchmen 
 of mount Ephraim, both of which are localities belonging to the 
 ten tribes. Again, at the ninth verse, God says, "I am a father 
 unto Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born." This was the title 
 by which God owned his people when he sent Moses to claim 
 them at Pharaoh's hand, (Exod. iv. 22;) and now he is about 
 to set his hand a second time to recover them, he still owns 
 the relationship, and will plead the cause of his first-born 
 against all oppressing Pharaohs. In ver. IS, 19, we have 
 Ephraim's contrite confession, and in ver. 20, a heart-moving 
 account of the yearning of Jehovah's bowels over his returning 
 child; and the divine determination is, and who shall hinder its 
 fulfilment? "I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the 
 Lord." In ver. 27, 31, the house of Israel and Judah are care- 
 fully distinguished. See also, Jer. xxx. 3; iii. IS; Hosea i. 11. 
 And the Lord concludes this wondrous prophecy, by declaring 
 that as soon would he set aside the stedfast ordinances ef hea- 
 ven, as fail to fulfil these his promises to Israel. In Isa. xi. 13, 
 the ten tribes are called the outcasts of Israel, and the two tribes 
 the dispersed of Judah; which distinction seems to intimate, 
 
5() THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 that the ten tribes somewhere exist in a body, while Judah is scat- 
 tered among the nations. The prophet then declares, that these 
 restored tribes shall live in great peace and amity: "Ephraim 
 shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim." 
 Ezekiel speaks of the same event, with wonderful precision 
 xxxvii. 16 — 2S; "Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will 
 take the stick of Joseph, which is the head 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."' No one acquainted with Jewish 
 history, will say these things have been fulfilled literally; to say 
 they have been, or are to be fulfilled spiritually, is worse than 
 idle; it remains, then, that they are to be fulfilled, and that 
 really and literally. Besides, I would just ask, is it at all con- 
 sistent with truth and fact to say, that the splendid blessings 
 which Jacob and Moses pronounced on Joseph, the head of the 
 ten tribes, has been as yet realized by his descendants? Gen. 
 xlix. 22 — 26; Deut. xxxiii. 13 — 17. 
 
 But though these future glories of the Jews are revealed in 
 as plain terms as words will allow of, few Christians are be- 
 lievers therein. Some do not concern themselves about the 
 subject, although God says so much about it; others profess to 
 show reasons for their scepticism on this point. I will here 
 notice the objections usually urged by the opposers of the re- 
 storation of the Jews. 
 
 1. It has been said that these splendid promises of national 
 glory have been fulfilled: if we inquire when? we are told, in 
 the return of the Jews from Babylon. Now any one acquainted 
 with Jewish history knows that they returned from Babylon 
 few in number; that from that period until the coming of 
 Christ, they were exposed to many and great trials. The 
 greater part of the time they were tributaries either to the Per- 
 sians, Greeks, Syro-Grecians, or Romans; besides which they 
 waged long and bloody wars against their enemies, and what 
 is worse than all, religion was in a very low state among them. 
 Now let any one compare this state of things with such pro- 
 mises as these — "They shall not sorrow any more at all;" "I 
 will plant them in this land assuredly, with my whole heart, 
 and with my whole soul;" "They shall no more be plucked 
 up," "neither shall they bear the shame of the heathen any 
 more;" — and they must arrive at one of these conclusions; 
 either that God promised more than he performed, or that 
 these and similar promises were not then fulfilled. And further, 
 the great blessings promised to the Jews were to be enjoyed 
 under the government of Messiah the Prince; whereas some 
 tell us the promises were fulfilled before his first advent. — Jer. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 51 
 
 xxiii. 4 — 6; Ezek. xxxiv. 23 — 31. If these promises were ful- 
 filled in the return from Babylon, how is it that Ifaggai, Zecha- 
 riah, and Malachi, who prophecied after the captivity, still 
 speak prophetically of the national glory of the Jews? — Hag- 
 gai ii. 6—9, 22; Zech. i. 16, 17; x. 6—10; xii. 1—10; xiv. S, 
 14 — 21; Mai. iii. 1 — 12. I pray you observe that in some of 
 these passages, Ephraim, or the ten tribes, is referred to, as 
 well as Judah. 
 
 2. It is objected against the Jews' return, that these pro- 
 mises are to be interpreted spiritually. Thus the Gentiles not 
 only gather up the crumbs, but run away with the children's 
 bread; and what is worse, they say with a frown to the Jew, 
 You have no right to touch the promises made to you, unless 
 it is in the way we shall prescribe. The Gentile stands, in his 
 own idea, upon mount Gerizim, and places the Jew on mount 
 Ebal; he can spiritualize every blessing, but never attempts to 
 spiritualize any curse or threatening; though found in the same 
 strain of prophecy, bound up in the same paragraph, and ad- 
 dressed to the same persons. Let us look at a few passages, 
 and see how they will bear this spiritualizing system, Jer. iii. 
 18, 19. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the 
 house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of 
 the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto 
 your fathers. But I said, How shall I put thee among the 
 children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of 
 the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My Father: 
 and shalt not turn away from me. How can Christians in 
 conversion be said "to come with Judah or Israel out of the 
 land of the north, to the land God gave to their fathers?" Also 
 Jer. xxxiii. 13, we often hear ministers speaking "of the flocks 
 passing again under the hands of him that telleth them;" many 
 a spiritual sermon has been preached from these words; but to 
 be consistent, the preacher ought to show how this takes place 
 in the cities of the mountains, of the vale, of the south, of the 
 land of Benjamin, and of the places round about Jerusalem; 
 but this, it may be, would puzzle a spiritualizer to spiritualize; 
 mountains, vales, and cities are hard things to mould and alter. 
 See Jer. 1. 1.0, 20, how many have dwelt on ver. 20, without 
 showing to whom it belongs originally ! but the text says, that 
 the same persons, whose iniquity shall be sought for, and not 
 be found "shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and their soul 
 shall be satisfied on Gilead and Ephraim." See also Ezek. 
 xxxvi. 33 — 36; "Thus saith the Lord God; in the day *t hat I 
 shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities, I will also 
 cause xjou to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be buildcd. 
 and the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate 
 15* 
 
50 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This 
 land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; 
 and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, 
 and are inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about 
 vou shall know, that I the Lord build the ruined places, and 
 plant that that was desolate; I the Lord have spoken it, and I 
 will do it." How many times have the verses before and after 
 those now referred to, been dwelt upon, and the poor Jew 
 neither thought of nor prayed for! Many hundreds more of 
 passages might be brought forward, mangled and deformed, by 
 having been laid upon this spiritualizing rack, in order to extort 
 a sermon. Thus does the scripture become rent into shreds 
 and pieces, a few verses here and there are picked out, in or- 
 der to fit them into a system, while the rest is too much ne- 
 glected. There is one thing in which our spiritualizing brethren 
 strangely err against themselves; they will find something 
 typical in the Jews to answer unto four out of five of their 
 grand points, but the fifth is left without a parallel or type. In 
 God's choice of Israel, sovereign election is set forth. The 
 character of Israel as stiff-necked, exhibits our original de- 
 pravity and worthlessness. In redemption from Egypt by 
 blood and power, redemption and effectual calling are preached: 
 but where, I ask, is the type of final perseverance? Alas! to- 
 wards Israel God's mercy hath failed; he promised them that 
 Canaan should be their everlasting possession, but they are 
 aliens from their beloved land, and our guides tell us it is not 
 expedient that they should return thither again. '"Let God be 
 true, and every man a liar." As soon would I believe that a 
 vessel of mercy might perish, as I would believe that the Jews 
 will not be restored. But blessed-be God! both are impossible; 
 the oath of God guarantees the believer's blessedness and Is- 
 rael's restoration. God may and doth chasten both, he may 
 chasten them long and sorely; but of Israel God saith, I will 
 not make a full end of thee;" and "Yet for all that, I will not 
 cast them away, nor break my covenant with them;" and of 
 the sheep of Christ the good Shepherd saith, "They shall 
 never perish." Though God's word hath been abused by 
 spiritualizing, yet on this head I agree with an excellent author; 
 that, "in all the promises of spiritual blessings given to Israel, 
 believing Gentiles, as belonging to the spiritual Israel, have an 
 interest;" but then before we spiritualize, we ought to literal- 
 ize, and endeavour to show the mind of the Spirit before we 
 show our own. 
 
 3. It is objected, that a literal interpretation of these pro- 
 mises cannot be right, because it is not expedient or necessary 
 that the Jews should again possess their own land; yea, it is 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 53 
 
 said that such an event is more likely to be injurious to the 
 cause of Christ than beneficial. This objection is thus express- 
 ed in Mr. Jones's lectures on the Revelation, and is the produc- 
 tion oi some person connected with the Eclectic Review. "The 
 writer of the critique (says Mr. J.) has been remarking, that 
 though politically considered, he sees nothing improbable in 
 the event of the restoration of the Jews to Palestine, yet it 
 may be no more the fulfilment of prophecy, than the emanci- 
 pation of the Greeks or of the Irish, and it may prove a hin- 
 drance, instead of their being grafted in again into the church 
 ot God." p. 390. This is reason dema?idw« homage of reve- 
 lation with a witness. God must do that which reason judges 
 expedient. Let the plain Christian, who has that "faith which 
 is not reason's labour, but repose," consult his Bible, and run 
 over the many promises God has made to the Jews, which we 
 have shown have never been fulfilled, and which will not ad- 
 mit of a spiritual interpretation, and then let him say whether 
 if the Lord was to bring the Jews to Canaan, and lead the long- 
 lost ten tribes thither also, this would not be a greater fulfil- 
 ment of prophecy, than the emancipation of the^Irish would. 
 This assertion appears to me to be a libel on the Divine cha- 
 racter, and a bearing false witness against God. Such a person 
 seems prepared with a stock of unbelief, which shall keep him 
 from believing God's words when he fulfils them; like the 
 Jewish priests, who were determined not to believe the resur- 
 rection of Christ, however plain it was foretold, and however 
 many witnesses testified, that what was spoken was also ful- 
 filled. Shall puny man judge what would be most expedient 
 tor God to do, and assert, that for him to filfil his own promises 
 would not help forward his own designs? "Ah! (savs Mr. 
 Jiegg) there is surely something greatly wrong, when, ere the 
 declared purpose of God can be believed, inspiration must be 
 arraigned at reason's bar, and the wisdom, utility, and certaintv 
 of heaven's decrees, must be submitted to her decisions." 
 
 The reviewer next touches on Acts ii. 30—30, and would 
 tain prove from thence, that Peter understood all the promises 
 made to Israel, concerning their national prosperity, and the 
 throne of David, as fulfilled spiritually in Christ's' heavenly 
 throne. It is very evident from Acts iii. 17 — 26, that Petei 
 understood no such thing. That he was a firm believer in 
 Christ as exalted to God's right hand, is very plain, and that 
 he was as firm a believer in Christ as the future king of the 
 Jews, is also evident from Acts iii. 1.9—21; from whence we 
 learn that he expected Christ to come again for the good of the 
 Jews, for he had no idea of preaching to the Gentiles at all, till 
 long after this, and a heavenly vision was necessary to over- 
 
54 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 come his Jewish prejudices. From this passage in Acts iii. 
 just referred to, it is further evident that Peter had now more 
 light on the subject concerning which he had interrogated his 
 Lord; "Wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 
 Acts i. 6, 7. Our Lord did not say they had wrong thoughts 
 about this subject; his answer seems to acknowledge that they 
 were right in expecting the restoration of the kingdom to 
 Israel. "It is not for you to know the times and seasons which 
 the Father hath put in his power."* This surely implies the 
 reality and certainty of such a time and season. 
 
 4. Another objection to the restoration of the Jews, is found- 
 ed on the abrogation of the old covenant. Mr. Jones says, "I 
 am at a loss to see upon what solid principles the sentiment 
 which is now so peremptorily insisted upon by our modern 
 millenarians, I mean the restoration of the Jews as a nation 
 to the land of Palestine, can be supported by any who admit 
 the abrogation of the old covenant, as testified in the apostolic 
 writings." What principle? why this sentiment is supported 
 by a thousand promises, which are firm as the pillars of heaven. 
 He who could not err, said that "heaven and earth should pass 
 away, sooner than one word uttered by the prophets should 
 remain unfulfilled." And the voice that spake these promises, 
 rolls the stars along; the same voice that said, 
 
 "Abraham, I'll be a God to thee, 
 And he was Abraham's God," 
 
 will be the God of his seed after him. 
 
 I would suggest two considerations in answer to this last ob- 
 jection. 1. The original promise of Canaan to Abraham and 
 his seed, was not through the law, but independent of it, hefore 
 it: yea, before circumcision. Gen. xii. 1 — 3; xiii. 14 — 16; 
 with Rom. iv. 13. In short, it was a cove?iant of grace; and so 
 shall it be with Israel at their restoration. Jer. xxxi. 31 — 34. 
 And the Lord, by the prophet Isaiah, (li. 1, 2,) directs Israel 
 back to his original covenant, as a ground of comfort, and a 
 reason for hope; and then promises (ver. 3.) to comfort Zion, 
 and her waste places: and goes on throughout the whole of the 
 chapter, encouraging his people, making them precious pro- 
 mises, and issuing dreadful threatenings against her foes. The 
 result of the whole is, that Zion shall have the cup of trembling 
 taken from her hands, and shall obtain gladness and joy; while 
 
 * God had declared, Micah iv. 8, "The kingdom shall come to the daughter 
 of Jerusalem:" how then could the apostles be wrong in expecting the king- 
 dom to be restored to Israel? But they had overlooked that this glorious king- 
 dom was to be preceded by a time of desolation; .see Micah iii. 13. I beg the 
 reader to notice this connexion. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. ;,;, 
 
 her enemies shall take the cup of trembling, and fade like a 
 moth-eaten garment. 
 
 2. Consider what the apostle saith of his brethren, Rom. ix. 
 4. After he had mentioned the giving of the law, and the 
 service of God, he then saith that to them pertain the prornises. 
 Now, as he says in another place, "Is the law against the pro- 
 mises of God? God forbid!'' (Gal. iii. 21:) so may we say in 
 this case, Is the gospel against the promises of God? or is the 
 abrogation of the law against the promises of God? "God for- 
 bid!" To the Jews pertain the promises and by them they shall 
 be realized. 
 
 From this digression I return briefly to notice some things 
 which the page of prophecy announces concerning the Jews. 
 They will, it appears, have to undergo very great trials before 
 the sun of their national glory reaches its meridian. These 
 trials are noticed by Isaiah, (xxvi.;) by Zechariah, (xii.; xiii. 9: 
 xiv. 1 — 14;) and by almost every prophet. There is every 
 reason to concludeTthat the battle of Armageddon will be fought 
 in their land, and that the Jews will have to act a very distin- 
 guished part in that dreadful scene. Joel iii. 1,2; Zech. ix. 
 13 — 15; Dan. xii. 1. To this event many of the Psalms, doubt- 
 less, have reference; and many of the lofty songs found in that 
 book, are prophetic celebrations of the triumph that they will 
 gain; see Psal. xlvi. xlviii. for example. Ezekiel has two 
 chapters filled with accounts of this war, (xxxviii. xxxix.) in 
 which he describes these enemies of the Jews, under the names 
 of Gog and Magog. These two chapters synchronize with 
 Rev. xix. 11 — 21; see the similarity between Rev. xix. 17, 
 18, and Ezek. xxxix. 17 — 20. It is evident from hence, that 
 the Gog and Magog mentioned Rev. xx. is to be referred to 
 different times and circumstances; for the army spoken of by 
 Ezekiel, is destroyed by Israel and buried, (Ezek. xxxix. 12,) 
 while the army of the same name mentioned in Rev. xx., is 
 destroyed by fire and consumed. The Gog and Magog of 
 Rev. xx. are most probably the descendants of those who were 
 left of the first army, Ezek. xxxix. 2; these being spared may 
 be converted, but toward the close of the millennium break 
 out into a fresh revolt. The whole of the connexion in Ezekiel 
 shows, that the battles spoken of are prior to the millennium, 
 and are among the troubles described in the last chapters of 
 Zechariah, seeing the temple is built after this. 
 
 After trouble, shall come prosperity and glory. Then shall 
 their territory be enlarged, and she that was desolate shall 'Bay, 
 "Give place to me, that I may dwell," Isa. xlix. 1 9, 20. "Then 
 shall they fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the 
 west; they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and 
 
56 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 the children of A mm on shall obey them," Isa. xi. Viewing 
 this glorious time from afar, Isaiah struck his boldest, sweetest 
 notes; he bade the barren sing, and enlarge the place of her 
 tent, for, said he, ''Thou shalt break forth on the right hand 
 and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and 
 cause the desolate cities to be inhabited," Isa. liv. The whole 
 of this chapter can refer to no other than the Jewish church; 
 she, and not the Gentile, was a widow, forsaken, grieved, 
 afflicted. But this is not the place to enter upon the joyful 
 subject of their national glory; of this presently. 
 
 Connected with these events, already specified, will be their 
 acknowledgment of that Redeemer they have so long de- 
 spised. At what period of their future history this will take 
 place, we cannot exactly say; but I think from Zech. xii. 10, 
 viewed in its connexion, we may safely infer, that it will not 
 be until after many of them are restored to their own land, and 
 have passed through many troubles. With this, Ezek. xxxvii. 
 seems to agree; for the dry bones live first, and then God un-' 
 dertakes to put his spirit in them: by which some have under- 
 stood that they first live politically, as a nation, and afterwards 
 spiritually, as a converted people. . 
 
 We have yet one thing to attend to on this head, which is 
 to show how these things are connected with the coming of 
 Christ. How many or how much of these things will be done 
 before the Redeemer comes, I profess not to say: and therefore 
 this chapter is headed, The concomita?its of the Redeemer's com- 
 ing; for we know not the day nor hour-when the Master com- 
 eth. Ere the papers I am writing can meet the public eye, his 
 glorious coming may supersede their necessity, or they may 
 for years be humble witnesses that "he that shall come, will 
 come." To me, there is an obscurity cast around this part of 
 prophecy — an obscurity I do not wish to dispel, if, by so doing, 
 the incentives to watchfulness are weakened. Papacy and 
 Mahometanism are fast withering; the nations have begun their 
 tumult, and ere the first two die, or the third be quiet, Jesus 
 will come. Therefore, watch! 
 
 With respect to the Jews, it is plain that they will not arise 
 to any height of national glory, even should they be restored, 
 without the personal presence of their Messiah; and it is like- 
 wise plain, that their restoration and calling, and his coming, 
 are nearly, or quite, synchronical events. Let it be remem- 
 bered, that both at his birth and death, he was distinguished as 
 "King of the Jews;" and that he acknowledged this title at the 
 bar of his judge, where Paul says he witnessed a good confes- 
 sion. That title yet remains to be worn by him. 
 
 When the apostle John prophesied concerning Christ's second 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 57 
 
 coming in Rev. i. 7, "Behold he cometh with clouds, and every 
 eye shall see him," he seems evidently to have Zech. xii. 10 
 in his eye, and the whole connexion of the latter passage re- 
 fers to Israel's restoration. In Zech. xiv. 4, it is expressly said, 
 "His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives.'* 
 The day referred to, is the day when the nations shall fight 
 against Jerusalem. In Matt, xxiii. 39, our Lord declares that 
 Jerusalem and the Jewish nation shall see him no more till 
 they say "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!'' 
 intimating, that when hrought to retract their soul-murdering 
 cry, "Away with him!" they should see him; and as their first 
 seeing of him was a seeing of him personally, so shall this be: 
 and this seeing of our Lord personally is thus described by 
 himself in answer to the inquiries of his disciples concerning 
 his coming. "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of 
 man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, 
 and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of hea- 
 ven, with power and great glory." Matt. xxiv\ 30, 31, with 
 Luke xxi. 24 — 2S. 
 
 Dan. xii. 1, connects Christ's coming and the restoration of 
 the Jews; for when Michael the great prince stands up, the 
 Jews are delivered. Peter, (as hath been before noticed in his 
 sermon, Acts iii. 19 — 21, connects the times of refreshing, and 
 the restitution of all things, with God's sending his Son Jesus, 
 who before was preached unto them. The apostle Paul, Rom. 
 xi. 25, 26, shows, by a quotation from Isa. lix. 20, that at the 
 calling of the Jews, the Redeemer will come from the hea- 
 venly Zion to the earthly Zion, and shall turn away ungodli- 
 ness from Jacob. Several other things will be produced as we 
 pass on, to strengthen this argument; for the present, I con- 
 clude this part of the subject with the words of the prophet: 
 "Hear the word of the Lord, ye nations, and declare it in 
 the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather 
 him and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock." Jer. xxxi. 10. 
 
 5. The fifth event that willbe antecedent to the kingdom of 
 Christ, is the binding of Satan, as declared Rev. xx. I — 3; 
 nearly all agree that the event hath never yet taken place, but 
 that it is to take place during the millennium. But the ques- 
 tion is not settled among students of prophecy, whether this 
 binding is to take place during a state of things similar to the 
 present, or during another kind of dispensation. I believe the 
 latter. When I read the account given Rev. xx. of this bind- 
 ing of Satan I am constrained to believe that it will not (as 
 some suppose) be a partial, but a total binding. I believe that 
 the power of Satan will not merely be restrained, and his influ- 
 ence limited, but that be will be literally shut up, and that 
 
58 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 during the thousand years, not one of the sons of men will be 
 tempted by him. Long has he swayed his cruel sceptre, ex- 
 tensive has been his kingdom, and many his subjects; but his 
 is an usurped dominion, which infinite wisdom permits for a 
 while, for the display of his own glory, and great honour shall 
 redound to God for his overruling wisdom and power, and the 
 recovery effected by his boundless love. Then, when shut up 
 in the prison, his malicious ear listens to the loud hosannas to 
 Immanuel, on that earth where he once reigned so triumph- 
 antly, he shall have torment enough. Then shall the threaten- 
 ing in Eden be fully realized, and the head of the serpent in- 
 deed be bruised. Then shall the anticipations of Jesus, John 
 xii. 31, 32, be gloriously fulfilled, "The prince of this world 
 cast out, and all men drawn to Him." Who can tell the effect 
 this casting out of Satan will have upon the world, for who 
 can tell how much of man's misery and the misery of creation, 
 is to be traced to him, who is the prince of the power of the 
 air, the prince of those wicked spirits who are the rulers of the 
 darkness of this world, who hath the power of death, who is 
 the tempter, the accuser, a roaring lion, a venomous and crafty 
 serpent. Blessed thought — "the Son of God was manifested 
 to destroy the works of the devil," 1 John iii. IS, and he will 
 destroy them all. Sin, misery, and death, shall be abolished; 
 his works of cruelty and sensuality — his works political and 
 religious, shall be destroyed: slavery, tyranny, rebellion, shall 
 all cease to be. The stately fabrics of heathenism, popery, and 
 Mahometanism, which seemed destined .to stand for ever, shall 
 all fall; yea, every thing which employed hell's counsels shall 
 lie in ruins, to the unspeakable torment of their proud author, 
 who, after making one more "ineffectual struggle, shall be 
 brought forth to open judgment, and then be for ever cast into 
 the impotence of the second death." 
 
 I infer, then, that the binding of Satan will not take place 
 during the present dispensation, which is a season of conflict 
 and suffering. The gospel is suited for tempted persons; it 
 reveals an High-priest, whose peculiar attribute is, that he 
 knoweth how to succour them that are tempted. The pro- 
 mises, the precepts, the warnings of the gospel, are also suited 
 to the tempted. Prayer, watchfulness, obedience, self-denial, 
 all have reference to Satan's temptations; this binding is re- 
 served for another dispensation, which will be ushered in by 
 the personal coming of the Saviour, who, when he comes to 
 the destruction of his enemies, Rev. xix. will also bind Satan, 
 Rev. xx. 1, and then take unto him his great power and reign. 
 "0 what a thought, that the deluge of sin shall be baled out, 
 that the long-covered hills and valleys of holiness shall again 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 59 
 
 present themselves: that the slimy path of the old serpent shall 
 be cleansed out of all nations, and the alloy, of hell with fer- 
 vent heat be burnt out of the elements of the solid globe; that 
 the kingdom, peopled with the souls and the bodies of the re- 
 deemed, shall become meet to be presented in the presence of 
 God, shall be given up to the Father, as a pure and holy obla- 
 tion, and remain for ever the most glorious monument of his 
 almighty power to save."' 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 How great is the difference between heaven and earth! One 
 is holy, the other defiled; one is blessed, the other cursed; one 
 is full of humility and happiness, the other of pride and misery. 
 There, God is worshipped and adored, here, he is slighted and 
 blasphemed. Under this sad condition of earth, creation groans; 
 over it, devils triumph; but the church is taught to look up- 
 ward and say, "Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, 
 as it is done in heaven." This prayer shall be answered; and 
 soon, seraphim to seraphim shall continually cry, "Holy, holy, 
 holy Lord God of Sabaoth! heaven and earth are full of the 
 majesty of thy glory." 
 
 13ut the difference between the inhabitants of heaven and 
 earth is not only manifested in the dissimilarity in their em- 
 ployment, and enjoyments, but also in tbe estimate they form 
 of passing events. Many things which excite intense interest 
 on earth, are not considered worth a thought in heaven; and 
 many things which employed God's counsels, — which fill 
 every saint's bosom with deep rapture, — and every -angel's 
 harp with lofty praise, are despised or slightly heeded on earth. 
 These remarks apply particularly to the advents of Christ into 
 our world, first to redeem, and then to reign; the Son of God 
 coming in lowliness, the Son of man coming in the glory of 
 his Father; the mission of omnipotent mercy, — the revelation 
 of righteous and long despised vengeance. Yes, heavenly 
 minds looked, and still look with intense interest on these 
 events; they always feel what Solomon once felt, when with 
 his large heart overflowing with divine love, he said, "And 
 
 * Irvings Preliminary D^course to his translation of Ben Ezia. 
 VOL. III. 16 
 
qq THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 will God in very deed dwell with man?" Yes! he came, he 
 dwelt, he departed; for it is written in the page of truth, "He 
 teas in the world." "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt 
 among us." How did earth receive her Creator? "The world 
 knew him not." All things went their usual round; and the 
 Holy One came into the world unnoticed. The virgin, with 
 her precious burden, could get no admittance at the inn, 
 
 "The crowded inn, like sinners' hearts, 
 O ignorance extreme! 
 For other guests of various sorts 
 Had room, but none for him." 
 
 The Lord of heaven and earth was laid in a manger. The 
 Saviour of the church, the judge of the world, the Heir of all, 
 was lodged among the beasts. (0 world! world! how differ- 
 ent will the scene be, when, ushered in by the archangel's 
 blast, he makes his second triumphal entrance.) But could the 
 veil which separates the world of light from our view, have 
 been drawn aside, how different would heaven have appeared! 
 There were no unwakeful eyes, no wandering nor unemployed 
 thoughts; Bethlehem was the point of attraction to all heaven. 
 The inhabitants of bliss, long favoured to behold the wonders 
 of Deity, possessed new feelings, and new joys; and bent with 
 adoring rapture over the lowly stable, Let their songs tell forth 
 their feelings, God's complacency, and our bliss. "A Saviour 
 is born; glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good-will 
 toward men." But how dark are the shades of this bright pic- 
 ture; how saddening is the thought, after musing on eter- 
 nal love, incarnate grace, and angelic joy, to think of cold in- 
 difference, sullen enmity, and diabolic malice, reigning in those 
 for whom all this was done! 
 
 "The Son of God went forth, and lo! 
 Before his steps, health's genial heat 
 Thrilled the wide world of spirit through, 
 And flesh in vigorous pulses beat. 
 Hell's hateful door 
 Was closed once more, 
 Heaven's wells of bliss o'erflowing ran: 
 Such gifts the Saviour gave to man. 
 
 But man prepared the gibe, the jeer, 
 The scorn, the mockery, hate and spite, 
 Words, looks, to wring the bitter tear, 
 The perilous day, th' unpillow'd night: 
 
 The heart's keen ache, 
 
 When friends forsake; 
 The scourge, the thorn, the cross, the grave; 
 Such gifts man to his Saviour gave." 
 
 It would be easy to trace this difference between heaven and 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. { ] | 
 
 earth, in the estimate formed of the Saviour's ministry, mira- 
 cles, death, and resurrection. With the exception of the few 
 strangers and pilgrims, who were led by the Spirit to "the 
 innumerable company of angels, and the spirits of the just made 
 perfect," the difference has been amazingly, yea, fatally great. 
 But we hasten on to remark how great is the difference in the 
 inhabitants of these two regions of creation respecting the 
 second coming of Jesus. The language of heaven could not, 
 I should imagine, fully pour forth their ideas of the importance 
 of that event; on earth it is little regarded; — who acts as under 
 the impression "the day of the Lord cometh!" They desire 
 it intensely, and hope for it ardently, (Rev. vi. 9, 10; xix. 1 — 
 7;) our desires are feeble, and our hopes but glimmering. 
 "Great Bishop of thy church, awaken us, that ue maij arise and 
 trim our lamps, lest coming suddenly thou find us sleeping!'' 
 
 We need not ask the question, why "the world that lieth in 
 the wicked one" realizes not, desires not, the Lord's coming. 
 They are spell-bound by unbelief; they walk* after him who 
 said, "What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth?" 
 But that the church professing Jesus' name, the church that 
 ought to be conformed to those above in tastes and hopes, 
 should be so little affected by, and feel so little delight in, the 
 prospect of the Lord's coming, demands the most minute in- 
 quiry. One reason may be found in the indisposition there is 
 in all our minds naturally, to be conversant with things future, 
 and invisible, so as to be affected by them. The present is with 
 us, the visible is around us; and it is hard to leave these, and to 
 look at "the things not seen, which are eternal" this is a higher 
 attainment than at first is imagined. To do this, we need a 
 counteracting principle, raising us above the present and visible 
 into the future and invisible; this lever must have somewhat 
 whereon to rest, or else all efforts will be inefficient. Grace 
 hath found both these; the principle is faith, its resting place 
 is God's xcord; and it is only by taking hold of this, that the 
 soul can rise. "He that testifieth these things saith, Surely, I 
 come quickly." Faith is nothing more than so to believe the 
 words of God, as to be affected by them, and influenced to act 
 as they require. . Professor, try your heart by this test; see 
 what is the precise nature of your connexion with God's word: 
 is it a connexion of the head, or of the heart? 
 
 Further we observe, that the peculiarly worldly, hustling 
 spirit of the times, is opposed to a steady and influential expec- 
 tation of things future; and more especially of the conring of 
 Christ. The more we are mixed up with, and conformed to 
 this world, the less sympathy shall we have with heaven. 
 Those who have more to do with this world's politics, and this 
 
(52 TH E COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 world's business, than a single eye to God's glory calls upon 
 them to have, become as it were identified with it, if not with 
 its vices, yet with its spirit; and consequently, do not ardently 
 wish to leave it, nor sincerely wish that it might be displaced, 
 to make way for another and better state of things. We do 
 not speak against patriotism; this and apolitical spirit, are often 
 as distinct as superstition and religion. We do not speak 
 against industry, but covetousness; and the question simply is 
 this; — Is there not more clamour about worldly kingdoms, and 
 more craving for worldly good, among those who profess re- 
 ligion, than there is patient waiting for Christ's coming, and 
 seeking first the kingdom of God? Hope cannot be healthy and 
 clear-visioned in this world's atmosphere; the soul that would 
 be cheered by her discoveries, must get above it; even on 
 Calvary. 
 
 "Thence hope directs her eagle eye, 
 And longs to see Him rend'the sky." 
 
 As things evil, so things in themselves good, have had a ten- 
 dency to avert the church's eye from the Lord's coming. 
 ''Compared (says one) with the cross and an interest in it, it 
 is of little consequence whether we believe that the Lord will 
 come before his kingdom on earth, or afterwards." Another 
 says "Millions are perishing in their sins; let us not stand 
 disputing, but arise and send them the gospel." Very true: 
 to cling to the cross is the soul of all religion, to preach the 
 gospel to every creature is our bounden duty; but did not the 
 apostles do both these, and "wait for Christ from heaven," 
 and "look for that blessed hope:" and do not they exhort us 
 to do the same? Can we spare any motives that may stimulate 
 to duty, or any considerations which may help to make us 
 happy? Should we believe in Jesus any the less, if we expected 
 soon "to see him as he is?" Should we labour less diligently, 
 if we thought he would soon call us "to give an account of our 
 stewardship?" Assuredly not. 
 
 To this great event, with the awful and glorious circum- 
 stances connected therewith, we will now direct our attention; 
 an event, concerning which the word of God says more than 
 it does concerning any thing beside; and which, indeed, in its 
 grandeur, glory, and consequences, will excel all other occur- 
 rences. The manger, cross, and tomb; the resurrection, ascen- 
 sion, and intercession of Christ, may be regarded as so many 
 steps by which our glorious Solomon went up to the throne of 
 his glory. If, with the eye of faith looking at these, we are 
 now, like the queen of Sheba, overpowered with grateful ad- 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. ,;;» 
 
 miration and holy wonder, 0, what will he our feelings when 
 we shall see the throne itself; yea, when 
 
 "The King of grace shall fill the throne, 
 With all his Father's glories on!" 
 
 And how overpowering will he the joy of those who shall he 
 privileged to sit down with Christ upon his throne of triumph, 
 government, and honour! Rev. iii. 21. 
 
 Be courageous then, ye saints, and press towards the mark 
 for this glorious prize! 
 
 This second coming of the Saviour is said to he "in the glory 
 of his Father, and of his holy angels," Matt xvi. 27, — "with- 
 out sin unto salvation," Heb. ix. 27, — the glorious appearing 
 of the great God and our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ," Titus 
 ii. 13, — with clouds," Rev. i. 7, — "with flaming fire," 2 Thess. 
 i. 8, — "and with all his saints," 1 Thess. iii. 13. The man- 
 ner of it will be sudden and unexpected; the world will he 
 secure, and the church will be off her guard, Matt. xxv. 5, 6: 
 Luke xvii. 26; Rev. xvi. 15. 
 
 That glorious Personage, who at his first coming was a 
 cradled infant, and a man of unequalled sorrows,* will at his 
 second coming, be manifested in various ways, very different 
 from his first manifestation in the flesh. Then he performed 
 many and mighty wonders in our nature, but he will yet per- 
 form more. By taking it into union with the Deity, he laid a 
 sure foundation to make all his members holy, Heb. ii. 11. In 
 that nature he wrought a righteousness, made an atonement for 
 sin, overcame death, and conquered hell; and, having per- 
 
 * In that masterly production, Ry land's Funeral Oration for Dr. Gilford 
 there is the most striking contrast lever read between the first and 
 comings of Christ; it can scarcely be read without deep emotion. The fol- 
 lowing.is a short extract: — "At his first coming, he appeared in the bigh 
 priest's hall; at his second, he will appeal from the highest heavens. At his 
 first coming, he stood at Pilate's bar; at his second, Pilate must stand at his 
 bar. At his first coming, he stood before Herod and his bullies, to be mocked; 
 at bis second, Herod and his men of war mast stand before him, to be judged 
 for eternity. 
 
 "Now, Caiaphas, charge him again with blasphemy, and rend vour clothes 
 afresh? Now, Pilate, bind him and scourge him once more! Now, Herod, 
 treat him and mock.him as a fool! Barrabbas, now bold up your head, and 
 rise once more above Jesus of Nazareth,— Jesus, the despised Galilean. Judas. 
 Judas! sell his blood <>nce more; sell hiin for thirty pieces of silver, at the price 
 of a slave; give him another traitorous kiss: go up in him, ti"t in 'he garden 
 but on his great white throne, saw Hail, Master! and kis. him. Why man do 
 v>u bogglel why do vcu shiver! Whatl n"i aide to reach hiinl nol dare to 
 kiss ] j i tii once more! onee more! Come, ye Jewish rabble, cry out. '. 
 
 see him upon his throne, Hail! Hail! King of the Jews. Follow him afresh; 
 and, with the most violent vociferations, exclaim, Crucify him! crucify him' 
 Now. soldier, stab him to the heart on. e more; plungeyour spear into his b • 
 som, and say once more, what probably yon said before. Curse the Jewish im- 
 let him bleed."' This valuable Utile piece is again re-published. 
 16* 
 
(54 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 formed these five wonders of love, went triumphantly to glory, 
 "with scars of honour in his flesh, and triumph in his eyes." 
 Strange device of infinite wisdom and love, to make the very 
 same nature which had sinned, and was sinning, the medium 
 of conveyance of the choicest blessings to rebel man. That 
 in that nature, righteousness should be wrought, atonement 
 made, conquest effected, and a fulness of holiness dwell — that 
 Satan should be overthrown on his own ground, by the seed of 
 her whom he overthrew in the high places of Eden, how won- 
 derful! God hath, in redemption, indeed "abounded toward 
 us in all wisdom and prudence." And now, behold! He who, 
 as the man of sorrows, sowed in tears, cometh as the God-man 
 — the glory-man — to reap in joy. 
 
 It is proposed to notice five things in Christ's second com- 
 ing; not different appearances, but different actings, of the same 
 Person. 
 
 1. He will be manifested as a successful conqueror — his 
 achievements will be no longer hidden in the solitudes of the 
 wilderness, or in the grave's dark cavern — midnight shall not 
 spread her shades around him, as was the case on the cross, 
 when he comes again to vindicate his Father's honour, but 
 "every eye shall see him." A description of this almighty 
 Avenger is given Rev. xix. 11 — 21, where we are likewise told 
 who are the objects of his vengeance. Then it is that "he 
 treads the winepress of the wrath of Almighty God," and the 
 blood of his enemies stains all his raiment; and the reason is, 
 because "the day of vengeance is in his heart," Isa. lxiii. 4. 
 In order to perform this, he has feet like unto fine brass, as 
 though they burned in a furnace,. Rev. i. 15. 0, how horri- 
 ble will be the case of those who are trodden under them! and 
 all must be who are never brought to his feet as penitents. In 
 Rev. i. 16; xix. 15; he is represented as having a sharp two- 
 edged sword coming out of his mouth; that with it he should 
 smite the nations, and rule them with a rod of iron. To this 
 Isaiah refers, (xi. 4:) "He shall smite the earth with the rod 
 of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the 
 wicked." In still more awful language the same event is set 
 forth, Isa. xxxiv. 5: "For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: 
 behold it shall come down upon Idumea (Edom, typical of 
 apostate Christendom,) and upon the people of my curse to 
 judgment."* To this David refers, Psal. ex. 5, G: "He shall 
 
 * Dr. Owen observes, "The lime shall come wherein the earth shall disclose 
 her slain, Isa. xxvi. 21, and not the simplest heretic (as they were counted,) 
 shall have his blood unrevenged; neither shall atonement "be made for bis 
 blood, or expiation be allowed, whilst a toe of the image or a bone of the 
 beast remains unbroken." Again he remarks, "Is it not evident to him that 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CIlIiisT ,;- 
 
 judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead 
 bodies, he shall wound the heads over many countries." Thus, 
 both in Ezekiel and the Revelation, the invitation is given to 
 the fowls of the heaven to come and cat the flesh of kings, cap- 
 tains, and mighty men, Ezek. xxxix. 17, 18; Rev. \i\. 18. 
 One more thing worthy of notice in Rev. xix. is, the name 
 Christ is called by on this occasion, — "the Word of God." 
 Christ is both "the wisdom of Clod, and the power of Godj" 
 he declares and he fulfils God's will; and when he conies, it 
 will be to lake signal and peculiar vengeance on those nations 
 and those individuals who have turned away from him who 
 spake from heaven, Heb. xii. 25; and they cannot escape, 1 
 Thcss. v. 3. This he declared when on earth; ''The word that 
 I have spoken the same shall judge him at the last day," John 
 xii. 4S. If zee never hear his voice, we must fed his arm. lie 
 who now says, "Look unto me and be ye saved," will say, ere 
 long, "Depart from me, ye cursed." N 
 
 It is with reference to this part of his work, that our Lord 
 is called "the Lion of the tribe of Judah; see also Isa. xxxi. 
 4: "Like as the lion and the young lion, roaring on his prey, 
 when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he 
 will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise 
 of them; so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for mount 
 Zion, and for the hill thereof." 
 
 That the grand and final overthrow of the nations will take 
 place in the land of Israel, and be affected partly by the in- 
 strumentality of the Jews, there is every reason to believe. In 
 Zech. xiv. we read, "I will gather all nations against Jerusa- 
 lem to battle, and the city shall be taken." &.c. — "then shall 
 the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when he 
 fought in the day of battle." That God will use the Jewish 
 nation as his instruments, may be inferred from Zech. xii., 
 where the Lord declares that "he will make Jerusalem a cup 
 of trembling, and a burdensome stone; that all who burden 
 themselves with it shall be cut to pieces, though all the people 
 of the earth be gathered together against it. That he will 
 smite the horse, with astonishment, and his rider with madness; 
 make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among wood, 
 and like a torch in a sheaf, and they shall devour all the peo- 
 ple round about." For this God will strengthen them, "for 
 
 hath but hall' an eye, lhal the whole present constitution of the governmeiM <■! 
 the nations is so cemented with Anti-christian moitar,from the very top to the 
 bottom that without a thorongh shaking they cannot be cleansed?" In another 
 place he says, "God hath three great works to do on the day of his carrying 
 on Dterest of Christ and the goapel. I. He bath gn to take; 
 
 2. He hath great deliverances to work: 3. He hath great discoveries to make.'' 
 
66 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 he that, is feeble among them in that day shall be as David, and 
 the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord 
 before them." In Joel ii. we read, "For behold in those days, 
 and at that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Ju- 
 dah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring 
 them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with 
 them there for my people, and for my heritage Israel, whom 
 they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land." 
 The prophet in the prospect of this day, which he calls "a day 
 of darkness, and gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick dark- 
 ness," cries out, "Let the heathen be awakened, and come up 
 to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there will I sit to judge all 
 the heathen round about." The call is obeyed, for God's de- 
 termination is to gather all nations, and the prophet cries out 
 amazed, "Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision: 
 put ye in the sickle for the harvest is ripe: come you, get 
 you down, for the press is full, for the fats overflow:" and to 
 show that this is a vintage of wrath corresponding with Rev. 
 xiv. 19, 20, Isa. Ixiii. 1 — 4, it is added, "for their wickedness 
 is great."* The 38th and 39th chapters of Ezekiel enter much 
 more into detail. The prophet describes the thoughts and 
 ways of Israel's last foe, the situation and circumstances of 
 Israel, their trial and victory. How very striking are the fol- 
 lowing words: "And it shall come to pass at the same time, 
 when Gog shall come against the land of Israel (which he de- 
 clares ver. 16, shall be in the latter days), 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; and I will call for a sword against 
 him through 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 hailstones, fire 
 and brimstone." After this the nations shall be convinced 
 that God is on the side of Israel, and Israel shall be truly con- 
 verted to God; for it is written, "And I will set my glory 
 among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment 
 
 * "And the wine press was trodden without llic city, and blood came out of 
 the wine-press, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six 
 hundred furlongs." Rev. xiv. 20. This is the gieat winepress of the wrath of 
 God, so much spoken of in Scripture; an event yet future, and it may be, near 
 at hand. "Mr. Scott observes, 'It is remarkable that 1600 furlongs, or 200 
 miles, is exactly the length of the papal dominions in Italy, (it is also the 
 length of Palestine;) and probably, these will be deluged with blood in a most 
 awful manner, which is represented by language tremendously hyperbolical.— 
 Bicker steWs Gu ide. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. (ft 
 
 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: neither will I hide my face 
 any more from them; for I have poured out ray Spirit upon 
 the house of Israel, saith the Lord God." The prophet Jere- 
 miah thus represents Jehovah as addressing his inheritance Ja- 
 cob; "Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of war; for with 
 thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I de- 
 stroy kingdoms," Jer. li. 20. Zechariah testifies to the same 
 effect, ix. 13 — 17, as also doth JNlicah, iv. 11 — 13; and thus it 
 is that "according to the days of their coming out of the land 
 of Egypt, God shews unto Israel marvellous things, that the 
 nations might see and be confounded at all their might, lay 
 their hands upon their mouth, and move out of their holes like 
 worms of the earth;" while Israel, feeding upon Carmcl, Ba - 
 shan, and Gilead, as in the days of old, shall sing, "Who is a 
 God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the 
 transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he N retaineth not 
 his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy." Micah 
 vii. 14—20. 
 
 How very plainly are these things written, how certain is 
 their fulfilment, how dreadful will this overthrow be; but how 
 little is it believed! It is probable (says Mr. Habershon) that 
 the cabinets of the five great powers, as they are called, would 
 smile with derision, were it for a moment suggested that their 
 greatest danger, their complete overthrow, was connected 
 with the affairs of that despised people the Jews. So did Pha- 
 raoh, and so did Belshazzar; but in doing so they knew not 
 that they forgat Him who hath declared that he is the "God 
 of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob," that "this is his name 
 for ever, and this is his memorial unto all generations." 
 Whoever may smile at, or neglect this testimony, it remains 
 written in God's word, "Though I make a full end of all na- 
 tions whither I have driven thee, yet will I not make a full end 
 of thee." Woe be to the Hamans, when the Mordccais and 
 Esthers begin to turn to God! For then will God send Jesus 
 Christ, and the times of restitution, the theme of all the pro- 
 phets, shall come, Acts iii. 20, 81. The pierced One shall be 
 manifested in the clouds of heaven, the inhabitants of Jerusa- 
 lem shall mourn, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail: com- 
 pare Zech. xii. 10, with Rev. i. 7. "The Lord my God shall 
 come, and all the saints with thee, and the Lord shall he king 
 over all the earth; in that day there shall be one Lord, and'hil 
 name one," Zech. xiv. 5. 9. 
 
 These events to which, we have been referring, will take 
 place while the seventh trumpet is sounding. Then, and not 
 
68 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 before, "the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms 
 of God and of Christ;" at the same time "the destroyers are 
 to be destroyed, the dead judged, and reward given to God's 
 faithful servants, and to all that fear his name," Rev. xi. 15 — 19: 
 with which compare 1 Cor. xv. 52, and 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17, 
 and it will be difficult to evade the conclusion, that at the same 
 time Christ comes to raise his saints, he comes to judge the na- 
 tions, and to set up his kingdom in this world, under the whole 
 heaven. 
 
 2. Christ at his second coming will be manifested as the liv- 
 ing and loving husband of his now perfected elect church,* 
 and restored Jewish people. The day of his coming will be 
 the day of espousals, Matt. xxv. 1 — 12. We may read con- 
 cerning the elect church, who will be the children of the 
 resurrection, in Rom. vii. 4; 2 Cor. xi. 2; Ephes. v. 25 — 27; 
 Jude 24, 25; and Rev. xix. 7 — 9. Concerning the Jewish 
 church we may read, Psal. xlv.; Isa. Ixii. 4, 5; and Hosea ii.; 
 both will then be raised to peculiar dignity, but the glory of 
 the former will greatly exceed that of the latter. The former 
 will be "presented unto God without spot," the latter will be 
 betrothed in righteousness, faithfulness, and loving-kindness, 
 Hosea ii. The former will be "heirs of God, joint heirs with 
 Christ" — "kings and priests unto God;" the latter shall be 
 called "holy people, the redeemed of the Lord, sought out, a 
 
 * The great love of Christ set forth in this figure, is thus dwelt upon by that 
 eminent theologian, Dr. Goodwin. "Christ saysy 'I will come again, and re- 
 ceive you unto myself.' He condescends to the very laws of bridegrooms, (for 
 notwithstanding all his greatness, no lover shall put him down in any expres- 
 sion of true love.) It is the manner of bridegrooms, when they have made 
 all ready in their father's house, then to "come themselves and fetch their brides, 
 and not to send for them by others, because it is a time of love. Love descends 
 better than ascends, and so doth the love of Christ, who indeed is love it- 
 self, and therefore comes down to us himself. 'I will come again, and re- 
 ceive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also.' That last part 
 of his speech gives the reason of it, and withal betrays his entire affection; it 
 is as if he had said, The truth is, I cannot live without you. I shall never be 
 quiet till I have you where I am, that we may never part again; heaven shall 
 not hold me, nor my Father's company, if I have not you with me, my heart is 
 so set upon you; and if I have any glory, you shall have part of it. 'Because 
 I live, you shall live also."' 
 
 Mr. Noel has the following striking remarks on Rev. xix. 7. "The mind 
 labours to interpret this image. A monarch, virtuous, powerful, just, benefi- 
 cent, energetic, selects a joyous companion of his schemes, intimacies, his be- 
 neficent objects, his views of national improvement and happiness; and he 
 realizes this plan precisely at the moment in which he receives the sceptre of 
 his kingly honour . And has the eternal spirit deigned to reveal under this 
 image, the everlasting honours of the church with Christ! an union to be un- 
 broken and complete through endless ages, an union productive at once of 
 unmingled mutual joy, and of richest beneficence to a renovated world. O 
 well may the same apostle exclaim, 'Behold what manner of love the Father- 
 hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.'"— Prospects 
 of the Christian Church. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. ,,<> 
 
 city not forsaken,' 1 Isa. lxii. 12. For the present I confine my 
 further remarks to the former. Then shall Christ take his 
 elect, his soul's travail and reward, into his everlasting em- 
 brace. They shall "be ever with the Lord;" "see him as he 
 is, and be like him;" "appear with him in glory." Their life, 
 long hidden, shall be hidden no longer, hut when their quick- 
 ening Head appears, shall be exhibited on the loftiest theatre 
 omnipotence ever created, Col. iih 3. 4. Then shall their 
 bodies be raised, and they, as partakers in the first resurrec- 
 tion, be blessed and holy. Yes, the powerful voice of Jesus 
 shall break up all their tombs, his love-call shall collect their 
 scattered dust, and his plastic hand shall in a moment, "accord- 
 ing to his mighty working," mould the once afflicted and sin- 
 ful body into a beauteous temple, fit for the immortal spirit 
 ever more to reside in — a body suited to the air and work of 
 immortality. With what joy shall the saints see their bodies 
 wake from their lowly beds, with what rapture shall the soul 
 meet its old companion, then no longer its pest, its s tempter, and 
 its clog. See, they are bound together in an everlasting union, 
 and immortality rolls its full tide of blessedness through every 
 faculty, through every member. This scene filled the soul of 
 holy Job with triumph, though he contemplated it through the 
 long vista of several millenaries of sin and woe, Job xix. The 
 thought of this made Paul glow with rapture and seraphic fire, 
 and in bold numbers to sing death's funeral dirge, Jesus' resur- 
 rection power, and the saint's resurrection glories. "0 death, 
 where is thy sting? grave, where is thy victory?" And 
 well may we, who are looking to the crucified One for salva- 
 tion, sing 
 
 "Break, sacred morning, through ihe skies. 
 Bring that delightful, dreadful day; 
 Cut short the hours, dear Lord, arid come: 
 Thy lingering wheels, how long they stay!" 
 
 For to us, my brethren, as well as to weeping Mary and Mar- 
 tha, does Jesus say, "I am the resurrection and the life." 
 From his exalted throne he kindly tells us, that he ever lives 
 who was once dead, Rev. i. IS; and "because he lives we shall 
 live also." He bids us wipe our eyes, and comfort our hearts, 
 all we that hope in the Lord, with the thought that this cor- 
 ruptible shall soon put on incorruption, and this mortal immor- 
 tality. Shame on us that we should be comfortless while we 
 have such hopes. "0 thrice fools that we are, (says Ruther- 
 ford,) like new-born princes weeping in a cradle, and know not 
 that we are born to a kingdom!" 
 
 Brethren, it is not from thoughts of reposing in death's cold 
 arms that we are to comfort ourselves, but "in waiting for the 
 
70 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." Death is not 
 the gospel; worms, darkness, separation, and mouldering de- 
 cay are no good tidings; but the first resurrection is gospel, 
 pure gospel; every letter of it beams bright with glory, and 
 sheds to the believing eye a steady light on the sorrows of life 
 and the horrors of the grave. may we, in hope of this bet- 
 ter resurrection, sit loose to the world, like strangers and pil- 
 grims who seek a city that hath foundations. 
 
 The doctrine of a first resurrection is plainly revealed in 
 God's word. "The dead in Christ shall rise first," 1 Thess. 
 iv. 16. "Every man in his own order, Christ the first fruits, 
 afterwards they who are Christ's at his coming, then cometh 
 the end," 1 Cor. xv. 23, 24. In Rev. xx. 5, the difference of 
 time is said to be the full period of the millennium. "But the 
 rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were 
 finished: this is the first resurrection." In Luke xx. 35, we read, 
 But they that shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world 
 and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given 
 in marriage, neither can they die any more, for they are equal 
 unto the angels, and are the children of God, being the children 
 of the resurrection. (What it is to be children of the resurrec- 
 tion will be best understood by reading Rom. viii. 17, IS, 23.) 
 From the passage quoted out of Luke, it appears that it is a 
 resurrection that is connected with worthiness (or meetness, 
 Coloss. i. 12,) which it is an honour to obtain, and which is 
 from the dead; implying that some are still left behind in the 
 cells of the grave. This surely cannot be a general resurrec- 
 tion, when both righteous and wicked shall rise together in 
 a moment, for to the wicked the resurrection cannot be con- 
 sidered as a blessing. Further, "the Apostle Paul says, Phil, 
 iii., that he pressed forward in his Christian course, if by any 
 means he might attain unto the resurrection/rom the dead, (for 
 this is the meaning of the Greek text. ) He need not have ex- 
 erted himself to have attained the general resurrection; this he 
 might have had without any extraordinary effort; but he was 
 anxious to obtain a better resurrection, like the worthies men- 
 tioned in the 11th chapter of Hebrews, even that resurrection 
 which is promised to those that are in Christ.* 
 
 Thus will all the once suffering saints of God, of every age 
 and every clime, as children of the resurrection, "stand dressed 
 in robes of everlasting wear." Then shall those who reck- 
 oned that the sufferings of this present time were not worthy 
 to be compared with the glory to be revealed, prove that they 
 
 * Hooper's Doctrine of the Second Advent. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. «J»| 
 
 rightly reckoned. 0, what a shout will that great and glad 
 company raise! then indeed 
 
 "To the third heavens their SODgE shall 
 And teach the golden harps God's pi a 
 
 Job's anticipations shall be fully realized, Job xiv. 15, "Thou 
 shalt call, and I will answer; thou wilt have a desire to the 
 work of thy hands." Jesus will say, "Awake and sing ye that 
 dwell in dust, Isa. xxvi. ; and every one shall obey his call, 
 and fill heaven and eternity with his praise. When he arose 
 from the dead, he met his seeking ones with "All hail!" then 
 was their joy great, liut in vain do we endeavour to describe 
 the joy botli of the Redeemer and the redeemed at this morn- 
 ing of an eternal day; but "then shall we know if we follow 
 on to know the Lord." Then shall Christ present his church 
 unto himself with unspeakable complacency, Ephes. v., and 
 shall salute her with, "Thou art all fair, my love, there is no 
 spot in thee;" and the saved multitude shall ech'o back, "Wor- 
 thy is the Lamb," Hallelujah! "Salvation to God and the 
 Lamb, for ever and ever. Our holiness is all from thee; our 
 righteousness was wrought out by thee." And then, as they 
 all take one more look back on what they are redeemed from, 
 and as the full realization of blessedness makes them feel what, 
 they are redeemed to, (and that for ever,) every heart being 
 filled with love, till then unknown, and every tongue with 
 praise sincere, as with the voice of mighty thunderings, yea, 
 louder than the ocean's mightiest roar, they again shout, "Hal- 
 lelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." 
 
 "Glory to God, 
 And to the Lamb, who bought us with his blood, 
 From every kindred, nation, people, tongue; 
 And washed, and sanctified, and saved our souls; 
 And gave us robes of linen pure, and crowns 
 Of life, and made us kings and priests to God. 
 Shout back to ancient time! Sing loud and wave 
 Your palms of triumph! Sing, Where is thy sting, 
 O death! where is thy victory, O grave! 
 Thanks be to God, eternal thanks, who gave 
 Us victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Harp, lift thy voice on high! shout, angels, shout? 
 And loudest, ye redeemed! glory to God, 
 And to the Lamb all glory and all praise, 
 All glory and all praise, at muni and even, 
 That come and go eternally, and find 
 Us happy still, and thee for ever blest! 
 Glory to God and to the Lamb. Amen. 
 For ever, and for ever more. Amen. 
 And those who stood upon thesea of dass, 
 And those who stood upon the battlements 
 And lofty towers 'of New Jerusalem, 
 
 VOL. III. — 17 
 
*,- THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 And those who circling stood, bowing afar, 
 Exalted on the everlasting hills, 
 Thousands of thousands, thousands infinite, 
 With voice of boundless love, answered, Amen. 
 And through eternity, near and remote, 
 The world's adoring, echoed back, Amen; 
 And God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
 The One Eternal, smiled superior bliss! 
 And every eye, and every face in heaven, 
 Reflecting and reflected, beamed with love!'' 
 
 Pollok. 
 
 Tims shall "Christ come to be glorified in his saints, and to 
 be admired in all them that believe," 2 Thess. i. 10. Then 
 shall God glorify his Son Jesus, by causing millions who once 
 wore the image of Satan to bear the image of Him who is "the 
 brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of his 
 person," Heb. i. 3. Then shall Christ present them before the 
 presence of the Divine glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24: 
 Coloss. i. 22); and they shall know what it is "to be heirs of 
 God and joint heirs with Christ. 
 
 Before we leave the subject of the first resurrection, there 
 are two or three points concerning which a few inquiries may 
 be made, such as, Will the first resurrection be confined to the 
 saints? There are three classes of scriptures which refer to the 
 resurrection of the body: the first includes those already ad- 
 duced, which, we believe, affirm there will a first resurrection; 
 such as 1 Thess. iv.; Rev. xx. The second are such as the 
 following, which seem to affirm a simultaneous resurrection of 
 the just and unjust: — John v. 2S, 29; Acts xxiv. 15. But let 
 it be remembered that neither do these, nor, as far as I can re- 
 collect, any other scripture, affirm that the resurrection of all 
 the righteous and wicked will be at the same time, while many 
 scriptures do affirm, if they are to be understood literally, that 
 the just will rise before the unjust. Besides, it is well known 
 that sometimes the same scripture, or verse of scripture, refers 
 to events which are many hundred years apart, but contain no 
 intimation that such is the case. In Micah v. 2, the birth of 
 the Saviour and his future reign over Israel are joined together, 
 but we know these events were far apart; see Isaiah ix. 6, 7; 
 xi. 1 — 6. So in John v. 2S, 29, the fact is declared generally 
 that the righteous and wicked shall rise, while other scriptures 
 point out the order of the resurrection of each. It strikes me 
 that even in John v. 28, 29 (the strong hold of those who op- 
 pose the first resurrection) this order is hinted at; for we read 
 of "the resurrection of life," and "the resurrection of damna- 
 tion." There is a third class of scriptures which seem to inti- 
 mate that some of each description of character will arise; Isa. 
 xxvi. 19, and Dan. xii. 2, are thought to imply as much. "Many 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. ',; 
 
 of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some 
 to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting con- 
 tempt."' Mr. Begg considers from this passage that some 
 few of the wicked will rise when the saints rise, and this 
 without breaking in upon the order mentioned 1 Cor. xv. 23, 
 any more than many of the saints rising when Christ arose 
 (who are not mentioned by the apostle) disturbed the order — 
 "Christ the first fruits; afterwards they that are Christ's at his 
 coming." He refers to Isa. xxvi. 10, "The earth shall cast 
 out her dead," or, as he translates it, giants, or great ones in 
 sin, Isa. xiv. 9. He also quotes Balaam's words, Num. xxiv., 
 'T shall see him, but not now." See his "Scriptural Evi- 
 dence," p. IIS — LSI. It rather strikes me that this interpre- 
 tation, however ingenious, will not quite harmonize with other 
 passages, and that some other interpretation of this confessedly 
 difficult passage is to be preferred. A writer in the Investi- 
 gator, who is quoted by Mr. Bickersteth, p. 139, and in Ab- 
 diel's Essays, p. 71, thus renders it, and botfr of the above- 
 mentioned writers seem to approve highly of his criticism: 
 •'•These many (adverting to the former part of the verse) are 
 the saints, and the next clause ought, we think, to be thus un- 
 derstood and rendered. These (raised ones) are destined to 
 everlasting life, and the others (the uxmru of John) to shame 
 and everlasting contempt." x\fterwards he adds in a note, that 
 the Jewish rabbi, Saadias Gaon, takes the same view in his 
 commentary, interpreting the passage thus: — "This is the re- 
 surrection, of the dead of Israel, whose lot is to eternal life: 
 but those who do not awake, they are the destroyed of the 
 Lord, who go down to the habitation beneath, that is, Gehenna, 
 and shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."* 
 
 There is another view of this passage which, I humbly think, 
 is the true one, — that it is a parallel passage with John v. 2S, 
 and like that contains an outline of coming events, which after 
 predictions should till up. The following quotation contains 
 this interpretation: "In which words (Dan. xii. 2, 3.) we dis- 
 cern both the first and second resurrection brought into con- 
 tact; because the state of divine knowledge was not then ripe 
 for their separation, and the eye-sight of the prophets took not 
 in the space between them, as groups and ranges of mountains 
 are harmonized by distance into one blue screen and linear out- 
 line. To have revealed the resurrection of the righteous, with- 
 
 * Mede observes that the Jews expect that their forefathers (at lea 
 wore just and holy) would rise from the dead at the beginning of the kingdom 
 of the Messiah, and reign in the land of Israel. He then furtl 
 can bardly believe that "all this smoke of tradition could arise bul from some 
 fire of truth anciently made known onto them. Besides, why should the Holy 
 Ghost on this point speak so like them (referring to J<>im w. 1— 6) unless he 
 would induce us to mean with themT'— Mede's Works, p. 771. 
 
74 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 out making mention of the resurrection of the wicked, would 
 have been to encourage in the latter the belief, that to them 
 death was an eternal sleep; and to have signified a space or in- 
 terval between the two, without filling up the interval or de- 
 fining its duration, would virtually have produced the same 
 evil effects. And as it would have been foreign to the pur- 
 pose or design to give the particulars of the Apocalypse to 
 Daniel, whose nation was not interested (so much) therein, 
 the Lord, in his great wisdom, hath presented both events in 
 one, making them to commence from the time of the first re- 
 surrection, and leaving it to the ripening of revelation to dis- 
 cover and disclose the separation."* Mr. Sirr, in his able 
 reply to Mr. Gipps, takes the same view, and observes — "It 
 was to introduce the promise to the faithful (see v. 3.) that the 
 fact of the resurrection was referred to at all; but being refer- 
 red to, the resurrection of life and the resurrection of judgment 
 are both noticed in one comprehensive glance of the end from 
 the beginning, as in John v. 29." He also observes that there 
 is no note of time given in verse 2, by which the two resur- 
 rections are made synchronical; that the resurrection to con- 
 tempt is only just noticed, and then the glory of those who rise 
 to life is more largely dwelt upon; and that the "many" are 
 put for the entire multitude of sleepers, i. e., for "all;" just as 
 Paul uses the word, Rom. v. 15, 19. t The language of the 
 apostle Paul, Acts xxiv. 14, 15, confirms my mind in this view: 
 for if the resurrection of the unjust be not taught in Dan. xii. 
 2, where is it taught? I would just observe that other pas- 
 sages in the Old Testament sufficiently attest the faith of an- 
 cient believers in a first resurrection: see Psal. xlix. 14, "The 
 upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;" also 
 Isaiah xxv. S; xxvi. 14: Heb. xi. 35; while the following show 
 the subject was a rich spring of consolation to them: Job xix. 
 25, 27; Psal. xvii. 15. 
 
 A second inquiry is, Will all who believe in Christ, and who 
 will ultimately be saved, share the honour and blessedness of thejirst 
 resurrection, — those who had no time to manifest the sincerity 
 of their repentance, as well as those who lived years of holi- 
 ness? Those who, like Asa, Solomon, and the disobedient pro- 
 phet, have had "Alas my brother!" said over their graves, as 
 well as Enoch, who walked with God, and Noah, Daniel, and 
 Job? After searching the scriptures on this point, I feel con- 
 strained to believe that this will be the case. The apostles 
 never intimate any thing to the contrary, but always hold forth 
 to those who were really saints, though babes and carnal, 1 Cor. 
 
 * Irving's Babylon and Infidelity Foredoomed. 
 + Sirr on the First Resurrection, pp. 171—171. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 7;, 
 
 iii. 1 — \, the blesed hope that, when Christ came, they should 
 be with him and be like him, 1 Cor. i. 7, 8 — "Who .shall also 
 confirm you to the end, that ye may be blameless in the day 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ;" and his hope of this rested on the 
 divine faithfulness: "God is faithful, by whom ye were called 
 unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." Leav- 
 ing this question for the present, we pass on to a third in- 
 quiry — 
 
 // ill t/ic saints of God, who share in the Jir>( resurrection! and 
 who are appointed to sit on thrones, and have judgment given unto 
 them, be first judged themselves? Many, I have no doubt, will at 
 once be prepared with a negative to this inquiry : but what saith 
 that book which is to be on the judgment-throne? '-We shall 
 
 all stand before the judgment-throne of Christ So, then, 
 
 every one of us shall give account of himself to God," Rom. 
 xiv. 10, 12. "For we must all appear before the judgment- 
 seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his 
 body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or 
 bad," 2 Cor. v. 10. "If ye call on the Father, who without 
 respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass 
 the time of your sojourning here in fear," 1 Pet. i. 17. "Grudge 
 not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: be- 
 hold, the Judge standeth before the door," James v. 9. "All 
 the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins 
 and hearts; and I will give to every one of you according to 
 your works," Rev. ii. 23. "Behold, I come quickly,, and my 
 reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work 
 shall be," Rev. xxii. 12. "God shall bring every work into 
 judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or 
 whether it be evil," Eccles. xii. 14, "For I know nothing of 
 myself; yet am I not hereby justified, but he that judgeth me 
 is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until 
 the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things 
 of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; 
 and then shall every man have praise of God," 1 Cor. iv. 4, 
 5. "Also unto thee, Lord, belongeth mercy; for thou ren- 
 derest to every man according to his wor>.," Psal. lxii. 11, 12. 
 On each of these. scriptures much might be said, but we leave 
 them to speak for themselves; only just observing that they 
 all refer to a future judgment; they all, I believe, include the 
 saints, and some of them expressly point than out, to the ex- 
 clusion of others. 
 
 But there is one passage of Scripture directly bearing* upon 
 this subject, which for its importance and solemnity demands 
 particular attention. I refer to 1 Cor. iii. 13 — 15: "Every- 
 man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it; 
 16* 
 
76 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every 
 man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which 
 he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any 
 man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself 
 shall be saved, yet so as by fire." The period referred to is 
 evidently the same day Paul mentions, Rom. xiv. ; 1 Cor. v.; 2 
 Cor. v.; 2 Thess. i.; even the day of Christ; the characters 
 spoken of are those to whom Christ hath given commandment 
 to "occupy till he come." It does not alter the case at all to 
 say that the passage refers to ministers; for the plain and sim- 
 ple truth brought before us is, that in that day which shall be re- 
 vealed by fire, many things will be discovered respecting some of the 
 saints of God,zchich 7iillnot be creditable to them. Not only will 
 good works be mentioned, but works which are only fit to be 
 burned will be discovered: some saints will receive a reward, 
 others be saved, yet so as by fire. Such, no doubt, will be 
 ashamed, though not condemned; and hence the propriety of 
 John's words, "And now, little children abide in him; that 
 when he shall appear we may have confidence, and may not be 
 ashamed before him at his coming," 1 John ii. 27. This view 
 of the subject serves also to explain the apostle's words, "I 
 keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest that by 
 any means, when I have preached unto others, I myself should 
 be a cast-away," 1 Cor. ix. Beza reads it, "I myself should be 
 reproved;" Macknight, "I myself should be one not approv- 
 ed." Guyse says, "be judged unfit to be rewarded in the great 
 day of account;" and Doddridge, -''I should myself be disap- 
 proved of the great Judge." This accounts for the apostle's 
 desires for others as well as himself, "The Lord grant that he 
 may find mercy of the Lord in that day!" 2 Tim. i. 18; see 
 also 1 Thess. v. 23; 2 Thess. i. 11, 12; and shows the suita- 
 bleness of the Saviour's warning words, "Blessed is he that 
 watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and 
 they see his shame," Rev. xvi. 15; Luke xii. 35 — 40. I doubt 
 not that the day of judgment will be quite another thing than 
 what we have been imagining. Lord, prepare thy saints for 
 the account they will have to give! 
 
 I cannot, for my own part, but assent to the truth of the fol- 
 lowing remarks. "It is urged against this view of the subject, 
 that it is incompatible with the future happiness of God's peo- 
 ple, to have the secrets of their hearts exposed; and that it is 
 written, 'Who shall Jay any thing to the charge of God's elect?' 
 Yes, it is God that justifieth; and I readily grant, that nothing 
 will interfere with their free pardon and justification; no! nor 
 witli their ultimate happiness; for I am persuaded, that the 
 saints themselves will, when delivered from their present in- 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. -- 
 
 firmitics and prejudices, have so clear a view of the man 
 tion of the glory of God in all be does, that they will, with hu- 
 mility and cheerfulness, acquiesce in the award. And I would 
 ask, 7cho and ulr.it is the very best Christian of the present 
 day, that he should hope to enjoy an immunity which neither 
 kings, prophets, nor apostles have enjoyed before him? Have 
 not the failings of Abraham, Moses, Jub, and others, been 
 published through the world? lias not the sin of David, the 
 man after God's own heart, though Committed secretly, been 
 made as notorious as the noon-day sun? Has not Peter's de- 
 nial of his Master become as well known as the gospel which 
 contains it? Indeed, were there no direct exposure of the secret 
 deeds and thoughts of men in that day; — were the Lord only 
 silently to distinguish among us, and divide us, yet that very 
 distinction would, in effect, amount to the same thing. We 
 could not help concluding of him, who might be made to take 
 a lower place than man's judgment would assign to him, that 
 there was some sufficient reason for it, though secret to us; only 
 we should be left to the darkness of surmise: whereas, the 
 Lord will choose to be justified when he speaks, and clear when 
 he judges. Thus, then, some men's sins are open before hand, 
 going before to judgment, and some they follow after; like- 
 wise, the good works of some are manifest before-hand, and 
 they that are otherwise cannot be hid. 1 Tim. v. 24, 2.5. "* 
 
 It appears to me that if this doctrine was rightly entered 
 into, it would be most practical. "We should labour to be ac- 
 cepted of him," 2 Cor. v. 9. Simply depending on the Saviour's 
 righteousness, we should seek conformity to his image; con- 
 strained by his dying love, and awed by his heart-searching 
 eye. Looking back to him as bearing our sins, looking for- 
 ward to him as calling us to give an account of our steward- 
 ship, our heart's desire would be, "that he would count us wor- 
 thy of this calling, and fulfil in us all the good pleasure of his 
 goodness," 2 Thess. i. 11. lie not secure, then, professor! 
 yea,0 believer in Jesus! a day is coming when your covctous- 
 ness, pride, vanity, passion, unforgiving temper, may he dis- 
 covered in a way you little think; and though your soul may 
 ultimately be saved, you may be a very great loser. But in- 
 tending to take up the subject of differences of rewards when 
 we come to treat of the kingdom, I leave the subject, beseech- 
 ing you to lay God's words to heart, and not try to bend them 
 to a system, or make the atonement, and doctrines of grace, a 
 pillow of sloth; or use them as arguments against any other 
 part of divine revelation. "The very God of peace sanctify 
 you wholly; and I pray .God your whole spirit, and soul, and 
 • Abdiel's Essays, p. 177,178. 
 
78 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ," 1 Thess. v. 23. 
 
 3. Christ, at his second coming;, will be manifested as the 
 restorer of the creation. Long hath nature's harp lain broken; 
 its melody hath been short and plaintive, its groanings deep, 
 and of long continuance. Sweet were the sounds it uttered, 
 when the Divine Creator surveyed his works, and pronounced 
 them good. So sweet were they, that angels, those mighty 
 masters of song, were allured by the melody, and joined to 
 swell the full chorus. (Job xxxviii. 7.) But sin marred the 
 bliss; and age after age, every observant eye and feeling heart 
 hath been constrained to confess, that "the whole creation 
 groaneth and travaileth in pain." 
 
 Is there no healer of this mighty breach? Is there no arm 
 to turn the current of woe, that nature's field be not for ever 
 deluged? Must creation, fair in its ruins, ever be despoiled, 
 neglected, and debased? Glory to God, glory to Jesus, this 
 shall not be the case. He who gave himself for our sins, (Gal. 
 i. 4,) gave himself to restore what we look away, even God's 
 honour — to bear what we deserved, God's wrath — to work out 
 what we needed, a complete righteousness — and to repair what 
 we had broken, even the good and holy law, and creation's 
 lovely fabric, which we, by our sin, had shattered, and made 
 to shake on its pillars; so that we may now sing, 
 
 "What hath man done, that man shall not nndo r 
 Since God to him is grown so near of kin"? 
 Did his foe slay him — he shall slay his foe; 
 Hath he lost ah"? — he all again shall win; 
 Is sin his master"? — he shall master sin. 
 Too hardy soul, with sin the field to try, 
 The only way to conquer was to- fly; 
 But thus long death hath lived, and now death's self shall die." 
 
 Fletcher. 
 
 Then shall it be seen that God hath not swerved from his ori- 
 ginal purpose (Gen. i. 26) of causing man to reign over, and 
 to enjoy creation. Redemption shall lift him up to possess 
 God's image, and creation's fulness; which, by his sin, he lost 
 and forfeited. Yea, he shall be mote secure, more blessed, than 
 he was before he fell. Redeemed unto God to be kings and 
 priests, as well as to reign on the earth. 
 
 13oth the psalmist and the apostle attribute the work of re- 
 storing happiness to the creation, to Christ. Psal. cii. 25 — 
 27; Heb. i. 10 — 12; and in Rev. xxi. 5 — 7, he claims this 
 work as his own; "He that sat upon the throne said, Behold! 
 I make all things new." But this subject will be more fully 
 entered upon, when we come to speak of his glorious king- 
 dom. 
 
 4. Christ will be manifested as the Shiloh, the Messiah, the 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 79 
 
 Prince of Israel, aiul the Desire of all nations. Concerning 
 the former I have already spoken, when identify ins; the com- 
 ing of Christ with the conversion of the Jews; and I feci per- 
 suaded that there is no reason to believe that they BS a nation 
 will receive him until he comes personally. A remnant may 
 be converted from among them, but as a nation they will con- 
 tinue in unbelief until they see revealed in the clouds Him 
 whom they once pierced, Psal. 1. 1 — 7; Isa. ix. 5 — 7; xxv. 7 
 — l J; Jer. xxiii. 5 — S; Ezek. xliii. 7; Dan. xii. 1; Zech. xii. 
 10; xiv. 1—5; Acts xv. 16; Rom. si. 5, 20; Rev. i. 7. On 
 that memorable passage, Gen. xlix. 10, I beg leave to make 
 the following extract from a work now publishing; whether it 
 be right I must leave to the learned in the Hebrew tongue, just 
 premising that this interpretation seems to me the only satis- 
 factory one, as it is not at variance with either scripture or facts, 
 which cannot be said of those interpretations that apply to the 
 first advent of our Lord. "We meet with the word Shiloh, 
 in the patriarch Jacob's last address to his sons,Hvhen he con- 
 vened them together to tell them what should befall them in the 
 last days or days to come. Among other things he said, 'The 
 sceptre shall not depart from Judab, nor a lawgiver from be- 
 tween his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the 
 gathering of the people be.' In this translation, either one of 
 the Hebrew words in the original passage has not been trans- 
 lated, or two Hebrew words or particles have been improperly 
 rendered by the adverb 'until,' which is very evident from the 
 language of the prophecy and its accomplishment. The pro- 
 phecy cannot be understood to say that the sceptre should not 
 depart until, for if it did, how were the people to be gathered 
 together, which evidently implies a previous scattering? The 
 language of the prophecy in the original tongue will be found, 
 upon examination, to speak most plainly, that the sceptre, al- 
 though it should depart for a time from Judab, should not de- 
 part from him for ever, because Shiloh would come, and unto 
 him should the gathering of the people be. The passage, ac- 
 cording to the original, as well as its proper meaning, should 
 therefore be read, The sceptre shall not depart from Judab, nor 
 a law-giver from between his feet eternally, because Shiloh 
 shall come and gather the people unto him.' How strikingly 
 does this reading harmonize with other parts of God's word 
 which refer to the latter days and second advent of Christ. 
 Hosea iii. 4, 5, "The children of Israel shall abide many dayfl 
 without a king and without a prince," that is, without a ruler 
 or lawgiver. "Afterwards they shall return and seek the Lord 
 
 * From the [fa'i 1 a Bible now publishing in parts, with [he subsli- 
 
 tution of the Hebrew names in place of the English words. 
 
80 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 their God and David their king." See also Dent. xxx. 3; Psa. 
 cvi. 47; Isa. xi. 10; xxvii. 12, 13; xxxiii. 17; xliii. 5, 6; xlix. 
 IS; liv. 7; Jer. xxiii. 3 — 6; xxxi. S — 10; xxxii. 37; Ezek. 
 xx. 34 — 41; xxxiv. 11 — 13; xxxvi. 24; xxxvii. 21; Hosea i. 
 11; Micah ii. 11, 12; iv. 6; Zeph. iii. 20; Zech. x. S. In ad- 
 dition to this body of evidence, that the gathering into Shiloh 
 refers to the restoration of the Jews in the latter day, and 
 so was not fulfilled at his first coming, nor has been fulfilled 
 spiritually. I might show that this prophecy'of Jacob's con- 
 cerning Judah contains much internal proof, that it is to be re- 
 ferred to those times of refreshing, when God shall send that 
 Jesus who before was preached. Let any one read Gen. xlix. 
 9 — 12, and compare it with the following scriptures, which 
 point to times yet to come, and see whether it doth not yet re- 
 main for Judah "to be fed with the heritage of Jacob his father, 
 and made to ride upon the high places of the earth." The 
 royal standard of Judah was a lion, and our Lord, as the execu- 
 tioner of God's vengeance, is called the Lion of the tribe of 
 Judah. Balaam saw from afar this terrible day of the nations' 
 overthrow; he saw all other kingdoms sink, and the turrets of 
 Jewish grandeur tower far above Agag in her brightest day, 
 and unwillingly he sung with trembling awe, "He couched, he 
 lay down as a lion, and as a great lion; who shall stir him up?" 
 Numb. xxiv. 5 — 9. "I shall see him, but not now: I shall be- 
 hold him, but not nigh. There shall come a Star out of Jacob, 
 and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the cor- 
 ners of Moab, and shall destroy all the children of Sheth. And 
 Edom shall be a possession; Seir also shall be a possession for 
 his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall 
 come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him 
 that remaineth of the city. Alas! who shall live when God 
 doeth this? 17 — 19. We need not be at a loss to know when 
 this will be done, if we consult two places in Isaiah, both of 
 which are on all hands allowed to refer to the latter-day glory. 
 The first is Isa. xi. 14: "They shall lay their hand upon Edom 
 and Moab, and the children of Ammon shall obey them." 
 The second, Isa.xxv. 2, 10. "Thou hast made of a city an heap;" 
 "Moab shall be trodden down under him, as straw is trodden 
 down for the dunghill." Keeping Gen. xlix. in view, see 
 Isaiah xxxi. 4; Micah v. 8; note particularly Rev. x. 3, "The 
 mighty angel cried with a loud voice as when a lion roareth; 
 and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices." 
 These seven thunders are thought by some to be the same as 
 the seven vials in which God's wrath is filled up, and which 
 finishes the mystery of God. This shows that the title "Lion 
 of the tribe of Judah," is more particularly fulfilled by our 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 5 | 
 
 Lord in the the last or closing acts of vengeance, which arc 
 even now coming on the earth; the design of which is to mani- 
 fest the Shiloh, and gather the people unto him. Among many 
 other passages which will serve to throw Light on Gen. xlix., 
 and which show that it refers to a future glorious clay, Bee Deut. 
 xxxiii. 7; Psal. lxxvi.; Isa. xxvii. 8; Joel iii. IS, 20; Micah 
 v. 2—4; Zech. ix. 13—17; x. 6, 7; xiv. 10, 11, 11. 
 
 Upon the whole, I conclude that this ancient prophecy of 
 Jacob shall be fulfilled at the second coming of Christ, when 
 he shall be Israel's Shiloh; a word which comes from a root, 
 says Dr. Gill, "which signifies to be peaceable, quiet, and pros- 
 perous;" so say Henry, Brown, and others. This well agrees 
 with other passages that relate to his reign in the latter day. 
 His name shall be called "the Prince of peace," Isa. ix. (i. In 
 his day there shall be abundance of peace, Psal. lxxii. Then 
 unto him shall the long and much spoken of gathering of Israel 
 be. And when this takes place will Judah manifest and realize 
 all that Jacob prophesied of, which may be comprised in three 
 words, co?iquest, prosperity, and supremacy. The lirst is sym- 
 bolized by the lion's whelp, the couchant lion, and the old 
 lion: the second by a profusion of vines, of wine, and milk; 
 see Joel iii. 18 — 20; and the third is set forth by the name of 
 Judah, which signifies praise, and by the declaration that his 
 brethren shall praise him, and all his father's children bow 
 down to him. How cheering is the thought, the sceptre shall 
 not depart for ever from Judah; Shiloh shall come, and the 
 dispersed of Judah and the outcasts of Israel shall be gathered 
 unto him, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of 
 his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob 
 for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end, Luke i. 
 32, 33. Then the Lord will accept them with their sweet 
 savour, when they are gathered out of the countries wherein 
 they have been scattered, E/.ek. xx. 11; and then the offering 
 of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasant unto the Lord, as in 
 the days of old, Mai. iii. 4. "Come Lord Jesus, come quickly." 
 At the same time that Christ is manifested as Israel's Shiloh, 
 lie will be known as "the Desire of all nations," Hag. ii. 7. At 
 the first coming of. Christ this was not the case. No, "he was 
 despised and rejected of men;" "the kings and rulers took 
 counsel together to break his bands." Nation after nation have 
 rejected his easy yoke for that of idolatry, superstition and in- 
 fidelity. Few comparatively have received him: so that, as 
 hath been well observed, "his religion has rather resembled 
 the migrations of a pilgrim than the career of a conqueror." 
 Besides, Haggai says that, this desire of all nations was to come 
 after the shaking of the heavens, earth, sea, and dry land. 
 
go THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 (which well agrees with Matt, xxiv.) Yes, saith the prophet, 
 I will shake all nations, and then the Desire of all nations shall 
 come; and the effect or accompaniment of this was, "I will 
 fill this house with glory," which Ezekiel says will he after the 
 return of the Jews to their own land, xliii. 1 — 7. The apostle 
 Paul quotes part of this passage from Haggai in Heb. xii. 26, 
 27, and speaks of the shaking of the earth and heaven as a fu- 
 ture event; and therefore we may infer that the manifestation 
 of Christ, as "the Desire of all nations," is also future. 
 
 It may be asked, "in what respect will Christ be 'the De- 
 sire of all nations?'" The nations desire liberty, peace, plenly, 
 protection, and all these they shall enjoy under the reign of 
 Christ.* "For in his day there will be abundance of peace," 
 which word, says Charnock, means "the confluence of all bless- 
 ings." Satan, sin, and death have had their day, (and a long 
 and dreadful one it has been,) and Christ will have his day; 
 and during his reign all that nations have desired, politicians 
 planned, poets sungs, or patriots aimed at, shall be realized: 
 yea, far, very far, exceeded. "All ?mtions shall call him blessed." 
 
 Lastly, Christ at his second coming will be manifested as 
 the great judge who shall execute God's vengeance, vindicate 
 the divine character, manifest forth the divine glory, and con- 
 demn and adjudge to hell all who have lived and died rebels 
 against God's government. 
 
 Judgment is a word of various significations:! I shall men- 
 
 * Mr. Bickersteth beautifully remarks, "All is now disjointed, sickly, weak, 
 and failing of its desired effect. Remedies multiply wants and defects. 'That 
 which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is wanting cannot 
 be numbered.' The best planned institutions, the best laws, through the cor- 
 ruption of man and the power of Satan, disappoint our hopes. The law itself 
 was weak through the flesh. No one adequately fulfils his relations to an- 
 other, at least the conscience of the Christian leads him constantly to condemn 
 himself. Magistrates, ministers, husbands, wives, parents, children, teachers, 
 learners, servants, dependents, all fail in their relative duties, in some point or 
 other. Our comforts occasion our trials, and our very joys bring sorrows. 
 But the time of the restitution of all things is hastening on, when, not by the 
 policy and wisdom of man, but by the effective grace, and loving-kindness of 
 God our Saviour, they shall be restored to a state of sound health; when the dis- 
 jointed members shall be made whole, as the withered hand by our Lord, Matt, 
 xii. 13, or the blind eyes which were restored by his goodness to perfect sight. 
 Matt, viii.25. And how the sacred writers glow with the bright anticipations 
 of such a period, we may see in Isa. xi., xxxv., x. May it only fill our minds 
 in the proportion it fills the divine records.— Guide, p. lb'5. 
 
 "Hope of a world condemn'd, Messiah, hail! 
 Nor hell, nor death, shall o'er thy church prevail. 
 Thy conquering arm the serpent-foe shall bind, 
 Thy blood redeem, thy sceptre rule, mankind." 
 
 Bulmer. 
 
 t "The characteristics of a judge, as given to us in Scripture, are as follow: 
 to rule and govern as a king, to deliver and protect his people, and to avenge 
 
of our nmn jesus rnnisT. g g 
 
 tion three. 1. Il signifies vengeance and warfare. "He shall 
 judge among the heathen,' 9 Psa. ex. 6. On this we have already 
 dwelt, and therefore shall only refer to Dan. vii. 9 — 11. i . 
 and quote the following remarks upon it: "The most momen- 
 tary glance at Daniel's prophecy will suffice to show that this 
 event (viz. the judgment there described) is not at the destruc- 
 tion of mankind, nor for their destruction, with whatever judg- 
 ments attended, but contrariwise, for the deliverance Of all 
 nations from brutal, bestial force into the blessed government 
 of Him who cometh with the clouds of heaven; which should 
 be enough to teach any reasonable person, not only that the 
 coming of the Son of man is before the termination of man- 
 kind, but also that the great event of God's providence toward 
 the world, and of his grace by Christ, is the bringing in of the 
 Son of man anew into this visible world." — Irvine's Lectures. 
 
 2. To judge signifies to govern and rule. "The Lord is our 
 judge, the Lord is our king, the Lord is our lawgiver, he will 
 save us," says the restored Jewish nation, Isa. xxxiii. 12. "He 
 (says Isa. xlii. 4) shall not fail nor be discouraged till he hath 
 set judgment on the earth, and the isles shall wait for his law." 
 David, in Psal. lxxii. 2, 4, says, "He shall judge the poor with 
 equity, and the people with righteousness." As in the first 
 instance of judgment he displayed the vengeance of God, so in 
 this he shall gloriously manifest the milder perfections of God. 
 "I have (saith he) declared unto them thy name, and will de- 
 clare it, tbat the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in 
 them and I in them," John xvii. 26. Then shall God be 
 known as He whose nature is goodness and whose name is 
 love, and all the subjects of his kingdom shall sing, "0 Lord, 
 our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!"* 
 
 3. Judgment sometimes intends a judicial process, and in this 
 sense we may apply it to Christ, — "The Father judgeth no man, 
 but hath committed all judgment unto the Son," John v. 22. 
 
 them on his enemies; whence it follows that judgment n not only 
 
 jeanceor punishment, bal also in delivi ranee and government; 
 
 16—18; 1 Sam. via. 19,29; Isa, ii. I: Micah iv. 3."— I / 
 
 page 77. 
 
 • "Ii seemeth to me, that what we call the day of judgment we shall here- 
 after call the day of second creation, on which God launchetfa pni being anew. 
 and furnisheth our voyage of existence the second time: and ii ma 
 counted by u s in one short chapter at the beginning of the sacred anna 
 new world, even as our present creation is recounted in the Bible; and prove 
 to lis, when ii is past, as incomprehensible a work as it now doth w 
 
 i ii v. ard. "i as incompreh th to us looking 
 
 backward, and though incomprehensible, it may be always as present incur 
 feelings and our obsei tratii n as the objects of creation are, and as den 
 tive of God's justice a monstrative of his power." — Irvim 
 
 lions, p. 302. 
 
 vol. in. — IS 
 
§4 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 He it is that shall occupy that white throne, before which small 
 and great shall stand; this will be after the millennium, Rev. 
 xx. 11, 12. Then shall he fully vindicate the divine charac- 
 ter, and deal out the divine vengeance. Then shall it be seen 
 and felt that man was responsible, though grace was free and 
 efficacious. Then shall it be felt that every man's damnation 
 was justly merited; and that God's decrees were not the cause 
 of their rebellion, or of their continuance in it. 0, how full of 
 terrors will be that dreadful day to the wicked! Every face 
 shall gather paleness, and every knee shall tremble, except it 
 be those who have a friend in the Judge. 
 
 "Bold shall they stand in that great day, 
 For who aught to their charge shall lay'?" 
 
 "They shall judge angels." "On them the second death shall 
 have no power. 
 
 In these respects, then, shall Christ be manifested at his 
 second coming. Here let us make one inquiry. Are there 
 any signs of the appearing of the Son of man? Are any of 
 those signs beginning to come to pass which, when God's peo- 
 ple see, they shall lift up their heads and look up expectingly, 
 because their redemption draweth nigh? Lukexxi. 28. Many 
 persons tell us that more than a thousand years must elapse 
 before the second coming of Christ. Some, indeed, say that 
 300,000,* it is most likely will roll over (for so long they 
 think the millennium will last,) before the midnight cry is 
 heard, "Behold the bridegroom cometh;" although the bride- 
 groom himself hath said, I come quickly. Now, is not this 
 mode of reasoning a sure way to paralyze all scripture incite- 
 ments to watchfulness on the gfround of Christ's sudden and 
 speedy coming, which, indeed, is almost the only incitement 
 to watchfulness the Scriptures use: see Matt. xxiv. 42; 1 Thess. 
 v. 6; 2 Pet. iii. 14; 1 John ii. 2S; Rev. xvi. 15. We are widely 
 different in this respect from the primitive Christians. Hear 
 the testimony of an infidel concerning them — "The ancient 
 Christians were animated by a contempt for their present ex- 
 istence, and by a just confidence of immortality, of which the 
 doubtful and imperfect faith of modern ages cannot give us any 
 adequate notion. In the primitive church, the influence of 
 truth was very powerfully strengthened by an opinion, which 
 however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, 
 has not been found agreeable to experience. It was univer- 
 sally believed that the end of the world and the kingdom of 
 heaven (by which they meant Christ's reign on earth,) were 
 at hand." — Gibbon. 
 
 * Culbertson on Revelations. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 85 
 
 But we are grown wiser, and we are grown colder. We have 
 dropped, as a church, their sentiment, and we have lost much 
 of their love and zeal. The powers of the world to come are 
 not felt; and so we go cleaving to the dust; and so we shall until 
 our faith is unto us the evidence of things not seen — until we 
 go ahout this world, lie down, rise up, buy, sell, eat and drink, 
 marry and give in marriage; and, above all, preach and hear. 
 with the last words of Jesus ringing in our ears — "Behold, I 
 come quickly." Sweet words to the believer, pole-star to the 
 pilgrim, encouraging motto for the soldier! Graze at them, pray 
 over them, my soul, until, without thoughtlessness and with- 
 out fear, but with steady hope and strong desire, thou canst 
 say, "Even so come, Lord Jesus." 
 
 But to return to the question. Without being confident, 
 many things lead us to think that "the coming of the Lord 
 draweth nigh." Let the observant Christian compare the situ- 
 ation and feelings of all nations with Matt xxiv. 29, 30; Luke 
 xxi. 24 — 31. Let him again bring to mind what hath been 
 said on Rev. xvi. 12 — 15, where the state of the Turks — the 
 working of three forms of evil, viz., tyranny, superstition, and 
 idolatry — the gathering of all nations, for some grand conflict, 
 are set forth as signs of the Lord's coming. Let him meditate 
 on the present state of the church and the world, and compare 
 it with Matt. xxiv. 12, 13; 2 Tim. iii. 1 — 5. Let him con- 
 sider the abounding of iniquity and the increase of scoffers, J 
 Pet. iii. 1 — 4. Let him view the efforts which are making to 
 spread abroad the gospel, fulfilling Matt. xxiv. 14, and Rev. 
 xvi. 6, 7, the feelings produced among the Jews, and also the 
 sympathies excited on the behalf of that despised people, Pent. 
 xxx. 1 — 7; Psal. cii. 14; and the cry of security and peace, 
 the building, the planting, the expectation of the world's sta- 
 bility and improvement, 1 Thess. v. 3; and yet withal, the 
 forebodings felt by many, Luke xxi. 26. Let these things be 
 thought over, and then say, do they not intimate the near ap- 
 proach of him who will surely come, and who will not. tarry ? 
 
 Many who expect Christ to come to set up a kingdom, con- 
 fidently expect that many things must first be fulfilled. With- 
 out entering into an argument on the subject of unfulfilled pro- 
 phecy, without positively asserting that some things may not 
 first take place, I cannot help expressing my dissent from this 
 opinion; Mr. Cuninghame remarks, "If we who have watched 
 every sign in the spiritual horizon for a long scries of \ < ait, 
 were now asked, 'Is any sign of his coming yet unaccomplished!* 
 We should be constrained to answer, 'To our feeble view, 
 sign remains unaccomplished.' If we were further asked, 'Shall 
 he come this year?' our answer would be, 'We know not; but thii 
 
86 TH E COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 much ice know and believe — that he is at hand, even at the door. 
 All our knowledge, therefore, brings us just to that state of ex- 
 pectation and uncertainty which filled the minds of the waiting 
 saints at Jerusalem, in the age of our Lord's appearance." 
 
 Though I have no intention, in this humble work, of enter- 
 ing into the subject of chronological prophecy, yet I cannot 
 help just observing, that almost all writers on prophecy, who 
 have studied those mystic numbers, make them terminate at 
 periods toward which we are rapidly approaching. However 
 different these views and schemes, they agree in this, that with- 
 in a few years from the present time, some of the greatest 
 events ever witnessed will take place. Happy are those "who 
 shall stand in their lot in the end of the days." 
 
 I have before expressed an opinion that God has kindly en- 
 shrouded the precise period of Christ's coming in obscurity, 
 and that this uncertainty is calculated to produce a watchful 
 spirit. But there is one thing testified of, with reference to 
 this coining, that should be particularly borne in mind, which 
 is, that the Lord will come while men are saying, ''Peace and 
 safety," and so "that day shall come as a snare," "at an hour 
 when men think not" when the world shall be very busy, the 
 church very drowsy, and Satan as usual indefatigable in his 
 malicious pursuits, Rev. xvi. 13. "There are two events (ob- 
 serves Mr. Cuninghame) in the history of the church and the 
 world, which are selected by our Lord himself as the special 
 types of his advent, and the state of the world in that day. 
 The first is the destruction of the antediluvian world by the 
 flood; and the second, the overthrow of Sodom, see Matt, 
 xxiv.; Luke xvii. IS — 20. From both these passages it is mani- 
 fest that the coming of the Lord is to find the world in a state 
 of peace. The buying and selling; the marrying and giving 
 in marriage; the planting and building, are all images of peace 
 and not of warfare. It is further evident from these passages, 
 that as soon as the Lord comes and takes unto him his elect, 
 the torrent of calamity which is to destroy the prophetic earth, 
 shall immediately thereafter break forth; for were it not so, 
 the analogy between the days of Lot, of Noah, and the Lord's 
 advent would fail." The same writer, alluding to the state of 
 the nations before adverted to, says, "Amidst this commixture 
 of dread and alarm, and these groanings of distressed nations, 
 and fond whisperings of 'peace, peace;' suddenly as the blaze 
 of forked lightning, unexpectedly as the fall of the trap upon 
 the ensnared animal, and as the dark and concealed approach of 
 the midnight thief, a voice like that of ten thousand thunders 
 shall burst on the cars of the astonished inhabitants of the earth 
 — It is the voice of the archangel — it is the trump of 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST g7 
 
 GOD — IT IS THE DESCENT OF THE Son OF God ! HE CO.MJI 11 — 
 
 he cometh to judge the earth. His dead saints spring from 
 the dust, his living saints in a moment, in the twinkling of an 
 eye, are changed, and both together are wrapt up far above the 
 clouds to meet him, long before he is seen by the inhabitants 
 of the earth. 
 
 "This, I conceive, is the next great event that we are now 
 to look for. So far as I can discern, no further signs are to be 
 expected; as it seems to me we have entered into that last pe- 
 riod of awful expectation, during which the church is likened 
 unto ten virgins. Once I conceived that the restoration of Ju- 
 dah was to precede the advent; not perceiving the distinction 
 in time between our Lord's advent in the air, and his descent 
 to earth in the day of Armageddon. " r Another writer on 
 prophecy says, "He may be awfully deceived who says, My 
 Master will not come before the Jews are gathered; this, to 
 say the least, is quite uncertain to us. It is probable that the 
 principal gathering of the Jews will take place s during the time 
 the glorified saints are on high with their Lord, before then- 
 descent to earth." This is Mr. Cuninghame's view, + who also 
 
 * Cuninghame's Dissertation, p. 480, 491. 
 
 t The following remarks are worthy of the most serious consideration; they 
 may help to cast much light upon the time of the Saviour's advent, and the 
 order of the events which shall then transpire, and are calculated to promote 
 a spirit of watchfulness. 
 
 'When the raised and changed saints are caught up to meet the Lord above 
 the clouds, there shall be found assembled before him the whole of the church 
 of the first-born, without one lacking. At first, however, we may conceive ol 
 this immense multitude as standing in one mass of celestial bodies, shining 
 with resplendent glory, reflected as it were from the irradiation of the divine 
 effulgence of their common Lord. There remains yel to be effected the mar- 
 shalling of these heavenly armies, in their various order- and degrees of glory 
 and dominion: Numb. i. ii. may be typical of this, and Numb. xxiv. 5, 6, have 
 a mystical relation thereto. But this marshalling ol thesaints in their various 
 degrees of glory, supposes a previous judgment according to works, since this 
 is absolutely necessary thereto, Rom.xiv. 10—12; 2 Cor.' v. 10, and sundry othei 
 passages of scripiure.'but especially the parable of the pounds, Luke xix. 15, in 
 which the judgment. according to works is placed immediately after our Lord 
 receives the kingdom. Next, as I conceive, to the judgment of the glorified 
 church, follows the marriage, Rev. xix. 7. There is also a solemn investiture 
 of our Lord in the kingdom, on which occasion he adds to the crown u hieh hi 
 wears, Rev. xiv. 11, many diadems, with which he comes forth in the daj ol lh< 
 treading of the wine press, Rev. xix. 12. All these events do, in then relation 
 io the divine attributes of power and omniscience, require indeed only a mo- 
 ment of time, but io their relation to the capacities of the creal 
 instruction and the manifestation of the divine glory they are intended tb< 
 require a considerable lapse of time." 
 
 The author then observes, that "the interval between the exodus of Israel 
 from Egypt and their entrance into Canaan may be a type ol the inti 
 tween the rapture of the saints to m< i E n iout and theii ■ escetfi with 
 
 him." He then proceeds, "Shrouded and enshrined in celestial light, wholly 
 inaccessible to mortal eyes, our Lord shall with bis Baints dun i all 
 ments of the storm of wrath, (fulfilling Psal. cxlli '-'"■ W 
 
 and after the children of men shall have recovered from then : 
 18* 
 
gg THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 observes, "The moment of our Lord's first approach to earth 
 is in Rev. xiv., as every where else, sedulously concealed from 
 us. He is seen sitting on a cloud, (ver. 14,) which implies not 
 the action of coming, but that he is already present. How 
 unspeakably awful and awakening is this thought!" Listen, 
 then, ye saints, to the words of Jesus, "Watch; for ye know 
 neither the clay nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." 
 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning, and 
 ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when he 
 will return from the wedding, that when he cometh and knock- 
 eth. they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those 
 servants who, when he cometh, he shall find watching, verily 
 I say unto you, that lie shall gird himself, and make them to sit 
 down to meat, and will come forth and serve them," Lukexii. 
 35 — 37. 
 
 I take the liberty of inserting the following beautiful lines 
 on this most interesting subject: — 
 
 SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 
 
 When from scattered lands afar . Matt. xxiv. 6— S 
 
 Speeds the voice of rumour'cl war, Luke xxi. 25 
 
 Nations in tumultuous pride Hag. ii. 7 
 
 Heav'd like ocean's roaring tide; Hcb. xii. 26—29 
 
 When the solar splendours fail, Matt. xxiv. 29 
 
 And the cresent waxeth pale, Rev. xvi. 12 
 
 of horror and dismay, occasioned by the voice of the archangel and the sign 
 of the Son of man, they shall, like Pharaoh, be judicially hardened, and de- 
 ceived by the devil; they shall gather themselves to the battle of the great day, 
 altogether insensible against whom they are fighting. 
 
 "In this sanctuary of unseen and celestial light, the church may probably 
 receive from her Lord the institutions of his kingdom in the new earth, anil 
 may thus be prepared to fill her high office of subordinate and yet conjunct do- 
 minion and priestly ministrations in the age to come.'' — Cuning/iame's Disser- 
 tation, p. 494. 497. 
 
 It may be observed by some that it is said Matt. xxiv. 29, that immediately 
 after the tribulation the Son of man comes; how then, is he said to come before 
 it, and to take his church out of itl Let it be remembered, as hath been be- 
 fore observed, that by comparing Luke xxi. 21—26 with Matt, xxiv., we learn 
 that this tribulation refers to the whole period of the treading down of Jerusa- 
 lem and scattering of the Jews, and that it is just at the close of this long pe- 
 riod, and at the eve of that last storm (Dan. xii. 1) which is the climax and 
 finishing of the long tribulation, while the heavens are shaking; but still dur- 
 ing a time of peace, while men's hearts are failing and yet assuring themselves 
 of security (see Luke xvii. 26—31; xxi.; Malt, xxiv.; 1 Th. v. 3; all which we ■ 
 have seen, and still see before our eyes) that the Lord comes, and the last storm 
 of wrath falls; he comes between the sixth and seventh vials, Rev.xvi. 15 — 21. 
 Here we have again the uncertainty of the time of that unspeakably important 
 event, the coming of the Lord, pressing upon our attention; we know not how 
 far popery may be destroyed, or the evil spirits have performed their work — 
 the Jews be gathered or the nations chastised, before his coming; but this we 
 know, that he will come, and that he has commanded us to be ready. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 
 
 89 
 
 powers that siar-lik. 
 Sink dishonour'd to tin- plain; 
 
 do ihou the signal dread; 
 1 1 ■ the drooping bead, 
 
 We uplift 'h' ej pe tan) i ye, — 
 < Mir redemption drawelh nigh. 
 w the fig tree shoots appear, 
 'Id their summei near; • 
 \'. a the In-art- of rebels tail, 
 We tin- coming < lonqueror hail. . 
 
 \ nil ol til'' Wl ' 
 
 i hei longing < "\\ s, 
 her widow'd moan, 
 ion's groan! 
 Bid, O bid thy trumpet sound; 
 i bine elect around; 
 i nh saints thy flaming car; 
 Summon them from climes alar; 
 Call them from life's cheerle 
 Call them from the marble tomb, 
 From ih' ii village grave, 
 
 From tin- deep dissolving wave, 
 From the whirlwind an. I the flame, 
 Mighty Head! thy members 
 Where ate they whose proud disdain 
 Scorn'd I .' ■ ian's reignl 
 
 Lo, m waves of sulphurous fire 
 
 ij taste his tardy ire, 
 Fetter'd till th ! appointed day, 
 When the world shall pass away, 
 auelfd are all thy foes, I. 
 Sheathe again the dreadful sword. 
 Where tin: cross of anguish stood, 
 Where thy life distill'din blood, 
 Where they mock'd thy dying groan, 
 King of nations! plant thy throne; 
 tby law from Zion forth, 
 Dg o'er the willing earth — 
 Earth whose sabbath glories rise, 
 Crown'd with more than Paradise. 
 
 veil! 
 Mortal senseand thought must fail. 
 Yet the awful hour is nigh, 
 VI 11 see nice eye to eye. 
 
 Be our souls in peace p< ssess'd, 
 While we seel; thy promis'd rest, 
 ■ in every heai t and home 
 • i Jesuscome! 
 
 ttsfoi thee. 
 
 !' 
 
 Molt, x , 
 
 ./ lo ;;| 
 
 I. 
 
 I II 
 
 Ram. vii 
 
 Ma/I. XX 
 I 
 
 Isaiah l.\ I- l' 
 Rev, xix. II LG 
 
 in 
 L/uke x-. 
 Rom. \. 
 I T 
 
 MatLxxiv. 31 
 l i 
 txiv. 13— 
 10 II 
 Rev. .\.\. 1— ti. 
 Li'ki xiv. 11 
 Psal. xlix. 14, 15 
 I 7' iv. 17 
 
 i:. N 
 /. 12 -" 
 
 ; i-j 
 /. rii.2* 
 
 Rev. xix. vo -J I 
 
 . m. :i. :>. 9 
 •: /■ 
 
 xix. 1."), 01 
 
 / 3,5,12 
 
 Mark x\ . 21 
 Markx . 
 Isaiah xi ■:'■ 
 Zee. viii.3 
 Dan. ii. 35 1 1 
 / il. 1.'.' 
 
 Psal. !■ 
 
 I I Mil. 13 
 
 1 J Ml. 2 
 
 /. sxi. 3J 
 
 /,'- r: i. 7. 
 
 2 7' >. Hi. 5 
 
 //< 
 
 -' / 
 
 Rev. xxii.20 
 
 / slix. '.' 
 
 Ram. I 
 
 1 El 7.ACFTII. 
 
90 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE GLORIOUS KINGDOM OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST; OR, THE 
 MILLENNIUM. 
 
 In the ground we have already travelled, we have only been 
 getting on toward that "rest which remaineth for the people 
 of God," but we now come to the rest itself. Our past path 
 may be compared to the progress of a traveller up a mighty 
 mountain, where both nature's terrors and glories were to be 
 seen. Through different vistas we have seen things both glo- 
 rious and terrible, but now we have attained the summit, all is 
 grandeur, all is glory. The groan is changed into a song, the 
 sword into a ploughshare. Earth, so long the seat of strife 
 and discord, is now at rest under the reign of the Prince of 
 peace, and instead of being filled with sin and violence, it is 
 filled with Jehovah's glory. Ye angels, tune your harps afresh, 
 for Immanuel has triumphed; the "government is upon his 
 shoulder," and all nations call him blessed. Repeat again 
 those mighty and melodious numbers once sung over Bethle- 
 hem's solitudes; all creation will join your song now. Every 
 valley, and every mountain, (and what is more) every heart, 
 will echo back, "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, 
 good- will toward men." 
 
 That Christ will come again "the second time without sin 
 unto salvation," all who are Christians profess to believe. That 
 a kingdom will be then set up, into which the righteous will 
 enter, Matt. xxv. and where Christ and his saints will reign, 
 is likewise universally acknowledged, 2 Tim. iv. 1. Will this 
 kingdom be in the heaven, or on the earth? Daniel al- 
 ludes to it expressly as a kingdom and dominion subsisting 
 under the whole heaven; and declares that all people, nations, 
 and languages, shall be included in it, Dan. vii. 14, 27; and 
 that it shall be set up when Christ comes in the clouds of hea- 
 ven. If this does not mean the second and personal coming 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, then what docs it mean? Mr. Faber 
 affirms, that "this whole vision of the coming of the Son of 
 man is simply a figure, or symbol, or type, denoting the con- 
 version of the world;" but Mr. Cuninghamc replies, "Through- 
 out the whole Scriptures, Christ himself is the great Anti- 
 type. Of him were the holy men of old, Adam, David, Moses, 
 and Solomon, illustrious types. Of him, were even the beasts 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. <)1 
 
 slain for sin, types. Vet when Daniel beholds at the end of 
 the ages, this great Antitype coming in person, and ii.. 
 with glory and dominion, Mr. Faber, by rashly converting the 
 whole scene into a figure, does in effect affirm that Christ him* 
 self hers appears simply as a type of the progrt 
 pel in the hearts of men," and therefore "as a typt signifying 
 something infinitely inferior in dignity to tire thing typified." 
 To my mind, this vision of Daniel -is most conclusive. 
 proofs from the prophet Daniel are confirmed in the New 
 ment; the redeemed in glory sing, "We shall reign on the earth," 
 Rev. v. 9; and in Jicv. xx. 4, we are told '-they lived and reigned 
 with Christ a thousand years," which reign the connexion leads 
 us to conclude, is on the earth. The kingdom to which Daniel 
 refers, is spoken of as established after the judgment of the Ro- 
 man beast, and little horn: and therefore we may conclude it 
 is the same of which the apostle speaks, 2 Tim. iv. 1, wherein 
 he declares that "Christ shall judge the quick and the dead at 
 his appearing and kingdom." s 
 
 There are many passages of Scripture, which all agree, refer 
 to this glorious era. I will mention a few of them, and then 
 proceed more particularly to show in what this reign of bless- 
 edness will consist: see Psal. ii. S — "Ask of me, and I will 
 give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost 
 parts of the earth for thy possession." Psal. xxii. 21, 28 — "All 
 the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord." 
 Isa. vi. 3 — "The whole earth is full of his glory." Isa. xi. 9 — 
 "For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as 
 the waters cover the sea." Isa. lii. 10 — "All the ends of the 
 earth shall see the salvation of God." Isa. Ixiii. -1 — "The year 
 of my redeemed is come." Dan. vii. 14,27 — "And the king- 
 dom, and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom un- 
 der the whole heaven, shall be given to the saints of the Most 
 High." Rev. xi. 15 — "The kingdoms of this world are become 
 the kingdoms of our God, and of his Christ, and he shall reign 
 for ever and ever." Sec also Isa. xxv.; xxxii.; xxxv. ; lxv. 
 1 7 — 2 ~ : ixvi. 7— 13; Dan. ii. 44, 45; Micah iv. 1—7; Hah. 
 ii. 14. 
 
 I will now endeavour to exhibit some of the peculiar glories 
 of this reign of the Messiah, and we shall soon see that all hu- 
 man kingdoms arc outshone thereby : yea, that all tin: previous 
 dispensations of God are eclipsed by its excelling ul^ry. 
 
 1. Christ and his saints will reign i gether on tht earth. That 
 this is one part of the glory of his kingdom, the Scriptures 
 plainly declare. And indeed, it seems hut consistent, that this 
 world, which was originally designed to manifest forth God's 
 2;lorv. should be appropriated to that end, according to God's 
 
92 TH E COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 first intention with regard to man. "Have thou dominion." 
 It seemeth but right that on this earth, where Christ and his 
 saints were afflicted and despised, they should be exalted and 
 honoured. "There is certainly (says a writer on this subject) 
 an incompleteness and insufficiency in the belief that Christ 
 will again visit this earth, only to pronounce a hasty condem- 
 nation, and effect a speedy execution of annihilating judgment, 
 wherein he endured, with such patience and long suffering, the 
 deepest humiliation and degradation from the powers of this 
 world. It were but an unsatisfactory triumph, if he does not, 
 on the very field of his sufferings, defeat and baffle the ene- 
 mies which then oppressed him, and his church after him: if 
 he does not reign on the throne of his glory, triumphing over 
 the world, and ruling the nations with the breath of his mouth." 
 But, however pleasing such a thought might be, if the Scrip- 
 tures said nothing about it, this would be an Utopian scheme 
 indeed. Let us inquire at the mouth of the Lord concerning 
 this point. 
 
 Read the Sth Psalm, with the comment of the Holy Spirit, 
 in the second chapter of Hebrews. There our Lord Jesus is 
 set forth in three states, which a writer on this psalm has well 
 denominated "sab-angelic humiliation, heavenly glory, and earthly 
 dominion. "* The apostle tells us that Jesus hath passed through 
 the first, viz. that of being made a little (or for a little while) 
 lower than the angels; that he is now enjoying the second, "for 
 we see Jesus crowned with glory and honour," Heb. ii. 9. The 
 same authority says, ver. S, "But now we see not yet all things 
 put under him;" implying that we shall yet see it, for one part 
 of the psalm must be fulfilled as well as the other, and this will 
 be at that season or time of which he speaks, Heb. iii. and iv., 
 and which was typified by Canaan, t the sabbath day and the 
 
 * Two excellent sermons by Dodsworth on the 8th Psalm. 
 
 t Not only were the conquest and possession of Canaan, under Joshua, a 
 type of the rest which remaineth, but that favoured country shall be the place 
 of manifestation, and then shall the patriarchs realize all God promised them, 
 and there enjoy that "city which hath foundations for which they looked," Heb. 
 xi.; and which "cometli down from God out of heaven." An excellent wri- 
 ter observes, "God repeatedly promised to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, per- 
 sonally and respectively, as also to their seed, that he would give them the land 
 in which they were strangers, Gen.xiii. 15; xvii. 8; xxvi. 3; xxviii. 13; Exod. 
 vi. 3, 4. It is to the repetition of these promises, and their amplification, Paul 
 seems to refer, when he speaks of the covenants of promise in the plural, Eph. 
 ii. 12; and%ertainly he refers to these in the Epistle to the Galatians, Gal. iii. 
 1G— 19, when he insists that the promise to Abraham and his seed continues in 
 full force under the gospel, not allowing that the covenant after made with 
 Moses had any power to do away or alter these. 
 
 "I must repeat, and beg particular attention to the circumstance, that the 
 promise to each of the three patriarchs is, 'To thee will I give it, and to thy 
 seed,' which, if words can plainly express a thing, does clearly imply, that there 
 must be a special fulfilment of the promise to them, as well as to their posterity. 
 
OP OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 93 
 
 sabbatical year. Among otbcr things which are to be put un- 
 der him, as the head of his people, and first-bora among manv 
 brethren, are those things which the first Adam lost. 
 as Redeemer, is heir of all things, and his people are joint Inns 
 with him of all that he possesses; and among the rest, of that 
 glorious liberty into which the creatures shall be delivered, at 
 the manifestation of the sons of God, at the appearance of 
 Christ, Rom. viii. IS — 25: when they "who suffer with Christ 
 shall be glorified together with him," together viz. at the same 
 time, and in the same place. You have the original chai 
 man's being, Gen. i. 20. There we sec what he lost: unto 
 this Christ will restore him, yea, unto much more. This res- 
 toration of man's dignity in Christ is thus set forth in tin v 'i; 
 Psalm: "Thou madest him to have dominion over the works 
 of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: all sheep 
 and oxen, yea, and all the beasts of the field; the fowl of the 
 air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the 
 paths of the sea." "This (says the apostle) wc x see not yet;" 
 but, as an earnest of it, we see Jesus at his Father's right hand, 
 as "the Lamb with seven eyes and sexen horns;" having all 
 wisdom and power, to bring about all that God hath purposed 
 for him and his people. Contemplating this reign of the second 
 Adam," 1 the psalmist sings, "0 Lord, our Lord, how excellent 
 
 They all, indeed, dwelt in the land. but not as proprietors; for, exceptil 
 rial-place, they had no possession in it all, 'but confessed that they were stran- 
 gers and pilgrims.' This very (act the apostle instanci to prove 
 ihat they sought a country, yet died without receiving the promises, Heb. xi. 13 
 — If), 39. And Stephen notices also, that though God promised to give the 
 land to Abraham for a possession, and to his seed after him, yel I hat he gave him 
 none inheritance in it — no, not so much as to set his foot on, Acl rii I 5. [| 
 is unwarrantable, therefore, to say of them that the promise v. ts fulfilled, when 
 these two passages of Scripture say it was not." — Aidiel's El . \ II. 
 
 Ainsworth thus renders Gen. xvii. 8: — "The [and of thy sojourn ings for an 
 everlasting firm possession." 
 
 * This title of the Redeemer is a very remarkable one, ate I d 
 lar attention. In Rom. v. 14, the Saviour is introduced 
 Adam, who is said to be the figure of him that was to come. Adam was the 
 figure of Christ, 1st, in beingthe image of God, Gen. i. 26; Heb.i.3; 2nd, in 
 being the federal head of all his postei tty, as Christ isol all I 
 Rom. V; 3rd. in some points connected with the conjugal relationship, I I 
 ii. 21— 21; Epbes. v. 26— 33j 4tb,as heaven's vicegerent 01 governor. God said 
 to Adam, "Have thou dominion." This dominion hi lost; but untothi 
 saith, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever ami ever." Prom the title "th 
 Adam," being introduced into the apostle's discourse on the si mine of 
 
 Christ and resurrection of his saints, 1 Cor.xv., we may infer that tin- will be 
 the period when he will be manifested in this chara 1 
 
 things new," Rev. xxi.5; "subdue all things onto himself,' 1 Phil.i.21; aiM the 
 Father gathers all things together unto him, Bpbes. i. 10. I hen shall God's 
 express image be seen on earth in all its glory, the bridi • 1 ' Ihrisl 
 
 be eternally displayed, the virtue of his headship be seen in the restoration of 
 millions, and heaven and earth admire the wisdom and rectitude Of that go- 
 
94 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 is thy name in all the earth;" even that same Lord "who had 
 set his glory above the heavens." 
 
 The 37th, 72nd, 145th, and many other psalms, refer to this 
 subject; but my limits will not allow me to expatiate on them. 
 From Prov. viii. 31, arguments may be deduced in support of 
 this doctrine. "Rejoicing in the habitable parts of his earth, 
 and my delights were with the sons of men." Thus did Christ, 
 "the wisdom of God," contemplate from all eternity, with 
 sacred joy, that period when he with his saints should enjoy 
 that earth, not as yet created. Jer. xxiii. 5, 6; Ezek. xxxiv. 
 23, 24, 29; xlviii. 35: Dan. vii. 13, 14, 27, refer to this great 
 event. In Ezek. xliii. 7, we have a very minute promise: 
 "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," &c. Also Zeph. iii. 15, "The King of Israel, 
 even the Lord, is in the midst of thee." Zech. ii. 10 — 12, 
 "Sing and rejoice, daughter of Zion, for lo, I come, and will 
 dwell in the midst of thee ..... and the Lord shall inherit 
 Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem 
 again." And the last verse intimates that this is something 
 more than a spiritual coming. "Be silent, all flesh, before 
 the Lord, for he is risen out of his holy habitation." Also 
 Zech. viii. 3; Isa. xii. 6; xl. 10; xix. 1. I am fully aware that 
 many of these promises refer to literal Israel; but this militates 
 nothing against the sentiment now advocated, because where 
 Christ is, there will his saints be. And there is reason to con- 
 clude that the site of that heavenly Jerusalem, which cometh 
 down from God, out of heaven, will be somewhere in the holy 
 land, perhaps in the vicinity of the earthly Jerusalem, the Jew- 
 ish capital. Zechariah, xiv. 4, declares that the feet of the Mes- 
 siah shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives; and 
 ver. 5, (confirming what Enoch had spoken,) "And the Lord 
 my God shall come, and all the saints with thee." Perhaps 
 Moses, Deut. xxxiii. 2, and Ilab. iii. 13, refer to this time. 
 
 Turn we from the Old to the New Testament, we shall find 
 this subject revealed equally plain. In Matt. vi. 10, our Lord 
 taught his disciples to pray, "Thy kingdom come thy will be 
 done on earth, as it is done in heaven." This prayer will 
 never be fully answered till heaven comes down to earth. If 
 
 vernment under which peace shall flow like a river into every heart, and in 
 which man and nature shall be blessed. Thus, though the foundations of 
 Christ's eternal kingdom were visibly laid in his incarnation, yet that kingdom 
 is not gloriously manifested till he comes again. But because the foundation 
 was then laid, and because the building is sure to rise, we have the glory of 
 that kingdom referred to in so many places, where the incarnation is intro- 
 duced to our attention. See lsa. ix. 1—0; xi.; Micah v. 1—1; Luke i. 32— 3i. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. «,;, 
 
 the millennium were to be no more than what some expect, 
 there would be occasion to use these petitions <irn then t and 
 the world would at last be burned up without this prayer ever 
 being realized by God's will being done on earth as in heaven. 
 But when the kingdom of "our Father" comes, and the king- 
 dom of his Christ, over which he will be King, and in which 
 his risen saints will be princes, Rev. xx. -1 — (i, then will God's 
 will be completely done, and the earth shall be filled with his 
 glory. Matt. xix. 3S, is full to the point. Peter had been say- 
 ing, "We have forsaken all and followed thee, what shall we 
 have therefore?" And Jesus said unto them, "Verily I say 
 unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration 
 when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye 
 also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of 
 Israel." Most persons understand these words to mean, that 
 those who are regenerated persons shall inherit these promised 
 blessings; to be consistent, they must first show that Christ 
 was regenerated. The word regeneration here,' refers to 
 things, not to perso?is, and intends the same as the restitution 
 of all things; and the meaning is, that the faithful followers of 
 Christ shall in that glorious or regenerated state of things yet 
 to come, be exalted with him to great glory and honour. We 
 are also taught that at the time Christ takes his seat upon his 
 glorious throne, all material things will undergo a change for 
 the better, not be destroyed: "He that sat upon the throne said, 
 Behold, I will make all things new/' Rev. xxi. 5; Heb. i. 10 
 — 12; and that during this state of things the Jews shall exist 
 as a nation, and be subject to the government of Christ and his 
 apostles. Our Lord preached this same doctrine at the feast of 
 love, Luke xxii. 28 — 30; indeed, it was a favourite topic with 
 our divine Master. Before I pass from Matt. xix. 28, I beg 
 leave to put a question or two to those who may be inclined 
 to interpret it otherwise than of a kingdom on earth. Had 
 the apostles of our Lord, who put this question, any higher 
 idea of the kingdom they expected their Lord to set up than 
 that it was on this earth, and that the Jews, as a nation', were 
 to be pre-eminent in it? Surely they had not, even after the re- 
 surrection of Christ; of this Acts i. G, 7, is a witness, "t Then, 
 
 * Tyndale re cond generation;" see also Gen. ii. 4 Holmes, in 
 
 his Resurrection Revealed, proposes to speak upon this glorious state thus, 1. 
 The chaos. 2. The creation. 3. The dimensions. 1. The qualifications. . r >. 
 The privileges. 
 
 r "when we remember thai our Lord had jn I been opening their under- 
 standings to understand the Scripture, Lu • 15, and conversing with 
 ii forty days on tbekingdom of God, Acts i.3j it is most improbable that 
 they should have still hada visionary not i tablishmeni, oi tfthej 
 had. that at such a moment he should have left them under the powi 
 sciioi^ an error." — B G 
 VOL. III. — 19 
 
96 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 I ask again, did our Lord mean that they should understand 
 his answer? Surely he did; for when they were not able to 
 bear any thing, he did not tell them. If then, they understood 
 by this kingdom, a kingdom on earth among the Jews, and if 
 our Lord so spake that they should understand him, then I 
 infer that Christ meant it as they understood it; not that I mean 
 to say that they understood or viewed all things correctly, but 
 that they were right in the main or leading points. The de- 
 sire of the two sons of Zebedee, Matt. xx. 21, 22, and our 
 Lord's answer, show that their ideas of such a kingdom were 
 not wrong, whatever we may say of their wishes for prece- 
 dency. Our Lord's answer, ver. 22, 23, does not say a word 
 about their having conceived erroneously concerning his king- 
 dom; indeed, he tacitly acknowledges the truth of their con- 
 ceptions, but refers the gift of those much-desired seats to his 
 heavenly Father's will. 
 
 Passing over other passages, I come to Rev. v. 9, 10, "Thou 
 hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign 
 on the earth." This song was sung on the occasions of the 
 Lamb's taking the seven-sealed book, and prevailing to open 
 it. By the opening of these seven seals, (by which is intended 
 a series of judgments,) the Lamb eventually rids the world of 
 those wicked and tyrannical governments who domineered 
 over it and oppressed his saints; "and the kingdoms of the 
 world become his kingdoms," and "the tabernacle of God is 
 with men." In anticipation of this glorious time of triumph, 
 and from a feeling of gratitude to, and admiration of the Re- 
 deemer, the redeemed in heaven, begin a lofty song of praise 
 to the Lamb, which concludes thus, "and we shall reign on the 
 earth."* The angels who surround the throne, in number ten 
 
 * Several eminent divines who believe that Christ will come to set up a 
 kingdom on earth, and to reign with his risen saints over the earth, yet hesi- 
 tate about the site of the New Jerusalem being on this earth; among these are 
 Dr. Thomas Goodwin, Dr. Henry More, and Mr. Bickersteth. With all defe- 
 rence to such eminent names, I would just observe, is it not said, Rev. xxi. 3. 
 "The tabernacle of God is with men;" are not "the meek to inherit the earth," 
 Matt. v. 5; and do not the promises made to the patriarchs and the Jewish na- 
 tion, too numerous to quote, require an actual residence on theearthl Was not 
 the transfiguration a foreshowing of this kingdoml there were Christ in glory 
 — Elijah in his glorified body — and disciples in the flesh, Matt. xvi. 28; 2 Pet. 
 i. 16. Was not the Jewish tabernacle, with the glorious presence of God 
 therein, a type yet to be realized on earth'? We do not suppose any thing like 
 common or familiar intercourse, nor maintain that Christ and his risen saints 
 may be always visible to dwellers in flesh. Perhaps some may think the fol- 
 lowing remarks too venturesome, but no doubt they will be more than realized, 
 if not exactly in the way pointed out. 
 
 ;t Is it not a reasonable anticipation, that in the future scenes of predicted 
 glory, it may be within the power of the glorified saints still to mingle invisi- 
 bly with the moral sojourners of eaith, sometimes to veil the radiance with 
 which they will be clothed'! And thus, when the earth shall be at rest, the 
 
OF OUR LORD JESU* CHRI8T. Cjft 
 
 thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, next 
 take up the glorious anthem, and every longue and every harp 
 
 swells the lull melody of that song which redeemed sinners 
 lead. Then the remotest confines of the universe, and all the 
 different orders of creation, hear and echo hack the melody. 
 Saints, angels, heaven, earth, and seas rejoicej because the Lamb 
 has undertaken to fulfil his Father's counsels, This anticipa- 
 tion of reigning on the earth is set forth as realized in Rev. 
 xx. 6 — S, and Rev. xxi. xxii., which refer to this same glorious 
 event. "John saw the new Jerusalem coming down from God 
 out of heaven;" This is the incorruptible inheritance of which 
 Peter spake, which is reserved in heaven, 1 Pet. i. 3 — 5. This 
 is the city the patriarchs eyed from afar, while as pilgrims they 
 traced the thorny road. This is the Jerusalem which Paul de- 
 clares is free, which is ahove, and is the mother of us all, Oal. 
 iv. 26; Heb. xii. 22. John then tells us that he heard a great 
 voice out of heaven say, "Behold the tabernacle of < 
 with men, and he will dwell with them." The\glories of this 
 city, and the privileges of its citizens, are described in the 
 most glowing words that language can furnish. So much in- 
 ternal evidence do Rev. xxi. xii. contain of the glorious 
 of things described being on earth, and not in heaven, that 
 many commentators, who look for a millennium during the 
 gospel dispensation, apply them to that period by making large 
 allowances for figure, metaphor, and oriental manner of speak- 
 ing, thus making God perform less than he prqjnises. Others 
 apply it to the church in heaven — these have to contend with 
 
 voice of war be silent, and strife hushed in the land, it may be permitted to 
 those beneficent mortals, thou in the world, to lay aside the 
 
 !, and to cheet 
 
 s, with the in a kindness which shall only seem kindred 
 
 with its o\i a"— No P ospea e ( > 
 
 The same eloquent writer observes — "What then ha& been the conduct ol 
 Jesus Christ in the intercourse which he has deigned to establish between 
 himself ami the earth'? He n of the 
 
 of others. Ho came to portray his Fathi by the exhibi- 
 
 tion of his own — to make known ni I 
 
 he was himself ready to make; he came amidst p fish, and 
 
 the earthly, to tell a tale of disinterested love, al which such selfishness mighl 
 
 og down her head. Be came amidsl the guilty, the* 
 and the tost, to reveal a design of men j al which angels rejoice with i 
 ingjoy, and before « ! '< b< an may throw ofl 
 the load under which il labours. And v. hai must be the design 
 factor in '■ &nd healed 
 Can it be for any purpose different from tb ;e be has ahv idi m m 
 theworldl Can it be to wrap up the ■ ■• which he has hither- 
 to manifestly laboi I to unfold! i: be foi any inferior purpose, 
 
 than tu associate with him ell an elect-in with his 
 
 own glorified humanityl [n order that, encircled I 
 come forth from lu- Father's presence I i effect on the earth the uUiu 
 peal of every curse, and the recovery of the lost heritage of mankind.'' 
 
98 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 equal if not with greater difficulties. I would just observe 
 here what has before been hinted at, that as at Christ's second 
 coming there will be two manages, that of the Jewish church, 
 spoken of in the Old Testament, and that of the elect Gentile 
 church in the New; so during the millennium there will be 
 two Jerusalems,* the literal Jerusalem, and the heavenly Jeru- 
 salem. The dimensions and site of the former are spoken of 
 Jer. xxxi. 38 — 40, and the dimensions of the latter are set forth 
 Rev. xxi. 15 — 17. 
 
 Some have thought that this holy, heavenly city, the habita- 
 tion of Christ and his saints, will be in the midst of the pro- 
 mised land, see Ezek. xxxvii. 25 — 28, with Rev. xxi. 3; and 
 that, thus will be fulfilled the promises of God to the Jews, that 
 the Messiah should dwell in the midst of them, and likewise 
 the Lord's promise to his disciples, that they should judge or 
 rule the twelve tribes of Israel. Then how glorious will the 
 king of Israel and the king of saints appear! "Our eyes shall 
 see the king in his beauty." Our Lord showed forth in the 
 mount of transfiguration a glimpse of the glory which he will 
 then openly display. Peter, referring to this event, 2 Pet. i. 
 66 — IS, calls it the power and coming of our Lord Jesus; and so 
 Jesus calls it, Matt, xvii. 2S, implying that this was a foreshow- 
 ing of the glory he would manifest, when he reigned in his 
 kingdom. 
 
 The state of the risen saints will be one of government and 
 service, of triumph and joy. For, they are kings and priests," 
 "they live and reign." This Christ promiseth, Rev. iii. 26, 27. 
 "He that overcometh, and keepeth my words unto the end, to 
 him will I give power over the nations." This was promised 
 to the saints then living, and to them personally, and never 
 has yet been fulfilled, neither can it and similar promises be 
 fulfilled, unless they are raised from the dead, while there 
 are nations living on the earth to rule, which Rev. xxi. 24 
 tells us will be the case. "And the nations of them which 
 are save'd (viz. saved from those judgments which over- 
 whelm others) shall walk in the light of it (the new Jerusa- 
 lem,) and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour 
 into it." Concerning the nature of the government,! priest- 
 
 * Mecle observes, "You must distinguish between the New Jerusalem and 
 the state of the nations which walk in the light thereof— they are not both one. 
 New Jerusalem is not the whole church, but the metropolis thereof, and of the' 
 whole world." The prophecies of Ezekiel are the Apocalypse of the Jews; their 
 Jerusalem is therein revealed, as also in Isaiah, the Psalms, and other pro- 
 phets; but the prophecies of John are the Apocalypse of the Gentiles (or rather 
 of the elect church, Jews and Gentiles, Eph.ii.) and set forth the glorious con- 
 dition of the raised saints. 
 
 t "The risen saints do not form, (if I may so speak) the population, but the 
 government of that kingdom. If they inherit a kingdom, and reign, they must 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 
 
 '»!) 
 
 hood, and joint heirship with Christ, which the saints will then 
 enter upon, we can say hut little; because we know hut little; 
 "for we know not yet what we shall he, hut when he Bhall ap- 
 pear, we shall see him as he is. 1 ' That it will he mi, the faith- 
 ful and true witness hath declared; ami it is enough fur us to 
 know that he shall sec him as he is, he like him, he joint heirs 
 with him, rule with him, and minister to him: each word, each 
 privilege, contains a world of wonders. None can tell how 
 great will he the saints' happiness, how extensive their i 
 sions, how dignified their employment The faculties of the 
 human soul now are great and capacious, who can tell how 
 they may be distended in the world to come! what mighty 
 subjects may they grasp, and comprehend, and feast upon; then, 
 indeed, thy shall know what life, eternal life means, that 
 
 "Life is love ami immortality; 
 The being one, and one the element." 
 
 Perfect in knowledge, in love, in holiness, in joy, and all bear- 
 ing the impression of eternity , who can imagine their bliss? The 
 Lamb who bought them ever in sight, the impression of their 
 infinite obligations ever delightfully resting upon them, and 
 the spontaneous, grateful song of heavenly melody ever flow- 
 ing from them; how full, how complete, is their blessedness! 
 With much joy and wonder we might dwell upon their spirit- 
 ual and glorified bodies, how swift they are transported on 
 their Lord's errands, how refined and pure all the senses are;* 
 
 in respect to that kingdom have subjects: and these I imagine, will consist ol 
 the nations of the saved. — /.'■■ 
 
 "If angels (-ays one) be my ministers in this my humiliation, what in my 
 exaltation may i nol hope to become ' 
 
 The future priesthood of the glorified saints no donbl will be something 
 very exalted, li is said they will serve God day and night 
 Rev. vii. 15; and again, "his servants shall servi . 3 J> 
 
 they arc a royal priesthood, offer "spiritual sacrifices" and "sacrifices of 
 praise/' Heb. xiii. 1">; 1 Pel they will oflei ap 
 
 flame of holy love, and poui forth grateful songs of praise foj ev< r. Perhaps 
 Rev. ( - future priestly character of the saint "And when thi 
 
 Lamb had taken the book, the four beasts, and four and twenty elders, fell 
 down before the Lamb, having every one oi them harps, and golden vials full 
 of odours, which arc the prayersof -aims.'' |i should also be borne in mind, 
 that this glorious kingdom will be the era when Christ shall be revealed in his 
 Melchisedec prie tfa od, :eing thatPsalm ex., when b Itobea 
 
 priest for everafter that order, evidently looks foi waul to a time of rt . 
 and triumph. Then he is manifested as, "the Priest on the throne 
 vi. 13; "the Prince of peace," Isa. ix. 6; then shall the historj 
 xiv. 18—20, receive its typical fulfilment. The notorious Jews shall be 
 blessed by their acknowledged Messiah, and Abraham, with all h 
 seed shall be richly entertained by Him who hath said, "To bin 
 cometh, will 1 give to eat of the hidden manna.' R I ' 
 
 * '•< u how many cheap, exquisite joys, an oui five senses l 
 who is he that can look upon the beautiful seem - of the morning, Ij ing in the 
 freshness of dew, and the joyful light of the risen sun. and nol bi happy? 
 19* 
 
100 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 but vain the essay; we must wait the Bridegroom's coming, 
 and then shall that chariot paved with love, carryall his suffer- 
 ing brethren "into the joy of their Lord." Fellow immortals! 
 let us consider to whom these things belong, and inquire do they 
 belong to us? Hearken, ye conflicting saints, to your Lord's 
 watchword, "He that overcometh shall inherit all things." 
 Are we fighting and enduring? however violent the conflict, 
 Then consider your inheritance — "things;" all you can lose or 
 relinquish for Christ is vanity and shadows; he gives the over- 
 comers substance, which the teeth of time cannot devour. He 
 gives realities, not vanities; substance, not toys; many things, 
 not few. All things; wide is the extent of your inheritance: 
 here one is wise, another rich, another valiant, one hath one 
 thing and another another; no one hath all: not so then; every 
 one shall possess all things. Yea, he shall inherit them, live 
 upon them, make use of them. He shall inherit creation. If 
 he looks at himself, he shall find he possesses a soul without 
 ignorance or sin, a body spiritual and pure. If he looks around, 
 there are the new heaven and earth for his delightful contem- 
 plation, and the tree of life for his sweet repast. He shall in- 
 herit providence, the whole of that ample volume he shall be 
 allowed to study, and see the wisdom of God throughout the 
 whole; and shall be constrained to sing, "All things have worked 
 together for good." He shall inherit the promises, particularly 
 those seven contained in Rev. ii. 7, 11, 17, 26; iii. 5, 12, 26, 
 which, all put together, make up the blessed state of the new 
 Jerusalem. He shall inherit God himself, for the great Pro- 
 miser adds, "I will be his God, and he shall be my son." 
 God will be known and enjoyed" as his chief good and eternal 
 portion, and he shall be owned as a son, shall feel and act as a 
 son; all, all, shall be inherited to the glory of God, and all ac- 
 knowledged to spring from free and boundless love. Surely 
 those who have these hopes should aim to purify themselves, 
 as Christ is pure, and address themselves to glorify God on 
 earth, with body, soul, and spirit. 
 
 But hearken, ye worldlings, ye world loving professors, to 
 the awful, yet kind warning annexed. "But;" — man makes 
 bids now, and puts them between himself and God's service; 
 
 Cannot God create another world, many times more fair, and cast over it a' 
 mantle of light many times more lovely, and wash it with purer dew than evei 
 dropped from the eye-lids of the morning?" — lrving's Orations. 
 
 The same author observes, "O what untried forms of happy being, what 
 cycles of revolving bliss await the just? Conception cannot reach it, nor ex- 
 perience present materials for the picture of its similitude; and though thus 
 figured out by the choicest emblems, they do no more represent it, than the 
 name of Shepherd describes the watchful guardianship of Christ, or the name 
 of the Father, the unspeakable love of God." 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIfi 1 [Q] 
 
 God will make a but hereafter between the sinner ami hope, as 
 wide as the gulf that separated Dives from Lazarus. "But the 
 
 fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, 
 and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, 
 shall have their part in the lake which burnetii with lire ami 
 brimstone: which is the second death." Rev. x\i. 7. s . 
 
 If my reader wishes further scriptural evidence that this earth 
 is destined to be the seat of Christ's reign, together with his 
 saints, he may consult Psal. xxxvii. :>, 9, 11. 18, 22, 29, 34; 
 Prov. x. 30; Isa. xxiv. 23; xxv. (i— !>; Dan. vii. 14,27; xii. 
 13; Matt. v. 5; xiii. 41—43; Acts iii. 19—21; Rom. viii. IS 
 —23; Eph. i. 10—14; 2 Peter iii. 13; Rev. xi. 15—11). 
 
 "The Bible," says Mr. Marsh, "is a history of paradise lost, 
 and paradise regained; with, indeed, the superior benefits which 
 will redound to the redeemed church of the Lord. The Spirit 
 of Christ in the prophets testified before-hand the sufferings of 
 Christ, and the glory that should follow. That glory, in its 
 fulness, has not yet followed. That glory does not consist in 
 the few scattered disciples he has had since he ascended into 
 the heavens, but looks forward to the period when bis enemies 
 shall become his footstool, the restored Jews his crown, his 
 suffering church his glory, and a redeemed world his king- 
 dom." 
 
 One thing remains yet to be noticed, viz., the different orders 
 and degrees in that kingdom which the saints shall inherit. 
 The Jews will, no doubt, have supremacy among the nations; 
 "men shall call you the ministers of our God;" but the risen 
 saints will be exalted far above them; and even among the in- 
 habitants of the new Jerusalem, there is every reason to be- 
 lieve there will be degrees of honour and glory. Christ says, 
 "Behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give 
 unto every man according as bis work shall be," Rev. xxii. 
 12. And the apostle declares, that every man shall receive his 
 reward accordingto his labour/' 1 Cor. iii. 8. The Redeemer, 
 in those parables which refer to his second coming, teaches the 
 same doctrine; one is made ruler of ten cities, and another of 
 live. Matt. xxiv. And the apostle John stirred up the saints 
 to diligence on this very consideration, "Look to yourselves, 
 that we lose not those things which we have vy rough t, but that 
 we receive a full reward," 2 John 8. In the different di 
 of honour and glory that will obtain, I believe there will be a 
 display both of sovereignty am! rig and that this state 
 
 of things will conduce to the happiness of the redeemed com- 
 pany, and be in accordance with other dispensations of Cod, 
 and with the order that is* to be traced in all the works of Cud. 
 whether among angels, principalities, and powers, the shining 
 
102 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 worlds above, (differing in glory,) the church on earth, or the 
 lower creation. In all these works of God, we discover no- 
 thing like that equality and uniformity which many think will 
 be the characteristic of the world of glory. 
 
 Most persons who believe in the personal reign, believe there 
 will be different degrees of glory in that state. This senti- 
 ment has been advocated by some who are considered zealous 
 champions for the honours of divine grace. The excellent 
 Toplady thus writes, "I am one of those old fashioned people 
 who believe the doctrine of the millennium, and that there will 
 be two distinct resurrections of the dead; the one, that of the 
 just, a thousand years before that of the unjust. In this glori- 
 ous interval of one thousand years, Christ, I apprehend, will 
 reign in person, over the kingdom of the just; and that during 
 this dispensation, different degrees of glory will obtain, and 
 every man will receive his own reward, according to his own 
 labour." — Vol. iii. p. 470. Mr. Joseph Hussey maintained the 
 same sentiment, He represents the apostle as saying, "That I 
 may win Christ, both objectively, in discerning still more of 
 Christ while he was running, and possessively, in having more of 
 him in his glorious thousand year's' kingdom, than all other 
 ministers who came behind him should. And it is to be the 
 same with every one of us who, in faith, do 'so run as to ob- 
 tain." — Husseifs Glories, p. 13S. The learned Dr. Gill ob- 
 serves, "All the saints will share in the glories of Christ's 
 kingdom; though some will have distinguished honours, yet 
 all will reign with Christ." — Body of Divinity, p. 472. The 
 excellent Mr. Martin, who I believe, was not a millenarian, 
 also contended for degrees in glory, as do many beside him: 
 and, indeed, those who deny this doctrine have no alternative, 
 as far as I can see, except passing by, or denying God's word. 
 It is usually said, that as all are loved with the same love, and 
 bought with the same price, all shall be alike glorified; but it 
 is no use to oppose these human inferences to God's plain de- 
 clarations. Besides, as it hath been observed, "If this reason- 
 ing would prove any thing, it proves too much; viz., that we 
 should all be upon an equality in the present world, as well as 
 in that which is to come. But if to be loved with the same 
 love, &c, is consistent with the greatest diversity in tills life, 
 there is no conclusion to be drawn from thence, but that it may 
 be equally so in that which is to come." — Fuller's Essays. Let 
 it be remembered that while God loved his people in Christ, 
 with a sovereign love, "even when dead in sins," that his com- 
 placent love can find no object of delight in them, until his own 
 image is imprinted there by the gracious Spirit. Then the Lord 
 taketh pleasure in their graces, their prayers, and praises, Psal. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS riIUl>T. l () ;j 
 
 cxlvii. 11; xxii. 3; Prov. xv. 8j and is not unrighteous to for- 
 get their works of faith, Hob. vi. 10, which are said to be a 
 
 sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour, Phil. iv. 18. "Heavenly 
 bliss," says the author above quoted, "will consist in being 
 approved of God. That which Enoch bad on earth, all God's 
 faithful servants will have in heaven, — a testimony that they 
 have pleased God. But it is impossible that all good men 
 should partake of this satisfaction in an equal degri ■ -, unless 
 they bad all acted in this world exactly alike." Thus sound 
 reason and sacred scripture both confirm this sentiment Ami 
 though I must retract past assertions, and incur the charge "i 
 legality by so doing, I cannot help saying, He watchful, be dili- 
 gent, be liberal, ye saints of God; for ye know not bow much 
 eternal substance ye may lose by grasping passing shadows. Be 
 nobly ambitious to know much, love much, receive much, give 
 much, and do much; and 1 am sure, the more sanctification you 
 realize, the less you will depend upon it, and the more precious 
 Christ will become. Hearken to your heavenly Master's words, 
 "lay not up treasures on earth, but lay up for yourselves trea- 
 sures in heaven," Matt. vi. 19, 20. "Make to yourselves 
 friends of the mammon of unrighteousness," Luke xvi. 9. 
 Look around you upon the perishing heathen; look around you 
 upon the sick poor, upon the ignorant, and the outcasts of so- 
 ciety that need your help; and then look upon your property, 
 your talents, and your obligations, and reflect how feebly you 
 have hitherto followed the pattern of Jesus; — and away to your 
 post, away to the field of duty, of labour, to the dwellings of 
 misery, and scatter. Doth this meet the eye of one who is 
 giving shillings to God's cause, and hoarding up hundreds; 
 giving now and then his pound, and hoarding up thousands? 
 Friend, if thou art saved at last, thou wilt be ashamed of this 
 in the day of God; when thy income, expenditure, and chari- 
 ties, are all compared, and that before the whole church, and 
 hosts of angels. 0, shame on those who can hoard up thou- 
 sands for their children, but who dole out a miserable pittance 
 to God's cause and poor. Or, is the reader one who bears the 
 Christian name, and yet is not, "laying aside malice, guile, 
 envies, ■uid evil speaking?" What! meet those in the judg- 
 ment, thou didst not forgive on earth? Is he a political Chris- 
 tian, absorbed in this world's concerns? Alas! the newspaper, 
 if it has displaced the Bible, will he a poor preparation for the 
 day of God: there is little similarity between tin: noisy debate, 
 and the songs of the blessed. 1- any secret sin allowed, any 
 walking after the flesh? Is the heart taken away from its rest- 
 ing place, by the flattering world? "What is a man profited, 
 if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" and 
 
104 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 what is a saint profited, if he gains riches, honours, and worldly ap- 
 plause, but loses a portion of the honours of the kiiigdom? The 
 Lord give his people grace to abide in Christ, to bring forth 
 much fruit, by virtue of a rich outpouring of that Holy Spirit 
 of promise, who is the earnest of our inheritance, until the re- 
 demption of the purchased possession, (Eph. i. 13.) "Where- 
 fore the rather, brethren, give all diligence to make your call- 
 ing and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never 
 fall. For so an entrance shall be administered unto you abun- 
 dantly, into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ." 2 Peter i. 10, 11. 
 
 2. In the millennium the Jewish nation will be advanced to a high- 
 state of glory and honour. God will fulfil all the unconditional 
 promises he made to their fathers, Gen. xvii. 7, 8; xlviii. 4; 
 Exod. vi. 4. Then shall it be manifest that God's promises 
 are not figuratively true, but literally yea and amen. Having 
 said much already about the Jews, I will endeavour, with all 
 brevity, to lay before the reader what the Scriptures say about 
 their future prosperity. It appears, from various parts of Scrip- 
 ture, that their boundaries will be enlarged, all God anciently 
 promised will be enjoyed, and that. then a fresh partition of the 
 land among the different tribes will take place; that Jerusalem 
 will be rebuilt and beautified, and that a glorious and magnifi- 
 cent temple will be in it, in which the priests will minister be- 
 fore God. Some of these things, at first sight, may appear 
 highly objectionable; but these objections, after all, may arise 
 from overlooking part of the Scriptures — Isa. xlix. 19,20; lvi. 
 7; lx. 12—14; Ezek. xl. xliii. xlviii.; Zee. xiv. 16—19. 
 
 At that period, all that God promised to Abraham shall be 
 enjoyed — all that David and Isaiah sung shall be fulfilled. As 
 we have already seen, the restored Jews will have to pass 
 through fire and water, but God, at last, will bring them into 
 a wealthy place; and then, as at their deliverance from Egypt, 
 "he will give nations for them." Isa. xliii. 4. From Micah v. 
 7, S, we learn that Israel is to be an instrument of God's ven- 
 geance toward the nations — "The remnant of Jacob shall be in 
 the midst of many people, as a lion among the beasts of the 
 forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep; who, if he 
 go through, both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none 
 can deliver." I3ut Israel shall also be a blessing in the earth, 
 "for the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peo- 
 ple as a dew from the Lord, and as showers upon the grass, 
 that tarrieth not for man, nor vvaitcth for the sons of men." 
 Micah v. 7. They shall be missionaries to the nations, Isa. 
 Ixvi. 19; and then the watchmen shall see eye to eye, Isa. liii. 
 S. Well might the prophet exhort us to pray that Zion might 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUfl CHRIST. | n ;, 
 
 be made a praise in the earth, for then shall the Gentiles see 
 her righteousness, and all kings her glory, Esa, Ixii. 2. 
 
 David's prophetic eye clearly saw those glorious times, and 
 he has penned many a triumphant song for the ransomed ones 
 to use when made victorious and happy. I will refer i" a few, 
 for the Psalms arc full of these prophetic triumphs, and many 
 of them are only intelligible as they are thus considered! Look 
 at Psal. xlvi.; the first verse is the language of i 
 ver. 2, 3, of confidence amidst the troubles that were then 
 deluging the earth; ver. 4, 5, of joy, in their privii 
 xlvii. 1) and Cud's presence; ver. <i, contains a placid survey 
 of the heathen's rage, the kingdom's removal, and the melting 
 of the earth, or earthly dominion, at the voice of the Lord; 
 ver. 7, comes a joyful song of triumph; ver. 8, is an invitation 
 to behold the works of the Lord; ver. 9, celebrates God's acts 
 in making peace to the ends of the world, and destroying all 
 warlike men and warlike instruments; ver. 10. God himself 
 speaks, and commands attention and silence, and declares that 
 he will be exalted among the heathen, and in the earth. At 
 hearing this, the Jewish nation again repeat their chorus, "The 
 Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our refugi ." 
 
 The 47th Psalm is very similar. In it God is celebrated as 
 "a great King over all the earth, who will subdue the nations 
 under the feet of the Jews," Isa. xl. 11, and choose their in- 
 heritance for them, because of his love to them. Then God 
 is described as reigning over the heathen, as King of all the 
 earth. He is praised because the princes of the people of the 
 God of Abraham are gathered together, and because the shields 
 (or great men of the earth) belong to God, who is greatly ex- 
 alted. 
 
 The 48th Psalm is still more expressive of the supremacy of 
 the Jews among the nations. /ion is said to be beautiful for 
 situation — the joy of the whole earth, and the pcculi a 
 dence of God, ver. 1 — 3. Then a complete triumph is cele- 
 brated, at which kings marvel and fear: all enemies are. scat- 
 tered, and Zion is established. I — 8. Then we have. ver. '. 
 a wonderful declaration, showing that the petition our Lord 
 taught us to use, "thy kingdom come, thy will he dour on earth 
 as it is in heaven/' is now answered: it is that "as is God's 
 name so is his praise;" and this revenue of glory not only Hows 
 from Zion, but from all the ends of the earth. Nexl is an in- 
 vitation to walk about Zion, tell her towers, mark her bul- 
 warks, and consider her palaces. The 45th Psalm, which pre- 
 cedes all these, contains an account of a transaction which gives 
 birth to these high expressions of joy and rapture, even the 
 consummation of a marriage between Christ the King, and his 
 
106 
 
 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 ancient people. The subject is referred to Isa. liv. and Ixii. and 
 each of these passages shew that, when this event takes place, 
 God will be known throughout the world, Psal. xlv. 12, 19; 
 Isa. liv. 3, 5; lxii. 2, 7, 11.* According as the apostle writes, 
 "If the diminishing of them be the riches of the Gentiles, how 
 much more their fulness?" Rom. xi. 12. The 67th Psalm is 
 another divine ode, that connects the restoration of Israel and 
 the salvation of the nations together. See also Psalm Ixviii. 
 lxxii., lxxvi., lxxxvii., xciii., xcvii., xcviii., xcix., cii., ex., cxiii., 
 cxviii., exxxii., cxlv., particularly xcvi. and cxlix. 
 
 Isa. xxiv. 23, declares that "the sun shall be confounded, and 
 the moon ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in 
 Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients glori- 
 ously." In ch. xxvii. 6, he says, "Israel shall blossom, and 
 bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit." But chap. lx. 
 is peculiarly descriptive of their glorious condition when re- 
 stored. Who can read it and apply it to any thing else? Who 
 can read it and not see their future national glory and spiritual 
 greatness plainly set forth? There are so many literal expres- 
 sions that can refer to none beside them. In Isa. lxi. 6, it is 
 said, "Ye shall be called the priests of the Lord: men shall 
 call you the ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of 
 the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves." 
 But to quote all the passages on this subject would be to quote 
 a large part of the Bible; my reader may turn, if he pleases, 
 to Numb, xxiii. 9, 10, 23, 24; xxiv. 7, S; Isa. i. 25 — 27; iv. ; 
 xi. 10 — 16; xiv. 32; xxix. 22 — 24; xxx. 19, 23 — 26; xxviii. 
 20; xl. 1, 2, 9; xlv. 17; xlix. 13—16; lix. 20; lxii.; lxv. S— 
 10; lxvi. 7— 22; Jer. iii. 12—22; xxiii. 3—8; xxx. 3, 11, 17 
 — 22; xxxi.; Ezek. xvi. 53— 63; xx. 33, 34; xxxiv. 22— 31.; 
 xxxvii.; Hosea ii. 14 — 23; iii. 4, 5; xiv.; Joel iii. 1, 16, 22; 
 Amosix. 11—15; Micah iv. 1— 7; v. 3—7; vii. 15— 20; Zeph. 
 i. 14 — 20; Luke i. 54, 6S — 73; ii. 32; Rom. xi. 32; 2 Cor. iii. 
 16, 17. All these passages prove what Luke xxvi. 32, affirms, 
 that Christ, who has for ages been "the light of the Gentiles, 
 will be the glory of his people Israel." This prophecy is a 
 chronological and literal one, and will be so fulfilled. 
 
 "A cedar, nourished well, Jerusalem grew, 
 And towered on high, and spread, and flourished fair; 
 And underneath her bows the nations lodged, 
 All nations lodged, and sung the song of peace. 
 From the four winds, the Jews, eased of the curse, 
 Returned and dwelt with God in Jacob's land. 
 And drank of Sharon and of Carmel's vine. 
 
 * At that period, when Jesus fulfils the type of Solomon, no doubt the Song 
 of Solomon will be better understood than ever it has yet been, and its inspira- 
 tion clearly manifested. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST | ( ,7 
 
 How fair the daughter of Jej usalem then! 
 Hew gloi iouslv from Zion's bill n 
 Clothed with tne sun. and in her nam 
 And un her head a coronet of stars, 
 Ami girdling round her waist, with he i 
 The I . bright; and u 
 
 Imm,!. ptre and her hope, 
 
 Desireol every land! Tne nations came, 
 And worshipped at her feet; all nations 
 Flocking like doves, and worship]* 
 Before the Lord, in Zion's holy hill; 
 And all the places round about were 6] 
 
 1' 
 
 From various passages of Scripture, it is also evident, that 
 Christ will at that time fulfil the title by which the wise men 
 called him, and Pilate distinguished him, "The King of th 
 Jews." One has well said that our Lord died a martyr to that 
 truth; but he lives to see it fulfilled; and when he comes in 
 the clouds of heaven, then shall it be known that he is both 
 Son of God and Israel's King, Psal. ii. <i. 7: Matt. xxiv. 64; 
 John. i. 49, 51.* Then, when crowned with glory instead of 
 thorns, and grasping the sceptre of the universe instead of the 
 slender reed, shall angels, as they roll along his triumphal cha- 
 riot, again reiterate Pilot's words, "Ik-hold the man!*' "Be- 
 hold, your King!" They no longer disown him; no more 
 does the soul-murdering cry arise, "Away with him!" hut re- 
 pentingly they welcome him — humbly they adore him. The 
 Spirit of grace and supplication poured out abundantly, _ 
 fies Jesus in their view; they look and mourn, then look and 
 rejoice; and hosannas, more rapturously devout more perma- 
 nently sincere than those which reverberated through Salem's 
 streets, when he entered meek and lowly, riding upon 
 now greet him. From Dan to Beersheba one unanimous shout 
 arises, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" -Hail King of the 
 Jews!*' -'Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the 
 Hosanna in the highest?" 
 
 Then shall it be manifested that Christ's sitting upon David's 
 throne is something different from his reigning in a believer's 
 heart, or sitting at his Father's right hand, where David nevi r 
 sat; it signifies to reign over the same people whom David 
 reigned over, and in the same land. That the throne of David 
 was promised to Christ many passages affirm, 2 Sam. vii. 12; 
 Psa!. exxxii. 11. 17: Isa. ix". 7; Jer. xxiii. .">, v<; xxxiii. 15, 
 17,20,26; Ezek. xxxiv. 23. 2 1; xwvii. 84, 85; A: 
 
 * Our Lord's words to Nathaniel after his i onf I 
 
 of Israel," are very remarkable. "Thou shall see greater things il. 
 Verily, verily, 1 say onto yon, hereafter ve shall 
 gels ol » rod ascendinj he Bond mai 
 
 observes, "The special type of the millennial dispensation is (I thii 
 found in Jacob's ladd in led by our Lord himself to Nathaniel." 
 
 VOL. III.— 20 
 
]08 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 11; and that he really will reign on earth among the Jews, a 
 visible Messiah and King, is I believe taught in the word of 
 God. In Isa. ix. 6, 7, we read, "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 .... the Prince of peace. Of 
 the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, 
 upon the throne of David and upo?i his kingdom to order it, and 
 to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth 
 even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform 
 this." From the connection, it is evident that the scene of this 
 is earth, not heaven: neither David's throne nor the kingdom 
 are in heaven; and that the literal David, the son of Jesse, is 
 here referred to, when his throne is mentioned, is evident from 
 the fact that Christ, or the spiritual David, is distinguished by 
 various names not applicable to David; but he, to whom they 
 are applicable, is to sit on David's throne. The whole con- 
 nexion refers more to the period of the Jews' restoration than 
 to Christ's first coming. The similarity between the fourth 
 and fifth verses and various passages that relate to the Jews' 
 time of trouble confirms this: see for instance, Isa. lxvi. 15, 
 16; Zech.xii. 6,7; xiv. 1. 2. Then after this, in their trouble, 
 as in Zech. xii. 10, Messiah stands revealed, and is adored, and 
 their acknowledgment of him runs in this strain, "Unto us a 
 child is horn, unto us a son is given, and the government shall 
 be upon his shoulder." 
 
 In Luke i. 32, 33, the angel tells Mary concerning her Son, 
 "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest, 
 and the Lord God shall give him unto the throne of his father 
 David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever: 
 and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Now we have no 
 reason whatever to conclude that either Mary or Zechariah, 
 Luke i. 69 — 72, had any other views of Christ than as a visible 
 king over a literal people. This was what the disciples them- 
 selves looked for. Besides, by what rule of interpretation do 
 those proceed who interpret one part of the angel's message 
 literally and the other part spiritually ! "Thou shalt conceive 
 in thy womb, bring forth a son, and call his name Jesus. He 
 shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest." — 
 All this, say some, was literal; but you must not interpret the 
 two next clauses so: no literal David's throne; no literal house 
 of Jacob. This appears to me to be a long waj' off from con- 
 sistent reasoning. 
 
 In Mark xi. 10, we read that the multitude cried on the 
 occasion of our Lord's triumphant entry into Jerusalem. — 
 "Blessed be the kingdom of our father David." Was not 
 this a visible appearance? Was not Christ king then, though 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 HI!) 
 
 uncrowned! On the supposition that the throne and kingdom 
 of David are spiritual and invisible, surely the priests did right 
 to try to stop the songs in the temple. But did the Lord per- 
 mit them to do so? No; he encouraged the song, and in doing 
 this lie sanctioned the idea of a visible kingdom on earth, 
 though not in the manner nor at the time they expected it. — 
 For very soon after he told the ungrateful city, that they should 
 see him no more, until, having received his kingdom and re- 
 turned, Luke xix. 12, he should he met with similar acclama- 
 tions, Matt, xxiii. 39: "Behold your house is lull unto you 
 desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall nut see me henceforth 
 till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the 
 Lord." 
 
 We may infer that Christ's reign over the Jews, on David's 
 throne, will he an open and visible one, from the language of 
 the 89th Psalm, which psalm, especially the latter part of it, 
 is unintelligible, unless we look at it in this light. It is plain 
 the psalmist did not consider that the promises* were fulfilled 
 to David by the exaltation of Christ to heaven; else why those 
 lamentations, those complainings, that God had not as yet ful- 
 filled his promise, from ver. 3S — 61? The whole psalm shows 
 that the writer was convinced that while the JewMi kingdom, 
 or tabernacle of David, lay in ruins, (Amos ix.) the pr< 
 made to David could not be said to be fulfilled. By comparing 
 ver. 23 and 27 with Psal. ii. 5 — S, we must see that both refer 
 to the same time, even the time "when the kingdoms of this 
 world become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ." 
 
 The last words of Israel's sweet singer, 2 Sam. xxiii. 1 — 7, 
 refer to this time and event. There, in Bweetets strains of 
 poetry, we have celebrated the righteous and beneficial govern- 
 ment of the root and offspring of David, and his triumph ovei 
 the sons of Belial. All this David saw secured by an ever- 
 lasting covenant, and in this he gloried. This was the das- 
 dawn and day-star of which Peter spake. "This is the bright 
 and morning star." "This is he who shall come as rain upon 
 the mown grass;" who "will be as the dew unto Israel, and 
 whose goings forth are prepared as the morning; and who, as 
 the Sun of righteousness, shall arise with healing in his wings. 
 2 Pet. i. If); Rev. xxii. 16; Psal. Ixxii. <i; Hosea siv. '.; vi. 
 1 — 3 ; Mai. iv. 3. "Come thou everlasting light, and let the 
 days of thy people's mourning be ended." La. 1\. 80. 
 
 w elling through distress and gloom 
 
 Ami night will last till Th 
 
 Ezekiel,in various places, speaks of David a- a prince, ami 
 by his manner of expression we may infer that a j 
 
HO THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 presence is intended. Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24, 29; xxxvii. 24 — 
 28. After giving an account of the temple that is to be built 
 of the chambers, courts, &c, in ch. xl. xli. and xlii.: in ch. 
 xliii. we have an account of the entrance of God's glory into 
 this temple. The description is awfully grand: — "And be- 
 hold, the glory of the Lord came from the way of the east, 
 and his voice was like the noise of many waters." (Rev. i. 15, 
 16.) "And the earth shined with his glory. And it was ac- 
 cording to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even ac- 
 cording to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the 
 city: and the visions were like the visions 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," ver. 2 — 4. The prophet then heard the Lord 
 speaking in accents of mercy with relation to the Jews, and he 
 claims the place he then occupied, as "the place of his throne 
 and the place of the soles of his feet, where he will dwell in 
 the midst of the children of Israel for ever," ver. 7. Can any 
 tiling be more plain than this? In Ezek. xliv. 2, we read, "This 
 gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall 
 enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath en- 
 tered in b)r it, therefore it shall be shut." Can this be explained 
 otherwise than literally? To talk of no man's entering into a 
 gate figuratively is absurd; and surely we may infer, that as a 
 real and literal entering was prohibited with respect to all 
 others, so a real and literal entering is intended with regard to 
 the Lord God of Israel. 
 
 From these passages of Ezekiel we may learn two things: 
 1. That the blessings promised to the house of Israel have 
 never yet been realized by them', but that they are to be lite- 
 rally fulfilled. Was there ever yet a temple in which there 
 was a gate appropriated solely to the Lord God of Israel, by 
 which he entered, and by which none other might enter? — 
 There never yet was; but there is yet to be. But further, by 
 the prophet's identifying that glory which he saw enter the 
 new temple with that glory which he saw leave the old temple, 
 Ezek. x. 18, xi. 22, 23, we may rest assured that this hath not 
 yet been fulfilled, for all agree that the second temple lacked 
 the shechinah, or Divine presence," which of old dwelt over 
 the mercy-seat, between the cherubims; and we have every 
 
 * Some who do not believe in the personal presence of Christ on earth, expect 
 thai among the restored Jews there will again he some glorious manifestation 
 of God's presence. Mr. Faber thus writes: — "As a present Jehovah was alike 
 manifested between the cherubim at the gate of paradise, and between the 
 cherubim in the Levitical sanctuary, so there are passages which seem not 
 obscurely to intimate, that in the last age of the Christian church, a similar 
 manifestation of the incarnate Word, radiant in all the divine effulgence of 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRI8T 
 
 111 
 
 reason to conclude that the return will be as real, visible, and 
 personal, as the departure. In order to gain some further ideas 
 concerning this returning glory, we do well to refer to Ezek. i. 
 and x.; both of which visions the prophet expressly mentions, 
 
 Ezek. xliii. .'3. The first he terms "the vision by the rivei 
 Chebar;" the second, "the vision he saw when he came to de- 
 stroy the city." The whole of these two chapters are awfully 
 mysterious, and I shall not attempt to explain them; but only 
 observe, that I think the vision which Ezekiel saw in the 1st 
 and 11th chapters, is neither more nor less than an opening oi 
 the glories of that shechinah, or sacred cloud of glory, which 
 abode in the Jewish holy of holies. When this cloud was 
 opened the prophet saw (chap. i. ver. 26,) "the likeness of a 
 throne, and upon it the likeness as the appearance of a man 
 above upon it." This undoubtedly refers to the Redeemer, by 
 whom God manifested himself as the Angel of the covenant to 
 Israel of old; as such he will return again. Their name shall 
 be no more "Ichabod, the glory is departed;" but the name of 
 the city shall be called, ''the Lord is there." Some think that 
 the vision of Ezekiel, ch. vi., of John, Rev. iv. v., all refer to 
 the same, and each one contains an exhibition of that glory, 
 both personal and attendant, in which Christ will appear at his 
 coming and kingdom. 
 
 2. These passages of Ezekiel show us, that though the Re- 
 deemer will reign on earth with his saints, in the new Jerusa- 
 lem, yet he will pay gracious visits to the Jews, and have a 
 seat of honour in their temple. Some think that the new 
 Jerusalem will be situated in the holy oblation, Ezek. xlvi. 7. 
 where the temple will be; but Rev. xxi. 22 says there was no 
 temple in the heavenly Jerusalem, and confirms the idea above 
 advanced, that it will be peculiarly and permanently the dwell- 
 ing of Zion's King. "For the Lord God Almighty and the 
 Lamb are the temple of it. The glory of God did lighten it. 
 and the Lamb is the light thereof." There will no doubt be a 
 distinction between the risen saints and the Jews, and yet there 
 will he some communion and likeness. 
 
 Perhaps some persons, after reading these things concerning 
 the Jews and their land, will say, Why make so much to do 
 about a small spot of earth? — God can create worlds upon 
 worlds, and hath indeed more at this moment dependent upon 
 his power than leaves upon the forest. True; hut what it God 
 chose to declare his partiality for one particle of tins sp 
 
 , mali. will take placebo tbe holj i 
 throne, i; 
 oracularly, a visible, spiritual king ■ • 
 
 20* 
 
112 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 his creation, "who shall say unto him, What doest thou?" We 
 might as well ask why redemption was wrought in this system, 
 and on this world, rather than among other systems, or on 
 another world. Let such stoop down from their philosophical 
 altitudes, to read Deut. xi. 12. "A land which the Lord thy 
 God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon 
 it, from the beginning of the year even to the end of the year." 
 To be fully convinced that this means literally the land, and 
 not the people who 'live in it, we need only read the context. 
 The inhabitants of it could not be intended, for they were the 
 Canaanites, whom God abhorred. See also Exod. xv. 13, 17; 
 Lev. xxv. 23; Deut. xxxii. 43; Psal. cvii. 35 — 37; Isa. xlii. 4, 
 5; Ezek. xxxiv. 25— 2S; Zech. iii. 9,10. I cannot tell how 
 this is, or why it is, but here it is in God's book, and I believe 
 it; and I believe that God will manifest his love to that nation 
 and that land, by making it the residence of his Son, his risen 
 saints, and his Jewish people, in "the ages to come, when he 
 will shew the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness 
 toward his saints, through Christ Jesus." 
 
 3. The next blessing of the Redeemer's kingdom is its wide 
 extent. All nations shall serve him, and be blessed in him. 
 A few passages on this head will suffice, as it is generally ad- 
 mitted. "All kings shall fall down before him, all nations 
 shall serve him," Psal. lxxii. 11, 19. "The earth shall be full 
 of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea," 
 Isa. xi. 9. "Arise, God, judge the earth; for thou shalt in- 
 herit all nations," Psal. lxxxii. S. what a glorious season 
 will this be! Universal peace shall reign; for there sha 1 ! be 
 no war, no trouble, no infernal foe to tempt. Idolatry shall be 
 gone, and pure and undefiled religion shall fill the earth. The 
 world shall be one grand temple, filled with happy and sincere 
 worshipers. What a chorus shall then be sung; what incense 
 of prayer and praise shall arise, from this now ungrateful and 
 prayerless world! Mai. i. 11. 
 
 This great and universal change will be brought about by a 
 remarkable effusion of the Holy Spirit, similar to that at the 
 day of Pentecost. The prophecies of Joel, part of which the 
 apostle Peter quoted on that memorable occasion, shall yet 
 receive a further fulfilment; for it must be evident that he 
 foretells events yet unaccomplished. Perhaps the symbol of 
 the former and latter rain may refer to these two great effu- 
 sions of the Spirit, Joel ii. 23; Hosea vi. 3; James v. 7. From 
 Ezek. xxxvi. 24 — 2S, and Zech.xii. 10, we learn that the Jews 
 will first receive this blessing; and that afterward it will ex- 
 tend to the nations, is declared in various passages, Isa. xiv. 1, 
 2; xxxii. 15; lix. 19—21. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. |'|« 
 
 Instruments will be employed to effect this great work, and 
 this honour shall belong to the Jews. Aftei the storm of ven- 
 geance has fallen, the residue of men shall be influenced to 
 hear the proclamation of mercy from God bv them, [sa. Ixi. (>. 
 "Men shall call you the ministers of our God." [n Isa. lxvi. 
 19, we read, "I will Bend those that escape of them unto the 
 nations .... to the isles afar off,. thai have not heard of mj 
 fame, nor seen my glory, and they shall declare my glory 
 among the Gentihs." Mark, this is after God hath fulfilled 
 ver. Hi, "For by lire: and by his sword will the Lord plead 
 with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many." 
 
 In a great many of the Psalms, the calling of the Jews and the 
 conversion of the nations are bound up together. See Psalm 
 lxvii. The apostle, in Rom. xi. has set this point quite at rest; 
 and if we Gentiles were not the foolish and high-minded na- 
 tion, he who runs would read it. "For if the casting away ol 
 them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving 
 of them be, but life from the dead!" ver. 15. "Blind 
 part is happened unto Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles 
 be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved/' 2"), 86. "0 
 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of 
 God!" 33rd verse. 
 
 We may also gather from Zech. xiv. 16 — 19, and Isa. lxvi. 
 23, that Jerusalem is to be the place of worship for all nations,* 
 and those who will not go thither to pay that homage, and 
 keep the feast of tabernacles, shall be visited by sorecalai 
 
 It is evident likewise from Rev. xxi. 24, that there will he 
 communications between the heavenly Jerusalem and the na- 
 tions of the earth, for they are to walk in the light of it, and 
 their kings are to bring their 'glory and honour into it; from 
 whence it appears that the nations will he under governors, 
 who will he governed by the Lamb and his risen saints. The 
 nature of this communion we know very little of. Some may 
 ask, Will there be death in the world during the millennium? 
 Of the new Jerusalem it is said, "there shall be no "more 
 death," because those who inherit it are the risen saints; bul 
 of the Jewish church we read in one of their songs before al- 
 luded to, Psal. xlv'iii. 11, "This God is our God for e\ 
 
 • »"w e central position of the leu 
 
 advantages foi communication bywater with all parts of th 
 
 we cannot but be struck with the suitabli 
 
 e i for the grand emporium ol spiritual lij 
 the nations that dwell on the face of the whole earth.—/?' 
 
 XI me striking 'remarks in \ \ 
 
 wisdom of God in :l in as the theatre of redemption. 
 
114 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 ever: lie will be our guide even unto death." The God of 
 our nation for ever, and the guide of each one of us to death. 
 In Isa. lxv. 20, 22, we have a more explicit revelation on this 
 subject, which is the more striking as it is found in that place 
 to which the Apostle Peter refers when he says, "We, accord- 
 ing to his promise, look for a new heaven and new earth;" by 
 which it is evident that he refers to the millennium. From 
 this passage in Isaiah we learn that the ages of persons will 
 then be protracted to a patriarchal length, likened to the days 
 of a tree; that it shall not be as it is now, one build and another 
 dwell therein; one plant, and another eat thereof; but each 
 shall live to enjoy his labours; that there shall be a termina- 
 tion to this happy and long-lengthened life, and that there shall 
 be some few existing in this state who shall be denominated 
 sinners. "For behold, I create new heavens and new earth; 
 and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 
 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. 
 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. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor 
 an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die 
 an hundred years old, but the sinner being an hundred years 
 old, shall be accursed." 
 
 4. All creation shall be blessed in this glorious second Adam, 
 the Lord from Heaven. Hence universal nature is represented 
 as rejoicing at his coming to judgment, "and to begin to throw 
 off her mourning attire, when she hears the sounding of his 
 chariot wheels. "Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad, 
 let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof, let the field be joyful, 
 and all that is therein. Then shall all the trees of the wood 
 rejoice before the Lord; for he cometh, for he cometh to judge 
 the earth; he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the 
 people with his truth." Psal. xcvi. 11 — IS. 
 
 ''Joy to the world, the Lord is come, 
 
 Let earth receive her king; 
 Let every heart prepare him room, 
 
 And heaven and nature ting. 
 
 "Joy to the earth, the Saviour reigns; 
 
 Let men their songs employ; 
 While fields and Hoods, rocks, hills and plains, 
 
 Repeat the sounding joy." 
 
 It would be no encouragement to sing, if at Christ's coming 
 the earth is to be totally annihilated. The 14Sth Psalm is 
 another divine ode which the blessed Spirit has caused to be 
 written in order to express the joy of the creation on that sab- 
 bath, that jubilee of the earth. The rapturous singer ranges 
 
OP OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 1 \ ;, 
 
 through creation's ranks from the noblest seraph or bright! St 
 star, to the lowest worm or meanest inanimate thing, and calls 
 upon all to join the gladsome song. (It is must kind of tin- 
 Creator thus to he a mouth for his creation, most ungrateful of 
 man not to listen to the melody.) Then it is declared that 
 "the lion shall lie down with the lamb," that "God will make 
 a covenant for his people with the beasts of the field," Paal. 
 cxlv. 10; Isa. xi. 6— 8; Ezek. xxxiv. 25 — 28; Hosea ii. 18— 
 22; Joel iii. IS; Amos ix. 13, 14; Rev. v. 10. 
 
 This view of the subject may help to show us the meaning 
 of Rom. vii. 11) — 22. It will be seen that the apostle in the 
 context is evidently referring to the morning of the resurrec- 
 tion, and the day of millennial rest; and having touched upon 
 the subject of the glory to be revealed in the saints, when their 
 joint heirship with Christ is made manifest, (ISth verse,) he 
 then shows that the creature or creation longs for that day, for 
 though the creature be made subject to vanity on account of 
 man's sin, yet it shall be delivered at the manifestation of the 
 sons of God (which will be at the adoption or redemption of 
 the body), and be brought into a participation of their glorious 
 liberty, even a liberty from the effects of sin which now ma- 
 nacles the creation; for this deliverance, he saith, creation 
 groans and travails in pain together until now. 
 
 The sons of God who now groan in themselves with the 
 creation, shall cease to groan when the corruptible puts on in- 
 corruption, 23d verse. They shall then begin their song, and 
 enter into the joy of their Lord, and creation shall enter into 
 their glorious liberty. This liberty shall extend to both ani- 
 mate and inanimate creation, for the curse shall be removed. 
 The animals shall be happy, and the earth fertile, while man 
 redeemed to his original honour of lordship over them. G Q 
 i. 26, shall enjoy all, and govern all, to the glory of God. 
 
 With views of this nature, but far more expanded and exalt- 
 ed, I think David penned the 104th Psalm. He sketches, 
 with the pencil of a master, a beauteous picture of creation, 
 
 * «Tb i ctation, &c." A metaphor either from birds thai iliniM 
 
 for liberty, or else from ill 
 earnestly look and long -for some fri 3 era's motber,J 
 
 , to vnnnv. and the boi 
 
 corruptioi . I. & ■ rru nil men, and they « ill i 
 
 so that they lose their Labour. ". A- tbey are instruments ol man's pni 
 l. .\ turns and a 
 
 with the creature, and should hav< from them."- T • 
 
 «p or th for the rev< lation ol tne 
 
 sonSol God. For the creature -wa ?anity,nol willing it,but by 
 
 him who hath subjected it. In hope thai even the i r< hall be 
 
 liberated from the bondage ol corruption, into the freedom ol the glory ol the 
 children of God." — M T 
 
116 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 (for it is lovely still, though in ruins;) and on surveying the 
 scene he had portrayed, he takes his well-tuned harp, to praise 
 the great, wise, and gracious Creator of all. For awhile, 
 creation seems to suspend her groans, while he sings, "0 Lord, 
 how manifold are thy works; in wisdom hast thou made them 
 all; the earth is full of thy riches. The glory of the Lord 
 shall endure forever; the Lord shall rejoice in his works." — 
 Psal. civ. 24, 31. Never does nature appear so lovely to me. 
 as when her high destination is considered. 
 
 Many persons are very fond of dismantling nature of her 
 glories, and making her a heap of ruins; as if she and not man, 
 was the rehel against God. One would almost think that they 
 held the ancient opinion of some philosophers, that evil was 
 essentially connected with matter. Poets have spent no in- 
 considerable part of their time and talents in singing nature's 
 funeral dirge; whereas very few have, like David and Isaiah, 
 sung her regenerated glories. One poet talks of 
 
 ' : The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds." 
 Another, that 
 
 "The great globe itself, 
 
 Yea, all that it inherits, shall dissolve, 
 
 And, like the baseless fabric of a vision, 
 
 Leave not a wreck behind." 
 While a third chaunts very merily, how 
 
 "The stars rush headlong down in wild commotion, 
 And bathe their glittering foreheads in the ocean." 
 
 What occan'the planets Jupiter and Saturn, and the fixed stars 
 will choose to bathe in, we are not told". We ought to have 
 common sense on these subjects, and not sublime nonsense. 
 Those who use such expressions, misunderstand those passages 
 of Scripture which set forth the destruction of political things 
 by natural images; for examples of which, see Rev. vi. 12 — 14; 
 "The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon be- 
 came as blood; the stars fell upon the earth, and the heaven 
 departed like a scroll." Yet no one who understands Scripture, 
 thinks this sets forth the destruction of nature. See also Psal. 
 xlvi.; Isa. xxxiv.; Matt. xxiv. 29. 
 
 On the other hand, we find many things in the word of God 
 which lead us to suppose that the fabric of nature is not that 
 perishing thing some would fain have us believe. To this sure 
 word of prophecy we do well to take heed, until the day dawn, 
 and the day-star arise in our hearts; and then shall we know 
 the wonders, both of grace and nature, in the pure and steady 
 light of glory.* 
 
 * Many eminent writers, who do not hold niillenarian views, yet believe thai 
 this world will be continued, as a monument of divine power and goodness, 
 and be the seat of blessedness. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST I i- 
 
 Rcad God's covenant with Noah and nil flesh, Gen. viii. 81, 
 22; ix. 9 — 17. "I will not again curse the ground any more, 
 for man's sake; neither will 1 again Bmite any more even 
 
 living thing, as I have done." It maybe said* that the next 
 verse, "While the earth remaineth, Beed-tiroe and h u rest shall 
 not cease,'' implies that the earth shall remain hut for a time. 
 Let such objectors turn to the next chapter; "Foi perpetual 
 generations," (vcr. 12;) "The everlasting covenanl between 
 God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the 
 earth." Let us further consider the use God hims IJ makes 
 of this history, La. liv. !), 10, and hearken to his own declara- 
 tion. "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I 
 will make, shall remain hefore me, saith the Lord, so shall 
 your name remain." [sa. lwi. 21. That this is not figurative 
 and spiritual, sec the connexion, and the passages referred to, 
 Isa. lxv. 17 — 25. 
 
 In Psal. xix. 1, 2, we read, "The heavens declare the glory 
 of God, and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Will 
 God forever silence those witnesses, which testify of his glory 
 with such sincere and unwearied tongues? The duration of the 
 seed of Christ (Psal. lxxxix. 34 — :37,) is likened to the duration 
 of the sun and moon. In Isa. xlv. 17. Cod declares, that ■•Is- 
 rael shall he saved in the Lord, with an everlasting salvation; 
 and shall not be ashamed nor confounded, world without end:" 
 and then (vcr. IS) says, "For thus saith the Lord, that created 
 the heavens; God himself, that formed the earth and made it: 
 he hath established if. h it not in vai . led it to 
 
 be inhabited." Sec also Psal. xxiv. 1, 2; xxxvii. 9, ] 1. 
 Ixxviii. G9; xciii. 1; xvci. K); cii. 36; civ. 5 ; cxlviii. 5, 6; 
 Eccles. i. 4; Jer. xxxi. 35, 36; xxxiii. 80, 21. 
 
 It appears plain to me, that God is glorified, and will fo 
 be glorified by matter, as well as spirit, which are the two 
 grand parts of his creation: seeing matter, as well as spirit, 
 was taken into union with deity in the person of the God-man, 
 
 "Creation will not be t-day, but onl 
 
 va-t and splendid machine will not then be thrown aside, broken op, and 
 
 i to oblivion N Inch the band of the Creator bath framed 
 .shall l"' forgotten."- ■' l l i. 344. 
 
 redeemed inhabitant . shall, 
 holy empire ol ' 
 
 ■I : not improbable that the earth, thus | Bed, m 
 
 if not the frequent abode, ol tb 
 men 1 17/ ness. 
 ■•II i . i -i ( • ,:i p b ibly be our present 'syst< m i I 
 
 ■ 
 Charnock's beautiful remai P ii. 26, 27, in tl d t>» luv 
 
 se on the Immutability ol « I 
 
j|§ THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 who is "the first-born of every creature,'' and "the beginning 
 of the creation of God." 
 
 These then are the great things that follow upon the coming 
 of Christ; these are the things that are connected with his 
 reign, and that compose his kingdom. This I believe is the 
 millennium the Bible gives us reason to expect. There are 
 other things we might touch upon, but, as they do not enter 
 into my professed design, I shall but just mention them. These 
 are the resurrection of the rest of the dead, viz., those who did 
 not rise at the beginning of the millennium, and those who 
 died during its continuance, and the final and general judgment, 
 Rev. xx. 11 — 15. That all the dead after a certain period 
 (either one thousand years or a long season signified thereby) 
 will be raised, and that previous thereto there will be a revolt 
 among the nations, and that a general judgment will follow, the 
 word of God plainly declares, Rev. xx. Some of these things 
 have already been hinted at, and will be further entered into in 
 answering objections. 
 
 It may be inquired whether this dispensation of the millen- 
 nium will ever be broken up and another follow it. I answer, 
 it is plain that some great alteration for the more glorious dis- 
 play of Deity will take place at the end of the thousand years, 
 but that the state of things will be entirely broken up and 
 changed is not plain to me, because it is frequently said that 
 the saints shall possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and 
 ever, Dan. vii. IS; this is the kingdom under the whole hea- 
 ven, and which they enter upon at Christ's coming, and anti- 
 christ's destruction, ver. 25 — 27. Compare also Psal. xlv. 6, 
 with Heb. i. 8; see also Isa.. liv. 7, 8; Rev. xi. 15, where 
 Israel's long scattering of 1S00 years is said to be but a small 
 moment compared with the length of her happiness and pros- 
 perity; also Isa. lx. 15, "An eternal excellency: a joy of many 
 generations." "The Lord will be thine everlasting light," is 
 twice repeated, ver. 19, 20; Isa. xxxi. 35—37. In Ezek. 
 xxxvii. 25 — 28: it is twice declared, "that God's sanctuary 
 shall be in the midst of Israel for evermore." Joel says, ch. 
 iii. 20, "Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from gene- 
 ration to generation." The angel says, Luke i. 33, "He shall 
 reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom 
 there shall be no end." From these expressions I conclude 
 that this earth, when purified and renovated, will ever remain, 
 and be blessed with the presence and government of the Mes- 
 siah; inasmuch as the Scripture, which says so much about his 
 coming, is silent about his going away again; and while it says 
 so much about the glory and perpetuity of his kingdom on 
 earth, says nothing about its removal from thence; but it says, 
 
OF OUR LOUD JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 nu 
 
 Rev. xxii. 5, "they shall reign for ever and ever." Sun,.: sup- 
 pose that because Rev. xxi. and xxii. arc in order placed after 
 the account of the millennium, eh. xx. I— ii, they relate to a 
 
 state of things subsequent thereto; but this is not the case, for 
 it is very common in the Revelation first tu hint at a subject 
 and then to enlarge upon it. If we compare foa. l\v. 17—25; 
 lwi. 82; 2 Pet iii. 13— 14, with Rev. xxi. . xxii.. we shall find 
 that they all relate to the same period, and that period the mil- 
 lennium. If any ask, why then is a period of 1000 \< 
 cified? I answer, because at the end of that period the judg- 
 ment will take place — the guilty nations will be destroyed, and 
 some great alteration in the administration of the kingdom 
 will take place; but we must take heed not to interpret that 
 alteration in opposition to the promises. 
 
 But this inquiry doth not so much concern us. Our great 
 business is to "watch and pray always, that we may be account- 
 ed worthy to stand before the Son of man;" our desire should 
 be to attain to the first resurrection. Then if,*as children of 
 the resurrection, we enter into the joy of our Lord, whatever 
 alteration may take place at the close of the millennium, it must 
 be for the better. An eternity of bliss with Jesus is the saints' 
 inheritance, and the glorious millennium is the splendid portal 
 through which they enter to begin an eternal progression of 
 blessedness.* 
 
 what melody is there in that sound, "Ever with the Lord'.-'' 
 Jesus saith, "I will make the overcomer a pillar in the temple 
 of my God, and he shall go no more out." 
 
 "In such society as this 
 
 My weary soul would rest: 
 Theman that dwells where Jcmis is, 
 Must be for ever blest." 
 
 1 conclude this chapter with quoting the fervent exhortation 
 and glorious declaration of Peter, Acts iii. 19 — 81, "Repent ye, 
 therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, 
 when [that] the times of refreshing shall [may] come from the 
 presence of the Lord; and [that] he shall [may] send Jesus 
 Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven 
 must receive until the times of the restitution of all things, 
 which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets 
 since the world began." Here we have two most beautiful 
 descriptions of the millennial state. — we have that state iden- 
 tified with the second coming of Christ and the pardon of the 
 
 * l: It may be 
 We're now but in creation's vestibule, 
 And acting: the mere pn lode unto joy 
 Immortal, pnivenaL" 
 
 B 
 
 VOL. III. — 21 
 
120 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 Jews as a nation, Jer. xxxi. 33, 34; Rom. xi. 17; and Joel iii. 
 21; and we are told, what indeed we have found to be a glori- 
 ous fact, that this restitution of all things has been the theme of 
 every prophet who has been a mouth for God to guilt)' man.* 
 How glorious then must that kingdom be! How dear is it to 
 the Holy One who inhabiteth eternity! may our minds, 
 with much thankfulness, meditate upon it, and with ardent hope 
 expect it, that, "receiving the kingdom of God as little chil- 
 dren," we may at length, through boundless mercy, "enter into 
 the joy of our Lord;" and, as the "blessed of our Father, in- 
 herit the kingdom prepared for us before the foundation of the 
 world." 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE PRE-MILLENNIAL COMING OF CHRIST, 
 AND HIS REIGN ON EARTH WITH HIS SAINTS, CONSIDERED. 
 
 Having stated what I considered the Scriptures say concern- 
 ing the coming and kingdom of Christ, I will now lay before 
 my reader the objections which are made to these views. Let 
 no one be alarmed at the number of objections produced, for 
 there is no doctrine of God's word but its enemies would find 
 as many objections against as are made against these now treated 
 of. He who rejects any doctrine because of the number of its 
 objectors, or even because of their respectability, bids fair soon 
 to become a sceptic, and believe nothing, for Satan will soon 
 show him periods in the history of the church, when the cur- 
 rent of opinion has set in against every doctrine of God's word. 
 
 It is one mercy, that amidst all the objections made against 
 the sentiments now contended for, no one can say that the word 
 of God is silent on these subjects. But we are told that we must 
 not take the plain, literal meaning of the word of God. This 
 shall be the first objection we will hear, and endeavour to an- 
 swer. 
 
 1. The opponents of this scheme object to the method of 
 interpretation generally adopted by those that advocate it. If 
 the Scriptures are to be understood literally, then the coming 
 of Christ before his kingdom, — the restoration and supremacy 
 of the Jews — and the reign of Christ with his saints on earth, 
 
 * For a beautiful exposition of this passage see Cuninghame's Answer to 
 Faber, pp. 130—142. 
 
OF on: LORD JESUS <iii:ivi joj 
 
 are most certain, because the Scriptures affirm all these things 
 in so many plain words, which we have already shown. J Jut 
 if all these Scriptures are capable of being, and ought to be 
 spiritualized, then the whole subject assumes another sspect; 
 
 and we must stop and take a human pilot on board before we 
 advance another league in prosecuting our disco verii I in the 
 regions of prophecy. Let us first examine a specimen or two 
 of this manner of interpretation, before we adopt it as ;i whole. 
 In Rev. v. 10, we are told that the saints around the throne 
 sing, "We shall reign on the earth.'' Mi. Jones ( I great op- 
 ponent of millenarianisin) allows that this must unquestionably 
 be considered as a prophecy concerning a future period of the 
 church on earth. Sec Lectures on the Revelations, p, 1 11. (to 
 which work all future references must he considered as direct- 
 ing;) but he contends that it means no more than that when the 
 gospel is universally disseminated, the redeemed in glory will 
 rejoice in this great event and the glorious times that will fol- 
 low, that they may he said to reign on the earth in their par- 
 ticipating in the triumphs of the church at that period, and 
 have an increase of joy in heaven in consequence of the pros- 
 perity of the church on earth, pp. 145, 116. Now look at the 
 whole of this passage, Rev. v. 9,10: "Thou hast redeemed us, 
 and made us kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth." 
 They were not celebrating the redemption of the church in 
 the latter day; hut their own, and their own priesthood and 
 royalty; and then they describe the place where these shall he 
 exercised — on the earth. But to evade the force of this we, Mr. 
 Jones refers to 1 Cor. xv. 51, and 1 Thess. iv. 15 — 17. and 
 infers that as, in these passages, the word we did not refer either 
 to the person writing, or the persons written to, so it is in the 
 words now before us. The redeemed did not mean them- 
 selves, though they said so. Now examine a moment th( - 
 passages. Both of them have reference to the second coining 
 of Christ, an event which the., apostle pressed upon the atten- 
 tion of the people of God, as though it might take place dur- 
 ing the lives of those addressed. If he had acted otherwise 
 he would have unnerved his own argument, and frustrated his 
 own intention, which was to stir them lip to hope and holiness 
 from the consideration of Christ's coming; and therefore he 
 says, "We that remain," "We shall he changed." These, 
 then, prove nothing against the text in question, because they 
 are not parallel, and because their practical tendency required 
 they should be thus worded. But we are further told that' the. 
 expressions are figurative. I as"k, is the whole passage figura- 
 tive? When they sing, ''Thou hast redeemed us to God," do 
 we look for any figure here? No, for we have the reality oi 
 
122 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 all figures — the substance of all types and shadows. When 
 they sing that they are "kings and priests, and that they shall 
 reign," we believe them; why then deny their testimony and 
 wrest their meaning, when they tell us zvhere they shall reign? 
 Is not their company most desirable? Can we manage affairs 
 better without them? no! Let us, then, with joy and hope, 
 listen to the Divine declaration — "The Lord my God shall 
 come, and all his saints with thee." 
 
 We pass on to the sister passage of the one just dwelt upon, 
 viz. Rev. xx. 4 — 6; and surely the reader of his Bible will 
 scarcely know it, after it has received a few touches from the 
 spiritualizing wand. Mr. Jones says, in a note, Preface, page 
 7, "Does Christ come personalty for the destruction of anti- 
 christ, previous to the commencement of the thousand years' 
 reign, or at the conclusion of it, viz. at the last day, to raise 
 the dead, and judge the world, and put an end to the present 
 dispensation! This is the gist of the whole controversy be- 
 tween us, and it depends upon the question, whether Rev. xx. 
 4 — 6, is to be interpreted literally or metaphorically." This 
 certainly is the question, but the argument does not solely rest 
 upon the text mentioned. This is bringing an evil report upon 
 the millenarian cause, as though it had but one text to support 
 it; whereas we profess to find the doctrine of Christ's pre-mil- 
 lenial advent, and personal reign, in all parts of the Bible. — 
 This passage, in Rev. xx. 4 — 6, is, to the millenarian cause, 
 what 1 John v. 7, is to the trinitarian cause; both systems are 
 well-supported without either of these texts; but these power- 
 ful auxiliaries must not be tamely given up to curtailers and 
 spiritualizers. Mr. Jones says. of this passage, "It is not the 
 language of history, but of prophecy; consequently, it is not 
 to be interpreted literally," pages 542, 545. But does he 
 never interpret prophecy literally? Will this distinction be- 
 tween prophecy and history always hold good? Are there no 
 historical prophecies which were fulfilled to the very letter, 
 and so must be interpreted literally? Let the pierced side and 
 the parted garments of Christ answer this query. Then why 
 twice introduce such a distinction so pointedly in this place? 
 is it not in fact saying, "You must not apply the same rule of in- 
 terpretation to this scripture prohecy, as you do to otfiers?" True, 
 Mr. J. adds, "It must be explained in the same way as we have 
 explained other passages of this book:" but would it not be 
 better to take divine directions, and explanations, and fulfil- 
 ments for a pattern? On the binding of Satan Mr. J. observes, 
 that "he is now placed under a severe restraint, his influence 
 upon earth is wonderfully diminished:" this is rather literal. 
 The thousand years, he says, are a thousand years, though it is 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST [^l 
 
 a prophecy. By the first resurrection he understand! 
 taphorieal one, or a resurrection of apostolical feel zjt 
 principles, "a revival of the spirit of true Christianity," simi- 
 lar to that which actuated the martyrs, ami therefore they 
 are said to live and reign who once were beheaded, and that 
 "the cause in which they suffered should now triumph." — 
 "The rest of the dead," he interprets to he the remnant ip 
 of Rev. xi\. 21, who live not again as a political or military 
 power till after the thousand years. He applies the terms 
 blessed and holy to those saints and churches who shall then 
 be upon the earth, and yet says, ''It would he too much to affirm, 
 that no hypocrites will gain access into the churches of Chrisl 
 during this blessed period," p. 561. What an anomaly! hy- 
 pocrites among "the blessed and holy,"— hypocrites share in 
 the first resurrection, and be freed from the second death! This 
 interpretation he tries to bear out by referring to the apostolic 
 churches, to whom it seems this description was equally appli- 
 cable, for he says, "The apostle pronounced them (according 
 to profession and appearance) to be blessed and holy, and ex- 
 empt from the power of the second death or wrath to come," 
 Eph. i. 3; 1 Pet. ii. 9; 1 Thes. i. 10; "but we know that the 
 apostle intended these salutations for possession and reality, and 
 not profession and appearance." Beside, what a sad description 
 of a millennium is this, if we are to be in no better state than 
 the primitive churches were. Consider Corinth, Galatia, Ephe- 
 sus, Philippi, Laodicea, and Sardis. If this is all that those 
 glowing descriptions of the word of God include, then, verily, 
 1 for one shall be disappointed when the millennium comes: 
 but I have no fear on that head; God often does more than he 
 promises, never less. 
 
 Now let us sift this interpretation a little further. Having 
 spoken of Satan's binding before, and expressed my opinion 
 that it will be a total suppression of his power during the 
 thousand years, the next thing we light upon is the first resur- 
 rection. Mr. J. endeavours to support his opinion by referring 
 to the Old Testament, where the restoration of the Jews 
 forth by a resurrection. And well might it; becauseit is th< 
 outward type of the saints' resurrection, and synchn 
 therewith. Isaiah xxv. sets forth the calling of the Je* 
 the apostle quotes that very chapter to prove the resurrection 
 of the saints, and affirms, Rom. xi., that the receiving ol them 
 (the Jews) will be "life from the dead." 
 
 But how does it comport with the idea of a m.llen. n thai 
 
 the spirit of the martvrs should revive? As hath been justly 
 observed, "that was a'spirit of patience under Buffering, bold 
 ness in declaring the truth amidst persecution, faithfulness V\ i n 
 21* 
 
124 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 unto death in the midst of unfaithfulness and apostacy:" now 
 what need for this spirit during the millennium, which is to be 
 a season of rest and peace, prosperity, and joy? "Besides," 
 says the writer last quoted, "suppose the first resurrection is an 
 allegory, or merely figurative; who are they that lived and 
 reigned with Christ, and over whom the second death hath no 
 power? The apostle must mean that he saw the temper and 
 disposition, or spirit of the martyrs; and they lived and reigned 
 with Christ, and over them the second death hath no power; 
 but is not this supposing him to write nonsense? And yet the 
 pronoun 'they,' in verse 4, can agree with nothing but the word 
 'souls.' 'I saw the souls' — 'and they lived:' — i. e. , in plain 
 English, I saw certain persons who had been dead, and they 
 lived and reigned one thousand years; others who were dead, 
 did not live till the end of the thousand years. Those who 
 first rose from the dead were blessed and holy: those who did 
 not rise then were afterwards cast into the lake of fire. On 
 those who first rose from the dead, the second death hath no 
 power; the rest of the dead are reserved for it, and become 
 the victims of its awful power. In all this, there is a perso- 
 nality in the language which requires us to believe that the 
 apostle spoke of individuals, not characters — of persons, not 
 tilings."* 
 
 Another objection raised by Mr. J. and others against the 
 first resurrection of the saints being deduced from it, is, that 
 the text makes mention of "souls," and not "bodies." "I saw 
 the souls of them that were beheaded" "sit upon the thrones, 
 and have judgment given them." Mr. Begg thus ably answers 
 this objection: — "It has been objected that it is not the saints 
 themselves, but their souls, that are here said to live. This 
 objection has more speciousness than force. For it is to be ob- 
 served that a change of condition is here evidently implied — 
 a change from death unto life. The souls, however, had not 
 died; and therefore it could not be said of them that they lived 
 again. This is further evident from the contrast between those 
 who 'lived and reigned with Christ' and the rest of the dead, 
 who 'lived not again until the thousand years were finished.' 
 As, in the case of the latter, their living not again till the close 
 of this period, implies that they had lived at some former pe- 
 riod, but were now dead; and as this cannot be understood of 
 their souls, — so, when it is said of those who are made parta- 
 kers of the first resurrection that 'they lived,' these must have 
 been brought, by the resurrection of their bodies, from that 
 state of death in which the rest of the dead continue." Mr. 
 Begg then goes on to show that the word "soul," in scripture 
 * Christian Herald, vol. i. p. 86. 
 
OF OUR LORD JKSWS CHRIST [Ofi 
 
 as well as in common language, ia frequently used to denote 
 the person; and when thus used by the inspired penmen, ire 
 no more experience difficulty in determining its meaning, than 
 we apprehend danger of being misunderstood, when we speak 
 of the number of souls a city contains, although we had no other 
 information as to what is meant. When the apostle P( ter 
 speaks of the "few/ 1 that is, "eight souls," who were saved in 
 the ark, l Pet iii. 29, who would exclude lh< Noah 
 
 and Ids family from the salvation referred to? see also Acts ii, 
 41; xxvii. 37; Gen. ii. 7. "Indeed," he adds, "soul is some- 
 times used for the body merely," Psal. xlix. 1 5. We are 
 therefore fully warranted in believing the apostle's vision to 
 have been of the literal resurrection of those who had suffered 
 for the cause of Christ, and who had not suhmitted to anli- 
 christian authority." In addition to these remarks,] would 
 ask, do not the expressions of sitting on thrones, and exercising 
 judgment, always refer to a state subsequent to the resurrection 
 of the body? 1 think the following scriptures will lead us to 
 infer as much, Dan. vii. 9, 10, 26, 27; Matt. xix. 28; Luke 
 xxii. o0; 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3. This last passage synchronizes with 
 the one in question, and explains it. 
 
 Some have objected against this passage that it speaks only 
 of the martyrs, but an examination of the text shows that this 
 glorious state will be shared by all those who are witness-bearers 
 against antichrist; see, for proof of this, Rev. xi. 18, which is a 
 parallel passage. 
 
 We may conclude, then, with favoured John, "Blessed and 
 holy is he (not principles and feelings, but /<<■) that hath part in 
 the first resurrection," even that resurrection which shall take 
 place "when the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout, 
 and the dead in Christ shall rise first."' They are blessed as 
 children of the resurrection, heirs of God, and joint heirs with 
 Christ; "holy" in that they are fashioned like unto Aw glorious 
 body, according to his mighty working. - On such "the second 
 death hath no power; their happy state shall not bo like the 
 feelings and principles by which many shall he actuated a.t the 
 close of the millennium, who will be overcome by the tempta- 
 tion of Satan when he is loosed. Sin, death, and hell shall not 
 reach them. but. they shall be priests of God and of Christ, 
 shall realize all they anticipated, Rev. v. 10, and reign with 
 him a thousand years. 
 
 Now, let any one candidly look over the two interpretations, 
 and see which best accords with Scripture. This passag 
 evidently unfriendly to the anti-millenarians; it impedes their 
 spiritualizing system sadly: they could do better without it. 
 after all the pains they have taken to metamorphose it. It is 
 
226 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 an evident proof that there is something wrong about that sys- 
 tem which finds any part of God's word burdensome. To these 
 remarks, I just add the testimony of the venerable Joseph 
 Mede, concerning this text: "I take the resurrection, both of 
 them, first and second, to be proper and real. 'Tis not safe to 
 deprive the church of those texts, whereon her faith of the 
 resurrection is builded. For this interpretation (that which 
 would make the first resurrection metaphorical or spiritual) 
 will necessarily rob us of that of Dan. xii. 2 — 4 also, whereon 
 I believe the church of the Old Testament built her faith of 
 that article, there being no such evident place besides in all the 
 Old Testament." 
 
 Mr. Jones, endeavours also, to dismantle another fortress 
 which guards our doctrine, viz. 2 Thess. ii. 8. "And then 
 shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume 
 with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness 
 of his coming. This scripture evidently connects together the 
 coming of Christ, and the destruction of antichrist, but he la- 
 bours to prove that it is only a spiritual coming, whereas it is 
 obviously the same coming spoken of 1 Thess. iv. and v.; 2 
 Thess. 7 — 10; ii. 1. He endeavours to prove his point by re- 
 ferring to several passages where the coming of Christ is men- 
 tioned, and which he says denote a spiritual coming, such as 
 Psal. xviii. 9; lxxii. 6, 7; cxliv. 5; Isa. xiii. 9; xix. 1. Well, 
 suppose these passages do refer to a spiritual coming, it doth 
 not follow that 2 Thess. ii. 8, doth likewise. But I think it 
 could easily be proved that every passage he refers to bears 
 upon the great event of Christ's personal coming. But for 
 further remarks on this passage, I refer to other parts of this 
 work. 
 
 Those who spiritualize Scripture should have good memo- 
 ries. At page 26, Mr. Jones applies Dan. vii. 9, 10, to the 
 second coming of Christ, and makes use of it to illustrate Rev. 
 i. 7; four times afterwards he refers the events in the same 
 chapter to the kingdom of Christ and the preaching of the gos- 
 pel , pp. 380, 385, 466, 4SS. At page 3S5, speaking of the de- 
 struction of antichrist, he says, "This is declared by the pro- 
 phet Daniel, vii. 26, and with this agree the words of the 
 apostle Paul, 2 Thess. ii. 8." Observe, Dan. vii. 26, is God's 
 explanation of Dan. vii. 9, 10, that very passage which Mr. J. 
 applies to the personal coming of Christ; now, if Dan. vii. 26, 
 agrees with 2 Thess. ii. 8, so must Dan. vii. 9, 10, and thus 
 Mr. J. unwittingly allows in one place that Christ comes per- 
 sonally when he comes to destroy antichrist, and thus over- 
 throws his own arguments against 2 Thess. ii. S. He also very 
 frequently quotes 1 Cor. xv. 32, 54, and applies it to the grand 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 127 
 
 consummation of all things in the coming of Christ and the 
 resurrection of the dead; but he forgets that [ml \\v. from 
 whence the apostle quotes, refer to the same event; and yet 
 
 that chapter and the following, evidently refer to a kingdom 
 upon earth, to the spread of divine knowledge, and the happi- 
 ness ol the Jewish people; and therefore we see the propriety 
 of their restoration being likened to a resurrection, i 
 when they are restored, and the bodies of the saints raised, 
 "death will be swallowed up in victory." 1 
 
 But having noticed these few instances, I will assign a few- 
 reasons against this method of spiritualizing Scripture. 
 
 1. Because no one can with any certainty say what the Bible 
 does mean. Who is to determine how far persons may or may 
 not go? "Let the Christian reader," says Luther, "fil 
 
 to find out the literal meaning of the word of Cod: for this, 
 and this alone, is the whole foundation of faith and of Christian 
 theology." 
 
 Hooker says, "I hold it for a most infallible rule, in expo- 
 sitions of sacred Scripture, that where a literal construction 
 will stand, the farthest from the letter is commonly the worst. 
 There is nothing more dangerous and delusive than that art 
 which changeth the meaning of words, as alchemy doth or 
 would do the substance of metals; making of any thing what 
 it listeth, and bringing in the end all truth to nothing." 
 
 2. God's dealings with the Jews forbid our adopting such a 
 line of interpretation. No doubt their Rabbis could spiritualize 
 Psal. xxii.; Isa. liii,; and Dan. ix.; but Calvary literalized these 
 passages. The Jews would not read this plain interpretation, 
 and behold, God hath scattered them, and taken vengeance on 
 their inventions. They were ripened to this hardness by not 
 listening to the voice of the types and prophecies, and their 
 literal fulfilment by the great Redeemer. 
 
 3. Literal fulfilment of prophecy is another argument against 
 spiritualizing prophecies yet to be fulfilled. I shall endeavour 
 to set this forth by placing in two columns, 1. God's predic- 
 tions and fulfillings; 2. God's prophecies and interpretations; 
 3. God's assurances and man's contradictions: — 
 
 Goo's PKKDICTIONS. ' I 
 
 ''Behold, thy Kingc eth uDtotbee, "And Jesus, when he foui ■' 
 
 riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the ass, sal thereon; aa i r iswritten."— 
 
 ibid of an ass,"—ZecA. ix. !». John rii. II. 
 
 "They part my garments among "And they crucified him, parting 
 
 * "The apostle Paul explicitly applies Isa. lix. BO, loa fbtore I 
 Rom. ix. 'it;-, Isa. xxv. 8, to the timeol the resurrection, I C 
 Haggai ii. 6, to a future shaking of the heavens and the earth, H( 
 and thereby distinctly teaches *us that there will 5e a future fulfilmei 
 passages."— £ Guide. 
 
128 
 
 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 them, and cast lots upon my vesture." his garments, and casting lots."— Matt. 
 
 —Psal. xxii. 18. xxvii. 35. 
 
 God's prophecies. Man's Interpretations. 
 
 "I will rejoice over them to do them I will bring them into the enjoyment 
 
 good, and I will plant them in this of gospel privileges, and unite them in 
 
 land assuredly with my whole hear 
 and with my whole soul."— Jer. xxxii 
 41. 
 
 "Behold, 1 come as a thief. Blessec 
 is he that watcheth." Rev. xvi. 15. 
 
 God's declarations. 
 "We shall reign on the earth." — 
 Rev. v. 10. 
 
 "The rest of the dead lived not again 
 until the thousand years were finished. 
 This is the first resurrection."— Rev. 
 xx. 5. 
 
 "And they shall dwell in the land 
 that I have given unto Jacob my ser- 
 vant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; 
 and they shall' dwell therein."— Ezek. 
 xxxvii. 25. 
 
 "And ye shall dwell in the land that 
 I gave to your fathers. And the deso- 
 
 :hurch fellowship with the nations 
 among whom they are scattered. — Mo- 
 dem Opinion. 
 
 "I do not understand this to refer to 
 Christ's personal appearance; but to his 
 coming in a way of vengeance upon 
 his enemies." — Jones' Lectures. 
 
 Man's contradictions. 
 
 The redeemed who are in glory ne- 
 ver will reign on the earth. — Modem 
 Opinion. 
 
 There will be no first resurrection 
 of the saints; all the dead will be rais- 
 ed at the same moment. — Modem Opi- 
 nion. 
 
 They never shall possess the land of 
 Canaan again. "Such a circumstance 
 would rather hinder than facilitate 
 their conversion to Christianity." — Ec- 
 lectic Review. 
 
 "Politically considered, there is no- 
 thing improbable in the event of the 
 
 late land shall be tilled, whereas it lay Jews' restoration to Palestine; yet it 
 desolate in the sight of all that passed may be no more the fulfilment of pro- 
 
 phecy than the emancipation of the 
 Greeks or of the Irish; and it may 
 prove an hinderance instead of further- 
 ing their being grafted in again into 
 the church- of God." — Eclectic Review. 
 
 by. And they shall say, This land 
 that was desolate is become like the 
 garden of Eden ; and the waste and 
 desolate, and ruined cities, are become 
 fenced and are inhabited. Then the 
 heathen, that are left round about you, 
 shall know that I the Lord build the 
 ruined cities, and plant that which is 
 desolate; I the Lord hare spoken it, and 
 I will do it."— Ezek. xxxvi. 24 ; 31— 36. 
 
 I might multiply the quotations under these three heads; but 
 the above are sufficient to show that it is an evil thing to devi- 
 ate from the divine pattern. 
 
 It may be inquired, are no parts of God's word to be inter- 
 preted otherwise than literally? This is not affirmed; but let 
 its literal meaning first be sought out. The structure of the 
 passage will generally tell us whether it ought to be interpret- 
 ed spiritually or literally. Thus, when there is a natural or 
 moral impossibility in the case (as in the instance of the stars 
 falling to the earth,) or when the whole passage is evidently 
 figurative, we may depart from the literal interpretation; but 
 to apply part of a declaration, promise or threatening, spiritu- 
 ally, and part literally, as is often done, is suspicious. We 
 should carefully distinguish between the event or circumstance 
 the prophecy points out, and the figures or symbols that ar e 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 129 
 
 used to set it forth. The farmer wc may expect t<> he literally 
 fulfilled, and the fatter spiritually. Thus real and literal • 
 are foretold by Bymbola and figui 
 
 2. The second objection will again take us to that famous 
 scripture, Rev. xx. 7 — f». The circumstance of the revolt that 
 takes place after the millennium, is. usually urged Bfl B weighty 
 objection against the doctrine of Christ's personal reign on 
 earth with his saints. Mr. .1 It is a millstone round 
 
 the neck of the system." Let us first look at the words them- 
 selves, and then see with which system they best agree. '-And 
 when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out 
 of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations that are 
 in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather 
 them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of 
 the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and 
 compassed the camp of the saints round about, and the beloved 
 city, and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured 
 them." Now I would first premise that good add learned men 
 who have contended for a personal reign, have taken two views 
 of the subject. The first is, that of Dr. Burnett, ami Dr. Grill, 
 who held that there would be a spiritual reign of many ages, con- 
 tinuance first, and after that a personal reign, when the earth 
 would be wholly and only possessed by Christ and his risen 
 saints. Certainly around this system, the text in question is a 
 millstone.t The other view of the subject, which is chiefly 
 
 * See the subject of literal interpretation ably handled in Bickersteth's Guide, 
 
 chap. xiv. The author observes, "It is :essary to a consistent interpretation, 
 
 and it throws great light on the Old Testament prophecies and on the future 
 
 purj ss of God, to take them first and generally, in their plain, literal, and 
 
 obvious meaning: — Zion, meaning Zion; Judah meaning Jadah; Israel, mean- 
 ing Israel; and Jerusalem, meaning Jerusalem." Mark how far they were 
 accomplish''*! when Christ firsl came, i as in fsa. liii., Dan. Lx.25,26,) and then 
 consider what has yel been unaccomplished, and may be realized in the future 
 restoration of the Jews. Lei us interpret the unfulfilled on thesame principle, 
 and in the same literal way as we do the fulfilled. 
 
 MMaywe not/' (the author must include himself") "have perverted the 
 Scriptures, have wronged the Jews, have obscured the future glorious kingdom 
 of Christ, have mis-directed the church, an m it thejudgm 
 
 to come on the ungodly, by attempting to spiritualize that which < tod intended 
 not to be spiritualized, but to be literally understood!"— Guide, p L66 
 
 t Those who contend for this opinion, consider thai the <; 
 army consist of the raised wicked dead. Bui against this inter] 
 several weighty objections may be urged. Firstthej an desci ■ 
 in the four corners of the earth, and not the raised dead. There is nothing 
 
 said of the raised dead until ver. 13, after tl nations are destroy e I 
 
 which, with whal propriety can Batan I e said lo be loosed from the b 
 
 pj t) in oi ■ those whose souls had long been m a pla< e of punish- 
 
 ii is implied, that those Satan deceives, were not 
 A^ I have observed elsewhere (Millenarian's An wei >,thewicked wl 
 from the dead, will come forth, not to b • more, oi u 
 
 another warfare with God; no/ they will be undeceived thei 
 against, and punished with everlasting destruction, from the presence 01 the 
 Lord. 
 
130 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 maintained by millenarians of the present day, as also was main- 
 tained by the primitive church, is what hath been already set 
 before the reader, viz., that the coming of Christ, the destruction 
 of antichrist, and the calling of the Jews, synchronize, and are 
 followed by Christ's reign and kingdom, in the blessedness of 
 which the nations of the earth share. Many of our opponents 
 make no distinction between these two systems, but palm the 
 difficulties belonging to the one, upon the other. Now I con- 
 tend, that while the millstone cannot be got rid of from Dr. 
 Gill's system, as it regards the other, there is no stone to re- 
 move, for this text harmonizes with our views. But before I 
 prove this, I will show the reader the manner in which Mr. 
 Jones disposes of this millstone. He tells us, p. 572, "The 
 nations here mentioned, consist of those who never were really 
 converted to Christianity, but who, during the imprisonment 
 of Satan, and the reign of the saints, had been in a state of 
 subjection, a state of political death, who were tamed of their 
 ferocity by the universal prevalence of the gospel influence, 
 and thus rendered so harmless, as to produce no outward 
 commotion or disturbance. These are the successors of the 
 'remnant of them that were slain with the sword of him that 
 sat upon the horse,' Rev. xix. 21; they are 'the rest of the 
 dead;' xx. 5. These, Satan succeeds in deceiving, and this is 
 the Gog and Magog army, whom fire devours, and thus they 
 are mustered together." Here then, according to Mr. Jones's 
 account, are whole nations numerous as the sands of the sea, 
 who "are never really converted to Christianity" during the 
 millennium. Compare this his rash assertion with God's de- 
 clarations on this subject. "All nations shall call him blessed," 
 Psal. lxxii. "Thou shalt inherit all nations," Psal. lxxxii. 8. 
 "The kingdom under the whole heaven," Dan. vii. "The 
 whole earth is full of his glory," Isa. vi. 3. "The earth shall 
 be full of the knowledge of the Lord," Isa. xi. "For the na- 
 tion and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish, yea, 
 those nations shall be utterly wasted," Isa. lx. 12. How, I ask, 
 do these scriptures comport with Mr. Jones's idea of there 
 being great nations unconverted during the millennium? Is 
 this his explanation according to truth? 
 
 Let us next try whether any better solution can be given. 
 The word of God tells us that after Christ has executed judg- 
 ment on the apostate nations, and kingly confederacy, tliere 
 will still be a few remaining, who will not own the supremacy 
 of the Jewish people; mark Isa. lx. 12; Zech. xiv. 1G — 19; of 
 these it is said, "They shall perish and be utterly wasted;" 
 that great and sore plagues shall come upon them, who go not 
 up to Jerusalem to keep the feast of tabernacles. This being 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. j ; | 
 
 done, all the earth shall be full of God's glory. "For 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," Isa. lxvi. 2;3. That a few solitary per- 
 sons who may be disaffected, may exist, Isa. Ixv. 80, <;ives us 
 reason to suppose; but to say that whole nations shall be then 
 unconverted, appears to me to be a plain contradiction of dud's 
 word. At the close of the thousand years, Satan being loosed, 
 goes forth to deceive the nations who had been converted, and 
 had enjoyed Christ's government during the millennium; he 
 does not find them deceived, but he goes to do it. II 
 ceeds most probably by degrees: large hosts range themselves 
 under his standard; they surround the camp of the saints and 
 the beloved city, (alluding most probably to the risen saints, 
 and Jewish nation,) but an overwhelming act of vengeance 
 destroys them. Then comes the general judgment of the dead 
 "who lived not;" and of those who lived and da'cd during the 
 millennium, yea, of all those who were not included in the 
 first resurrection. Those who consider what man under the 
 influence of Satan hath done heretofore, will not think it incre- 
 dible that he should act thus; Pharaoh, Israel, and the .1 ■ 
 rulers sinned against as visible displays of God, as these de- 
 ceived ones will do. 
 
 A third objection raised against this doctrine, is, that many 
 good and great men have not received it. It may be so, and 
 yet this doctrine may be true. The wise and prudent among 
 the Jews, and even many sincere characters, were grievously 
 mistaken concerning the nature of Christ's first mission into 
 our world, and the wise and good among the Gentiles may be 
 mistaken concerning his second coming. Have the 'rulers or 
 any of the Pharisees believed on him? said the enemies of our 
 Lord; and no doubt the church of Rome reasoned in a similar 
 way at the Reformation. They had fathers, councils, creeds, 
 canons, popes, and the authority of ages in their favour; and 
 will you, said the)', presume to back the Bible against all these? 
 
 A reference to the history of the church will show that the 
 doctrine now advocated has had some besides fanatics and en- 
 thusiasts, as believers in it. I do not bring forward human 
 authorities as a reason why it should be believed, but rather to 
 refute the calumnies thrown upon it as though it were B modern 
 sentiment, and to show that in the purest Bges of the church, 
 gracious men have understood the Bible literally, and have ex- 
 pected Christ to come to set up a glorious kingdom. 
 
 In my little tract, entitled, "A Millenarian's Answer of the 
 Hope that is in him," 1, have given a brief history of this 
 doctrine, and have sworn that a host of holy men have cherished 
 
 vol. in. — 22 
 
132 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 it, and been comforted by it. To tbat outline I refer tbe reader; 
 and, for a more full account of tbose who since the Reformation 
 have maintained it, to "Mr. Anderson's Letter to the Author 
 of Millcnarianism Indefensible." Thus much we may state, 
 as the result of these inquiries, that nearly every one of the 
 fathers of the three first centuries, held the doctrine of Christ's 
 coming to reign on earth; that it was acknowledged at the 
 council of Nice, A. D. 325; that it grew into disrepute, just in 
 proportion as popery increased; that it was, in some measure, 
 received at the Reformation, and is taught in King Edward's 
 Catechism; that the majority of those divines who formed the 
 Westminster Assembly held it;* that it is plainly and honestly 
 avowed in the Confession of Faith, published by the Baptists, 
 1660, which is signed by 41 names, and said to be approved of 
 by more than 20,000; that, amidst a host of others, the follow- 
 ing men of God have embraced it, — Joseph Mede, Dr. Twisse, 
 Dr. Holmes, Sir Isaac Newton, Bishop Newton, Bishop Hors- 
 ley, Joseph Hussey, Dr. Goodwin, Joseph Caryl, Fletcher of 
 Madeley, Mr. Thorp, and Robert Hall, with many others, both 
 dead and living, who, for sobriety of mind, research into Scrip- 
 ture, holiness of character, and zeal for God, yield to none. 
 
 From these testimonies, I turn, for a moment, to Mr. Jones's 
 remarks on the antiquity of this doctrine. He says, (preface, 
 p. xi.,) "Well, then, we will concede to you that these opinions 
 are not novelties; we can trace them as far back as the begin- 
 ning of the third century." And then follows an account 
 about Dionysius, and how successfully he refuted the millena- 
 rians of his day; while by the way, the avowal of the council 
 of Nice on this subject, and the testimony of Buck, (see his 
 dictionary,) that this doctrtne was extensively believed in the 
 fourth century, show that Dionysius did it little harm. After 
 this, comes a long extract from Witsius; which, however good 
 in itself, has nothing really to do with the point in hand. At 
 least, if true, it only proves that Dionysius outreasoned the 
 friends of Nepos, who held the doctrine of the millennium; 
 and that he conducted the argument in a Christian spirit. All 
 this may be true, and yet Dionysius wrong.! Have not infidels 
 outreasoned professed believers in revelation, and converted 
 them to scepticism? — Does it follow that the Bible is false, 
 
 * Anderson's Letter, p. 11—23. 
 
 t Jerome says that "this Dionysius was a man of uncommon eloquence, but 
 that he threw out doubts against the Revelation, as not being the writing 01 the 
 apostle John. He wrote a curious piece, deriding the fable of a thousand years, 
 &c. Him Apollinarius answered, in two volumes; whom not only the men of 
 his own sect, but most of our people likewise, follow on this point." 
 
 Sir Isaac Newton, after showing how much the Revelation was studied and 
 commented upon in the first centuries, observes, "This was the state of the 
 Apocalypse, till the thousand years being misunderstood, brought a prejudice 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 133 
 
 because many, by reading Paine'fl Age of Reason, have been 
 brought to think BO? All this, then, I repeat again, is nothing to 
 the point. Why, I ask, does Mr. Jones begin BO late IB the 
 third century, when he must know from Gibbon, Bishop 
 ton, JMosheim, and Buck, that the doctrine was to he traced 
 much farther back, and that there were incontestable arguments 
 to prove as much? Why not face Justin Martyr, and overturn 
 Bishop Newton's dissertation on Rev. \\. 1 — 6? Looking at 
 Mr. Jones's proceedings, I cannot but conclude, that the an- 
 tiquity of this doctrine is a part of the controversy the anti- 
 millenarians are not anxious to meddle with. They have not 
 found out the art of spiritualizing the writings of men, as they 
 do the words of God. Were they to take as much liberty with the 
 former as they have done with the latter, they would be laughed at. 
 At page 547, Mr. Jones touches again upon the subject of 
 antiquity, but soon calls in Dr. Whitby, to help him raise a dust 
 about the millennium, that he might run away unobserved in 
 the meantime. But this will not do: let the question (for he 
 started it himself) be fairly sifted. Well, but he makes a pro- 
 mise of doing great things, in the preface. "Of the sentiments 
 of the fathers, and the controversy that was carried on among 
 them respecting this subject, I purpose taking some notice in 
 the preface to these lectures." Now, in the preface, / 
 not show the sentiment of the fathers; he only mentions Dio- 
 nysius and Nepos, and then, with a polite bow to the clergy, 
 he makes his exit, and leaves the learned and pious Witsins in 
 his room, to read us a lecture upon moderation and Christian 
 
 against it; and Dionysius of Alexandria, noting how it abounded in barbarisms, 
 that i-. with Hebraisms, promoted that prejudice so far, as : 
 Greeks, in the fourth century, tu doubt of the book/'—/-'.':' 249. 
 
 It is supposed that this Dionysius was the t millenarians. "The 
 
 first opponent of the millenanan doctrine, as tar as 1 aysius, 
 
 who, about the middle of the third century, wrote what J 
 gantbook, ridiculing the story of the millennium.' " Eruvin,p. 1* 5 
 
 The same author ol believe thai millenarianism 
 
 and the Apocalypse were so identified in the minds of the early Christians, thai 
 he who received the book, had no ideaof any mode of interpretati 
 shouldprevent him receiving that doctrine. Those, therefore, who rejected the 
 millenarian doctrine rejected the Ap 
 
 puting that it taught that doctrine.' I - ' observing thai the d 
 
 of the millennium (which, he says, was intimately connected with th< 
 coming of Christ,) was carefully inculcated by a I fathers, from 
 
 Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, who conversed with Ihe immediate dia 
 Christ, down to Lactantius, says, "lint when the edifice of the church 
 most completed, (alludm- to its temporal power, and earthly | 
 porary support was laid aside. The doctrine of Christ irUi was 
 
 at first treated a> a profound allegoi dared by degr 
 
 ful and useless opinion; and was at lenj 
 of heresy and fanaticism. A mysterious prophecy, which ■■ 
 the sacred canon, (vi/.. the Apbcalpyse,) ! ""- which was though) lo I 
 exploded sentiment, has very narrd i 
 
134 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 kindness. As to the controversy about it among the fathers, 
 Mosheim says it never was opposed till the third century, while 
 he owns it existed in the first. I judge, then, Mr. Jones did 
 not show us the sentiments of the fathers, because those senti- 
 ments were against him. Thus, page 547 sends us to the pre- 
 face, and then from the preface we go to page 547; but those 
 parts of the book are like two broken down tradesmen, who 
 draw bills upon each other which neither can meet. We pass 
 on, then, to notice 
 
 The fourth objection, which respects the conflagration of the 
 world at the second coming of Christ. This objection may be 
 thus stated : "The advocates of Christ's reign on earth maintain 
 that after Christ's coming there will be nations on the earth — 
 that creation will be renewed — the animals be happy, and both 
 freed from the curse. How can this be, if Christ at his com- 
 ing burn up the earth and its works, as is set forth 2 Pet. iii.? 
 
 1 confess this appears to be a difficulty of no ordinary magni- 
 tude, and deserves to be seriously considered. Some have 
 thought that the conflagration of the world will be after the 
 millennium, and I understand that Dr. Whitby has interpreted 
 
 2 Pet. iii. 1,0 — 12, to favour this idea. But it seems to me that 
 this idea in its full extent is untenable. Other Scriptures say 
 that Christ will be revealed in flaming fire, 2 Thess. i. 8, 9; and 
 this passage of Peter, taken as a whole, evidently shows that 
 the day of retribution was the day of the Lord's coming, which 
 was the subject the apostle had begun about verse 4, and there- 
 fore, that the new heavens and the new-earth are subsequent 
 to a fiery judgment, and not before. Here a question occurs 
 which may be satisfactorily answered, Is there good reason to 
 conclude, that in the new earth which Peter speaks of, as suc- 
 ceeding the Lord's coming, there will be men* and animals 
 living? This we might be at a loss to answer, did not Peter 
 (iii. 1.3,) direct us back to.Isa. lxv., for to that part of God's 
 
 * ''In the new earth there shall be glory conferred on all the creatures, which 
 shall be (in the proportion of their natures) as suitable and as great an ad- 
 vancement, as the glory of the children of God shall be to them. The fire at 
 the last day shall be a refining, and not a destroying or annihilating tire. . . . 
 If it be objected, What use will the animals be of to glorified saints? We 
 may suppose them of as much use as they were to Adam in innocency; and if 
 it be only to illustrate the wisdom, power, and goodness of their Creator, that 
 is enough; see Psal.xcvi. 10—13; xcviii.7 — 9." — Henry's Commentary on Rom. 
 viii. 18-23. 
 
 The same author observes, "The redemption of the creature is reserved till 
 the time of the manifestation of the Son of God at the resurrection; for as it 
 was with man, and for man that they fell under the curse, so, with man and 
 for man, they shall be delivered. All the curse and filth that now adhere to 
 the creature, shall be done away then, when those who have suffered with 
 Christ on earth shall reign with him on earth. This the whole creation looks 
 and lonsjsfor." 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 
 
 L35 
 
 word he refers, by the expression "according to his promiax ; '" 
 now we learn from thence that there will be men, children, 
 sinners, houses, vineyards, lions, lambs, and serpents, in this 
 new earth, ver. 17 — 85. Here, then, we might leave the sub- 
 ject, having ascertained, that in the new earth there will be 
 such things as we have spoken of,. and leave God to show us 
 in his own good time hozc these things shall be. He who once 
 destroyed the earth with water, and yet found means to per- 
 petuate all the species of animals and plants to the present mo- 
 ment, will not be at a loss for an ark to save from a deluge of 
 fire, should that lire be ordained to destroy the works of his 
 hands as well as his enemies. ]Jut I beg leave to drop a hint 
 or two on the subject with humility ami diffidence. I think 
 that the conflagration spoken of at the coming of Christ, has 
 more particularly for its objects the enemies of Christ, and all 
 their defilements, and it will not entirely destroy the animate 
 or inanimate creation of God, but purge and purify those hea- 
 vens and earth, where wicked men and devils have reigned so 
 long. This fire, I believe, will be material lire, and with it 1 
 think the Roman whore will be burned: and some have thought 
 the papal territory will become a Tophet, Rev. xviii. 8 — 10, 
 21; xix. 3; a hell upon earth, Isa. lxvi. 24; xx\. 33. My rea- 
 sons for thus believing arc, 
 
 1. God, in his covenant with Noah, promises never to smite 
 again any thing living, as he hath done, Gen. viii. 31. Now 
 as we have seen that there will be animals existing during the 
 millennium, and that the fiery judgment is before the millen- 
 nium, it seems that he does not smite every thing living there- 
 by. 
 
 2. Because in the other descriptions of Christ s coming with 
 
 * ' : Dr. Dwight considers that hero is reference to God's promise to Abra- 
 ham, Gcn.xv.i. 8, '4 will give to ihec and to thy seed after thee all thi 
 Canaan for an everlastij 1 1 will be-their God." Trui D 
 
 bat is fulfilled to Abraham's literal seed literally, and to 
 wrativety; but we know who hath said, "Blessed are ll 
 for they shall inherit the earth." When John .saw the 
 on the'thronc, he heard him say, "Behold, I make all things new;" and imme 
 !, "He thai c '-ill inherit all thii \ 
 
 things: and then comes a 
 to Abraham, "] will behis God, and he shall be i 
 the Apostle, "heirs—] , and join! heirs wit! 
 
 viii. 17. Anatti 
 of the verses that follow. Having alluded to Chi 
 
 pie as joinl heirs with him, it was perfectly con should 
 
 gl ance ; the fall manil 
 
 I nrist and hi- ; 
 
 , he and they should be glorifii I 
 lighty wondersshall ' birth tol the i hurch 
 
 ged— the ! — nu>n made ha 
 
 Med. 
 I ) 
 
136 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 fire to judgment, his enemies are represented as fuel for that 
 fire, Psa!. xi. 6; xxi. 9, 10; xxxvii. 20; xlvi. 9; Ixviii. 1, 2; 
 compare Psal. lxxxiii. 13 — 15, with Isa. ix. 4, 5; Psal. xcvii. 
 1 — 5; cxliv. 4, 5. In the last passage, by mountains, we must 
 understand great and mighty enemies, for mountains is the 
 nominative of "them" in ver. 6. The same remark applies to 
 the preceding reference to Psal. xcvii. and to Isa. i. 28 — 31; 
 ii. 12— 21; xxx. 27, 2S, 33; lxiv. 2; lxvi. 15, 16; Ezek. xxxviii. 
 22;. xxxix. C; Dan. vii. 9, 10. "I beheld even till the beast 
 (the Roman empire) was slain, and his body given to the burn- 
 ing flame." Some have thought that this is the judgment 
 spoken of by Peter, 2nd Epist; iii. and that it will extend only 
 to the fourth beast, or the dominions of the Roman empire; 
 and, indeed, we do well to bear in mind that this is the pro- 
 phetical earthy and with reference to this, the term earth is used 
 in the Apocalypse. Joel ii. 30, 31; Mai. iii. 2; iv. 1, are par- 
 ticularly worthy of attention on this subject; also Matt. iii. 12; 
 xiii. 40—42, 49; 1 Cor. iii. 14, 15; 1 Thess. v. 3; 2 Thess. i. 7, 
 S;ii.8; Heb. x. 27; Rev. xviii. 8, 10. All these Scriptures will 
 be found to have reference to the second coming of Christ: they 
 all speak of his being revealed by fire, and they point out 
 (some by plain words, and others by symbols,) who shall be 
 consumed thereby, viz. the antichristian faction — the enemies 
 of the Jews — and in short, all those who join to say concern- 
 ing the Lord and his Christ, "Let us break their bands in 
 sunder, and cast away their cords from us." But that nature 
 will be annihilated, and the world become an ocean of fire, 
 does not appear to me plain from them. I beg my reader to 
 observe, that events of great magnitude, such as revolutions in 
 kingdoms and overthrows of dynasties, are set forth by terms 
 that equal the language of Peter, with regard to the day of 
 vengeance." For instance, Rev. vi. 12 — 17, which some ap- 
 ply to the times of Constantine, and others, with more proba- 
 bility, to the French revolution and subsequent events; also 
 Zeph. i. 2, 3, which sets forth the troubles of the Jews for their 
 sins; also Deut. xxxii.22, where God thus speaks: "For a fire 
 is kindled in my anger, and it shall burn to the lowest hell, 
 and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire 
 the foundations of the mountains." This refers to the anger 
 of God against the Jewish people and their oppressors, Zech. 
 i. 15; xiv. 2; and yet Dr. Gill says, that Justin Martyr under- 
 stood this passage of the day of judgment, and the burning of 
 the world. It is also worthy of notice that our Lord, in speak- 
 ing of his second coming and kingdom, Matt. xxiv. 29 — 31; 
 Mark xiii. 24 — 27; Luke xxi. 25 — 2S, does not say any thing 
 about a judgment of fire, but then he speaks of great changes, 
 
OF OUR LORD JKSIS rillllST 
 
 137 
 
 and overturnings, and troubles, and confusion, set forth by the 
 falling of the stars and the powers of the heavens being shaken, 
 which may intend the same as the devouring 6 re spoki D 
 
 of in other places. True, it is said, Lulu- ivii. 28 — SO, that 
 in the day when the Son of man shall be revealed, it shall be 
 as it was in the days of Lot; but what follow after leads US to 
 expect that this judgment will not he a total one, but the same 
 spoken of Matt. xiii. 10 — 12, -As therefore tin- tares (by which 
 is intended false or apostate professors of religion] air gathered 
 and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of tin- world. 
 The Son of man shall sand forth his angels, and they shall ga- 
 ther out of his kingdom all things that offend, and th< m that do 
 iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall 
 be wailing and gnashing of teeth." This passage points out 
 the objects and things that will be consumed, and seems to pro- 
 test against a universal conflagration and general destruction. 
 
 3. One thing more that leads me to think this view of 2 
 Pet. iii. is right, is a consideration of Isa. xxav. with xxv., 
 and of xxxiv. with xxxv. In Isa. xxiv. and xxxiv., we 
 have descriptions of revolutions upon the earth, which are 
 equally vivid with that of Peter: "The earth is utterly broken 
 down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved ex- 
 ceedingly," &c, Isa. xxiv. 19. And yet, immediately after 
 we read of "the Lord of hosts reigning in Zion and Jerusa- 
 lem;" and in the twenty-fifth chapter we have an account of 
 such a millennium following, as we have all along been speak- 
 ing of. The same is observable of Isa. xxxiv. ami xxxv, 
 
 Upon the whole, I. conclude that there will be a conflagra- 
 tion previous to the millennium, at the coming of Christ; that 
 it will be real; that the enemies of Christ, and their works, 
 will be consumed by it; but that as nations will escape, Amos 
 ix. 12; Isa. lxvi. IS, 19,) as nature will shine in her glory, and 
 as animals will subsist during the millennium, (Isa. Ixv.. the 
 burning will not be of that universal nature as hath generally 
 been believed. 
 
 At the same time, I do not deny what some have thought, 
 but that there may be another and more general conflagration 
 at the close of the millennium, which may he referred i" in 
 Rev. xx. 9; which, together with Christ's revelation in flaming 
 lire at the commencement of the millennium, will fulfil to the 
 very letter 2 Pet. iii.; and some have observe I that when the 
 apostle Peter speaks of the destruction at the day of the Loi \, 
 he uses the words "wherein" and "in the which," (ver. '■> sad 
 12,) not saying at what part of .the day this conflagration takes 
 place. Still, without being positive, or even coming to a full 
 conclusion in my own mind on so important and deep a sub- 
 ject, I cannot but think that this prophecy of Tetcr (and we 
 
138 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 do well to bear in mind that it is a prophecy,) is to be inter- 
 preted in the same way as Psal. xlvi., Isa. xxiv., or Rev. vi. 
 I will quote one passage in point, viz. Isa. xxxiv. 4. This con- 
 nexion evidently refers to the judgment of the earth that will 
 precede the millennium. "All the host of heaven shall be dis- 
 solved, and the heavensshall be rolled together as a scroll; and 
 all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the 
 vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree." How similar are 
 these expressions to those used by Peter, also by our Lord, 
 Matt. xxiv. 29, and by John, Rev. vi. 13, 14; xvi. 20; they all 
 set forth the same event and time, as 2 Thess. i. 7, 8, which 
 Peter calls "the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men." 
 But docs Isaiah, in the passage above quoted, mean to speak 
 of nature's being dissolved, or reduced to a smoking ruin? 
 no! God's controversy is not with the groaning creation; he 
 hath said, "I will not smite that any more as I have done for 
 man's sake," Gen. viii. 21, 22; but God's controversy is with 
 apostate, thankless man: with the typical Edom, even faithless 
 Christendom; for thus God teaches the prophet to explain the 
 verses before quoted: "For my sword shall be bathed in hea- 
 ven; behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, upon the people 
 of my curse to judgment," ver. 5, '6; Isa. lxiii. 1 — 3. Doth 
 any one say that this is departing from the system of literal 
 interpretation? I answer, no! we contend- for a real, not figu- 
 rative event, set forth by symbols; which, of course, cannot 
 be literally interpreted. Thus the real and literal subjects con- 
 tained in this prophecy of Peter are, the personal coming of 
 Christ, the destruction that shall then take place, and the glo- 
 rious kingdom that shall follow; which is to be brought to 
 pass, "according to God's promise" by Isaiah. Symbols^ or 
 figures, are used to set these things forth; such as "a thief in the 
 night," "elements melting," &c, according to the pattern of Isa. 
 xxxv., of our Lord, Matt. xxiv. 27 — 29, and of John, Rev. vi. 
 12 — 14, xvi. IS — 21. On the contrary, many, in interpreting 
 this and similar passages, speak of the great event as figura- 
 tive, and of the figures as the substance. Thus, the new hea- 
 vens and earth are considered as figures; while the figures used 
 to set forth the breaking up of the old state of things, are zea- 
 lously contended for as literal; though parallel passages will 
 not bear the same interpretation. As a proof, see those three 
 last referred to. 
 
 We may also observe, that whatever system of prophetic in- 
 terpretation is adopted, this passage has difficulties in it. Those 
 who deny our system, wish to separate Peter from Isaiah; but 
 no, we must look for these events according to his promise, 
 assured that the new heavens and new earth will be even such 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. i;;<) 
 
 as he describes them. Isa. lxv. 17 — 85; lwi. :^; Rev. x\i. 
 1—7. 
 
 Since writing the above, I have read the opinions of many 
 millenarians on this passage. Cuninghame, in his reply I 
 ber, p. 12S; Abdiel, in his Essays, p. 86—88; Noel, in his 
 "Brief Inquiry;" and Sirr, in his tract on "The Deluge, ■ 
 Type of the Conflagration," have all said much worthy 01 no- 
 tice. The opponents of this view would do well to read the 
 last-mentioned tract. There is also a striking paraphrase on 
 the whole passage, in Mode's works. 
 
 Still, it would be disingenuous to deny that there is some dif- 
 ficulty connected with this passage. What I have stated, are 
 rather my thoughts, than full convictions; but still, I think it 
 is the best way of considering this passage, because it is thus 
 most agreeable with other scriptures which refer to the same 
 event. And it is worthy of remark, as is observed by Mr. 
 Sirr, that "by a distinct reference to the prophetic writings, 
 and to the consentaneous teaching of the aposfde, does Peter 
 commence his own prediction of this alarming scene, (vcr. 1, 
 2;) and yet, in the whole volume of inspiration, there is not to 
 be found the most remote intimation that such a conflagration of 
 the natural heavens and earth is to take place, as commentators 
 have made Peter to predict." 
 
 But after all, I take my stand on the words "according to his 
 promise;" which promise leads me to expect, that after the 
 Lord comes, and after the fiery judgment, there will he a new 
 heavens and new earth; in which man and nature will be bless- 
 ed, under the government of Christ, and the manifested sons 
 of God. 
 
 I leave this subject, with one more remark. John, in refer- 
 ring to this future glorious state, spoken of by Peter and Isaiah, 
 confirms and illustrates their testimony. He speaks of "the 
 tabernacle of God being with men," and says, "God will dwell 
 with them, and be their God," Rev. xxi. 3. He speaks of the 
 new Jerusalem on this new earth, and of saved nations walking 
 in its light, and the kings of the earth bringing their glory 
 unto it. The apostle Paul also refers to the same glorious era, 
 under the term "world to come," Heb. ii. . r >— s ; Psal. vim; 
 when all things shall be put under the feet of Christ, who shall 
 be Restorer and Lord of creation, Heb. i. 10—12; Rev. nm- 
 5; Lawgiver and Judge to Israel, Isa. xxxii. SJ; the Desire of 
 all nations, Hag. ii. 7; and the Redeemer and Husband of his 
 elect, glorified church. 
 
 5. Another objection is made from the manner in which the 
 Old Testament Scriptures arc quoted in the New Testament 
 We have seen that there' are many quotations and fulfilments 
 
140 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 that strongly favour a literal interpretation of Scripture; there 
 are others which seem to make against it. Thus, there are 
 some passages in the Old Testament which are considered to 
 favour the millenarian scheme; but, as quoted in the New, they 
 are applied to something else, than in their original connexion 
 they seem to mean. Thus, Jer. xxxi. 34, 35, is quoted Heb. 
 viii. 9 — 12; and Deut. xxxii. 43, and Isa. xi. 10, are quoted 
 Rom. xv. 10 — 12. It would be impossible for me, in a small 
 work, to examine every quotation; and therefore, to simplify 
 the subject, I would observe, that the passages quoted in the 
 New Testament out of the Old may be divided into four 
 classes: — 
 
 1. Those that have received a fulfilment, and will not admit 
 of any further fulfilment; for instance, those that relate to our 
 Saviour's humiliation, Psal. xxii. 18; Isa. liii. 3 — 9. 
 
 2. Those that have had a partial fulfilment, but admit of a 
 further and more complete one. Amongst these are promises 
 that relate to the Jews, which have been spiritually fulfilled to 
 the Gentiles, such as Jer. xxxi. 34, 35. Promises partially ful- 
 filled at Christ's first coming, which shall be wholly fulfilled 
 at his second, as Isa. ix. 1 — 3; Joel ii. 2S. Scripture furnishes 
 us with no small weight of evidence that this is really the case. 
 Thus, in John xix. 37, there is a quotation from Zech. xii. 10, 
 while its connexion, together with the reference evidently 
 made to it, Rev. i. 7, shows its complete fulfilment to be yet 
 future. And moreover, John does not quote it to show the. 
 fulfilment of the whole; the "/j/eraHg" time was come, but not 
 the Hooking' " time; as it regards the Jews, it is yet to be ful- 
 filled; and Rev. i. 7, tells us when. Psal. cxviii. 25, 26, was 
 fulfilled at Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem; but Matt, 
 xxiii. 39, as also Zech. ix., warrants us to expect another and 
 more complete fulfilment of it. 
 
 3. Some quotations are made (if I mistake not) not exactly 
 to show the fulfilment, or even to fix the meaning of the words 
 quoted, but are used by the speaker or writer to add force or 
 beauty to his argument. For instance, in Rom. x. 6 — S, the 
 apostle quotes from Deut. xxx. 11 — 14. Now Moses is speak- 
 ing of the law, and Paul of "the word of faith." What Moses 
 says of the law the apostle applies to the gospel; yet were the 
 law and gospel distinct, Gal. iv. 5; and no one, I presume, will 
 say that Paul meant to affirm that Moses intended the same as 
 himself, for Moses was not a minister of the law of faith. 2 
 Cor. iii. 7 — 11. 
 
 4. Some scriptures are quoted with a prophetic reference to 
 a future event, and are so used as to show that the prophecy 
 quoted can have wo further reference than what is there assign- 
 
OF OUR LORD JEMS CHRIST. 
 
 : ii 
 
 cd it. For instance, Isa. x\v. 8, is quoted by Paul, 1 Cur. \v. 
 54. This last class differs from the first, in that this is fvtun 
 and that post. Instances under each head might be multiplied: 
 
 but those quoted are sufficient to trace these rules of interpre- 
 tation by. 
 
 o'. It is objected, that all distinctions between Jews and ( fon- 
 tiles were done away at Christ's death, and that therefoi 
 wrong to speak of Jewish supremacy. I am fully Satisfied that 
 all who believed in Jesus were admitted into the same privi- 
 leges and enjoyed the same hopes, whether they were .lew or 
 Gentile, and therefore the apostle uses such language as Gal. 
 vi. 15; Coloss. iii. 11; but that all distinctions were done away 
 between Jews and Gentiles, docs not appear quite so plain. 
 We read in the gospel of the circumcision and of ihe uncir- 
 cumcision, and of the apostle being as a Jew among the Jews. 
 He who told the Galatians that "if they were circumcised, 
 Christ would profit them nothing," himself circumcised Timo- 
 thy. Afterwards he practised some of the Jewish rites with 
 the Jews, and made an offering according to the Levitical law. 
 Acts xxi. 23 — 27. I do not pretend to explain these things. 
 God did not blame Paul, neither do I. If he did not do it in 
 faith, it was sin; If he did, it must be with a retrospective, 
 and not, as before Christ's coming, with a prospective faith. 
 He told the Jewish rulers, Acts xxv. 8, and his own country- 
 men, Acts xxviii. 17, that he had done nothing against the tem- 
 ple, or the customs of the fathers. If this was. as some have 
 said, a mean spirit of accommodation, would God, who pro- 
 mises to honour those only who honour him, have stood by 
 and encouraged Paul as he did? Again, to those who con- 
 tend that there was no difference between Jews and Gi 
 the conduct of the apostles and elders, Acts xv., must appear 
 rather strange. 
 
 But allowing all that is required respecting the present dis- 
 pensation, still it does not follow but that in the coming 
 God will raise up the Jews to enjoy all that glory he has pro- 
 mised, so that "men shall call them the ministers of our God." 
 lie has "visited the Gentiles, to take out from them a people 
 for his Jiame;" and "he will return and build up the taberna- 
 cle of David, which is thrown down.*' Acts xv. "Th is 
 the Lord, If heaven above can be measured, and the founda- 
 tion of the earth searched out beneath, 1 will also cast off the 
 seed of Israel, for all they have done, saith the Lord," .1 p. 
 xxxi. 37. "For as the new heavens and the new earth which 
 I will make shall remain befoi I and your 
 
 name remain," Isa. lxvi. 22. "The zeal of tin; Lord of 
 will perform this," Isa. ix. 
 
142 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 It will help us in our researches on this subject, if we 
 consider the design and uses of the Old and New Testaments. 
 The former is more particularly (not exclusively) the property 
 of the Jew, the latter of the Christian. The former is chiefly 
 made up of the history of that remarkable people, and of pro- 
 phecies concerning their future glory under the Messiah's reign. 
 The latter sets forth the humble life of Jesus, his meritorious 
 death, glorious resurrection, and endless life; the doctrines of 
 the gospel, and precepts for right conduct. The latter doth 
 not supersede the former, or set aside any of the promises 
 thereof. It is rather a splendid appendix to it, descriptive of, 
 and suited for another dispensation, which was to precede that 
 dispensation which the Old Testament says so much about. 
 And therefore, when the gospel dispensation shall have an- 
 swered its end, God will usher in that other, which is the con- 
 stant theme of "all the holy prophets since the world began." 
 Then shall it be seen that the Jewish nation shall not lose any 
 of its promised glory in consequence of the intervention of 
 "the times of the Gentiles," or gospel state, between the pro- 
 mise and its performance. I just add that the promises and 
 prophecies of the New Testament confirm those of the Old. 
 Both direct our hopes forward to a period on earth far more 
 glorious and blessed than any that has been yet enjoyed.* 
 
 These are the principal objections against the doctrine of 
 Christ's pre-millennial advent; there are others of less import- 
 ance which I will briefly notice. 
 
 7. This doctrine, say some, cramps a-missionary spirit, and 
 hinders those who espouse it from endeavouring to convert the 
 world. I do not hesitate again to affirm, that I believe the 
 world never will be converted by the means now used. If 
 there was a gospel minister to every thousand persons, all the 
 world over, (and glad should I be to see it.) I believe there 
 would be still the church and ihe world, — a church gathered out 
 of the world, and a world to trouble and seduce the church. 
 Consequently, I think that those who set about this work with 
 ibis view, propose to themselves an end that will never be ac- 
 complished by the means they use. The people of God should 
 
 * "We maintain that the Old Testament continues the great standard reve- 
 lation of God's will to the world; and that the principal light in which the 
 New should be studied is, that it falls into the bosom of the Old, to illustrate 
 but a part of it, while the original revelation extends and stretches itself away 
 beyond it, with it.; more ample Testimony concerning the approaching re- 
 erection and glory of the tabernacle of David. Let not onr opponents say thot 
 we derogate from the glory of the New Testament. A partial revelation 
 though we account it, yet it is the dearest and most interesting to our hearts; 
 thai part of the Old which it especially developes being the sinner's ransom, 
 the humiliation of his Lord, and the method of justification by faith in His 
 obedience unto death." — Andersons Apology. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST | j.; 
 
 need no other stimulus than the plain command of Christ, u Go 
 ye into all the world, and preach the gospel unto ever] 
 ture." This is sufficient authority, and if it was felt properly 
 
 would arouse every energy to the" work of God. On the other 
 hand, if any persona make such a use of prophecy ;is to hin- 
 der them from attempting the salvation of others, and the 
 
 spread of the gospel, they certainly act wrong. Thei 
 remnant hoth of Jews ami Gentiles promised; it is our privi- 
 lege to go forth and preach the gospel freely, leaving all in His 
 
 hands who has promised to give the inci 
 
 7. The mistakes and errors of those who have advo 
 this doctrine, arc urged against it and its defenders, as if a per- 
 son could not believe this truth without imbibing some error. 
 This is a piece of craft to attempt to frighten inquirers fi 
 by surrounding it with hideous companions. Have not all the 
 best and noblest truths been associated in the mind of man, 
 with the worst and most debasing errors?t Every sentiment 
 must stand or fall by itself, therefore let us try each by the 
 truth of God, and not discard any thing because Cerinthus 
 preached it, or fifth-monarchy men abused it. Has not every 
 doctrine been abused? Shall we cast away the doctrine of final 
 perseverance, because some who admired it have been licen- 
 tious? or that of sanctification, because some have talked about 
 perfection in the flesh? Oh no! neither must we this doctrine. 
 
 * I could easily fill pages with extracts from the writing of those 
 looking tor the Saviour to come quickly, disowning tin- charge. 1 
 most of them would cordially subscribe to the following sentiments. - T 
 the religious societies are serving an important purpose undei to 
 ot'God; that they are accomplishing the vision of the apocalyptic at 
 ing in the mid-t of heaven, having the i 
 that dwell on the earth; that they are appointed foi sealing, as] i 
 /mm. some of every nation, and kin. lied, and tongue, aDd people; and that they 
 are bearing witness for Christ, that he is Lord, so that he may I"- just 
 comes and judges. All tin-- I believe, and therefor* assist them with i 
 tributions, my prayers and my advocacy, and rejoice in theii so 
 grieved by the lalse,h my professed millenarian who doe 
 
 the same.' Bui to assign to them tin' instrumentality of bringin 
 lennium, I regard as a — A /■•"' r. 
 
 t "Satan has I to join serious error with revived truth. By this 
 
 means he sought to dis redit the early Protestants; and if men h i I 
 thi> artifice we should never have had the glorious Reformation. B 
 The same author strikingly i bsei •■■ , "Do hot be oi i bhoi d i i thj ri 
 
 TO wan II THI I 
 
 It is tin i "'. that is, the one which i- peculiarly im| 
 
 gen iration.and opposes the whole stream and current of men's ■ •, 
 simple testimony ol God's word, and therefore il ia the truth every where 
 spoken against.' A well-instructed Bible Christian will not b 
 this; and when be ha i ched the foundation 
 
 fied he has the word ol God to rest upon, will bear with the uin 
 the charges of the millenarian epidemic, a n 
 
 and a thousand other names by whirl, men will i l « Map ;i1 ' the** 
 
 truths, without 
 vol. in. — 23 
 
144 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 (even if all said about the professors of it were true) for as we 
 shall presently show, it is both an holy and consoling doctrine. 
 
 9. It is said, that for Christ to reign on earth, would be de- 
 grading to him. We reply, we believe that God considers it 
 otherwise; but I will answer this objection, by a quotation from 
 a small but valuable tract on this subject: "How comes it, my 
 brethren, that you so willingly allot that body of sin and death, 
 which is by nature so full of corruption, and all manner of 
 abominations, as the habitation of one Person in the blessed 
 Trinity; and so blindly contend, that the inanimate and uncon- 
 scious earth is alone so irremediably sunk under the curse, as 
 to be wholly incapable of being renewed into a fit and holy 
 habitation for the Divine presence in the second person in the 
 Trinity? In which, think ye, the power of God is most mani- 
 fest in regenerating the perverse heart to righteousness and 
 true holiness, by the working of the Holy Ghost; or effecting 
 a purification and redemption of the unresisting material world? 
 And when thus purified, Christ will be no more dishonoured 
 by dwelling here, than he was when he held familiar inter- 
 course with Adam, in the holy, happy bovvers of Eden. It 
 will be condescension but not dishonour." 
 
 Having done with objections, we now turn to the practical 
 tendencies and uses of this doctrine. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE PRACTICAL TENDENCY OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE COMING 
 AND KINGDOM OF CHRIST. 
 
 Whatever comes from God is holy, and tends towards holi- 
 ness. This holds particularly true, as it regards ''the glorious 
 gospel of the blessed God," which is most emphatically 
 called "your most holy faith." If then, this doctrine, which has 
 been set forth and defended, be of God, its tendencies must 
 be holy. The best way to show that this is really the case in 
 this instance, is to examine those parts of God's word where 
 it is mentioned, inquire what was the design of the Spirit in 
 bringing it forward, and search out, as far as we can, how it ope- 
 rated upon those to whom it was originally preached. Every 
 one who hath a Bible is able to try the doctrine by this test, 
 and therefore I shall only point out a few of the many scrip- 
 tures which refer thereto, and pass on to some further remarks. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. | j ;, 
 
 This subject is brought forward to biir up to forsake all for 
 Christ, and practise the painful duty of self-denial] Matt. \i\. 
 2S, 29. In Matt. xxiv. 48, and Luke xm. 96, it is used to in- 
 cite to watchfulness. In John vi. 89, 40, l L, the doctrine of 
 
 the resurrection is used as an encouragement to believe. And 
 
 in Acts iii. 19 — 91, the coming and kingdom of Christ, it 
 
 as a motive to repentance. In Rom. xiv. n>, and i Cor. v. 10, 
 
 the certainty of judgment to come is turned by Paul to practi- 
 cal account. In Heb. \ ..list's coming is used to stir 
 
 up God's people to persevere, to provoke one another Lo love 
 and good works. See also 2 Tim. iv. l, Titus ii. 11. J Pet. 
 iii. 10 — 14, and particularly the two epistles of Paul to the 
 Thessalonians; and "it is (as hath been well observed) worthy 
 of notice, that while in the second epistle, he places the event 
 of Christ's coming at its prophetical distance, he maintains 
 throughout the practical tendency of the expectatioi 
 Thess. i. 10, "We beseech you, brethren, by //'■ 
 Christ." 2 Thess. iii. 5, "The Lord direct your hearts 
 the patient waiting for Christ." 
 
 It may be said that many hold this doctrine without 
 influenced by it, or stirred up to watchfulness, diligent 
 prayer. The more is the pity. But is not this true as it i 
 other doctrines, which all confess are important? and th< 
 we must bear in mind that this doctrine will not \>r a fruitful 
 one unless it be rightly received. The question then is, W hat 
 is it to receive it rightly? In answering this question we shall 
 have occasion to notice the conduct of professors in relation to 
 this subject. Some there are who have floating and uni 
 notions' concerning it, and who take no pains to bring their 
 minds into the haven of truth; take no pains in asking God to 
 do it for them, though Jesus hath promised the Spirit ; 
 into all truth, and hath especially spoken of his showing " 
 to come." Which things, saith the apostle,' the (natui 
 hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor heart conceived; but God 
 hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit, who searcheth the 
 deep things of God, and makes known unto praying souls the 
 
 * "There are two duties incumbent on b sufficiently gifted m 
 ing to Christ's dispensation, in these times of imperfection 
 according to thai description in 2 Tim. iii. 16, and prophesymj 
 
 Cor \iv. -".>; by which latter, I mean tl splainmgol the prophecu 
 
 by comparing New with Old Testament predictions, or fulfi 
 
 filled Answerably with these, air twoduties incambeni on iht 
 
 first is edification in the faith, in tin-, world, which is the intent ol i 
 
 the second is expectation, or hope, of the blissful frail ol ihe world t 
 
 the next appearing of Chrisl and perfection of his kingdom; and thisis .the 
 
 genuine even. iphesying. Thus both duties lie u. 
 
 i,v a reciprocal relation! both nasi Be held forth by the faithful mm 
 
 both must be attended to and received by faithful peoph > » 
 
1 46 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 thoughts of the high and lofty One. Persons thus wavering on 
 this point sometimes think one thing concerning it, and some- 
 times another. One while they seem almost convinced, and 
 then again the Bible seems all confusion to them. They know 
 not whether they ought to expect a reign on earth or in hea- 
 ven. — whether the new Jerusalem, concerning which the pro- 
 mises say so much, relates to the gospel church, the millennial, 
 or heavenly state, — whether they are to expect more or less 
 than what is set forth, Rev. xxi. and xxii., more if it refers to 
 heaven, less if it refers to the gospel dispensation. All being 
 thus uncertain to them, they get no comfort therefrom, for solid 
 consolation cannot arise out of uncertain notions. If God has 
 so written as to be understood — if his promises are designed 
 to animate and comfort his people — and if they must be under- 
 stood before this can be the case, then are we highly repre- 
 hensible who do not seek to know his will. God's promises 
 are Yea and Amen in Christ Jesus; but, unless we study 
 Christ's person and work, particularly his first and second com- 
 ing, we shall not understand the promises; therefore does the 
 apostle thus pray for the church, "that the God of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit 
 of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; the eyes 
 of your understanding being enlightened: that ye may know 
 what is the hope of his calling, (Titus ii. 13,) and what the riches 
 of the glory of his inheritance in the saints," Eph. i. 17, 18. 
 The fact is, many persons do not give themselves the trouble 
 to examine the title deeds of that eternaHnheritance they pro- 
 fess to prize so much. It would almost seem as though they 
 ncted upon the sentiment, that as but seventy years are allotted 
 for earthly concerns, and an eternity for spiritual things, it 
 were true wisdom to devote most of our time here to earthly 
 and trifling things. I doubt not that there are many professing 
 Christians who never once read through their Bible with a 
 prayerful intention of finding out what the sacred pages said 
 about the coming and kingdom of Christ. It is a question if 
 they would have acted thus with regard to an earthly estate, 
 had the title deeds thereof been ten times as voluminous as the 
 Bible is. there is a sad indifference to what God hath pro- 
 mised! How little are we like the host of worthies spoken of 
 in Heb. xi. — '"They looked for a city which had foundations, 
 whose builder and maker is God." Ah! if we, like Enoch, 
 walked with God, the great thought with which our souls would 
 be filled, and to which our lips gave birth, would be, "Behold, 
 the Lord cometh!" 
 
 Professing Christians have many excuses ready at hand to 
 clear tbemselves from these charges. Some even think they 
 
OF OUB LORD JESUS CHRIST | rt 
 
 do well to neglect those things which belong unto us u partol 
 the revelation of God. ' They even pride th< pon it. 
 
 and think it is humility in them not "to meddle with t 
 too high lor them." This ig Q ot the spirit of a weaned child; 
 ah no! a weaned child leaves the milk lor Strong im at; hut too 
 many leave strong meat and milk also lor the husk 
 even worldly pursuits and the wain- of human opinions, It 
 is not humility to neglect that concerning which Cud hath said, 
 "Blessed is he that readeth," even those -lories t] i: ,t were 
 to follow Christ's Bufferings, "which the humble angels desire 
 to look into. It is not humility to he unacquainted with the 
 signs of the times, and to overlook those things which foretell 
 the coming of the Son of man. O professors! "awake to right- 
 eousness, and sin not'' by your neglect. You have time and 
 inclination to get gain, and add hundred to hundred: you have 
 time to read works of science, and works of imagination and 
 taste; but are content to remain ignorant of that which, truly 
 known, would animate, comfort, and strengthen x you. A g 
 part ol God's word is to you useless, because you have made up 
 your minds that it is not possible to understand it, even with 
 the aid of the promised Spirit. The excuses made I shall not 
 notice here; but only introduce a passage generally misapplied 
 by being used as an excuse for that line of conduct lately re- 
 prehended. "It doth not yet appear what we shall I ." 1 
 John iii. 2. This was no more designed to he a plea for 
 ranee than our Lord's words, "Without me ye can d 
 thing," were designed to be a pretext for laziness. Both have 
 been much abused. The apostle meant to say, Yon, who are now 
 sons of God, are not yet in the possession of all the dignity 
 and honour designed for you.t He did not mean to [ I 
 them from searching the word of God in order to find out par- 
 ticulars concerning future glorious things. Faith is not an 
 ignorant expectation of an unknown something; but "tl 
 stance of things hoped for, the evidence of things n< I - 
 The prize is seen by the presser on. The crown is eyed bj 
 the combatant. The rest is seen from Moab*s plains. -This, 
 
 * "By not attending to and keepu 
 blessing winch God hath proi i ii.7; and who i- so spiritually rich 
 
 as to be willing to lose one blessing-— 2?ic& 
 
 t "A careful consideration of the Greek text will, I think, sal 
 that the apostle means not to say thai it has sever I 
 be; seeinu that he himself also does declare il intl 
 we shall be hath Dot yet appeared (that is, the glorified <: 
 emplar, has not yet appeared); but that, when he shall aj 
 him." — Abdul's Essays. 
 
 Certainly the better the Beven promise* to the overcotner. Her. n and m.. 
 are understood (and these tell u> what we -hall be.) the more shall W< I 
 enced by them. 
 23* 
 
148 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 John tells us in the following words; "But we knoro that when 
 he shall appear we shall be like him, and see him as he is." 
 Now compare these words with various parallel passages that 
 relate to the same event, Matt. xix. 2S; 1 Cor. xv. ; Phil. iii. 
 10 — 14, and it will be manifest that, to the eye of the renewed 
 understanding, many of the coming glories will be revealed; 
 though, no doubt, all our expectations, thoughts, and desires, 
 will he far outdone. Though we may not in this world pos- 
 sess what we shall hereafter, when we shall be manifested as 
 the sons of God, (Rom. viii. 19,) yet may we have vivid per- 
 ceptions, and heart-warming and influential enjoyments thereof. 
 
 There are other persons who go rather farther than those I 
 have been describing; but who do not go far enough. They 
 are brought to a point, as it regards their judgment; but still 
 the subject does not take a prominent and influential station in 
 the soul. It does not engage their thoughts, elevate their de- 
 sires, animate their hopes, influence their pursuits, and draw 
 forth their love and praise as it ought to do.* This is holding 
 it as an opinion, not as a truth of God. This is assent — not be- 
 lieving with the heart. If the faith of many Christians in the 
 cross of Christ, produced no more effects than their faith in the 
 coming of Christ doth, they would certainly be damned; for it 
 would be a "faith without works." We must go further than 
 mere assent to derive benefit from this doctrine, or to be any 
 credit to it. We must see and feel that it is important, glorious, 
 and necessary. 
 
 To the real believer in the coming and kingdom of Christ, 
 this part of divine truth is a prominent part: he does not allow 
 it to push other subjects out of their places; but to him its 
 proper station appears to be an eminent one. It is not a non- 
 essential, and so it is important. In his eyes it sheds rays of 
 glory upon all other parts of truth, and so is it glorious. To 
 him the temple of truth is incomplete without it, and so it is 
 most necesary. He feels that this doctrine is designed for the 
 heart, in connexion with the head; and that it is divinely cal- 
 culated to comfort in sorrow — to raise up under dishonour — to 
 cheer in persecution — and to enliven in duty; in fine, that 
 whatsoever things are lovely, profitable, and of good report, are 
 nourished and cherished, by believing expectations of the glo- 
 rious appearing, infallible judgment, and righteous reign of the 
 great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. He who "thus believes 
 must speak," must contend for, rejoice in, and love this doc- 
 
 * "Nothing can be more awful than for a man to have a clear view of judg- 
 ments impending and glories ready to be revealed, and yet take no practical 
 steps for his own personal escaping from the wrath to come, and his own per- 
 sonal attainment of the promised blessedness." — BicJcerstelh. 
 
OP OUR LORD JESU8 CHRI8T | jt) 
 
 trine. Such a one seea that it affords much itutrm tion — pi 
 
 the interests of holiness — administers real and enduring consolation* 
 
 That doctrine, then, which as can be proved, is calculal 
 make us wise, holy } and happy, must needs be a practical one. 
 These three topics shall he the ground-work of a few more re- 
 marks to prove and illustrate the sentiment under discussion — 
 that to the real believer in Christ's coming. and kingdom) this 
 doctrine has a sanctifying influence. 
 
 1. It is calculated to make us true, in that it affords us much 
 instruction. Wisdom is strength, Wisdom is a source of 
 holy pleasure. If this doctrine be of Cod, and a truth ol his 
 word, then by neglecting it we not only rob ourselves of the 
 benefits of it, but we hide the lustre and mar the beauty of the 
 whole system ol' truth; for every part of God's revelation sheds 
 rays of beauty on the other parts. Neither is this all; for when, 
 with impious hands, we take away any thing God hath revealed, 
 we usually put something of our own in its place: and thus add 
 desecration to sacrilege. x 
 
 Among the many subjects which this doctrine sheds a steady 
 light upon, are the following: Creation is better una\ rsto </. and the 
 design uf God therein is math- more manifest to our admirin 
 and wondering hcarls. It takes ofl' the sentence of death from 
 the works of God, and annihilates annihilation. According to 
 the language of some, one would he ready to conclude that 
 creation was the sinner instead of man; hut let us recollect that 
 "it was made subject to vanity not willingly." The Psalmist 
 looked forward to a time when it should be otherwise, and 
 sings, "The Lord shall rejoice in his works: and in the fore- 
 view of this glorious time he breathes out this awful, but holy 
 and God-glorifying prayer, "Let the Bi oners be consumed 
 out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more," Paal. civ. 
 o5. The eloquence of the worlds on high, Psal. six., and 
 the harmony of creation below, fall with a tenfold sweetness 
 upon his ear who believes the words of Him who sits on the 
 throne, "Behold, I make all things new;" and who has ; 
 to look upon Him that speaks as the "Beginning of the crea- 
 tion of God;" as Him unto whom all shall he gathered _ 
 and made for ever firm and steadfast. 
 
 Providence is studied with more pleasure, and when not under- 
 stood submitted to with more ease, as m a n/< mplale I 
 that all things are working together to bring ah m. The child ol 
 God sees & perpetual motion, and an universal combination, tv\i» 
 things man's genius can never accomplish, bringing about real 
 and lasting good, (fruit natural men shall never gatht 
 those that love God, and are the called according 10 his pur- 
 pose, lie sees all things working: and though Opposite in their 
 
J 50 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 nature as fire and water, as sin and holiness, yet under His su- 
 perintendence, who works and none can let, they work together, 
 and that for good. With this knowledge the child of God is 
 satisfied, for we k?iow it; and he sings with Paul, "0 the depth 
 of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" 
 How great does he appear who overrules the entrance of sin, 
 the malice of hell, the enmity of man, the unbelief and cast- 
 ing off of the Jews, the apostacy and judgment of the Gen- 
 tiles, for the manifestation of his own glory, the good of his 
 people, and the stability of the works of his hands. 
 
 Many parts of God's word are more fully understood by those who 
 receive this doctrine than by those who reject it. Wrong concep- 
 tions of any one revealed truth of God lead to a misunder- 
 standing of many parts of the Bible. For instance, if persons 
 reject the doctrine of Christ's proper divinity, how many hun- 
 dreds of passages must they mutilate, wrest, and misapply! It 
 is the same with the doctrine in question; and I do again af- 
 firm, that by receiving it, hundreds of passages have an easy 
 and satisfactory interpretation, which if it be denied must be 
 tortured and abused; or else, which is frequently the case, 
 wholly neglected. Well has Mr. Marsh written when he says, 
 "Scripture is the great instrument of enlightening, renewing, 
 and comforting man. Whatever, therefore, gives me an in- 
 creasing delight in Scripture, I regard as a blessing from above. 
 I am therefore thankful for this view of prophecy, as casting 
 considerable light on a large portion of the word of God." We 
 live in an age when the word of God is much neglected and 
 little understood, though Bibles are (God be praised!) very 
 plentiful. A few favourite texts are reiterated by preachers 
 and hearers, a system is constructed, and the rest of the Bible 
 little alluded to. This is one grand reason of the rejection of 
 the doctrine of Christ's pre-millennial advent and kingdom. 
 This doctrine runs like a vein from Genesis to revelation. Re- 
 ject it, and the Bible becomes misunderstood. This holds 
 particularly true of the Book of Psalms and the writings of 
 the prophets. You may cull out a text here and there; but 
 the design of God is not traced by those who reject this doc- 
 trine. Take it along with us, believe the simple and oft-re- 
 peated fact, that Christ will come personally to set up a king- 
 dom upon earth, and to be the Shiloh of the Jews, and hundreds 
 of passages are easily and clearly opened up. He that hath 
 the key of David opens to us the Scriptures; we see that they 
 refer to the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should fol- 
 low, and our hearts begin to burn while the sacred page tells 
 forth the lofty theme of Messiah's glory, the saints' dominion, 
 Israel's prosperity, and the earth's blessedness. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ] ;, 1 
 
 Viewed in the light pf this doctrine, how hideout doth tin ap- 
 pear, how exceeding sinful doth it become! As the eye glances 
 along the various dispensations with which divine mercy hath 
 favoured the world, how doth man's incorrigible wicki 
 appear! and sin's awful features glare horribly in the light of 
 those fiery judgments which ii draws forth from the (r< 
 of eternal justice. We see how. hateful sin is to God; and 
 how infinite love, wrath, and power all Combine In drive it out 
 from God's creation. With a voice of thunder we may bear 
 those words repealed. Fear to sin. In characters of fire we 
 may read emblazoned, Ft <n- to sin. The crash of empires^ and 
 the groans of the damned, loudly, audibly, say. Fear ' tin! 
 
 On the other hand, how gloriously doth redemption shine, how 
 vast doth that love appear which gave birth 1o it, and how effi- 
 cacious is Christ's blood seen to he, which cleanses and saves 
 so many lost souls! This subject filled the prophet's mind 
 with rapturous wonder, and he seems to antedate the .song of 
 the redeemed as he says, "Sing. ye heavens, for the Lord 
 hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth 
 into singing, ye mountains, forest and every tree therein: 
 for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in 
 Israel." 
 
 Further — right views of tin coming dispensation exhibit the na- 
 ture of the present one, and by showing us the connexion be- 
 tween the gospel state and the future age, stir us up to improve 
 the present, and to act continually with a view to that glory 
 which is to be revealed. We learn, with regard to the present 
 dispensation, that sovereign and eternal election is the foun- 
 tain-head of all blessings, and that the Holy Spirit is the ope- 
 rator through all ages, and in all persons who arc Baved by the 
 gospel. We are bidden to take heed, lest in dwelling upon 
 the glories of the future state, we overlook, the duties of the 
 present; lest in looking forward for paradise we forget the 
 vineyard we are. now called to work in: since there were some 
 of old who knew the powers of the world to come, and yet fell 
 away, and shall never enjoy the blessedness of those who have 
 part in the first resurrection. It tells u^ that glory and honour 
 hereafter will only follow upon faithfulness and devoti 
 now, and that the reward will be proportioned to the ! 
 and the spirit in which, and the motives from which, it was 
 done. He that gained ten talents had ten eitiesj, And the 
 apostle says, 1 Cor. iii. 8, "Every man shall receive his own 
 reward, according to his own labour." These things doubtless 
 have a particular reference to the ministers of the gospel: but 
 nevertheless, the word of Cod warrants our addressing to ill 
 believers, as well as to them, the words of Peter: " u 
 
152 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 fore the rather, brethren, give all diligence to make your call- 
 ing and election sure: for if ye do these things ye shall never 
 fall: for so an entrance shall be administered unto you abun- 
 dantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 Right vie7vs of this subject will instruct tis to be very anxious to 
 glorify the Holy Spirit, seeing this is the dispensation in which 
 he is more particularly concerned, hence called "the ministra- 
 tion of the Spirit." True, in the future age there will no doubt 
 be still larger bestowments of the Spirit; but then there will 
 be the personal presence of Christ, which now we have not, 
 and are therefore called upon to walk by faith. Prize the 
 Spirit's influence; give him all the glory of all you know, feel, 
 or do, as far as it is honouring to God. Fear to quench him; 
 fear to grieve him "by whom you are sealed to the day of re- 
 demption." And that every professor who reads these lines 
 would well weigh over the case of the foolish virgins, and 
 strictly examine themselves whether they have communion 
 with the Spirit in his gracious and saving offices. 
 
 Another point in which we are instructed is, how to use this 
 present world. Surely, if these things- are so, we may well take 
 up the words of the apostle, 1 Cor. vii. 29 — 31. Alas! many 
 professors are cleaving very fast to perishables, and looking 
 very steadily to the things that are seen. Their spirit, their 
 conduct says, concerning this world, "This is my rest, — here 
 would I dwell." No wonder such slight this doctrine, which 
 tells them that they are not sure but that m a moment the com- 
 ing of Christ may overturn their schemes, melt their riches, and 
 degrade their honour in the dust.. Whereas, to those who be- 
 lieve this doctrine, this consideration is most awakening, for it 
 tells them "it is high time to awake out of sleep, — to cast off 
 the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light, — for 
 now is our salvation nearer than when we believed." 
 
 Future judgment is much better understood when viewed in the 
 light we have described. Instead of being compressed into a pe- 
 riod shorter than would serve for an earthly assize, instead of 
 being likened to a mere judicial process, the subject stands 
 forth in awful and awakening grandeur. We see the judgment 
 of the quick at Christ's coming, in the various displays of his 
 vengeance toward his enemies upon earth; thus ruling them 
 with a rod of iron, Psal. ii. Rev. xix. We see the judgment 
 of the saints, in that they have to give an account, 2 Cor. v. 
 10; Rom. xiv. 10, to "stand before the judgment seat of Christ," 
 are rewarded according to their works; while they are all 
 justified by grace, and owe all their blessedness to unbounded 
 mercy. W T e see judgment administered on earth during 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIS P 
 
 I .<■> 
 
 nnnr l ni e 1r in ri « ht !^ 8nc "i : ""1 finally,the grand winding 
 up oi all by Him who 8 ,ts on the white throne, and who .djudgei 
 
 the serpent and Ins seed to eternal woe. .Matt xix B7 g 
 
 shows us that the judgment is not that transient an B ome would 
 
 make .t out to he, hut a time of victory and government, as 
 
 alsool triumph and reward, both to Christ and his servants 
 
 We may observe the same of Luke mm M II 
 
 left behind, when others are taken in; both tl i 
 
 ier to the same time 
 
 >ehind, when others are taken in; both tl passages 
 
 same time and event as the pan virgins 
 
 (Matt, xxv.): they help to explain it. and are explained by it. 
 
 To add no more under the head of instruction, I observed 
 t.ic divine character appears very gl rious in conn, don with I , 
 trine. "When the Lord builds up Zion, he will appear in hi. 
 glory. Through the risen, reigning God-man the whole of 
 
 Deity will shine lorth, as far as the objects of divine favour 
 Will be able to bear the sight. This will be -the dav of the 
 Son of man" Then "will he be glorified, and God be glori- 
 fied in him.' Millions of tongues shall then sing »0 Lord, 
 our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!" I mi K ht 
 also show that this subject in its progress, as well as comple- 
 tion, manifests forth the glorious attributes of the high and 
 lofty One. Human guilt preaches his patience— sinners' pun- 
 ishment his justice— their salvation his mercy— and their reward 
 his grace,— while the whole exhibits his wisdom, holiness, and 
 faithfulness. 
 
 II. A belief in this doctrine promotes the interests of true 
 holiness. Its tendency is, when rightly believed, to make all 
 believers in it holy. Truth is the great friend of holiness. Our 
 Lord prayed to his heavenly Father, "Sanctify them through 
 thy truth." It follows, then, that whoever takes away any 
 part of God's truth or attempts to diminish the importance 
 thereof, opposes the interests of holiness This may be done 
 undesignedly; but it is really done. If, then, the coming of 
 Christ before his. kingdom, the first resurrection, and the saint's 
 reign on earth, be any part of God's revelation, their those 
 who deny them, who leave them out, or who neglect to search 
 concerning them, are guilty of this. For my own par!, I am 
 persuaded, that the generally received opinion that Christ will 
 not come again, at least for many hundred yens, has had a 
 carnalizing, yea, a demoralizing tendency. This ..pinion hath 
 dimmed the eye of hope, and diminished the motives to watch- 
 fulness, put death in the room of the resurrection, and i 
 the last harmonious words of Jesus, -Behold. 1 come quickly," 
 to grate on many an ear. 
 
 As 1 have endeavoured throughout to treat the subject prac- 
 tically, I shall now content myself with four brief remarks i:i 
 
|54 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 proof of the holy tendency of the doctrine advocated. This 
 will appear if we consider, 
 
 1. That it uniformly shozcs sin to be the parent of misery, and 
 proves that holiness is productive of happiness. This is exhi- 
 bited on a grand scale, though a long period, under various dis- 
 pensations, and illustrated and confirmed by terrible and glo- 
 rious examples. Of this I have spoken before; and therefore 
 only observe, that he who neglects the study of prophec} 1- re- 
 fuses to listen to that heavenly commentator, by whom he may 
 be led to see that sin is evil and bitter, and holiness profitable 
 and sweet. I may fearlessly challenge any one to prove, that 
 the view of prophecy pleaded for, in any one instance, justifies, 
 or extenuates sin, or injures the interests of practical godli- 
 ness. 
 
 2. That it descends to all distinct classes of character, and if 
 rightly understood, says something practical to them all. 
 Though this ample subject embraces empires and kingdoms, 
 yea, worlds, yet it doth not deal only in generals, but it pours 
 its wholesome strains in every ear, and knocks at every heart. 
 Though it embraces all time, yea, eternity — yet it advises us 
 concerning our moments. While it directs the man on whose 
 nod thousands depend, to look forward to a time of account, it 
 rings in the conscience of the most despised mortal — You, too, 
 are responsible; you have some talent for which you will have to give 
 an account. I might easily prove from the word of God, how 
 exhortations and warnings to different characters are grounded 
 on these solemn things. Are ministers exhorted to preach the 
 word? the motive urged is the coming and kingdom of Christ, 
 2 Tim. iv. 1,2; so the rich are encouraged to give, 1 Tim. vi. 
 18, 19; because there is a glorious state of reward to come, 
 when these acts will be remembered, rehearsed, and rewarded, 
 Matt. xxv. The talented are stirring up to labour, (Matt. xxv. 
 28, 29,) from the consideration of a day of account. In short, 
 denial of self, non-conformity to the world, mortification of 
 sin, and generous feelings and conduct, will thrive in that bo- 
 som who truly believes this doctrine; see Phil. iii. 20, 21; 
 Col. iii. 4, 5; 1 Thess. iii. 13; v. 4, 5; Tit. ii. 11—13; Heb. 
 x. 3G, 37; James v. 7, 8; 1 Pet. i. 6, 7, 13; iv. 12, 13; Rev. 
 xvi. 15. 
 
 3. That it is suited above all others to excite to watchfulness and 
 prayer — to stir up to self-examination, and desires after sincerity of 
 heart. A great part of practical religion is included in our 
 Lord's direction, "Watch and pray." It cannot but have 
 struck us how he grounds nearly all his exhortations thereto 
 upon the consideration of his second glorious coming. The 
 certainly of the fact, and the uncertainty of the time, are, by 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST | 55 
 
 him, placed in a most commanding view, Matt xxiv. U; 
 Mark xiii. 37; Lukexi . kxi. 34— 36. Pelei follows 
 
 in his Lord's steps, 2 Pet. iii., -What manner of p< 
 ye to be!" "Seeing ye look for such things, be diligent" 
 These words need no comment; they are plain and forcible. 
 Whoso likely to he watchful as they who daily expert their 
 Lord's coming? Who so prayerful as those who look 1 
 great things at his coming? Who so diligent as those who 
 rightly understand the nature of his rewards? Who so anxious 
 to be sincere as those who believe they are living in 
 times wherein the wise and foolish virgins arc slumbering to- 
 gether? And who will examine themselves so rigidly BG 
 who feel the import of their Lord's words. When Ihe S 
 man cometh, shall he find faith in the earth? 
 
 Lastly. The practical tendency of this doctrine 
 we consider the various ways in which it appeals to us. It as- 
 saults us with holy importunity on all sides. It would fain 
 touch every feeling and faculty of our nature. It appeals to 
 our hopes by its excellency — to our fears by its terrors — to our 
 imaginatio7i by its brilliancy — to our affections by its greatness 
 — to our tastes by its high delights — to our self-love by its re- 
 wards. Hard is the heart which it moves not, if once it gains 
 access to the understanding; and therefore doth the prince of 
 this world endeavour to blind the eyes, that it might not be 
 seen, and to prejudice the heart, that the thoughts might not 
 entertain it. 
 
 III. This subject yields much co?isolation, and so is calculated 
 to make us happy. Steady, perspicuous, and believing views 
 of divine things, can alone afford comfort to a guilt-stricken 
 heart, and a sorrowful spirit. These views now contended lor, 
 have yielded consolation to thousands. The primitive martyrs 
 armed themselves with such thoughts, and so went boldly 
 through reproach, sufferings, and death. It hath the sai. 
 hilarating tendency now-, under trials of a different natui 
 persecuted, the Christian considers the kingdom of heaven pro- 
 mised to such. If earthly good things vanish, he considers 
 that "he has in heaven a better, and an enduring substance." 
 If providences arc dark, he thinks of that time when all will be 
 cleared up. If his honours on earth fade, he recollects that the 
 redeemed of the Lord are soon to he manifested as king 
 priests. If sickness invades his frame, he anticipates with joy 
 the healthful air of the new Jerusalem, and the freshening vir- 
 tues of life's broad stream. When temptations annoy, I 
 ditatcs on the promises made to the overcomcr, and gir 
 armour round him. Thus, amidst all his trials 
 
 vol. in. — 2 1 
 
156 THE COMING AND KINGDOM 
 
 "Cheerful he treads the desert through, 
 While faith inspires a heavenly ray." 
 
 Thus is the expecting Christian associated in his high and glo- 
 rious hopes with those saints of old, who looked forward to the 
 day of Christ, as the crowning of all their hopes (mark! not 
 so much the day of death, as the day of Christ.) Yes, the ap- 
 pearing of Christ, and the resurrection of the body, was that 
 on which they dwelt with Divine enthusiasm. Amidst pain- 
 ful bereavements and heart-rending separations — amidst disap- 
 pointed hopes and darkened prospects, as it regards earthly 
 things, how sweet the anticipation of being associated with 
 nobler friends and beholding brighter prospects, than ever we 
 possessed or beheld on earth. How cheering the hope, amidst 
 the din of war — the shouts of false joy — the yell of idolatry — 
 and the groans of creation — to hope, and firmly to believe, that 
 a period is hasting, when peace shall stretch its shady wings 
 over the sons of men, when rivers of joy shall water this vale 
 of tears, when cherubim to cherubim shall cry, "Holy, Holy, 
 Holy, is the Lord God of Hosts; the whole earth is 
 full of his glory," and "when every creature that is in hea- 
 ven, and on the earth, arid under the earth, and such as are in 
 the sea, and all that are in them, shall be heard to say, Bless- 
 ing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sit- 
 teth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever," 
 Rev. v. 13. 
 
 And now, my dear friends, in winding up these thoughts, 
 what will you say to these things? Will you say that they are 
 comparatively unimportant! What! is that unimportant and 
 non-essential which relates to the glory of'Christ — which is the 
 ultimate end of his setting up from eternity— his time-humili- 
 ation, his triumphs — and his present session at God's right 
 hand? that unimportant which prophets sung of, and which 
 apostles gloried in? Consider once more, what God says con- 
 cerning it. "Blessed is he thatreadeth, and they that hear the 
 words of this prophecy." Surely you will not object to the 
 trouble connected with an investigation into this subject, when 
 so many lavish away weeks and months on earthly and trivial 
 things. Will you say there are many difficulties attending it? 
 Well, throw not away the grand outline, because you cannot 
 fill it up to your mind; refuse not to know any thing, because 
 you cannot know all. Do you say, the diversity of opinion on 
 the subject hinders you from studying it? Might we not say 
 the same of most subjects of faith and order, concerning which 
 you profess to think for yourself? But I trust you will not 
 thus object, but will search God's word for yourself, and earn- 
 estly pray to be led into the mind of the Spirit on this part of it. 
 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRI8 r |.',7 
 
 "The meek shall he guide in judgment, the meek shall ho 
 teach his way." He who so kindly instructed his disciples in 
 the days of his flesh, concerning his future coming, will still 
 as kindly teach all who are willing to sit ;it his J » learn 
 
 of him. The second coming of Christ, and the glory that 
 shall follow thereupon, is a suhject which is evidently 
 the heart of the Saviour, and it becomes us to seek fellowship 
 with him, in these his high expectations. The more atten- 
 tively and reverently we listen to the words of Jesus, Ihe 
 shall we follow him, and the more ardently shall we love him, 
 John x. 27; and while all the words of Jesus claim our fixed 
 attention and entire submission, there arc some which should 
 be peculiarly dear to us. His voice of exulting love in the 
 prospect of coming to work out redemption, "Lo, I come!** 
 Psal. xl. His words of yearning mercy to the wretched, "(Some 
 unto me," Matt. xi. 28. His sweet as>urance to the trembling, 
 fearful soul, "Him that cometh I will in no wise cast out," 
 John vi. 37. His dying, but triumphant shout, "It is finished!" 
 John xix. 30. His resurrection salutation, "All hail!" His 
 claims on the loving heart, "Feed my Lambs," "Follow thou 
 me," John xxi. His animating words to the conflicting soul, 
 "Him that overcometh," seven times repeated, with seven pro- 
 mises all containing blessings annexed; and last (not least), his 
 sweet parting promise to the waiting soul, his last love mes- 
 sage to his redeemed church, "I come quickly," Rev. xxi. 21. 
 if these words were heartily believed, and constantly mused 
 upon, how holy, how peaceful, how diligent and hopeful should 
 we be! We should walk in the light, as God is in the light; 
 and while thus looking at the things not seen, we should prove 
 that the inner man is renewed day by day, and that this light 
 affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh out for 
 more exceeding and eternal weight of glory," 2 Cor. iv. 17, IS. 
 Whether the readers of these remarks agree with the writer 
 or not, his parting prayer for them is, and he beseeches them 
 thus to remember him — "That our God would account them 
 worthy of this calling (see ver. 10,) and fulfil in them aU the 
 good pleasure of this goodness, and the work of faith with 
 power; that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glori- 
 fied in them, and they in him; according to the grace of our 
 God, and the Lord Jesus," 2 Thcss. i. 11, 12.