LIBRARY ' 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
 Prom the collection of 
 Julius Doerner, Chicago 
 Purchased, 1918. 
 
 2.31 , 
 
J 
 
THE 
 
 SAINTS' INHEEITANCE; 
 
 OB, 
 
 THE WORLD TO COME. 
 
 HENRY F. HILL. 
 
 GENE SB O, N. T. 
 
 **Aiid He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, 1 make all things new." 
 
 JB£v. xxi a. 
 
 BIXTH EDITION. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 DAMRELL AND MOORE, PRINTERS, 
 16 Devonshire Street. 
 1861. 
 
Entkred, according *o Act of Gongretfi. in the yeu 1852, by 
 HENRY F. HILL, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southerm District of New York 
 
231 ^ 
 
 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 This volume originated in a desire of awakening a lively and 
 more devout interest in the study of the Bible, and in the 
 fact that the deeply interesting Bible truths made prominent 
 m its pages are now generally neglected, and in a great 
 measure lost sight of by the church. Yet these very truths 
 were, in ages gone by, deemed of vital importance in sustain- 
 ing Christians in all their trials and persecutions. These 
 two are deemed sufficient reasons for bringing this work 
 before the public. 
 
 The doctrine that this earth, instead of being annihilated, 
 will, at the great consummation, be restored to its Eden 
 state, or made even far more glorious, and become the resi- 
 dence of the saints, has never been deemed heresy by the 
 church, or esteemed even by its opponents an essential error. 
 Though this doctrine has been made from the earliest times, 
 and, in every age, more or less prominent, yet, because of its' 
 present neglect, all that has been advanced in its support is 
 carefully proved from the word of God. This is the reason 
 for the frequent quotations from the Bible. 
 
 If the reading of these pages remove the cause of the com- 
 plamt of a want of interest in studying the Bible, so deeply felt 
 and deplored by many Christians, the labor of writing them 
 will be well rewarded. Should there be such an interest 
 awakened as to induce some able pen to do the subject jus- 
 tice, all will be accomplished that can be desired by the 
 I s ^ O O p ^ ^TTifOR. 
 
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 This volume received in its first edition so/avorable notice 
 from many, and among them those esteemed men of the 
 greatest discernment, learning, and piety, that the author 
 in gratitude, and to increase its value, has labored to secure 
 as many corrections as the existing circumstances of the 
 work will warrant. The rapid sale of the book furnishes an 
 additional reason of gratitude. 
 
 To enable the reader to compare with the sentiments of 
 this book the opinions of some of the leading men in the 
 church, there has been added another chapter, chiefly of 
 extracts from the following authors : The late Rev. Edward 
 D. Griffin, D.D., President of Williams College ; Rev. Ed- 
 ward Hitchcock, D.D., LL.D., President of Amherst College; 
 Rev. John Pye Smith, D.D., Rev. E. W. Hengstenburg, D.D., 
 Rev. A. Tholuck, D.D., Professor of Theology in the Uni- 
 versity of Halle, Germany ; Rev. George Campbell, D.D., of 
 the Presbyterian church, Scotland ; Rev. John Gill, D.D., of 
 the Baptist church, England ; Wesley and JLuther. In the 
 introductory chapter will be found quotations from Chalmers, 
 Cumming, Calvin, Knox, and Bunyan. The above authors 
 have not been quoted as proof of the doctrine advocated, 
 the testimony is drawn alone from the word of God; but 
 that the reader may know, in these days of isms^ that, though 
 the sentiment of this book may seem new, yet it is not the 
 offshoot of some modern theology, that it is no new and 
 unrecognised idea, but a doctrine long cherished and advo- 
 cated in the church by theologians eminent for deep-toned 
 [)iety and profound knowledge of religious truth as developed 
 in the Holy Scriptures, that this earth when renewed will be 
 made the residence of King Messiah and the glorious hom« 
 >f all his people. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. I. Introductory, 1 
 
 11. The Millennium, 20 
 
 IIL The Millennium, continued, 25 
 
 IV. Satan Loosed — Gog and Magog, .... 87 
 V. The Preaching of Peace a Snare to the Jewish 
 
 Church, 60 
 
 VL The Preaching of Peace a Snare to the Chris- 
 tian Church, 58 
 
 VII. The Earth Promised to Christ as a Possession, . 72 
 
 VIII. The Location of the Inheritance of the Saints, 83 
 *IX. The Second Adam, 94 
 
 X. The Earth Renewed, 103 
 
 XL The Two Houses of Israel, 113 
 
 XII. The Test or Standand by which to try all Re- 
 ligious Teaching, and the way to know the 
 
 T^th, 184 
 
 Xni. Christ to Reign Personally on the Earth, . 148 
 XIV. When Christ Reigns on Earth his Subjects will 
 
 BE Immortal, 15S 
 
 XV. Christ's Reign continued — his Kingdom to be 
 
 without end, 16ft 
 
 XVL Infants Lawful Heirs of the Inheritance, . . 17 9 
 
 XVII. Ministry of Angels, 19^ 
 
 XVIIL l^o Covenants or Promises to Jews more than 
 
 TO Gentiles, 21$ 
 
 yiY. The House of Mansions above — the Holy Ciit 
 
 TO COME, 239 
 
 XX. Extracts concerning the Final Residence of the 
 
 Saints 249 
 
THE 
 
 SAINTS INHERITANCE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth." 
 
 John xviL lY. 
 
 The glories of the inheritance of the saints, those 
 great things in reserve for the people of God, the 
 annals of eternity can alone fully unfold/ Yet God 
 has revealed concerning that heavenly kingdom 
 much more than is generally taught or believed ; 
 and whatever he has been pleased to make known 
 must be deeply interesting to all who hope to have 
 part in that inheritance. 
 
 The /Children of God have often been permitted 
 to climb as high, morally, to view, through faith in 
 those " exceeding great and precious promises,'^ the 
 glory of God in their inheritance, as Moses on 
 Mount Pisgah, to view the land of Canaan. Those 
 heavenly promises were given that our hearts might 
 be sanctified by dwelling on them, that our affections 
 might be won from those things that perish. 
 
 " But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear 
 
8 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, 
 the things which God hath prepared for them that 
 love him." — 1 Cor. ii. 9. 
 
 This text is sometimes quoted as proof that nothing 
 has been revealed of that heavenly state, that here 
 we have no conception of those immortal joys ; but 
 the context shows that in this verse the Apostle was 
 speaking of the natural man, and the following verse 
 teaches the very opposite, of the believer. " But God 
 hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit ; for the 
 Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of 
 God." "But the natural man receiveth not the 
 things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness 
 unto him ; neither can he know them because they 
 are spiritually discerned." We see, therefore, that 
 God does permit believers to discern in those pre- 
 cious promises, at least, " as through a glass darkly," 
 those joys which cluster around that heavenly coun- 
 try, where they shall mingle with all the pure and 
 the good who have ever graced the earth, beyond 
 the tilne of toil, pain, and death. Thus he awakens 
 anew the energies of the soul while they are engaged 
 in his service, by the prospect of that great salvation. 
 
 Speak of the heavenly state in general terms, and 
 all are well pleased, perhaps the adversary would 
 have no objection ; but be particular, make it a 
 reality, talk ^of " the redemption of the purchased 
 possession," tell them that "the whole creation 
 groaneth, and travaileth in pain together until now," 
 — of " the restitution of all things," — of " the new 
 heavens and the new earth, wherein dwellcth right- 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 9 
 
 eousness/^ — of the voice of the Eternal, saying, " be- 
 hold I make all things new,'^ — that " there shall be no 
 more curse," and many object to the investigation ; 
 they are satisfied with knowing that heaven is a 
 good place. 
 
 But the above truths, fully exhibited, make the 
 inheritance of the saints a reality to the believer, a 
 place that may be inhabited ; and a tangibility is 
 given for his faith, making it truly " the substance 
 of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." 
 
 Christians who neglect this subject, lose its ener- ^ 
 gizing influence, designed to nerve them while in 
 probation, to urge them onward in their pilgrimage, 
 to sanctify and prepare them for that abode. "It 
 is given unto you to know the mysteries of the king- 
 dom of heaven," said Jesus to his disciples. Can it 
 be that God has revealed that which is not worth 
 the attention of his children? "All Scripture is 
 given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for 
 doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction 
 in righteousness ; that the man of God may be per- 
 fect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 
 Truly, " secret things belong unto the Lord our God ; 
 but those things which are revealed belong unto us, 
 and to our children for ever." 
 
 As the knowledge of one science aids in obtaining 
 that of another, so also the subjects which God has 
 revealed are intimately connected, and mutually shed 
 light on each other. 
 
 " Sanctify them through thy truth ; thy word is 
 truth," is the blessing which Jesus invoked on all 
 
 1* 
 
10 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 believers as he was about to leave this world. Who- 
 ever therefore neglects any of these truths, not only 
 dishonors God, but robs his own soul, especially if he 
 neglects a subject about which God has revealed so 
 much as concerning the one before us. 
 
 Men are not indifferent in regard to a temporal 
 inheritance ; and they are considered wise who gain 
 all the information in their power concerning a 
 country to which they would journey to make it 
 their home for life. How deeply interested then 
 should the Christian be with his everlasting inherit- 
 ance? In receiving it all his hopes are consum- 
 mated. 
 
 The faculties of the mind are not to perish with 
 this mortal life ; should they, our identity would be 
 lost. That indescribable love of home planted in the 
 human heart by the Author of our being, rendering 
 even trivial things around the homestead sacred and 
 endearing, filling the very name of home with sweet- 
 ness, will not only live, but increase in the resurrec- 
 tion state, endearing and consecrating the blessings 
 of that inheritance, filling with love and sweetness 
 the eternal home of the redeemed. 
 
 With what jealous care we guard those plants 
 of beauty, and trees of ornament, which perhaps 
 called the united counsel of the family to arrange 
 in setting : with pleasure we nourish them ; our joys 
 increase with their growth ; when they bud, blossom, 
 and spread forth their beauty and their fragrance, 
 our pleasures are still heightened, and the inclosure 
 becomes an Eden where no careless foot may tread, 
 
INTRODUCTORV. 
 
 11 
 
 where no destroyer may enter. What sacred joy 
 arises in the family as under their fostering care 
 they see the homestead improve, becoming more and 
 more beautiful. 
 
 Who can walk out on this earth of ours in the 
 spring-time of her beauty, with her carpet of green 
 under his feet, with her vegetation arrayed in its 
 royal garments, and inhale the sweetness of her 
 flowers, without rejoicing with gratitude in the work 
 of the Author ? 
 
 But when we learn in the word of God that 
 although thus beautiful, it is greatly degenerated 
 from its pristine glory, that it is full of corruption, 
 and groaning under the curse of sin, as well as its 
 inhabitants ; and that it is doomed to death, to be 
 burned ; our joy is turned to sorrow ; but when we 
 learn still more by those " precious promises," that 
 its death is not eternal ; that Jesus, the second 
 Adam, has " purchased the possession," and promised 
 for it a " redemption," a " restitution," when he will 
 make it as in its original beauty, " when the morning 
 stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted 
 for joy ;" even as much more glorious as the second 
 Adam is greater and more glorious than the first. 
 And still farther ; when we learn that those to whom 
 it was originally given, who have been adopted into 
 the family of the second Adam, are under him to 
 have it again, when he shall raise them from tlie 
 dead, and that their inheritance shall put on such 
 excellent beauty under his fostering care, when he 
 shall "make the place of his feet glorious," oui 
 
12 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 sorrow is turned again to rejoicing, will not the 
 holy family of the second Adam in that day shout 
 for joy still more loudly than the sons of God 
 at its creation ? 
 
 If so much love and pleasure cluster around 
 our temporal home, and such beauty shines in thia 
 corrupted earth, what will be our joy when He shall 
 Bet his hand again to beautify the earth, and shall 
 make it our everlasting inheritance ; shedding uni- 
 versal and unfading beauty throughout the renovated 
 world. " For ye shall go out with joy ; and be led 
 forth with peace : the mountains and the hills shall 
 break forth before you into singing, and all the trees 
 of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the 
 thorn shall come up the fir-tree, instead of the brier 
 shall come up the myrtle-tree : and it shall be to the 
 Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign IJaat shall 
 not be cut off.'' This is no fancy sketch, but a part 
 of that word of prophecy, of which Jesus said, " Not 
 one jot or tittle shall in any wise fail." In accom- 
 plishing which he will obliterate every trace of the 
 fall, so that nothing shall hurt or destroy in all 
 God's holy mountain. " The wilderness and the 
 solitary place shall be glad for them ; and the desert 
 shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall 
 blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and 
 • singing : the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto 
 it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall 
 see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our 
 God." 
 
 The object of our Lord's incarnation was to wrest 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 13 
 
 from the "Prince of Darkness" the kingship of this 
 world ; to cast him out of the possession ; to take 
 the prey from the mighty, and to deliver man the 
 captive, and to restore to him that inheritance 
 which he lost by the fall. But it is not yet accom- 
 plished. Truly, " He was delivered for our ofl'ences, 
 and raised again for our justification. Therefore, 
 being justified by faith, we have peace with God 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ." He has efi'ected 
 that much towards our redemption, and he has given 
 an Earnest," or a Pledge for the balance. The con- 
 sequences of sin are not yet removed. The believer 
 is yet under the sentence of death. The ashes of the 
 saints and martyrs are still mingling in the dust, and 
 their redemption will not be completed till he brings 
 them soul and body into that inheritance. And now 
 if he redeem not the pledge, the Christianas hope will 
 never be consummated ; therefore we stand by faith, 
 and if we die, we must die in the faith, if our hope is 
 ever consummated. But he who has promised is able 
 to fulfil, says the Apostle. " For I know whom I 
 have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to 
 keep that which I have committed unto him against 
 that day." The Pledge which he has given is truly 
 worthy of Him who gave it. " In whom ye also 
 trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the 
 gospel of your salvation : in whom after that ye 
 believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of 
 promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance 
 until the redemption of the purchased possession, 
 unto the praise of his glory," Eph. i. 13, 14. Our 
 
14 
 
 THE SAINTS' INHERITANCE. 
 
 Earnest then, or Pledge, is, that Holy Spirit of pro- 
 mise, the promised Comforter. Said Jesus, " If I go 
 away I will send you the Comforter.^' When we 
 believe, we are sealed with that promised Holy 
 Spirit, who is our Earnest or Pledge till the redemp- 
 tion of the purchased possession. What an Earnest 
 He has given ! Sealed with the signet of Heaven ; 
 by the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost ; who is 
 given as our Earnest ; the inheritance is sure. 
 " Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is 
 none of his,'' says the Apostle. "But if the Spirit 
 of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell 
 in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall 
 also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit which 
 dwelleth in you." That Earnest, the Holy Spirit 
 given, is to quicken, to make alive, to raise us from 
 the dead, and beautify us with salvation, that we 
 may take possession of our inheritance. 
 
 There is so much power in the glory of that 
 heavenly country when only seen as "through a 
 glass darkly," or, by faith, that the highest honor 
 of kings and all their glory fades before it. "By 
 faith Moses, when he had come to years, refused to 
 be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter ; choosing 
 rather to suffer affliction with the people of God 
 than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season ; 
 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than 
 the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the 
 recompense of the reward." 
 
 We should love God for what he is ; because he is 
 pure, holy, just, and good ; but where do we see his 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 16 
 
 goodn^as as in our redemption, and the redemption 
 of our inheritance through the death and suffering 
 of his only begotten Son ? " Or despisest thou the 
 riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long- 
 suffering, not knowing that the goodness of Gcd 
 leadeth thee to repentance ? 
 
 If we lose the knowledge of our inheritance, we 
 are like a traveller who has lost his way : he knows 
 he has a home, but where he cannot tell ; he wearies 
 himself on the dark mountains of uncertainty, or he 
 forgets his country and his home and amuses himself 
 in a strange land with the passing events. But the 
 Christian who has his eye of faith firmly fixed, his 
 treasure being there, his affections are there, and the 
 way he knows : " I am the Way," says Christ : the 
 very progress he makes, gives him energy. As with 
 the Pilgrim fathers : " they that say such things, 
 declare plainly that they seek a country. And if 
 they had been mindful of that country from whence 
 they came out, they might have had opportunity to 
 have returned. But now, they desire a better country, 
 that is, an heavenly." 
 
 Many excellent men whom the Church delights to 
 honor, have given this subject that prominence its 
 importance demands, and many ministers still claim 
 to hold that this earth will be renewed and become 
 the habitation of the saints, but excuse themselves 
 from teaching it. Therefore the subject should 
 claim more attention till it stands again in its 
 proper place in Christian theology. 
 
 The late Dr. Chalmers has a sermon on the new 
 
16 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 heavens and the new earth, in which he say^: "jJ 
 great step is gained simply by dissolving the alliance 
 that exists in the minds of many between the two 
 ideas of sin and materialism ; or proving, that when 
 once sin is done away, it consists with all we know 
 of God's administration,, that materialism shall be 
 perpetuated in the full bloom and vigor of immor- 
 tality. It altogether holds out a warmer and more 
 alluring picture of the elysium that awaits us, when 
 told that there will be beauty to delight the eye ; 
 and music to regale the ear ; and the comfort that 
 springs from all the charities of intercourse between 
 man and man, holding converse as they do on earth, 
 and gladdening each oflier with the benignant smiles 
 that play on the human countenance, or the accents 
 of kindness that fall in soft and soothing melody 
 from the human voice. There is much of the inno- 
 cent and much of the inspiring, and much to affect 
 and elevate the heart, in the scenes and the contem- 
 plations of materialism — and we do hail the infor- 
 mation that after the dissolution of its 
 
 present framework, it will again be varied and 
 decked out anew in all the graces of its unfading 
 verdure, •and of its unbounded variety — that in 
 addition to our direct and personal view of the 
 Deity, when he comes down to tabernacle with men, 
 we shall also have the .reflection of him in a lovely 
 mirror of his own workmanship — and that instead 
 of being translated to some abode of dimness and 
 of mystery, so remote from human experience, as to 
 be beyond all comprehension, we shall walk for ever 
 
INTRODUCTOEY. 
 
 IT 
 
 in a land replenished witli those sensible delights 
 and those sensible glories, which, we doubt not, will 
 be most properly scattered over * the new heavens 
 and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.' 
 
 **We are now walking on a terrestrial surface; 
 not inore compact, perhaps, than the one we shall 
 hereafter walk upon, and are now wearing terrestrial 
 bodies, not firmer and more solid, perhaps, than 
 those we shall hereafter wear. 
 
 " There will be a firm earth, as we have at present, 
 and a heaven stretched over it, as we have at 
 present ; and it is not by the absence of sin, that 
 the abode of immortality will be characterized. 
 There will both be heavens and earth, it would 
 appear, in the next great administration — and with 
 this specialty to mark it from the present one, that 
 it will be heavens and an earth, * wherein dwelleth 
 righteousness/ " — Dr. Chalmerses Works^ v. 7, pp. 291 
 to 293, N. Y. ed., 1842. 
 
 Calvin, in his " Institutes," says, " I expect with 
 Paul, a reparation of all the evils caused by sin, for 
 which he represents the creatures as groaning and 
 travailing." 
 
 John Knox, speaking of the reformation of the 
 world, says, it " never was, nor yet shall be, till the 
 righteous King and Judge appear for the restora- 
 tion of all things." 
 
 Bunyan says, " none ever saw this world as it was 
 in its first creation but Adam and his wife ; neither 
 will any see it until the manifestation of the children 
 of God ; i. e. until the redemption or resurrection 
 of the saints." 
 
18 
 
 THE SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 The Rev. John Gumming, D.D., of England, 
 speaking of the glory of the future state says : " Is 
 that sixtieth chapter of Isaiah a poet's dream? 
 Is it a mere transcendental prediction ? I believe 
 these glories, these literal glories, will be in that 
 future state. I dc not believe there is anything in a 
 beautiful flower inherently evil ; or that there is 
 any iniquity in a brilliant gem ; or that there is 
 anything of God's curse inseparably from a precious 
 diamond. All this earth wants is, not to have its 
 matter annihilated, or transformed into something 
 airy, visionary, spiritualized ; but to have sin and 
 its corrosive poison entirely and utterly purged 
 from it, and to have the consecrating footsteps of 
 the King of kings upon its bosom, and then its 
 deserts shall rejoice, and its solitary places shall 
 blossom as the rose." 
 
 The importance of this subject does not appear in 
 the above reasons only, neither because of the 
 sanctifying influence of this truth on the heart, 
 nor because it sheds light upon other important 
 truth, nor because the Christian traveller would be 
 lost with the knowledge only that he had a home 
 and knew not where ; but more especially because 
 the church has once stumbled and been rejected of 
 God, the result of having lost sight of her inherit- 
 ance, as the sequel, we think, will show. But 
 simply the belief or disbelief in the true location 
 of the saints' inheritance cannot affect the heart 
 of any man for good or evil. True, neither to 
 believe that there is one God, which is a part of 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 19 
 
 the Christian's faith, and absolutely necessary ; still 
 the simple belief will not make the heart better or 
 worse. Says the apostle James, " thou believest that 
 there is one God ; thou dost well, the devils also 
 believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, 0 vain 
 man, that faith without works is dead ? " 
 
 The misunderstanding of those promises which 
 represent the earth in such a beautified and glorious 
 state, when " nothing shall hurt or destroy in all 
 God's holy mountain," when "the inhabitant shall 
 not say, I am sick," applicable only to the heavenly 
 state, has been the cause of their being applied to 
 this mortal life, where they can never be fulfilled. 
 By which means the church has embraced the hope 
 that she will enjoy a millennial day of peace and 
 glory during the time of her probation ; the time 
 allotted for her warfare and trials, in this sin-polluted 
 state of the earth, groaning under the curse. 
 
 True, there is to be on the earth a millennial day 
 for the church. "There remaineth a rest to the 
 people of God," or as the margin reads, " a keeping 
 of a Sabbath," the type of which is found in the 
 seventh day rest, sanctified and hallowed by the 
 Creator, after the six days' work of the creation. 
 The doctrine has been held and taught more or less 
 confidently in all ages of the church, and it is the 
 first great blessing in reserve for the saints, as an 
 introductory to their final, glorious, and everlasting 
 inheritance. Therefore, the Millennium shall be first 
 considered in the following pages. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE MILLENNIUM. 
 
 "The people were in expectation, and all men mused in their 
 hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not." — Luke iii. 15. 
 
 The opinion that there will be a .millennium, ana 
 that it is about to dawn upon the world, is now ad 
 prevalent throughout Christendom as was the beliei 
 that the Messiah was about to make his appearance 
 in the days of John the Baptist, or of good old 
 Simeon, who had got the witness that he should not 
 die till he had seen the Lord^s Anointed ; and pro- 
 bably no less true the one than the other. 
 
 That delightful day, the heavenly and soul-cheering 
 time, the glorious and blessed restitution, is now so 
 inwoven in the heart of the church, that it not only 
 fires up the old man " while leaning upon his staff'' 
 as he worships, but the " young men who are strong 
 in the Lord," have the spirit of their worship quick- 
 ened as they catch the melody of the holy theme. 
 Even the children of the church, or the young con- 
 verts, unite, while the church prays ardently for 
 The set time to favor Zion to come ; when the 
 heathen shall be given to his Son for an inheritance, 
 and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession ; 
 when the sword shall be beat into the ploughshare, ~ 
 and the spear into the pruning-hook, and nation shall 
 
THE MILLENNIUM. 
 
 21 
 
 not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they 
 learn war any more ; and he shall reign from the 
 river to the ends of the earth ; and all shall know 
 the Lord from the least to the greatest ; for the 
 knowledge of the glory of God shall fill the earth as 
 the waters fill the great deep." 
 
 Thus prays the church at the public ministry of 
 the word, and in her conference meetings — at the 
 monthly concert of prayer, and in her church meet- 
 ings — at her covenant, and her class meetings — at 
 the family altar and in the closet. The millennium is 
 the theme of her orators at the great gatherings of 
 the church. 
 
 The overthrow of monarchies, and the establishing 
 of republics, are pointed to by the Christian republi- 
 can as the dawning of the better day. The Evan- 
 gelical Alliance, the World's Peace Convention, the 
 World^s Fair, as great social gatherings of the 
 nations, are looked to with anxious eye as harbingers 
 of the millennium. The opening of new fields in 
 heathen lands for the gospel, and great revivals 
 of religion, are hailed as its morning rays. "And 
 as the people were in expectation, and all men mused 
 in their hearts of John, whether he were the CI rist, 
 or not," so now there is a universal expectation of a 
 better day about to dawn on the world. The 
 general diffusion of knowledge and the rapid pro- 
 gress of the arts and sciences, have awakened a 
 pleasing hope of glory in the development of the 
 powers of the human mind, beyond the stretch of the 
 imagination to tell how great. The spread of know- 
 
22 
 
 THE SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 ledge, and especially of human rights through the 
 world, causing the general struggle of the nations 
 for liberty, inspires political men with the expecta- 
 tion that the world is on the eve of its political 
 greatness, when all men will enjoy those ^' inalien- 
 able rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi- 
 ness.'^ 
 
 That this earth is destined to a glorious and 
 blessed state, is the general testimony of the inspired 
 writers. God has sworn by Himself, saying, " As 
 surely as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the 
 glory of the Lord,'' and he has specified a special 
 thousand years during which the blessed, and the 
 holy, and they only, shall live and reign with 
 Christ ; and it is a sufficient guarantee to the church 
 tLat there will be a millennium. God has spoken it, 
 and will perform it in due time. Rev. xx. 4, 6. 
 
 But the great mass who are looking, and even 
 praying for it, may be as sadly disappointed as the 
 Jewish church .and the world were at the coming of 
 the Messiah. The Jewish church had been praying 
 for a long time for the Redeemer "to come to 
 Zion." Even as far back as the days of king 
 Hezekiah, when God said to him, " Set thine house 
 in order, for thou shalt die," his great complaint was 
 because he should not live to see Christ. Isaiah 
 xxxviii. 10, 11. " I said in the cutting oif of my 
 days, I shall go to the gates of the grave : I am 
 deprived of the residue of my years, I said, I shall 
 not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the 
 living." His pleading was accepted, his days were 
 
THE MILLENNIUM. 
 
 23 
 
 extended fifteen years. Kings and priests, prophets, 
 and holy men, have desired to see his day. 
 
 The pr-omise made to our first parents, that the seed 
 of the woman should bruise the serpent's head, had 
 been renewed to Abraham, and through his descend- 
 ants had spread more or less among all nations ; and 
 in proportion to the light the expectation was uni- 
 versal, that the great Redeemer of mankind was about 
 to come. "The wise men of the east'' had their 
 attention drawn to the subject, and were on the look- 
 out. They learned that God had announced the birth 
 of the long expected Messiah in his providence, by 
 the appearance of a new and wonderful star. " And 
 lo the star which they saw in the east went before 
 them, till it came and stood over where the young 
 child was." The necessity of a Redeemer was so 
 absolute, the expectation was so universal, and so 
 ardent was the desire of the whole world, that one of 
 the titles given him by Inspiration was, " The Desire 
 of all Nations." And when he came he was all they 
 could have desired ; the very one they needed. Had 
 the world assembled her wise men to have asked of 
 Heaven some great favor, and had they raised their 
 imaginations to the highest, they could not have 
 asked an equal ; nor could the Eternal Father have 
 bestowed a greater. 
 
 But when the greatly desired Messiah came, did 
 they receive him as their Saviour ? No ! they were 
 sadly disappointed in him. He was to them as a 
 " root out of dry ground. He had no form or come- 
 liness, and when they saw him there was no beauty 
 
24 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 that they should desire him. He was despised and 
 rejected of men. a. man of sorrows and acquainted 
 with grief ; and they hid as it were their faces from 
 him ; he was despised and they esteemed him not." 
 Even the church who had prayed so ardently for him 
 to come, rejected him. " He came to his own, and his 
 own received him not." They rejected and crucified 
 him, saying, " His blood be on us, and on our chil 
 dren." How Heaven-daring their prayer! How 
 terrible its fulfilment on that devoted race ! 
 
 As there was a universal expectation of Christ^s 
 coming just previous to his advent, so there is now an 
 equal expectation of a Millennium about to dawn upon 
 the world. But it is to be feared that the disappoint- 
 ment will be as much more dreadful than in the days 
 of the Saviour, as the light and privilege of this age 
 are superior. 
 
 It will be shown in its place, that the first step in 
 error which led the Jewish church to reject her long 
 prayed for Messiah, was the losing sight of the true 
 inheritance ; but first the Millennium will be more 
 fully considered. " I counsel thee," says Jesus, " to 
 anoint thine eyes with eye-salve that thou mayest 
 Bee." 
 
CHAPTER IIL 
 
 THE MILLENNIUM CONTINUED. 
 
 •* And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key ol 
 the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold 
 on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and 
 bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit, 
 and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the 
 nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and 
 after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and 
 they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them : and I saw 
 the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and 
 for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast^ 
 neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their fore- 
 heads, or in their hands ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a 
 thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the 
 thousand years were finished." Rev. xx. 1-5. 
 
 The above, with the five verses which follow in 
 this twentieth chapter of Revelation, is the only por- 
 tion in God's word which directly teaches a millen- 
 nium, or a special thousand years' reign for Christ and 
 his people. Christians generally are agreed as to 
 the fact, that a very holy and blessed state is yet to 
 exist upon this earth, called the Millennium, because 
 a thousand years is specified. And the only impor- 
 tant question between those who believe in the mil- 
 lennial reign to come, is, whether it is to be in proba- 
 tion, introduced by the spread of the gospel till the 
 whole world is converted ; or, to be in the immortal 
 
 2 
 
26 
 
 THE SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 state, introduced by the advent of Christ, and the 
 resurrection of the righteous dead, and restitution of 
 the earth. 
 
 As this is the only scripture which specifies a spe- 
 cial thousand years' reign for Christ and the right- 
 eous, all agree that its true meaning reveals the 
 nature of that coming millennial glory. Therefore 
 from the different interpretations of this scripture 
 has originated the division respecting the character 
 of that reign. 
 
 One class of interpreters believe this language to 
 be highly symbolical, designed to teach that there 
 will be a glorious revival of religion, when all the 
 graces of the martyrs will be revived, and all the 
 inhabitants of the earth will be converted, or so 
 generally brought under the influence of the gospel 
 that the church will triumph gloriously over all 
 her foes ; and that Christ will reign, by the Spirit, 
 in the hearts of his people for a thousand years, 
 during which multitudes, more than all that have 
 been lost, will be saved ; so that Christ, in numbers 
 saved, will 'obtain a great victory over the Adver- 
 sary. 
 
 The other class believe this portion of scripture 
 designed to teach, with other things, the resurrection 
 of the righteous dead, a thousand years previous to 
 the resurrection of the wicked, during which Christ 
 will reign personally with his saints. 
 
 Believing the latter exposition correct, it will be 
 our o>)ject to show that the context sustains it ; and 
 that otter scripture on this subject harmonize with it. 
 
THE MILLENNIUM. 
 
 27 
 
 The great error, generally, in understanding God^s 
 word has been in supposing it something wonderful 
 and mysterious ; coming from so high a source, we 
 are disposed to think it above our comprehension. 
 The simplicity of the gospel, or God's truth, has 
 often proved a stumbling-block. Though there is a 
 depth in his word unfathomable, yet there is a 
 simplicity which brings it within the reach of the 
 most feeble mind. 
 
 Those learned expositors who have understood 
 this scripture as a symbolical representation, having 
 given such a variety of expositions, and some of 
 them having changed their views, and still express 
 them very positively, show that the wisdom even 
 of the wise has failed. That the language is to be 
 understood in part or wholly as symbolical is evi- 
 dent ; the great chain and key in the angel's hand 
 should not be understood literally. Being satisfied 
 that the language was symbolical, instead of search- 
 ing to see whether God had explained it, they have 
 gone on and given an exposition. The wildest 
 expositions of God's word which men have been 
 guilty of giving are of those parables, visions, and 
 symbols, which God had already explained. 
 
 The reader will notice in the text that we have 
 omitted the last clause of the fifth verse, which is the 
 commencement of the exposition that Inspiration has 
 given of this subject. Those persons, who for con- 
 venience' sake divided the Bible into chapters and 
 verses, have by so doing made it in some places 
 rather obscure. Read the following paragraph, or 
 
28 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 five verses, in connexion with the text, and it will 
 be seen that God has given an explanation to the 
 subject. The Revelator having described what he 
 saw. then declares in literal language the meaning. 
 
 This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy 
 is he that has part in the first resurrection : on such 
 the second death hath no power, but they shall be 
 priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with 
 him a thousand years. And when the thousand 
 Fears are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his 
 )rison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which 
 are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and 
 Magog, to gather them together to battle : the 
 number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And 
 they went up on the breadth of the earth, and 
 compassed the camp of the saints about, and the 
 beloved city : and fire came down from God out of 
 heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that 
 deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and 
 brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, 
 and shall be tormented day and night for ever and 
 ever.'' 
 
 Thus Inspiration has given a concise exposition of 
 these five verses, divesting them of that mysticism 
 which a multitude of expositions has •cast over 
 them, rendering them sufliciently plain, so that there 
 needs be no misunderstanding of them. And it will 
 be easy to show that thus understood, they harmo- 
 nize with the plain teaching of God's word on this 
 subject. Similar examples are frequently found in 
 the book of Revelation, where an explanation imme- 
 
THE MILLENNIUM. 
 
 29 
 
 diately follows the description of a vision. To adopt 
 such exposition is always safe ; and no uninspired 
 exposition, however wise and good the author, can 
 set it aside. 
 
 History teaches that the church, previous to the 
 days of Dr.Whitby (1716) generally believed that the 
 millennium would be introduced by the resurrection 
 of the righteous dead, and personal reign of Christ ; 
 but Whitby wrote largely on the millennium, and so 
 explained this scripture as to make it teach that the 
 millennium would be introduced by the conversion 
 of the world. Since that time many expositors have 
 adopted similar views ; the theory is so pleasing to 
 all that few have been disposed to call it in question. 
 In sustaining the doctrine the scene which John saw 
 and described, and the exposition he gave, have been 
 connected together, and the whole has been symbol- 
 ized. Some have gone so far as to symbolize the 
 time also, making each day in the thousand years 
 stand as a symbol of a year, extending the time of 
 the reign to three hundred and sixty-five thousand 
 years, or three hundred and sixty-five millenniums. 
 Some of their expositions have been more difficult to 
 understand than the text itself.* 
 
 " It is well known that Rev. Thomas Scott, the celebrated com- 
 laentator on the Bible, published an edition of Bunyan's * Progress,* 
 with expository notes. A copy of this work he benevolently 
 presented to one of his poor parishioners. Meeting him soon after, 
 Mr. Scott inquired whether he had read it. The reply was, ' Yes, 
 sir.* *Do you think you understand it?' *0h, yes, sir,* was th« 
 answer ; * and I hope before long to understand the notes.* * 
 
80 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 Quite too much of a license to take with the word 
 of Him who said, " For I testify unto every man that 
 heareth the word of the prophecy of this book, if any 
 man shall add unto these things, God shall add the 
 plagues that are written in this book. And if any 
 man shall take away from the words of the book of* 
 this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of 
 the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from 
 the things which are written in this book," Rev. xxii. 
 18, 19. 
 
 Living prophets with the Revelator have ceased 
 from the church, but in their place God has given 
 the prophecy of the Book of Revelation, with other 
 unfulfilled prophecies, constantly being fulfilled, a 
 living miracle of the truth of the Holy Bible ; and 
 lest these prophecies should be treated as were the 
 prophets while alive, God has set this terrible 
 threatening in the closing chapter of his word. 
 
 The prophets were tempted to induce them to 
 bring messages of peace, and they were persecuted 
 because they foretold the opposite. " And the mes- 
 senger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, 
 saying. Behold now, the words of the prophets (false 
 prophets) declare good unto the king with one 
 mouth : let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word 
 of one of them, and speak that which i^ good," 
 1 Kings xxii. 13. But no, he was faithful, and 
 informed the king of the calamity which awaited 
 him and his people. The consequence was that a 
 popular prophet smites him, and the king orders him 
 back to prison to be fed with the bread ard water of 
 
THE MILLENNIUM. 
 
 81 
 
 affliction. When God sent Jeremiah, who was 
 greatly persecuted, to inform the church that, " When 
 they fast, I will not hear their cry ; and when they 
 offer burnt-offering and an oblation, I will not 
 accept them ; but I will consume them by the sword, 
 and by the famine, and by the pestilence:^' he 
 replies, " Ah Lord God ! behold the prophets say 
 unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall 
 ye have famine ; but I will give you assured peace in 
 this place,'^ Jer. xiv. 12, 13. 
 
 Though the prophets could not be prevailed on to 
 proclaim peace for the church in probation, as will 
 be more fully shown ; yet their prophecies have been 
 so symbolized and explained as to make them teach 
 such a time. The plain teaching of the apostle John 
 does not warrant the popular exposition of his 
 prophecy, that the church will triumph in the last 
 days. He says, " Little children, it is the last time : 
 and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even 
 now are there many antichrists ; whereby we know 
 that it is the 4ast time," 1 John ii. 18. How does 
 the beloved apostle know that it is the last time ?" 
 Is it because he sees the millennial glory rising upon 
 the world in the spread of the gospel ? No ; but 
 because " there were many antichrists ; whereby we 
 know that it is the last time.'' It was not the 
 increase of holiness but the multiplying of wicked- 
 ness, which was an evidence to the venerable apostle 
 that the daj of probation for man was passing into 
 its evening shades. This plain declaration of the 
 apostle cannot be reconciled with a millennial reign 
 in probation. 
 
82 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 The Holy Spirit revealed to the prophets the same 
 great truth taught in the text, that the faithful would 
 obtain part in the first resurrection, the hope of which 
 sustained the Old Testament saints during all their 
 extreme sufferings. " They were stoned, they were 
 sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the 
 sword : they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, 
 and in dens and caves of the earth.'' And " others 
 had trials of cruel mockings and seourgings, yea, 
 moreover, of bonds and imprisonment." And " women 
 received their dead raised to life again ; and others 
 were tortured not accepting deliverance ; that they 
 might obtain a better resurrection f a part in the 
 first resurrection. " Blessed and holy is he that hath 
 part in the first resurrection, on such the second death 
 hath no power." The history of the church shows 
 that it was this precious truth, the hope of a part in 
 the first resurrection, founded especially on the fulfil- 
 ment of this scripture, which enabled the Christian 
 martyrs to endure the flame, and even covet a mar- 
 tyr's death. 
 
 There is a wide difference between the two doc- 
 trines claimed to be deduced from this scripture, 
 while the one holds out the prospect of great pros- 
 perity to the world, and triumph to the church in 
 probation ; the other holds out sudden judgment to 
 the world, and the resurrection and deliverance of 
 the people of God from their last enemy, death, and 
 of Christ's personal reign with his people upon the 
 renewed earth. 
 
 The plain exposition which Inspiration has given 
 
THE MILLENNIUM. 
 
 of the text, should satisfy every inquirer after 
 truth on this subject ; but as the hope of triumphant 
 victory, of glory and honor for the church, is so 
 strongly entertained by many, we add to this testi- 
 mony the plain teaching of the apostles, and of Him 
 who spake as never man spake, concerning which 
 there will be no question. 
 
 Our Lord informs his followers that instead of 
 honor in this world they should have dishonor ; that 
 their names should be cast out as evil. Instead of 
 triumph the godly man should be persecuted. Yea,'' 
 says the apostle, " and all that will live godly shall 
 suffer persecution." Who will persecute the godly 
 man when all are blessed and holy ? J esus, the great 
 Head of the church, while in the flesh was in a 
 state of humiliation, affliction, and suffering : " A man 
 of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Shall the 
 servant be above his master ? He said that it was 
 sufficient for the servant if he be as his master." 
 Instead of glory and honor in this world he foretold 
 trials, persecutions, and suffering for his people, more 
 or less severe during all probation. In Matt, xxiv., 
 Luke xxi., we have a record of the " sure word of pro- 
 phecy" from his own lips ; beginning with his day, and 
 extending through the present dispensation, till he 
 comes again and gathers "his elect from the four 
 winds," without giving a hint that the church will 
 triumph, or of a millennial reign during the whole 
 time. But on the contrary, a time of trouble for his 
 people, of wars and rumors of wars, of evils in the 
 church and out of the church, of the love of manj 
 
 2* 
 
34 
 
 THE SAINTS' INHERITANCE. 
 
 waxing cold, trials in the church, of false prophets, 
 of false teachers, deceiving, if it were possible, even 
 the very elect ; but no sign of a triumph for the 
 church, of millennial glory. The Lord Jesus has 
 declared to the world that following him and bearing 
 the cross are inseparably connected ; that they might 
 expect scoffing, persecution, and death ; no exemp- 
 tion, no relief. In the world ye shall have tribula- 
 tion.'' He held out no flattering prospects to lure a 
 soldier to the Cross ; no numerous popular church 
 destined to triumph in the world. He would have 
 them know what lies before them ; such treatment as 
 he met with, that they might not enlist without 
 counting the cost, that having enlisted they might go 
 onward to the end, willing to meet even death. 
 Where in the history of the church can an example 
 be found, since Cain slew Abel for his piety, of 
 godly man who has not suffered persecution or 
 extreme trials ? Do you point to some honored men 
 whose piety and praise is in the mouth of every one? 
 Christ answers, " Wo unto you, when all men shall 
 speak well of you ! for so did their fathers to the 
 false prophets.'' Luke vi. 26. If the master of the 
 house was called Beelzebub, what will they not call 
 his servants ?" Probation is the time of suffering for 
 the church, the glory is to follow : " If we suffer with 
 him we shall also reign with him." 
 
 The parable of the tares in the field clearly teaches 
 that the wicked and righteous will mingle together 
 till the end of the world. *^Let both grow together 
 until the harvest." And in explaining he said, He 
 
THE MILLENNIUM. 
 
 35 
 
 that soweth the good seed is the Son of man ; the field 
 is the world ; the good seed are the children of the 
 kingdom ; but the tares are the children of the wicked 
 one ; the enemy that sowed them is the devil ; the 
 harvest is the end of the world ; and the reapers are 
 the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and 
 burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this 
 world. The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, 
 and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things 
 that offend, and them which do iniquity ; and shall 
 cast them into a furnace of fire." 
 
 This parable begins with the gospel dispensation 
 and goes down to its close, till the end of the world, 
 or age ; and in passing over its history, he has given 
 no hint of a triumph for the church ; his exposition 
 has even excluded from probationary time all pros- 
 pect of such a millennium as promised in the text, 
 fixing that blessed day after probation, after the 
 earth, the kingdom, has been cleansed, " Then shall the 
 righteous shine forth in the kingdom of their Father 
 as the sun." Thus clearly does the teaching of Christ 
 correspond with the explanation which the Revelator 
 has given of the text ; both alike giving all the right- 
 eous who have ever lived a part in that blessed reign. 
 Some have concluded, in view of the explanation 
 'which Christ gave of this parable, that there will be 
 a few wicked persons left during the millennium. 
 Such an idea is inconsistent with the description 
 Inspiration has given of that day. Blessed and holy 
 is he who hath part in the first resurrection ; on such 
 the second death hath no power j but they shall b6 
 
36 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with 
 him a thousand years/' 
 
 No promise can be more sure, than that all who 
 have part in that millennial reign will escape the 
 eeeond death ; not one exception. 
 
CHAPTER lY. 
 
 SATAN LOOSED — GOG AND MAGOG* 
 
 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thoi Band yeaPi 
 were finished. Rev. xx. 6. 
 
 Many important questions rush on the mind at this 
 stage of the subject. " And no marvel ; for Satan 
 himself is transformed into an angel of light f by 
 which he would ensnare the church and the world 
 with the hope of glory, honor, and peace, for the 
 church of Christ during the time allotted for her suf- 
 fering and trial. Glory, where her Lord was spit on ! 
 Honor, where he was crowned with thorns ! Peace, 
 where he was crucified ! Triumph, during the time 
 appointed by her Lord for the Bride to fast till the 
 Bridegroom returns 1 Through such a hope this sub- 
 ject has been brought into great obscurity. 
 
 But with the cheering promise found in the first 
 verse of the book of Revelation, " The revelation of 
 Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto 
 his servants things which must shortly come to pass,'' 
 and invoking the aid of Him who revealed these 
 overwhelming truths to John, that they might be 
 made known to the servants of God, we will endea- 
 vor to show that these truths are easily compre- 
 hended. 
 
 First, we are asked with emphasis, who are the Gog 
 
88 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 and Magog, whom Satan gathers to the great battle 
 after the thousand years are finished? Docs he 
 go among the holy, on whom the second death has no 
 power ? By no means ; the text informs us who they 
 are ; " But the rest of the dead lived not again till 
 the thousand years were finished." All the pure, the 
 good, the holy, rise in the first resurrection on whom 
 the second death has no power ; " But the rest of the 
 dead," the wicked, the impure, and unholy, rise not 
 till after the thousand years are finished. Then, 
 simultaneously. Satan is loosed when God shall raise 
 the wicked "unto the resurrection of damnation." 
 But shall they have a battle with the saints ? No ! 
 they have no battle. He goes out to deceive them ; 
 he promises them a battle with the saints, but as usual 
 he deceives them. God's design is the final judg- 
 ment, and its execution on them, as the context shows ; 
 " And they went up on the breadth of the earth and 
 compassed the camp of the saints about, and the 
 beloved city ; and fire came down from God out of 
 heaven and devoured them, and the devil that 
 deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brim- 
 stone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and 
 shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." 
 
 But will Satan be employed to gather them ? We ' 
 would ask who is a more fit subject for the direful 
 work than he who led them captive at his will in all 
 their diabolical life on earth? Those holy angels, 
 ni'nistering spirits, who minister to the heirs of sal- 
 vation during their life of humiliation, sufl*ering, and 
 trial on earth, will be commissioned to gather the 
 
SATAN LOOSED — GOG AND MAGOG. 
 
 39 
 
 elect. There is a fitness in it, such as becometh Him 
 who doeth his pleasure in heaven and earth. Shall 
 not the wrath of devils praise Him as well as men ? 
 " And the remainder he will restrain." 
 
 After having been deceived by Satan all their life, 
 and having died without God and hope, and having 
 also endured the horrors of their coming punishment, 
 can he now deceive them ? So the word teaches, and 
 it is in accordance with the history of sin on earth. 
 
 Transgressions continued weaken our powers to 
 resist sin, as a resistance of temptation strengthens 
 our virtues. At the commencement of crime the 
 youth starts back horror-struck ; but by continuance 
 he is soon hardened. Although he feels in part the 
 evils of his course he still moves on with rapid 
 strides. Tell him that he is on the course to those 
 still blacker crimes of midnight ; amazed, he cries, 
 " Am I a dog that I should do so base a thing !" Yet 
 he passes on an easy victim, and still more easy with 
 quicker step, till far deeper than you warned him, he 
 plunges into the blackest crime. Death does not 
 effect any moral change ; he will come up in the 
 resurrection the same depraved easy captive, and will 
 ever be a servant of him whom he obeyed on earth. 
 And those legions of the Gog and Magog know no 
 other leader than the Prince of darkness. 
 
 If the reader is on that downward course of sin 
 let him fear to take another step, and seek at once for 
 aid of Him who alone can save. 
 
 The prophet Isaiah gives a description of the same 
 scene. He informs us that the wicked shall surely 
 
40 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 gather against God's people, while they are dwelling 
 safely in that beloved city ; so beautifully and glori- 
 ously adorned. He does not inform us who gathers 
 them, only the fact that they gather against God^s 
 people, but not by the Lord. It is an address to the 
 church.— Isaiah liv. 11-15, 17. 
 
 Oh thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not 
 comforted! behold, I will lay thy stones with fair 
 colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And 
 I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of 
 carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. 
 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord ; 
 and great shall be the peace of thy children. In 
 righteousness shalt thou be established : thou shalt 
 be far from oppression ; for thou shalt not fear : and 
 from terror ; for it shall not come near thee. Behold, 
 they shall surely gather together, but not by me : 
 whosoever shall gather together against thee shall 
 fall for thy sake. No weapon that is formed against 
 thee shall prosper ; and every tongue that shall rise 
 against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is 
 the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their 
 righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.'' Thus by 
 the prophet, the afflicted church " tossed with 
 tempest and not comforted," during all her probation, 
 God promises a holy city which has foundations of 
 sapphires, adorned with unfading beauty and glory, 
 and that they shall dwell , in it in safety, being no 
 more oppressed ; terror and fear shall not disturb 
 them ; though their enemies shall surely gather 
 against them, "but not by me," saith God. By whom 
 
BATAN LOOSED — GOG AND MAGOG. 
 
 41 
 
 then sliall they be gathered ? John says, Satan shall 
 gather them. But at that time God^s people shall 
 not fear, for Christ in person is in the camp of the 
 saints. Associated with him, " thou shalt" this wicked 
 host of Gog and Magog "in judgment condemn.'' 
 Paul says, "Do ye not know that the saints shall 
 judge the world V " All this honor have thy saints,'' 
 says the Psalmist. "And I saw thrones and they 
 sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them," 
 says John. " Thou shalt be far from oppression ; for 
 thou shalt not fear ; and from terror ; for it shall not 
 come near thee ; — every tongue that shall rise against 
 thee in judgment thou shalt condemn," says Isaiah ; 
 they have no battle, they are judged, condemned, 
 and cast into the lake of fire. The same scene is 
 more fully described from the 11-15 verse Rev. xx. 
 The prophet has given another description of a scene 
 so connected with this that it will shed light on the 
 subject. 
 
 " Fear, and the pit, and the snare ; are upon thee, O 
 inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass 
 that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall 
 fall into the pit, and he that cometh up out of the 
 midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare : for the 
 windows from on high are open, and the foundations 
 of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken 
 down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved 
 exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a 
 drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage : and 
 the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it : 
 and it shall fall, and not rise again. And it shalj 
 
42 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish 
 the host of the high ones that are on high, and the 
 kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall 
 be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in 
 the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after 
 many days they shall be visited. Then the moon 
 shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the 
 Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in 
 Jerusalem and before his ancients gloriously,'' Isaiah 
 xxiv. 17-23. 
 
 This is evidently a description of the great day of 
 wrath so often mentioned in the scriptures. The 
 shaking of the earth spoken of by another prophet, 
 " Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also 
 heaven," quoted by Paul, and applied to " the remov- 
 ing of those things that are made," the inventions of 
 men ; when an unfading and durable state of things 
 shall be established, "a kingdom that cannot be 
 moved." It is a description of the time " when the 
 Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his 
 mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on 
 them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 The prophet says, "In that day the Lord shall 
 punish the host of the high ones that are on high, 
 and the kings of the earth upon the earth." 
 
 Punished upon the earth, by the pouring out of the 
 vials of his wrath ;^all the wicked shall be slain at 
 his appearing. 
 
 " And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners 
 are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the 
 
SATAN LOOSED — GOO AND MAGOG. 
 
 43 
 
 prison, and after many days shall they be visited/' 
 When thus literally slain at Christ's appearing they 
 shall be shut up in prison where all the wicked who 
 have died are now confined. "And after many 
 days they shall be visited." How shall they be 
 visited ? not in mercy to be restored from punish- 
 ment, as some teach, but by a resurrection to receive 
 the final judgment. The prophet does not tell us 
 how long before they shall be thus visited, but John 
 does ; " The rest of the dead lived not again until 
 the thousand years were finished.'' And as John 
 fixes the millennial reign between the first and 
 second resurrection, so does the prophet ; when the 
 wicked are thus shut up in prison, he says, " Then 
 the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, 
 when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, 
 and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously." 
 He shall yet reign in Mount Zion before his ancients. 
 The patriarchs and prophets, all the righteous shall 
 have part in that glorious reign. " In the mouths of 
 two or three witnesses every word shall be esta- 
 blished." 
 
 Are not the righteous and the wicked raised at 
 one resurrection ? The text teaches that the right- 
 eous have the priority of a thousand years, or a 
 millennium ; and there is no part of the Bible which 
 contradicts it, but much which sustains it. "The 
 general resurrection " is a phrase now often used, but 
 never by the sacred writers. " Ye shall receive 
 your reward at the resurrection of the just." " They 
 who have done good shall come forth unto the resur- 
 
44 THE SAINTS' INHERITANCE. 
 
 rection of life ; and they who have done evil unto 
 the resurrection of damnation." So spake Jesus , 
 and Paul says, " For as in Adam all die, even so in 
 Christ shall all be made alive ; but every man in hiz 
 own order ; Christ the first fruits, afterwards they 
 that are Christ's at his coming." "We which are 
 alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall 
 not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord 
 himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with 
 the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of 
 God ; and the dead in Christ shall rise first." " We 
 shall not prevent," we shall not go before them, the 
 dead in Christ shall rise first, not all the dead, but 
 the dead in Christ. 
 
 Again, Phil. iii. 11. " If by any means I might 
 attain unto a resurrection of the dead." The Apostle 
 knew and taught that there should be fi resurrection 
 both of the just and of the unjust, then of course he 
 would be raised. The best critics give as a more 
 literal rendering of this text, " to the resurrection 
 from among the dead." Therefore the Apostle count- 
 ed all things loss if by any means he might attain 
 unto a resurrection from among the dead, or to a part 
 in the first resurrection. 
 
 Again, Christ, in speaking of the resurrection 
 state, says, " They which 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 chil- 
 dren of the resurrection," Luke xx. 35, 36. 
 
SATAN LOOSED — GOG AND MAGOG. 45 
 
 Christ taught that the wicked would be raised, yet 
 ne speaks of the worthy as " being the children of the 
 resurrection." What can he mean but the resur- 
 rection pre-eminently, "the first resurrection," a 
 resurrection to which some were not accounted 
 worthy to attain? But those who are accounted 
 worthy to obtain a resurrection from the dead, from 
 among the dead, " are equal unto the angels." 
 
 " And others were tortured not accepting deliver- 
 ance that they might obtain a better resurrection," 
 Heb. xi. 35. Those blessed worthies of the Old Tes- 
 tament, as well as the martyrs and confessors of the 
 New, always kept in view the first resurrection. 
 "Who would not strive with the Apostle, if by any 
 means he might obtain a part in the first resurrec- 
 tion ? since it is written, " On such the second death 
 hath no power." The Psalmist, xlix. 14, speaking of 
 the death of the wicked, says, " Death shall feed on 
 them ; and the upright shall have dominion over 
 them in the morning ; in the morning of that glori- 
 ous millennial day. " The morning cometh, and the 
 night also." The morning of that triumphant day to 
 Christ and the saints, when he shall give them victory 
 over all their foes, even death. "The last enemy 
 that shall be destroyed is death." That terrible day 
 of the Lord so often mentioned in his word, when the 
 wicked shall be swallowed up in the fire of his indig- 
 nation. " The morning cometh, and also the night." 
 Fearful, terrible night to the wicked. 
 
 The Bible clearly teaches two resurrections, always 
 stating that of the righteous first ; and like the 
 
46 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 pathway of the just, it shines brighter and brighter, 
 till in the closing book the Revelator informs us how 
 far apart they are, giving the righteous the pre-emi- 
 nence of a millennium. 
 
 The Author of our being has wisely made us dis- 
 posed not to receive, without the best of evidence, 
 any doctrine which seems new ; we should guard well 
 that there be no innovation, for a bad faith leads to 
 a bad life. But if age gives sanction to truth, though 
 our view may seem new, the reader may learn in the 
 history of the Church, that it is in accordance with 
 the earliest expositions on record since the Revelator 
 penned the text. 
 
 Our wily Foe takes advantage of that disposition, 
 given by our Heavenly Father, that we might con- 
 tend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the 
 saints ; and it is stimulated to the highest when the 
 idolater is called on to embrace the religion of 
 'Christ ; he holds on long after he is convinced of his 
 error, as with a dying grasp to the faith of his 
 fathers. 
 
 Hence error is not introduced suddenly, but as in 
 the Jewish Church, little by little, step by step, till 
 so far led away, that when our Lord came, their reli- 
 gion was a mere outside show. He said, " Ye are 
 like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear 
 beautiful outwardly, but are within full of dead men's 
 bones, and of all unclcanness." 
 
 They were so far from tlie truth, that they looked 
 on the teachings of Christ as innovations, and 
 sincerely inquired of him, **Why do thy disciples 
 
SATAN LOOSED — GOG AND MAGOG. 47 
 
 transgress the traditions of the elders ?" He replied^ 
 *' Why do ye also transgress the commandment of 
 God by your traditions 
 
 So with a millennium in this mortal state, it has 
 been introduced so imperceptibly, being so pleasing 
 to all, till it is generally believed, and to speak 
 against it, is to speak against the traditions of the 
 elders ; yet it is not recognised in any of the creeds 
 of the churches. 
 
 The writings of those excellent commentators who 
 favored it, are referred to as authority, just as the 
 Jews to the traditions of the elders. We would not 
 detract anything from those pious men, who have 
 truly been^ great helps in the church, and will no 
 doubt receive a crown of life in that day. Yet they 
 never designed that their writings should become the 
 oracles of the church ; as they themselves taught, 
 that the word of God should be the only test to try 
 all religious truth. " To the law and to the testi- 
 mony ; if they speak not according to this word, it is 
 because there is no light in them,^' saith the Lord, 
 Isaiah viii. 20. 
 
 There may be objections which we have not con- 
 sidered"; none, we think, but what can be removed in 
 the careful study of the word of God. But is there 
 none on the other side ? Suppose that the millen- 
 nial day will Be introduced by a glorious revival of 
 religion — that then will take place a great spiritual 
 resurrection of the graces of the martyrs, and that all 
 the world will be evangelized, and become holy — 
 that the implements of war shall be laid aside for 
 
48 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 those of husbandry, and universal peace will ensue ; 
 and all shall know the Lord, from the least to the 
 greatest ; and infants will be introduced into a world 
 alive with spiritualities, and renewed by the power 
 of the Holy Ghost, we know not how young ; " and, 
 as one writer says, " There shall be a thousand saved 
 where there has been one lost, so that Christ will 
 obtain finally a great victory over Satan ; and this 
 blessed company exalted to be kings and priests, 
 and Christ shall reign by the Spirit with them a 
 thousand years. 
 
 Now we would inquire, who are they whom Satan 
 is to deceive after the thousand years have expired ? 
 Is he to be let loose among the blessed and the holy, 
 who have been kings and priests of God and of 
 Christ, and cause such a great host to apostatize ? 
 " The number of whom is as the sand of the sea." 
 Satan would be well pleased to have Christ obtain 
 such a victory, that he may retake them again. Such 
 is the absurdity of a millennium in probation. The 
 idea that there will be occasionally one left, as tares 
 in the wheat, will not make a multitude which shall 
 cover " the breadth of the earth, the number of whom 
 is as the sand of the sea.'^ And such a theory is held, 
 even by those who believe the doctrine of the final 
 perseverance of the saints. Can they who hold that 
 one may lose his soul after conversion, believe so 
 absurd a thing ? Seeing it is written of that number 
 who have part in the first resurrection, On such the 
 second death hath no power." 
 
 Should that reign take place in this mortal state. 
 
SATAN LOOSED — GOG AND MAGOG. 49 
 
 and its inhabitants knowing that Satan would be 
 finally let loose among them, and cause such a host to 
 apostatize, it would strike a death-like chill through 
 all the thousand years. And while Satan was bound 
 in the pit, all hell would yawn with horrid grins of 
 fiendish joy, in view of the future prospect. And if 
 angels could weep, they would put on sackcloth, and 
 Heaven would be veiled in mourning. 
 
 Such is the absurdity to which this peace-snare of 
 the Devil leads its votaries. It is Satan transformed 
 into an angel of light. It is his master-work, with 
 which the church and the world are flattered on with 
 the hope of coming peace. Every great move in the 
 world is interpreted to speak its coming. " Whom 
 the gods would destroy, they first make mad," though 
 a heathen proverb, is fearfully true in this case. 
 
 There is a beauty and a consistency in the plain 
 truths which give the whole family of Christ a part 
 in the millennium ; in that great sabbath, typified 
 by the sabbaths which they have kept while in the 
 flesh. " There remaineth, therefore, a rest (keeping 
 of the sabbath) to the people of God " — ^not to a part, 
 but " to the people of God." Not one of the family 
 shall be absent. The patriarchs, prophets, and wor- 
 thies of the Old Testament ; and the apostles, 
 martyrs, and confessors of the New ; all the meek, 
 the pure, the good, shall keep the holy sabbath 
 together ; fit preparation for those eternal joys of 
 " the restitution," which await them in the saints- 
 everlasting inheritance. 
 
 9 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE PREACHING OF PEACE A SNARE TO THE JEW13H 
 CHURCH. 
 
 "They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people 
 slightly, saying Peace, peace ; when there is no peace." — Jer. vi. 14. 
 
 The Jewish teachers, by holding before the 
 Church the prospect of peace and prosperity, caused 
 the hearts of the people to be set on earthly 
 aggrandizement, and " the hurt," the deep depravity 
 of the heart, was untouched. The liealing was but 
 slightly, and the religion of the majority was but an 
 outward show. 
 
 Very early in their history, those teachers who 
 claimed that the promises to the fathers were to be 
 fulfilled in the flesh, instilled into the Church the 
 idea that they should triumph over all their foes ; 
 that the worship of the true God, the God of Israel, 
 should be established in all dominions ; and that 
 they should have a glorious reign of peace at the 
 coming of the Messiah. Hence the universal anxiety 
 for him to come. 
 
 Ezekicl was sent to prophesy against those teach- 
 ers or prophets, and God gave him the reason ; 
 
 liccausc, even because they have seduced my 
 people, saying. Peace ; and there was no peace. 
 " To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy con- 
 
THE FALSE CRY OF PEACE. 
 
 61 
 
 cerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace 
 for her, and there is no peace saith the Lord God,'^ 
 Ezek. xiii. 10, 16. Those prophets who saw visions 
 of peace for Jerusalem were always more popular 
 and numerous than the faithful prophets. Why 
 should they not be popular ? Was it not a desirable 
 thing that the Church should see days of peace ? It 
 suited all hearts. How could they find fault with 
 visions of peace for their beloved Jerusalem or the 
 Church ? But God saw otherwise — that trials and 
 afflictions were better for her in this world. " There 
 is no peace, saith the Lord God.^^ In God the 
 Church has peace, but in the world trials and afflic- 
 tions await her. 
 
 Those who saw visions of peace were so popular 
 that the faithful prophets could rarely get a hearing ; 
 they were charged with being mad, and of making 
 themselves prophets ; thus they kept God's word 
 from the people. " Now, therefore, why hast thou 
 not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, who maketb 
 himself a prophet,'^ Jer. xxix. 21-27. 
 
 In the days of Elijah there were four hundred and 
 fifty prophets of Baal, and four hundred of the grove 
 so popular that they eat at the queen's table ; while 
 Elijah was considered " him who troubleth Israel. 
 lie had to flee into the wilderness, and into caves, to 
 save his life. 
 
 This charm of peace and a prospect of a glorious 
 reign had been the popular doctrine so long, that it 
 was interwoven with the very soul of the Jewish 
 Church, so that when Christ came and began to 
 
 I 
 
52 
 
 THE SAINTS' INHERITANCE. 
 
 preach the very opposite of all their views, his teach- 
 ing was exceedingly obnoxious to them. There was 
 no beauty to them in his doctrine. Instead of pro- 
 mising them peace and a glorious reign in their 
 beloved Jerusalem, he taught that hated truth that 
 Jerusalem should be destroyed ; " that it should be 
 trodden down of the Gentiles, till the times of the 
 Gentiles should be fulfilled.'' Instead of peace, his 
 followers might expect persecution ; and instead of 
 honor, their names should be cast out as evil. They 
 might indeed have a time to rejoice and be exceed- 
 ing glad in this world, not because of glory, or 
 honor, or peace ; but " when men shall revile you, 
 and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil 
 against you falsely, for my sake ; for so persecuted 
 they the prophets which were before you." 
 
 To embrace the truth which the Messiah taught, 
 was to renounce their glorious hope of triumph for 
 the Church of God, which they had been taught to 
 expect at the coming of the Messiah. The Jews 
 were not idolaters ; their Church was the visible 
 Church of God, and within her were found the few 
 pious on earth. But the most of them had embraced 
 the hope that the worship of the true God, the God 
 of Israel, would triumph in all lands through tlie 
 Messiah. The text was fully verified, They have 
 healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people 
 slightly, saying. Peace, peace, when there is no 
 peace.'' The deep depravity, the pride of the heart, 
 was not humbled with such a prospect before the 
 Church. Yet, perhaps, tlie world never witnessed a 
 peo[)lo more strict in their religious rites. • 
 
THE FALSE CRY OF PEACE. 63 
 
 Their glorious hope was dashed to the ground by 
 the teaching of Christ. He said instead of peace his 
 followers might expect war and distress : " For 
 nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against 
 kingdom : and there shall be famines, and pestilences, 
 and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the 
 beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you 
 up to be afflicted, and shall kill you : and ye shall be 
 hated of all nations for my name^s sake. And then 
 shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, 
 and shall hate one another. And many false pro- 
 phets shall arise and shall deceive many. And 
 because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall 
 wax cold. But he that shall endure to the end the 
 same shall be saved.^' — Matt. xxiv. 7-13. 
 
 They could not endure to have their hope for the 
 church thus torn away ! " They hid as it were their 
 faces from him.'' Shall war and distress and famine 
 and pestilence continue during all time ? Yes ; even 
 till Christ shall come to judgment. " 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," Luke xxi. 26, 27. Beginning with that 
 time, he gave a prophetic history of the church to the 
 judgment, with no such prospect of peace for them. 
 " They esteemed him not such humiliating truths 
 found no admittance in their hearts. " Satan trans- 
 formed into an angel of light," had perfectly charmed 
 them with the coming reign of peace and glory for 
 
54 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 the clmrch in this mortal state. How gladly would 
 Jesus have broken the spell ! Hear him ; ^' Suppose 
 ye that I am come to give peace on earth ? I tell you 
 nay ; but rather division.'' Again he says, " I came 
 to send fire on the earth ; and what will I if it be 
 already kindled !" Again, " Think not that I am 
 come to send peace on earth ; I came not to send 
 peace but a sword." Although his teachings were 
 accompanied with the most undoubted miracles, yet 
 these plain declarations from Christ did not break 
 the spell, their ears were still deaf to the truth. 
 There is no charm like the charm of peace ; they 
 could plead it for the advancement of the cause of 
 God ; it would be God glorified in the church. 
 " That angel of light'' hovered over them, and there 
 was no place in their hearts for the words of Christ. 
 They were perfectly ensnared ! They rejected the 
 Lord Jesus Christ as a false Messiah, and held on to 
 their hope of triumphant glory for the church in this 
 life, to be accomplished when the true Messiah should 
 come. Finally the terrible day of slaughter came 
 upon them as foretold by Christ. 
 
 History informs us that they wildly and madly 
 resisted the Roman army beyond all prospect of suc- 
 cess ; and in the terrible massacre they prayed and 
 cried aloud in the most enthusiastic manner for their 
 Messiah to come and give them victory over their 
 foes. But their Messiah was an imaginary one ; 
 and when there was no escape for them, their ange] 
 of light changed to the dark messenger of death. 
 
THE FALSE CRY OF PEACE. 65 
 
 Let the Gentile Church read in her long acknow- 
 ledged type, the fearful doom of the antitype. 
 
 Oh, Almighty Saviour, break this charm of peace 
 which lulls the Church and the world to sleep I The 
 enemy cometh in like a flood, and she is overwhelmed, 
 she sinks in the spirit of the world. Who can dis- 
 cern between him who serveth God and him who 
 serveth Him not ? And still the cry of " Peace and 
 safety " is going abroad as on the wings of the wind. 
 They know not that " sudden destruction cometh 
 upon them, and they shall not escape.^' 
 
 " If we sufifer with him we shall also reign with 
 him.'' How can his people anticipate such a day of 
 glory in the flesh, when they think of his suffering 
 life and ignominious death ? The servant above his 
 Master 1 " And when he had called the people unto 
 him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Who- 
 soever will come after me, let him deny himself, and 
 take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever 
 will save his life shall lose it ; but whosoever shall 
 lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same 
 shall save it," Mark viii. 34, 35. Thus the Saviour 
 taught that whosoever would follow him must not 
 only deny himself and take up his cross, but in so 
 doing he would jeopardize his life. 
 
 " For it became him, for whom are all things, and 
 by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto 
 glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect 
 through suffering. For both he that sanctifieth, and 
 they who are sanctified, are all of one : for which 
 cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren." 
 
66 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 Heb. ii. 10, 11. The Captain of their salvation made 
 perfect through suffering ! and his subjects live in 
 probation, without suffering, without trials ; in a day 
 when nothing shall hurt or destroy in all of God's 
 holy mountain ! And will they ever reign with him ? 
 Will he call them brethren ? 
 
 " Did I meet no trials here — 
 No chastisement by the way ; 
 Might I not^ with reason, fear 
 I should prove a cast-away." 
 
 The Revelator is permitted, through the vista of 
 time, to view the great multitude of the redeemed 
 from ^' all nations, and kindreds, and people, and 
 tongues, who stood before the throne, and before the 
 Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their 
 hands." John, beholding them with anxious eye, is 
 informed that these are they who have come out of 
 great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and 
 made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'' No 
 one of this company ripened for the heavenly king- 
 dom in a millennial state. " A state of peace and 
 glory — the implements of war laid aside for those of 
 husbandry — the infant introduced into a world alive 
 with spiritualities, and renewed by the" power of the 
 Iloly Ghost we know not how young — in infancy, a 
 man in understanding — the lowest in the church, 
 Edward Paysons and Madam Gyons, by their supe- 
 rior knowledge of the sciences, they will have com- 
 plete power over the elements — disease will be chased 
 out of the land — they will grow up to hale old age 
 
THE FALSE CRY OF PEACE. 
 
 67 
 
 without sickness or pain, and pass away into heaven 
 without a struggle or a groan." Can it be said of 
 the inhabitants of such a time, that " these are they 
 who have come out of great tribulation 
 
 The above is not the highest colored picture which . 
 we have seen of that imaginary day. 
 
 True, they quote some Scripture in proof which has 
 reference to this life, but other Scripture is quoted 
 that can never apply to the Church in probation, 
 which is applicable only to that higher and more 
 glorious state — to the Church triumphant, in^that 
 rest which awaits the people of God, when they shall 
 enter upon their final reward. 
 
 The inhabitants of such a day could not be tlie 
 sons of God. " For whom the Lord loveth he chas- 
 teneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." 
 For God has declared, " that through much tribula- 
 tion we must enter the kingdom of God." 
 
 What sympathy would there be between Jesus, the 
 " man of sorrows," and such a people ? or between 
 them and all the rest of the Church, who go from 
 trials, from persecution, from " cruel mockings," from 
 hunger, from torture, from the rack, from the flame^ 
 to the heavenly kingdom ? 
 
 " Must I be carried to the skies, 
 On flowery beds of ease ; 
 Whilst others fought to win the prize, 
 And sailed through bloody seas." — Watts. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE PREACHINa OP PEACE, A SNARE TO THE CHRIS- 
 TIAN CHURCH. 
 
 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth ; I came not tc 
 send peace but a sword." — Matt. x. 34. 
 
 T^OSE teachers, who claim that the implements of 
 war are to be laid aside for those of husbandry, 
 contradict the above teaching of Christ. They 
 virtually say, not so ; the result of Christ's coming 
 will bring universal peace, and will cause " the sword 
 to be beat into the ploughshare, and the spear into 
 the pruning-hook." Jesus replies, Luke xii. 51, 
 " Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth ? 
 I tell you, nay ; but rather division.'' Still they 
 answer, " Divisions shall cease, the watchman shall 
 see eye to eye, and all shall be united as the result 
 of thy coming." Again he replies, I tell you, nay ; 
 but rather division ; for from henceforth there shall 
 be five in one house divided." He prophesies that 
 from his day onward there shall be divisions. "Who 
 has spoken true ? Divisions multiply, churches are 
 divided and subdivided, and the most ingenious 
 weapons of death increase. " Yea, let God be true." 
 
 But have not the prophets foretold that the sword 
 shall 1)0 beat into the ploughshare, and the spear 
 into the pruning-hook? The prophets have foretold 
 
THE FALSE CRY OF PEACE. 
 
 69 
 
 that the people in the last days would teach, or say 
 that " the sword shall be beat into the ploughshare 
 and the spear into the pruning-hook.'' And they 
 have also foretold that waij^ would continue more or 
 less during all probation. 
 
 Isaiah and Micah are the only prophets who have 
 spoken of the sword being beat into the plough- 
 share ; and they both tell us, not that the sword 
 would be beat into the ploughshare, and the spear 
 into the pruning-hook, but that the 'people of the last 
 days would so teach. And their prediction has 
 been fulfilled to the letter. 
 
 Let the reader carefully examine the prophecy 
 beginning with Isaiah ii. 2. " And it shall come to 
 pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's 
 house shall be established in the top of the moun- 
 tains ; and shall be exalted above the hills ; and all 
 nations shall flow unto it." " In the last days f in 
 the gospel days, near their close. 
 
 " The mountain of the Lord's house." The Lord's 
 house, or temple at Jerusalem, is chosen as a figure to 
 represent the church ; and the low mountain on 
 which the temple stood, to represent the word of 
 God, that on which the church is built. " And are 
 built upon the foundation of the apostles and 
 prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner- 
 stone ; in whom all the building fitly framed 
 together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord ; 
 in whom ye also are builded together for a habita- 
 tion of God through the spirit." — Eph. ii. 20-22. 
 
 The writings of the apostles and of the prophets, 
 
60 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 Jesus Christ being the chief corner-stone, is the 
 mountain of the Lord^s house, or that on which tho 
 church is built, according to the apostle. 
 
 To suppose no figure used is to suppose that the 
 low mountain on which the temple was built will be 
 literally raised as high as the highest mountains 
 about Jerusalem ; and the Lord's house built on the 
 top of it. 
 
 The figure is a beautiful one. It is the mountair 
 on which the house stands, the word of God, that 
 is to be so highly exalted in the last days ; and the 
 church which is built upon it must necessarily be 
 prominent. 
 
 Think of the difference between the present time 
 and the time when the prophet wrote. Then, the 
 word of God was written with a pen, but few copies 
 in the world ; now it is within the reach of all in 
 Christendom. Even since the art of printing, a copy 
 of the Bible cost so much that few were able to pur- 
 chase it ; now a full copy may be had for twenty-five 
 cents. In the days when infidelity reigned in Prance 
 its enemies thought to destroy it ; but since that day 
 it has been translated into about two hundred differ- 
 ent tongues and languages. Tons and tons have 
 been shipped to heathen lands. The Bible is now 
 exalted beyond the reach of the infidel to extermi 
 nate. No book ever had an equal circulation. The 
 mountain of the Lord's house is established in the 
 top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills." 
 
 " And all nations shall flow unto it." The Bible 
 is now being distributed, and undoubtedly will be, 
 
THE FALSE CRY OF PEACE. 
 
 61 
 
 in every nation, and read in every land. " And this 
 gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the 
 world, as a witness unto all nations ; and then shall 
 the end come." As a witness^ not that they will all 
 be converted. It has been preached for a long time 
 in the Christian nations, and probably not one in ten 
 has been converted. As we before said, the church 
 thus situated on this exalted mountain must be very 
 prominent. But an exalted situation is not always a 
 guarantee for purity. Ahab was exalted to be king 
 of Israel, but he was exceedingly wicked. Though 
 she has so high a situation, the sequel shows that she 
 is not very pure. 
 
 The following verses inform us what the people 
 shall teach or say in those days. " And many people 
 shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the 
 mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of 
 Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and we 
 will walk in his paths ; for out of Zion shall go 
 forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jeru- 
 salem. And he shall judge among the nations, and 
 shall rebuke many people ; and they shall beat their 
 swords into ploughshares, and their spears into 
 pruning-hooks : nation shall not lift up sword 
 against nation, neither shall they learn war any 
 more. 0 house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk 
 in the light of the Lord.'^— Vs. 3-5. 
 
 These three verses are a prophecy of what would 
 be taught in the last days. There is no diflBculty in 
 determining how much of it is what the people would 
 say. The prophet has made it very distinct, for 
 
62 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 their sayings end in the same manner that they com 
 mence. They commence with, " Come ye^ and let us go 
 up to the mountains of the Lord/' and they end with, 
 " Come ye^ and let us walk in the light of the Lord." 
 The following verse also, being an address to God 
 by the prophet, concerning those teachers, fixes 
 beyond a doubt the extent of their sayings or teach- 
 ings. 6th verse, " Therefore thou hast forsaken thy 
 people the house of Jacob, because they be reple- 
 nished from the east, and are soothsayers like the 
 Philistines, and they please themselves in the chil- 
 dren of strangers.'' 
 
 We might as well claim that the Bible teaches 
 that there is no God," as to claim that this pro- 
 phecy teaches, "the sword would be beat into the 
 ploughshare and the spear into the pruning-hook." 
 The one is the saying of the fool, who " said in his 
 heart, there is no God ;" the other is a prophecy of 
 what the people would teach, or say, in the last 
 days ; and no one can dispute its fulfilment in these 
 days. 
 
 If the reader will closely observe the prophecy he 
 will see that God has foretold what the Church 
 would teach in the last days ; and instead of its 
 being a prophecy of a very pure and holy church, it 
 is the opposite — one which God forsakes. " There- 
 fore thou hast forsaken thy people ;" " the zeal of 
 thine house hath eaten me up," was foretold as the 
 voice of Christ by the Psalmist. 
 
 The Jews, in their zeal for God and the Church, 
 fulfilled the prophecies in putting to death the Mcs 
 
THE FALSE CRY OF PEACE. 
 
 63 
 
 siah, and they were forsaken of God. The Chris 
 tian Church, in her zeal for God and the Church, to 
 keep out heretics, seated herself on " the scarlet 
 colored beast, and became drunk with the blood of 
 saints f and they fulfilled the word of God with 
 Revelation in their hands ; and God has forsaken 
 her. 
 
 The Protestant Church, in her zeal for God and 
 the Church, has equally unwittingly fulfilled this 
 prophecy. " Therefore thou hast forsaken thy peo- 
 pie,'' says the prophet. Why ? what evil in such 
 preachiiig ? The preaching of the law may make a 
 sinner tremble — the glories of that heavenly country 
 may win his affections from earthly things — the 
 love of Jesus, as exhibited on the cross, may melt 
 and break his heart in penitence, through the Holy 
 Spirit ; but the preaching that the nations shall 
 learn war no more, of great prosperity on earth, of 
 good health and universal peace, may have healed 
 also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, 
 saying. Peace, peace, when there is no peace f but 
 more, it never did, nor can do. It has not only 
 healed slightly the deep wound of sin, but it holds 
 out the prospect of pleasure for the Church in this 
 world, notwithstanding Christ said, " In the world 
 ye shall have tribulation." And it has raised up 
 such a church as the Apostle has said would exist in 
 the last days, 2 Tim. iii. 1-5, " Lovers of pleasure 
 more than lovers of God, having a form of godli- 
 ness." This is seen in the mode of obtaining dona- 
 tions. Connect the giving with a pleasure party 
 
64 
 
 THE SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 and the cause is sustained. Those church feasts, the 
 profits of which go to the cause of God, are crowded 
 with good donors. Wherefore ? Because they love 
 God? By no means, or the donation could be 
 obtained without the pleasure party. The evidence 
 is clear — " They are lovers of pleasure more than 
 lovers of God.'' 
 
 But this is not all the evil of this peace preaching ; 
 they teach that God has said, the sword shall be beat 
 into the ploughshare, &c. 
 
 Were a friend to write us a letter and state what 
 the people were saying in a certain community, we 
 should not think of ascribing those sayings to him ; 
 and should we do so, and it prove adverse to his 
 well-being, the law would enable him to sustain an 
 action of libel against us. How could the prophet 
 have said less than, " Therefore thou hast forsaken 
 thy people They have slandered their God ; yea 
 more, they have done to Him that, which if done even 
 to a fellow-being, would be a libel. They teach that 
 God has said the sword should be beat into the 
 ploughshare, when God only foretold that they would 
 so teach. Let the prophet answer why God has for- 
 saken them. 
 
 *' Because they be replenished from the east, and 
 are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please 
 themselves in the children of strangers." 
 
 In explaining scripture they have, to a great extent, 
 introduced the " eastern accommodation system," or 
 otherwise "German Neology." Thus confident of 
 success, her teachers have become careless in reading 
 
THE FALSE CRY OF PEACE. 6£ 
 
 the word of God. Better learned in the sciences and 
 the wisdom of the world than in the word of God 
 and the school of Christ. They have unwittingly 
 fulfilled this scripture ; and perhaps have been as 
 honest in preaching that God had said the sword 
 should be beat into the ploughshare, as Saul, that 
 zealous member of the Jewish church, was in persecut- 
 ing the saints. He verily thought he was doing God 
 service. We pray that they may as heartily repent 
 and become as zealous for the truth. 
 
 Soothsayers are those who undertake to foretell 
 future events without the inspiration of God to 
 direct them, like the priests of the Philistines. The 
 temporal millennium is a pleasing theme for them to 
 dwell on ; they say we shall yet have a law esta- 
 blished on Christian principles, " for out of Zion shall 
 go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jeru- 
 salem." The Jews, they tell us, will be restored, and 
 they shall spread the Gospel from Jerusalem to the 
 heathen nations. Micah iv. contains a very similar 
 prophecy. There is a little difi'erence which is wor- 
 thy to be mentioned ; and these two are the only 
 prophecies in God^s word which speak of swords 
 being beat into the ploughshare. Isaiah says the 
 people ; Micah, the nations shall come and say, 
 Come, &c. 
 
 We have already had fiur World's Peace Conven- 
 tion ; the object of which was to establish a World's 
 Congress, composed of members elected by the seve- 
 ral nations friendly to peace. That this congress 
 might decide the difficulties which arise between 
 
66 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 nations without resorting to the sword. They used 
 in their circular letter the words which the prophet 
 foretold the nation would say. Micah from the 
 second to the fourth verse tells what they would say ; 
 but in the fifth verse concludes that it would prove a 
 failure. For all people will walk every one in the 
 name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the 
 Lord our God for ever and ever." 
 
 To hold on to their idols, "For all people will 
 walk every one in the name of his god,'^ is a sad 
 ending for a portion of scripture claimed to teach a 
 millennium. 
 
 The nations fight on, walking in the name of the god 
 of war. The friends of peace did not accomplish 
 their object ; but they have fulfilled this scripture, 
 and they knew it not. 
 
 " They please themselves in the children of stran- 
 gers." 
 
 It is too true that men of wealth, of influence, and 
 of education, are greatly coveted by the church. She 
 is called on to pray especially for such men. But she 
 has no special meetings to pray for the poor, and 
 the poor man knows it. " My brethren, have not the 
 faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, 
 with respect of persons. For if there come unto your 
 assembly, a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, 
 and there come in also a pODr man in vile raiment ; 
 and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay 
 clothing, and say unto him, sit thou here in a good 
 place, and say to the poor, stand thou there, or sit 
 here under my foot-stool. Are ye not then partial in 
 
THE FALSE CRY OF PEACE. 
 
 67 
 
 yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts. 
 Hearken, my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen 
 the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the 
 kingdom which he hath promised to them that love 
 him ? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich 
 men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment- 
 seat ? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by 
 the which ye are called ? If ye fulfil the royal law 
 according to the scriptures, thou shalt love thy 
 neighbor as thyself, ye do well ; but if ye have 
 respect to persons ye commit sin, and are convinced 
 of the law as transgressors." — James ii. 1-9. 
 
 But have we not a good object in seeking the edu- 
 cated, the noble, and the rich ? Can they not do 
 much more for the cause of God than the poor and 
 the illiterate? Our judgment would certainly say 
 they could. But God has decided otherwise ; " That 
 no flesh should glory in his presence." The silent 
 ejaculation which has gone up before God from that 
 poor widow when she cast in her mite, may have pre- 
 vailed more with God for his cause than the prayers, 
 influence, and offerings of half a dozen of the learned 
 and the rich. " To obey is better than sacrifice." 
 
 " For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not 
 many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not 
 many noble are called. But God has chosen the 
 foolish things of the world to confound the wise ; and 
 God has chosen the weak things of the world to con- 
 found the things which are mighty ; and base things 
 of the world, and things which are despised hath God 
 chosen, yea, and things which are not to bring to 
 
68 
 
 THE saints' INHEBITANCE. 
 
 naught things that are ; that no flesh should glory in 
 his presence." — 1 Cor. i. 26-29. 
 
 They please themselves in the children of stran- 
 gers. The prophet comes to a very difi'erent conclu- 
 sion from the church about the fulfilment of the pro- 
 phecy. They have supposed that the fulfilling of the 
 prophecy would usher in the millennium, during 
 which the church would be very pure and holy, and 
 that Christ would reign spiritually with her a thou- 
 sand years. But the prophet concludes that the ful- 
 filment of the prophecy would bring about so impure 
 and unholy a state, that instead of reigning with her, 
 God would forsake her. 
 
 Her crime is summed up in these three : 
 
 First, she has been careless in reading the word of 
 God, and has made use of it to suit her desire, with- 
 out regard to its true meaning. 
 
 Second, she has proclaimed for herself peace in 
 this world, where her Lord said she should have 
 tribulation. 
 
 Third, she has been lax in examining her converts, 
 and indifferent in her discipline, being anxious to 
 swell her numbers ; she has multiplied herself with 
 the children of strangers, who are not the children 
 of God. 
 
 Mark her onward course in the remaining part of 
 this chapter, till she seeks to hide herself in the clefts 
 of the rocks from the presence of her God, when He 
 arises in his indignation to shake terribly the earth. 
 
 7th verse. " Their land is also full of silver and 
 gold, neither is there any end of their treasures ; their 
 
THE FALSE CRY OF PEACE. 
 
 69 
 
 land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of 
 their chariots." 
 
 " Full of silver and gold, neither is there any end 
 of their treasures." This is manifest in the cost of 
 some of their houses of worship, some of which cost 
 over a million of dollars, many of them a hundred 
 thousand. They vie with each other that they may 
 surpass in splendor. These are the churches expect- 
 ing the heathen to be converted ; but when aid is 
 wanted, comparatively a small pittance goes into the 
 treasury, and the cause suffers for means. 
 
 " Their land is also full of horses, neither is there 
 any end of their chariots." 
 
 The splendor of their carriages, and the glory of 
 their equipages, when they appear at their houses of 
 worship, are not surpassed by princes. And while 
 they listen to the siren song of coming peace, their 
 coachmen are with their horses, and hear the gospel 
 perhaps as often as the heathen, whom the Church 
 claim will soon be converted. 
 
 8th verse. " Their land also is full of idols ; they 
 worship the work of their own hands, that which 
 their own fingers have made." 
 
 Perhaps no age ever equalled this, in the works of 
 art, for utility and ornament ; and perhaps no age 
 ever paid such devotion to them. The enthusiasm 
 and devotion manifest at the exhibitions are hardly 
 equalled when the most devout assemble to worship 
 the God of Heaven. No indifferent, sleepy persons 
 there ; all full of admiration and devotion. They 
 
 I 
 
70 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 worship the work of their own hands, that which 
 their own fingers have made." 
 
 9th verse. " And the mean man boweth down, and 
 the great man humbleth himself : therefore forgive 
 them not.'' 
 
 Inspiration puts a prayer into the mouth of the 
 prophet against them. 
 
 They are next called upon to hide themselves in 
 the rocks from the presence of the Lord. 
 
 These teachers inform us that the idols shall all be 
 abolished. True, they shall ; and the prophet in- 
 forms us when, but not in the millennium. 
 
 20th, 21st verses. " In that day a man shall cast 
 his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they 
 made each one for himself to worship, to the moles 
 and to the bats ; to go into the clefts of the rocks, 
 and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the 
 Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he aris- 
 eth to shake terribly the earth." 
 
 The idols of silver and gold will not go into the 
 clefts of the rocks, but those who continue to worship 
 them, till God ariseth to shake terribly the earth. 
 Then those precious articles of gold and silver, and 
 all their fine equipage, will be cast suddenly away as 
 useless ; that their owners, who have set their affec- 
 tions on them, may flee to the rocks and mountains, 
 to hide themselves from the presence of him who 
 Bitteth upon the Throne, and from the wrath of the 
 Lamb. 
 
 " Come ilien, and added to thy many crowns, 
 Receive yet one, as radiant as tlie rest* 
 
THE FALSE CRY OP PEACE. 
 
 Due to thy last and most effectual work ; 
 
 Thy word fulfilled, the conquest of a world ! 
 
 Thy saints proclaim thee King ; and thy delay 
 
 Gives courage to their foes, who, could they see 
 
 The dawn of thy last advent, long desired, 
 
 Would creep into the bowels of the hills, 
 
 And flee for safety to the falling rocks." — Cowpkr, 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE EARTH PROMISED TO CHRIST AS A POSSESSION. 
 
 " Ask of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thme inheritance, 
 and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." — Ps. ii. 8 
 
 The above is made a prominent proof text to teach 
 that the millennial reign takes place in probation. 
 But those who so teach are careful to quote no 
 further, and would have us understand from this 
 verse that the heathen will be converted. 
 
 When they pray for that millennial day, this verse 
 generally composes a part of the prayer, but the 
 next verse showa. that if their prayer should be 
 answered, the heathen instead of being converted 
 would be destroyed. 
 
 " Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron ; thou 
 J5halt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.'' 
 
 In view of this terrible declaration an exhortation 
 follows, to the kings and judges of the earth, who 
 are in possession of the inheritance promised his Son, 
 that they embrace the Son while there is opportunity, 
 before the kingdoms are taken from them, and they 
 punished for their unrighteous reign. 
 
 " Be wise now therefore, 0 ye kings ; be instructed, 
 ye judges of the earth ; serve the Lord with fear. 
 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from 
 the way when liis wraih is kindled but a little." 
 
THE EARTH CHRIST's POSSESSION. 
 
 73 
 
 If the heathen are to be converted when Christ 
 receives " the uttermost parts of the earth for a 
 possession," what force would there be in the exhor- 
 tation ? Suppose the kings and judges of the earth 
 inquire, what will be the consequences if we do not 
 embrace the Son? The only consistent answer 
 would be, if you do not embrace the Son you will all 
 soon be converted. There would be no force or 
 sense in the exhortation. It" would have the same 
 effect that the preaching of peace has always had, to 
 quiet the sinner in his sins. Thus their exposition 
 makes this searching truth of God to the sinner of 
 no effect. 
 
 But receive it as it is written, without any explana- 
 tion, and there is force and power in the exhortation. 
 Embrace the Son while he is waiting to be gracious ; 
 for he has only to ask the Father, and the kingdoms 
 are his ; and then he will arise from the mercy-seat, 
 and in his indignation will dash in pieces those who 
 obey not his gospel, " and they shall perish from the 
 way when his wrath is kindled but a little." 
 
 The Father has said to the Son, " Ask of me, and I 
 shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and 
 the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 
 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron ; thou 
 shalt dash them in pieces like a potter^s vessel," and 
 John the Revelator informs us that it shall take 
 place at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, Rev* 
 xi. 15-18. 
 
 " And the seventh angel sounded ; and there were 
 great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this 
 
 4 
 
74 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of 
 hig Christ ; and he shall reign for ever and ever/' 
 It is in connexion with the day of judgment that he 
 takes possession of the kingdoms. The nations 
 were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of 
 the dead, that they should, be judged, and that thou 
 shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, 
 and to the saints, and them that fear thy name small 
 and great." Then he executes the punishment fore- 
 told : " That thou shouldst destroy them that destroy 
 the earth." The promise of the Father will then 
 be fulfilled ; " the uttermost parts of the earth 
 become his possession," and " he shall reign for ever 
 and ever." His reign shall be an eternal, glorious, 
 and righteous reign. 
 
 "Know, therefore, when mj season comes to sit 
 On David's throne, it shall be like a tree 
 Spreading and overshadowing all the earth ; 
 Or as a stone that shall to pieces dash 
 All monarchies besides through the world ; 
 And of my kingdom there shall be no end." — Milton. 
 
 Notwithstanding, the kings of the eartli set tliem- 
 selves, and the rulers take counsel together against 
 the Lord, and against his Anointed, saying. Let us 
 break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords 
 from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh : 
 the Lord sliall liave them in derision." 
 
 The kingdoms of tliis world are Christ^s lawful 
 dominion ; and when he takes to himself his great 
 power and reigns, he will break as with a rod of 
 
THE EARTH CHRIST'S POSSESSION. 75 
 
 iron, and dasli to pieces as a potter's vessel those 
 who have not kissed the Son, or embraced his cause. 
 
 Another text claimed as proof that the church will 
 have a triumphant reign during probation, is found 
 in Jer. xxxi. 34 : " And they shall teach no more 
 every man his neighbor and every man his brother, 
 Faying, Know the Lord ; for they shall all know me, 
 from the least of them unto the greatest of them, 
 saith the Lord.'' 
 
 " For they shall all know me." To know God is 
 life eternal. Then, there cometh a day when all the 
 inhabitants of the earth shall be holy. Great and 
 precious promise! Happy prophet, who in holy 
 vision saw the day, and still more happy will he be 
 when he mingles with that holy company. Oh, 
 Earth 1 does the day truly come when all thy inhabit- 
 ants shall be righteous ? Yes ; it is the guarantee 
 of thy Maker ; and a blessed sabbath calm shall one 
 day fill Emmanuel's land, and the whole dominion 
 shall be holy. No horrid oaths of blasphemy shall 
 be heard ; no pestilential breath to sicken the inha- 
 bitants ; no blasting wind to wither its fruit ; but its 
 inhabitants shall inhale the fragrance of the unfading 
 flowers of a restored Paradise. 
 
 But the prophet has immovably fixed that blessed 
 time beyond the bounds of probation. He says, in 
 that day " they shall teach no more every man his 
 neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know 
 the Lord ;" while He who inspired the prophet has 
 commanded his disciples to teach their neighbor and 
 their brother to know the Lord during all probation. 
 
76 
 
 THE SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 even to the end of time, saying, " Lo, I am with thee 
 alway, even to the end of the world." 
 
 In that day "they shall all know me, saith the 
 Lord.'' To know God is life eternal, hence they 
 shall all be righteous. But Christ says that "the 
 tares and the wheat,'' or the righteous and the wicked, 
 shall mingle together during all probation, till they 
 are separated at his coming. 
 
 It seems also from the context, that God, foreseeing 
 the general tendency to fix the hope of its fulfilment 
 in the flesh, still further guarded this precious pro- 
 mise. The prophet, speaking of the gospel days, 
 says, " In those days they shall say no more the 
 fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's 
 teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for 
 his own iniquity ; every man that eateth the sour 
 grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. Behold the 
 days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new 
 covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house 
 of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I 
 made with their fathers, in the days that I took them 
 by the hand to lead them out of Egypt ; which my 
 covenant they break, although I was an husband unto 
 them, saith the Lord." 
 
 A covenant is an agreement. A covenant between 
 God and man is a condescension on the part of God 
 whereby he enters into a solemn agreement to fulfil 
 certain promises. And the covenant which he made 
 with his people when he brought them out of Egypt, 
 was sealed by the blood of beasts under the law ; in 
 which he promises a better state of things, a new 
 
THE EARTH CHRIST'S POSSESSION. 
 
 77 
 
 coYenant sealed with a better sacrifice when the pro- 
 mised seed should come ; then the true atonement 
 should be made. The law therefore was a shadow of 
 good things to come, " a schoolmaster to bring us to 
 Christ." The promised blessings of its covenant are 
 extended through the gospel dispensation. The cove- 
 nant which God made with Israel, when he brought 
 them out of Egypt, was only a renewal of the promise 
 of the new covenant, or the gospel, which had been 
 before proclaimed to Abraham ; and the ceremonial 
 law, or that covenant, was added, says Paul, " because 
 of transgression till the promised seed should come.'' 
 By it the people had a " shadow of good things to 
 come," or " a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ." 
 The blessings or promises of the former covenant 
 looked only to the gospel, while those promises of the 
 gospel covenant look to " the world to come." 
 
 " But this shall be the covenant that I will make 
 with the house of Israel : After those days, saith the 
 Lord, I will put my law into their inward parts, and 
 write it in their hearts ; and will be their God, and 
 they shall be my people. And they shall teach no 
 more every man his neighbor, and every man his bro- 
 ther, saying, know the Lord : for they shall all know 
 me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, 
 saith the Lord." 
 
 As the promises of the former covenant looked 
 forward to the gospel days, so the promises of the new 
 covenant look forward to the age to come for their 
 fulfilment. True, we get a foretaste here ; when " ye 
 believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of 
 
T8 
 
 THE saints' INIIEPwITANCE. 
 
 promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until 
 the redemption of the purchased possession unto the 
 praise of his glory." 
 
 Christ has not yet saved his people from the con- 
 sequences of sin ; but his covenant, his agreement 
 with all those who believe, is, that he will redeem 
 them, soul and body, from all its evil consequences, 
 from mortality, corruption, and the grave ; and that 
 he " will put his law in their inward parts, and write 
 it in their hearts," so that they shall not need to be 
 taught to know the Lord. 
 
 This new covenant, or promise, established by the 
 blood of the Testator, sealed to every believer by the 
 Holy Spirit, is to be fulfilled, says the prophet, " after 
 those days ;" after the gospel days, the days allotted 
 for the people to enter into covenant with God, or to 
 believe. 
 
 But in this mortal state he does not put his law in 
 their inward parts, or write it in their hearts. The 
 unhappy fate of a Thomas Munzer and his followers, 
 in the days of Luther, and many others since, should 
 convince us of the folly of such a doctrine. They 
 believed that the law of God was written in their 
 hearts, and hence became wise above the word of 
 God. 
 
 In this life the people are dependent on the word 
 of God. " This gospel of the kingdom shall be 
 preached in all the world, as a witness unto all 
 nations." Teaching is the great work during all pro- 
 bation, but " After those days," the gospel days, in 
 that better world, he will fulfil the promises of the 
 
THE EARTH CHRIST's POSSESSION. 79 
 
 new covenant, the gospel covenant, by putting hil 
 law in their inward parts, and writing it in their 
 hearts : and they shall teach no more every man his 
 neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, know 
 the Lord, for they shall all know me, saith the Lord \ ( 
 for I will forgive their iniquity and remember their 
 sin no more." The law of love written in their 
 hearts shall unite all holy intelligences to one another, 
 and to their common Lord for ever. Those command- 
 ments, of love to God, and to our neighbor, upon 
 which, said the Saviour, " hang all the law and the 
 prophets," with which he shall for ever govern all holy 
 beings, will be written on their hearts. 
 
 " And remember their sins no more." There must 
 be a remembrance of sin till its evil consequences are 
 all removed. Although God has thus clearly fixed 
 in the paradisiacal state of the earth, the time wlijen 
 all shall be righteous, when all shall know him from 
 the least to the greatest, yet men, seemingly deter- 
 mined to have a time of triumph for the church in the 
 flesh, claim that the fulfilment of the promise is to be 
 in probation. 
 
 If that glorious day takes place in probation, the 
 Bible would have to be revised. The wide gate and 
 broad way which leads to destruction would have to 
 become narrow, so that few could find it. The 
 strait gate and narrow way which leads to life 
 would have to become broad, and the great multitude 
 would go together there. 
 
 " 0 thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not 
 comforted," could no longer be addressed to the 
 
®0 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 church as truth. A great portion of the Bible would 
 have to be reversed. It would not do to read from 
 Dan. vii. that there shall be a wicked power which 
 shall prevail against the saints till the judgment 
 sits. 
 
 Those prophecies of our Lord, showing that his 
 followers would be persecuted and afflicted till he 
 comes again, would be wrong ; and that page on 
 which the parable of the tares in the field is written, 
 and its explanation, would have to be sealed up. 
 
 What part of the holy Book would there be left 
 suitable for such a day ? " Through much tribulation 
 ye shall enter the kingdom of God,'' would have to 
 be reversed. "He scourgeth every son whom he 
 receiveth," would have to be blotted out. " In the 
 world ye shall have tribulation," would be false. 
 No ; it can never be. The Church cannot have her 
 glory till she reaches it through the vale of humility 
 and suffering. 
 
 The Bible has but few pages that do not contain 
 something directly or indirectly against this snare of 
 Satan. Yet its votaries are quite at ease, perfectly 
 confident of success, and are promising themselves a 
 day in probation of peace and glory for the church : 
 when her watchmen shall see eye to eye ; but facts 
 tell us that divisions have been multiplying since the 
 days of the Apostles. And while the church is at 
 ease, sure that the world will be converted, " That 
 Wicked," that Man of Sin is active and energetic, 
 leaving no measure untried, and is now working his 
 way to the strong arm of the civil power, already 
 
THE EARTH CHRlST^S POSSESSION. 
 
 81 
 
 beginning to boast tliat its strength is being wielded 
 in his favor. 
 
 The Papal influence with the nations of the earth 
 far surpasses that of the Protestant. And it is con- 
 tinually gaining Protestant territory. And further, 
 God has said " that it shall prevail against the saints 
 and overcome them till the judgment sits," Dan. vii. 
 25, 26. Then it shall be destroyed by the brightness 
 of Christ's coming, as Paul has said, 2 Thess. ii. 8. 
 
 If that power should keep pace with the rapid 
 strides it has made for the few past years in the 
 British dominion and the United States, it will soon 
 have the ascendency in these strongholds of the Pro- 
 testant Church. 
 
 What is the answer of God to the souls under the 
 altar who had been slain as witnesses for Jesus? 
 " And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under 
 the altar the souls of them that were slain for the 
 word of God, and for the testimony which they held ; 
 and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, 
 0 Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and 
 avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ? 
 And white robes were given unto every one of them, 
 and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet 
 for a little season, until their fellow-servants also and 
 their brethren, that should be killed as they were, 
 should be fulfilled."— Rev. vi. 9-11. 
 
 Docs God say that they should rest till their breth- 
 ren should enjoy a millennial day ? By no means. 
 But "that they should rest yet for a little season, 
 until their fellow-servants also and their brethren 
 
 4* 
 
82 
 
 T^E SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 that should be killed as they were, should be ful- 
 filled." 
 
 An Apostle could say " that the Holy Ghost wit 
 nesseth in every city, saying, that bonds and afflic- 
 tions abide me f and a Watts could sing : — 
 
 " Are there no foes for me to face ? 
 Must I not stem the flood ? 
 Is this vile world a friend to grace, 
 To help me on to God ? 
 
 " Sure I must fight, if I would reign ; 
 Increase my courage, Lord; 
 I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, 
 Supported by thy Word." 
 
 " Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for 
 thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the 
 earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them 
 with a rod of iron ; thou shalt dash them in pieces 
 like a potter^s vessel." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE LOCATION OP THE INHERITANCE OF THE SAINTS. 
 
 "Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth." ' 
 
 Matt. v. 6. 
 
 " The meek " — all the Christian graces summed up 
 in a word ; the gentle, the humble, the kind, the 
 pure, the good. Those only are meek who have been 
 made so by the blood of Jesus. They are true Chris- 
 tians. 
 
 But have not Christians always inherited the 
 earth ? If so, then, this beatitude must be revised, 
 and should be read, " Blessed are the meek ; for they 
 do inherit the earth." No ; it needs no revising or 
 explaining ; it is a plain promise still unfulfilled. 
 
 Only a glance at the History of the Church will 
 convince us that Christians have never inherited the 
 earth. How was it with those dear disciples to 
 whom he spake ? They sold their houses and lands, 
 and forsook all for Christ. Christians, in the days 
 of the apostles, sold their possessions, and brought the 
 price and laid it at the apostles^ feet, and went every- 
 where preaching the Word. 
 
 During the reign of the Roman Emperors, three 
 millions of Christians had their property confiscated 
 by the government, and they were given to the wild 
 beasts, at the pleasure of thei;- oppressors, to be 
 
84 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 destroyed. There was a respite in the days of Con- 
 stantine ; but soon the Church became popular, and, 
 as usual, the opposite of " the meek " — the proud and 
 the rash — professed religion, and that famous decree 
 went forth, that ^' ignorance is the mother of devo- 
 tion/^ and the people were not permitted to read the 
 Bible without the annotations of the Priest. The 
 result was, that those who read and understood it for 
 themselves, true Christians, were persecuted unto 
 death, till fifty millions of " the meek poured out 
 their blood as martyrs, and their property was given 
 over to fill the coffers of the professed Church. This 
 holy band of martyrs, this great company of " the 
 meek," have not inherited the earth. 
 
 Since our Lord gave this promise it could not have 
 been said in truth, the meek inherit the earth. It 
 has more generally been the poor in this world's 
 goods who have embraced religion. When men of 
 wealth have been converted to God, their property 
 and possessions have been laid on the altar, and all 
 they have bought with a price ; henceforth they have 
 been the stewards of God, expecting to render an 
 account of their stewardships, of what disposition 
 they make of their property, and possessions ; know- 
 ing that " here they have no continuing city, but seek 
 one to come," as did the Pilgrim Fathers. And those 
 Christians who do not acknowledge God as the owner 
 of their possessions and themselves but stewards, die 
 spiritually, as certainly as Ananias and Sapphira died 
 literally, for lying to the Holy Ghost in keeping back 
 part of the price of the land. 
 
THE LOCATION. 
 
 85 
 
 The people of God have never inherited the earth, 
 neither can they while mortal ; but " blessed are the 
 meek ; for they shall inherit the earth." This pro- 
 mise will be fulfilled with those other promises given 
 on the same occasion ; when " the pure in heart shall 
 see God/' 
 
 The promise that the meek shall inherit the earth 
 was not first given on the mountain to the disciples, 
 but it had been previously given by the same Lord 
 and Saviour to Abraham " the friend of God." Even 
 before the law this gospel promise was preached to 
 Abraham, the father of the faithful whom Paul calls 
 " the heirs of the world." " For if the inheritance 
 be of the law, it is no more of promise : but God 
 gave it to Abraham by promise," Gal. iii. 18. 
 
 Jesus also said to the Jews " your father Abraham 
 rejoiced to see my day, and b j saw it and was glad." 
 At which time the Lord premised the land both to 
 him, and to his seed ; not s* rply to dwell in as 
 pilgrims and strangers, but for rai everlasting posses- 
 sion. God promised Abraham that he should have 
 it for ever, and he believed God. Hence he is called 
 " the heir of the world, not through the law, but 
 through the righteousness of faith,^' Rom. iv. 13. * 
 
 And the Lord said unto Abraham, after that Lot 
 was separated from him, lift up now thine eyes, and 
 look from the place where thou art, northward and 
 southward, and eastward, and westward ; for all the 
 land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to 
 thy seed for ever." " Arise, walk through the land 
 
86 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 in the length of it, and in the breadth of it ; for I 
 will give it unto thee," Gen. xiii. 14, 15, 17. 
 
 Did Abraham havo the land according to this 
 promise ? No ; not one foot of it, says the word of 
 God. He sojourned in it as a pilgrim, and a 
 stranger, having no inheritance in it. He had to 
 purchase even a burying-place for Sarah his com- 
 panion. Though Abraham, as he passes through the 
 land in the length and breadth of it, is bid to look 
 as far as his eye could extend in each point of the 
 compass ; and God promises to give it to him and 
 his seed for an everlasting possession ; yet in the 
 special providence of God, he is careful to have the 
 fact recorded, that Abraham must buy even a burying- 
 place ; so that not only Abraham, but the children of 
 the covenant, might understand that the promise was 
 not to be fulfilled in the flesh. 
 
 The natural heart always claiming the fulfilment 
 of the promise in the flesh, it became a source of 
 great stumbling to the Jewish church. And it is 
 still a fruitful source of stumbling even in the Chris- 
 tian church. 
 
 It was the most offensive doctrine that could be 
 brought before the unbelieving Jew, that the promise 
 to Abraham of the inheritance, was to be fulfilled in 
 the resurrection state. 
 
 When the council of the seventy elders of the 
 Jewish church, the Grand Sanhedrim, were assem- 
 bled to try Stephen, the first Christian martyr who 
 fell a victim to their rage, he brought forward this 
 truth in his defence, to prove the resurrection of the 
 
THE LOCATION. 
 
 87 
 
 dead. He declared that God had not yet fulfilled 
 that promise to Abraham of the land. He says, 
 Acts vii. 2-5, " Men, brethren, and Fathers, hearken, 
 the God of glory appeared unto our Father Abraham 
 when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in 
 Charran, and said unto him, get thee out of thy 
 country and from thy kindred, and come into th^ 
 land'which I shall shew thee. Then came he out of 
 the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran, 
 And from thence, when his father was dead, he 
 removed him into this land wherein ye now dwell 
 And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so 
 much as to set his foot on : yet he promised that he 
 would give it to him for a possession, and his seed 
 after him, when as yet he had no child." 
 
 His argument is conclusive, that as God had 
 promised to give the land to Abraham, and as he had 
 not yet given him so much as to set his foot on, 
 Abraham being dead, he must necessarily have a 
 resurrection in order to receive the promised inherit- 
 ance, that the oath and promise of God to Abraham 
 might not fail. And while Stephen thus makes his 
 way plain to introduce Christ as the true Messiah, 
 notwithstanding they had crucified him, he also 
 strikes a deathblow at tlieir hope of glory for the 
 church in the flesh. 
 
 Stephen further teaches them, that the promise to 
 Abraham, that he and his seed should have the land 
 for an everlasting inheritance, was not fulfilled by the 
 return of their fathers from Egypt into the land of 
 Canaan ; and quotes another promise of God to 
 
88 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 Abraham as proof : 6th and Tth verses, " And God 
 Bpake on this wise, that his seed should sojourn in a 
 strange land ; and they should bring them into bond* 
 age, and entreat them evil four hundred years. And 
 the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I 
 judge, said God : and after that, they shall come forth 
 and serve me in this place/' Their return and tem- 
 poral possession he claimed only fulfilled the promise 
 that " They shall come forth and serve me in this 
 place." Even the Jewish law would have taught them, 
 had they heeded it, that their possession was still in the 
 future. For God was very careful when he brought 
 them from Egypt into the land, to make this truth 
 plain to them, that they were not to have their inhe- 
 ritance till the land should be redeemed, that their 
 possession was only temporal, and that they were to 
 be tenants, making it a law, saying, " The land shall 
 not be sold for ever ; for the land is mine, for ye are 
 strangers and sojourners with me. And in all the 
 land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption 
 for the land," Lev. xxv. 23, 24, " The law was a 
 shadow of good things to come f Of the redemp- 
 tion of the purchased possession, to the praise of his- 
 glory." 
 
 Sucli teaching was the great offence of the gospel 
 to the Jewish church. It cut oif at once their hope 
 of glory and honor for the church in this mortal state ; 
 and it applied all those blessed promises given to the 
 fathers, of a city to come, which should be made an 
 eternal excellency and a glory in all the earth, that 
 nothing shall hurt or destroy in all God's holy moun- 
 
THE LOCATION. 
 
 89 
 
 tain, to the immortal state, and renewed earth : and 
 it made the condition of enjoying them, faith in 
 Jesus, and holiness of heart. It sustained that hated 
 doctrine taught by the Saviour himself, that their 
 Jerusalem should be destroyed, instead of being made 
 glorious, and that it should be trodden down of the 
 Gentiles during all probation, or till the time of the 
 Gentiles should be fulfilled. This was the doctrinal 
 part of Stephen's discourse. The remainder was his- 
 torical, showing them that their fathers had taken the 
 same corrupting view of God's promises, and thereby 
 had been turned to idolatry. " Ye stiff-necked and 
 uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist 
 the Holy Ghost : as your fathers did, so do ye." 
 
 The apostle Paul gives the same testimony, and if 
 possible still more clearly, in his epistle to the Heb. xi. 
 8-13, " By faith Abraham when he was called to go 
 out into a place which he should after receive for an 
 inheritance, obeyed ; and he went out not knowing 
 whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land 
 of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in taber- 
 nacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of 
 the same promise." In the 10th, 11th, and 12th 
 verses he enumerates the multitude of the faithful 
 seed, and says, 13th verse, " these all died in the faith 
 not having received the promises, but having seen 
 them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and 
 embraced them, and confessed that they were stran- 
 gers and pilgrims on the earth." 
 
 From the above, and from Abraham's history, we 
 learn that he is called of God to go out into a place 
 
90 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 which he should afterwards receive for an inheritanco. 
 and the promise was renewed to Isaac and Jacob ; 
 and not only they, but all their faithful seed embraced 
 the promises, and although they lived in the land, 
 they confessed that they were strangers. They saw 
 that the time for the promises to be fulfilled was afar 
 off ; and all the faithful sons and daughters of 4-bra* 
 ham who had been gathered to their fathers previous 
 to the apostles' day, died, believing that God would 
 fulfil the promise by giving them the land for an 
 everlasting inheritance. We see, therefore, that the 
 promise to Abraham and to his seed remains to be 
 fulfilled when the meek shall inherit the earth. 
 
 When shall they inherit it ? When the " Son of 
 man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather 
 out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them 
 which do iniquity ; and shall cast them into a fur- 
 nace of fire *: there shall be wailing and gnashing of 
 teeth ; then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun 
 in the kingdom of their father f. then shall the meek 
 inherit the earth. 
 
 Our Lord represents the Jews as only tenants, not 
 owners or inheritors of the land, but liable to be 
 turned away at the will of the Owner, as husbandmen 
 who had taken a vineyard. " And when the time of 
 the fruit drew near he sent his servants to the hus- 
 bandmen, that they might receive the fruit of it. 
 And the husbandmen took his servants and beat one, 
 and killed another, and stoned another. Again he 
 Bent other servants more than the first ; and they did 
 unto them likewise. But last of all he sent u^'to 
 
THE LOCATION. 
 
 91 
 
 them his Son, saying, They will reverence my Son. 
 But when the husbandmen saw the Son, they said 
 among themselves, this is the heir, come let us kill 
 him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they 
 caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard and 
 slew him.'^ Jesus informs them that they should ba 
 rejected from being tenants, and should be de- 
 stroyed. 
 
 But the promise to^Abrahara was like the promise 
 which Jesus gave to the meek, unconditional, immu- 
 table, "Blessed are the meek ; for they shall inherit 
 the earth." And to Abraham he says, " To thee will 
 I give it, and to thy seed for ever ; — Arise, walk 
 through the land in the length of it and in the breadth 
 of it ; for I will give it unto thee.'' But the great 
 mass of the Jewish Church ever looking for the ful- 
 filment of the promises in the flesh, they resisted the 
 teaching of the Holy Ghost, so touchingly and deeply 
 impressed upon the father of the faithful in the ofl'er- 
 ing up of Isaac. Abraham having been previously 
 informed that " in Isaac shall thy seed be called,'' is 
 commanded to offer him to God as a burnt offering. 
 And his faith staggered not, " accounting that God 
 was able to raise him up even from the dead ; from 
 whence also he received him in a figure ;" showing 
 most clearly that it was through death and the resur- 
 rection that they were to receive the promised inherit- 
 ance. Isaac being a type of the true seed, Christ 
 the only begotten of the Father, a deep and lasting 
 impression is made by the price of man's redemption ; 
 while it for ever connects it with the redemption of 
 
92 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 his inheritance. So the apostle teaches, Eph. i. 12-14, 
 " That we should be to the praise of his glory who 
 first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, 
 after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of 
 your salvation ; in whom also, after that ye believed, 
 ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 
 which is the earnest of our inheritance until the 
 redemption of the purchased possession, unto the 
 praise of his glory.'' Here we are informed that 
 when we believe in Christ, who is the true promised 
 seed of Abraham, we are sealed with that promised 
 Holy Spirit, who is our Earnest, our Pledge, till our 
 possession shall be redeemed. 
 
 What possession has man lost which is to be 
 redeemed ? The only one he ever had ; the earth. 
 The earth was given him when it was so beautiful and 
 glorious that God pronounced it very good ; and of 
 man he said, " let them have dominion over all 
 the earth." This lost and forfeited dominion, the 
 Apostle teaches above, that Christ has purchased 
 and will redeem it from the curse. Though Christ 
 has inherited it as the true seed of Abraham, it being 
 still under the curse, he Ras paid the price of its 
 redemption. 
 
 Cowpcr lias expressed tlie same in the following 
 lines : 
 
 "It was thine 
 By ancient covenant, ere Nature's birth ; 
 And thou hast made it thine by purchase since, 
 And overpaid its vahie with thy blood." 
 
 The Apostle Paul claims tliat Abraham's promised 
 
THE LOCATION. 
 
 98 
 
 inheritance included the whole earth, " For tho 
 promise that he should be the heir of the world was 
 not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but 
 through the righteousness of faith,'' Rom. iv. 13. 
 Again he says, " And if ye be Christ's then are y8 
 Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise f 
 for the meek are the children of Christ, who is the 
 son of Abraham. Therefore said the Saviour, 
 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the 
 earth." 
 
 Hence the saints sing of the location of theic 
 inheritance, Rev. v. 9-10, " And they sung a new 
 song, saying. Thou art worthy to take the book, and 
 to open the seals thereof ; for thou wast slain, and 
 hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every 
 kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and 
 hast made us unto our God kings and priests ; and 
 we shall reign on the earth." 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE SECOND ADAM. 
 
 " And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul, 
 the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. The first man is of the 
 earth, earthy : the second man is the Lord from heaven." — 1 Cor. 
 XV. 45, 47. 
 
 Man was originally invested with royalty. God 
 created him in his own image; and placed him at the 
 head of all things on the earth. This earth was his 
 peaceful dominion. God said, " Let us make man in 
 our image aftei* our likeness, and let them have 
 dominion .... over all the earth/' — Gen. i. 26. 
 
 This earth was desigjied for his abode, it was 
 adapted to his nature, and his nature was adapted to 
 it. This is evident from the fact that " God saw 
 every thing that he had made ; and behold it was 
 very good.'' 
 
 Man's power being delegated to him, his right to 
 reign as the lord and king of the earth was condi- 
 tional ; and the first Adam lost his dominion in con- 
 sequence of sin. The earth, his heritage, was cursed, 
 its glory and beauty were tarnished, and its rightful 
 sovereign was supplanted. Discontent, rebellion, 
 hatred, sickness, pain, sorrow, and death, became the 
 patrimony of man. Being thus fallen and depraved, 
 with no power to save themselves, their only hopo 
 
THE SECOND ADAM. 
 
 95 
 
 was in the promise of the second Adam, who is the 
 Lord from heaven. 
 
 The tirst Adam being put in possession of this earth 
 as his heritage and dominion, and by sin lost it, with 
 his life ; the second Adam must redeem and possess 
 the lost dominion, the very same dominion ; other- 
 wise he cannot be the second Adam. For if Christ 
 takes possession of a new territory for himself and 
 his redeemed people, of that new territory he will be 
 the first Adam ; as there cannot be a second without 
 a first. But Christ being the second Adam, this earth 
 must therefore be the territorial dominion which he 
 will possess, and over which he shall reign with his 
 people. 
 
 And when the great work of redemption is accom- 
 plished, the children of the second Adam will be 
 restored to that royalty from which they fell ; and in 
 accomplishing which it becomes as necessary that 
 Christ should reign on this earth in the person of 
 humanity, as that in the person of our nature he 
 should sufi*er on this earth. And thou, 0 Tower of 
 the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, 
 unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion ; the 
 kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.'' — 
 Micah iv. 8. 
 
 In this verse Christ is the person addressed. 
 And thou, 0 Tower of the flock,'' the first dominion 
 shall come to thee. The prophet asserts that the 
 dominion originally given to Adam shall come to 
 Christ, the second Adam, the Tower of the flock, the 
 Hope of the church. And the kingdom shall como 
 
96 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 to the daughter of Jerusalem," the church. That is, 
 through Christ the second Adam, the people of God 
 shall be restored to that royalty, and established in 
 their dominion. Hence the song of the redeemed, 
 And hath made us unto our God kings and priests, 
 and we shall reign on the earth." 
 
 THE SECOND ADAM. 
 
 This is one of the titles our Saviour bears among 
 his many precious names : which is given in refer- 
 ence to the character he will sustain in the regene- 
 rated earth, as its Lord and rightful Sovereign ; the 
 great head of the family of the redeemed. 
 
 All that was lost in the first Adam, shall be more 
 than made up to the children of the second Adam. 
 
 As the first Adam is the great head and progeni- 
 tor of the human family in this corrupted and fallen 
 earth, so the secon*d Adam shall be, The Everlast- 
 ing Father of the redeemed in the earth renewed, 
 
 the world to come." 
 
 As we derive from the first Adam our natural life 
 through the blood, " thou shalt not eat the blood 
 thereof, for that is the life thereof," saith God ; so 
 also from the second Adam we receive our spiritual 
 life, through the Spirit. " If any man have not the 
 Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." By the same | 
 Spirit he shall make alive our mortal bodies in his 
 glorious likeness. He is " a quickening Spirit.'' 
 
 Through the first Adam we lost our life with that 
 state of blessedness and purity, and in their place we 
 
THE SECOND ADAM. 
 
 9T 
 
 inherit misery, corruption, and death ; " wherefore, as 
 by one man sin entered into the world, and death by 
 I sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all 
 have sinned." But the children of the second Adam 
 shall escape the second death, misery and corruption, 
 and shall inherit eternal life, blessedness and glory. 
 
 In the first Adam we lost the glorious image of 
 Grod, but the redeemed shall put on that heavenly 
 beauty again through the second Adam. " I shall be 
 satisfied when I awake with thy likeness," says 
 David. And Paul says, that Christ "shall change 
 our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his 
 glorious body, according to the working whereby he 
 is able even to subdue all things unto himself." 
 
 In the first Adam we lost our inheritance ; it was 
 forfeited and cursed ; but the second Adam has 
 "purchased the possession" and will remove the 
 curse, and restore it to its Eden state. " He that sat 
 upon the throne saith, behold I make all things 
 new." And there shall be no more curse. 
 
 Through Eve, " the mother of all living," who was 
 the first in the transgression, a usurper obtained' the 
 possession ; " the Prince of this world," that old 
 Serpent, the Devil. But the second Adam is the 
 seed of the woman who shall bruise the serpent's 
 head. "A stronger than he shall bind the strong 
 man and divide the spoil." 
 
 " The law having a shadow of good things to 
 come ;" has thus said, " If a man die having no 
 children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise 
 ip seed unto his brother upon the inheritance of the 
 
98 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 dead, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.'' 
 The first Adam forfeited his life, and with him the 
 inheritance would have ceased to have had a name 
 upon it. But the second Adam has espoused his 
 brother's cause, to raise up the name of the dead upon 
 his inheritance.'' 
 
 This is beautifully exemplified in Boaz, when he 
 would take Kuth to be his wife, the widow of his 
 kinsman. But he must redeem with her the inherit- 
 ance of her former husband, which had been for- 
 feited. He first offered it to a nearer relative, 
 saying, " if thou wilt redeem it, redeem it : but if 
 thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may 
 know ; for there is none to redeem it besides thee ; 
 and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. 
 Then said Boaz, what day thou buy est the field of the 
 hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the 
 Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name 
 of the dead upon his inheritance. And the kinsman 
 said, I cannot redeem it for myself lest I mar my 
 own inheritance : redeem thou my right to thyself ; 
 for I cannot redeem it." Then Boaz said unto the 
 elders, and unto all the people, ye are witnesses this 
 day, that I' have bought all that was Elimelech's, and 
 all that was Chilion's and Malon's, of the hand of 
 Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of 
 Malon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up 
 the name of the dead upon his inlicritance, that the 
 name of the dead be not cut off from among his 
 brethren, and from the gates of his place : ye are 
 witnesses this day. And all the people that were in 
 
THE SECOND ADAM. 
 
 the gate and the elders said, we are witnesses/' 
 Ruth iv. 
 
 Thus the law shadowed forth that endearing rela- 
 tion which shall exist between Christ and his people^ 
 as the Bride and Bridegroom, and also that in re- 
 deeming her he will redeem her inheritance. 
 
 " Thus saith the Lord to the Church, Fear not ; 
 for thou shalt not be ashamed ; neither be thou con- 
 founded ; for thou shalt not be put to shame ; for 
 thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not 
 remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. 
 For thy Maker is thine husband : the Lord of hosts 
 is his name ; and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of 
 Israel ; the God of the whole earth shall he be 
 called." — Isaiah liv. 4, 5. 
 
 The context shows that when her Husband and 
 Redeemer shall be called the God of the whole earth, 
 will be after the days of her affliction, after the time 
 when she will condemn all her foes in judgment. 
 " Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage 
 supper of the Lamb.'^ 
 
 There is a beauty and consistency in this truth, 
 that the earth shall be the habitation of the saints. 
 It shows that the above Jewish law was not an un- 
 meaning ceremony, and that many declarations of the 
 Scriptures commonly allowed to be hyperbolical or 
 poetical expressions, are plain truth, full of meaning. 
 And it also shows that God will not be thwarted in 
 his great purpose in creating this earth. 
 
 God has said, " the earth abideth for ever." It 
 will not be annihilated because of the adversary. 
 
100 
 
 THE Saints' inheritance. 
 
 For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens j 
 God himself that formed the earth and made it, he 
 hath established it, he created it not in vain ; he 
 formed it to be inhabited ; I am the Lord, and there 
 is none else." And with this view of God's truth, 
 
 the sweet psalmist of IsraeF' sings ; not only in 
 " the Spirit, but with the understanding also 
 
 " But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall 
 
 delight themselves in the abundance of peace 
 
 The Lord knoweth the days of the upright, and their 
 
 inheritance shall be for ever For such as be 
 
 blessed of him shall inherit the earth ; and they that 
 
 be cursed of him shall be cut off. For the 
 
 Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints ; 
 they are preserved for ever ; but the seed of the 
 wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit 
 
 the land and dwell therein for ever Wait on 
 
 the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to 
 inherit the land ; when the wicked are cut off, thou 
 shalt see it." — Ps. xxxvii. 
 
 From the above it is clear, that the Psalmist under- 
 stood that this earth would be renewed and become 
 the abode of the righteous. 
 
 And now, dear reader, if you have not the spirit 
 of Christ, if you have not been adopted into the 
 family of the second Adam, through whom God now 
 holds out to you the offer of returning to loyalty, seek 
 at once to be adopted into his family, that you 
 may become an heir to that inheritance through Him 
 who has purchased the forfeited possession ; by 
 whom and for whom it was created. And who has 
 
 i 
 
THE SECOND ADAM. 
 
 101 
 
 promised to renew it as of old, when the morning 
 stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted 
 for joy/' Yes, more ; for under his renewing hand 
 the inheritance shall become incorruptible, the beauty 
 and glory of which shall never fade. You shall thus 
 be restored to that princely royalty, and shall know 
 how glorious was that state which God pronounced 
 very good. And " when he shall come to be glorified 
 in his saints, and to be admired in all them that 
 believe,^' you shall be where he is, and shall behold 
 his glory ; even the glory of the second Adam, the 
 King of Glory, who shall have by his own mighty 
 power obliterated every trace of the fall, so that 
 nothing shall hurt or destroy in all God^s holy moun 
 tain, and shall, in the plenitude of his Grace, crown 
 his ransomed ones with eternal glory and gladness, 
 and shall shed universal and unfading beauty over 
 the renovated world ; which shall be the heritage of 
 the people of God, under the righteous reign of the 
 " second Adam, the Lord from Heaven." 
 
 " Thus heavenward all things tend, for all were once 
 Perfect, and all must be at length restored. 
 So God has greatly purposed ; who would else 
 In his dishonoured works himself endure 
 Dishonor, and be wronged, without redress. 
 Haste, then, and wheel away a shattered world. 
 Ye slow revolving seasons I We would see 
 (A sight to which our eyes are strangers yet) 
 A world that does not dread and hate his laws^ 
 And suffer for its crime ; would learn how fair 
 The creature is that God pronounces good ; 
 How pleasant in itself, what pleases him. 
 
THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 Here every drop of honey hides a sting, 
 Worms wind themselves into our sweetest flowery 
 And even the joy that haply some poor heart 
 Derives from heaven, pure as the fountain is, 
 Is sullied in the stream ; taking a taint 
 From touch of human lips, at best impure. 
 Oh for a world in principle as chaste 
 As this is gross and selfish ! over which 
 Custom and prejudice shall bear no sway, 
 That govern all things here, shouldering aside 
 The meek and modest truth, and forcing her 
 To seek a refuge from the tongue of strife 
 In nooks obscure, far from the ways of men ; 
 Where violence shall never lift the sword, 
 Nor cunning justify the proud man's wrong, 
 Leaving the poor no remedy but tears. 
 
 Come then, and, added to thy many crowii% 
 Receive yet one, the crown of all the earth, 
 Thou who alone art worthy." — Cowper. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE EARTH RENEWED. 
 
 " Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for a new heaven 
 and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness." — 2 Pet. iii. 13. 
 
 In the fifth verse of this chapter the Apostle brings 
 a very solemn charge against a class of persons who 
 would be willingly ignorant of certain truths, a 
 part of which is contained in the above text. 
 
 He says, " For this they willingly are ignorant of, 
 that by the word of God the heavens were of old, 
 and the earth standing out of the water and in the 
 water : whereby the world that then was being over- 
 flowed with water, perished : but the heavens and the 
 earth which are now, by the same word are kept in 
 store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment 
 and perdition of ungodly men." 
 
 The Apostle argues that notwithstanding some do 
 not consider the coming destruction in the light of 
 the former one by the flood, but suppose this earth 
 will be so destroyed that it will become useless after 
 the burning day, being willingly ignorant on the sub- 
 ject ; and others doubt its ever burning, saying, 
 " where is the promise of his coming ? for since the 
 fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were 
 from the beginning of the creation." Yet Peter con- 
 cludes that as truly as the earth arose from the bap- 
 
104 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 tism of the flood, cleansed from its wicked inhabitants 
 to become the habitation o those righteous persons 
 saved so also, although the earth, is now by the word 
 of the same God " kept in store, reserved unto fire 
 against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly 
 men," when "the elements shall melt with fervent 
 heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein 
 shall be burned up,'' yet as truly by the power of him 
 who baptized it with water, shall the earth arise again 
 from its baptism of fire, cleansed, regenerated, beau 
 tified, a new earth, the dwelling-place of the right- 
 eous, who shall be saved in the day of his wrath. So 
 He who sat upon the Throne has said, "Behold I 
 make all things new." And although it will be the 
 same matter which composes this present earth, yet it 
 will be as truly a new earth, as he who believing on 
 the Lord Jesus Christ becomes a " new creature," 
 being baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire. 
 Peter informs us in the text, that all this will take 
 place according to the promise of God. 
 
 All the prophets have spoken of the restitution of 
 this earth more or less distinctly, but Isaiah has 
 recorded more clearly this promise. " For behold I 
 create new heavens and a 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 cre- 
 ate : 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." — 
 Isaiah Ixv. 17-19. 
 
THE EARTH RENEWED. 
 
 lOc 
 
 How changed the circumstances of God's people 
 from this to the new earth. During probation the 
 church is known as an afflicted and suffering people. 
 In this state God addresses her with, " 0 thou afflicted, 
 tossed with tempest, and not comforted/' but then, 
 "Jerusalem shall be a rejoicing, and her people a 
 joy." Then the days of her weeping and her mourn- 
 ing shall be ended. " For as the new heavens and the 
 new earth which I will make, shall remain before me, 
 saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name 
 remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one 
 new-moon to another, and from one Sabbath day to 
 another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, 
 saith the Lord. And they shall go forth and look 
 upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed 
 against me where their worm shall not die, neither 
 shall their fire be quenched ; and they shall be an 
 abhorring to all flesh." — Isaiah Ixvi. 22-24. 
 
 Some hav# applied the above scripture to the mil- 
 lennial state, perhaps correctly. It is certainly a 
 state of things on the earth, as the well known signs 
 of the earth are given, " the new moon and Sabbath 
 day." And if it is a description of the millennial 
 state, then are we sure that the millennium takes 
 place after the resurrection and judgment ; for it is 
 after the wicked are doomed to their unending 
 punishment; and the righteous have entered upon 
 their eternal state of blessedness. " The voice of 
 weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice 
 of crying." But we coikclude that it is even after 
 the millennium, in that glorious and blessed restitu 
 5^ 
 
THE SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 tion, Avhen the oath of God shall be verified. *^ As 
 truly as I live all the earth shall be filled with the 
 glory of the Lord.'' 
 
 Ezekiel gives a very clear testimony in the 37th 
 chapter of his prophecy, that this- earth will become 
 the final abode of the saints. He was among the 
 captives carried to Babylon ; and being a prophet, he 
 sought to comfort his brethren in their deep afllic- 
 tion, in their captivity, with the promise that they 
 should go back to Jerusalem, their loved and happy 
 home. 
 
 But there was no power in his words to comfort 
 them, for they knew that Jeremiah had prophesied 
 that seventy years should be accomplished in their 
 affliction, before they should return. They knew 
 well that in cruel Babylonish slavery they would go 
 quickly down to death ; that their bones would be 
 bleached in that torrid zone before the seventy years 
 would be accomplished. ' » 
 
 The captives were of those who had walked in the 
 highest circles of life, in that refined city Jerusalem. 
 The Princes, the Nobles, all the most refined and 
 intelligent of Jerusalem had been carried away ; the 
 lower class alone had been left to till the land for 
 their conqueror. 
 
 How depressing ! How humiliating was their 
 sudden change! Prom the social circle, from the 
 feast, from the merry dance, from their home and 
 country, they were driven to a foreign land, to do 
 the work of menial slaves. Those young men and 
 maidens whose fingers had been taught to draw forth 
 
THE E^RTH RENEWED. 
 
 107 
 
 the sweet melodies of David^s harp of heavenly 
 sound, are now made to do heathen drudgery, and 
 the crushing service of slaves. 
 
 Ezekiel informs them that the time would come 
 when they would go back to Jerusalem ; but they 
 remembered the prophecy of Jeremiah, that seventy 
 years should be accomplished in their afflictions, and 
 they groaned in despair, saying, " Our bones are 
 dried, and our hope is lost ; we are cut off for our 
 parts." Seventy years ! Our children may see the 
 day, but we shall go into the grave long before that 
 time. Our hope is lost ; and we are cut off from our 
 part in the inheritance promised to Abraham and his 
 seed. 
 
 God had sent them into captivity for their good, 
 to teach them what they would not learn in pros- 
 perity. They had become lifted up in their pride 
 and glory, and claimed the land as theirs ; they had 
 rejected the word of God, who had said, " The land 
 is mine, and ye are strangers and sojourners with 
 me f and they had turned from God to the service 
 of Satan, the Prince of this world,'^ by which their 
 minds had become so darkened that they could not 
 see the way to their inheritance through the promised 
 seed, that their Lord who had given the promise to 
 Abraham must himself, in the person of the promised 
 seed, " purchase the possession," that they and their 
 land must be redeemed by the offering of himself, and 
 that through the resurrection they would enter it, as 
 their father David and the prophets had often sung. 
 They had resisted the teachings of the Holy Ghost, 
 
108 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 as Stephen has said, which had been so deeply 
 fastened upon the mind of Abraham, in the offering 
 of Isaac, the type of the true seed. But now they 
 learn, in sad reality, what they would not learn in 
 prosperity, " That they were strangers and sojourners 
 on the earth." 
 
 But God is not indifferent to the sufferings of his 
 people. His eye is ever open to behold their afflic- 
 tions ; he hears their cries and their groans, " and 
 though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion 
 according to the multitude of his mercies. For he 
 does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of 
 men.'' 
 
 Now, Ezekiel is sent with a message which would 
 reach their case, causing even the old men to rejoice, 
 who were bending with the heavy burden of slavery 
 over the grave. He sends him to preach the message 
 which Paul calls " the hope of Israel," the resurrec- 
 tion of the dead, and their return to Zion with songs 
 of praise and everlasting joy upon their heads. 
 
 God is careful that EzekieFs mind is thoroughly 
 imbued with the spirit of his mission. He causes 
 him to see a vision of the resurrection of the dead, 
 that going from the scene he would come before the 
 people in the spirit of the subject. Ezekiel says : 
 
 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried 
 me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in 
 the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and 
 caused me to pass by them round about : and behold, 
 there was very many in the open vallej ; and lo, they 
 were very dry. And he said unto me, San mau, 
 
THE EARTH RENEWED. 
 
 109 
 
 can these bones live ? and I answered, 0 Lord God 
 thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy 
 upon these bones, and say unto them, 0 ye dry bones, 
 hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord 
 unto these bones : Behold, I will cause breath to 
 enter into you, and ye shall live ; and I will lay 
 sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, 
 and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and 
 ye shall live ; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 
 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath 
 came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their 
 feet, an exceeding great army.'' This is the^ vision, 
 and we need not be in doubt of what it teaches, for 
 God immediately explained it to his servant. 
 
 " Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones 
 are the whole house of Israel : behold, they say. Our 
 bones are dried, and our hope is lost : we are cut oS 
 for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto 
 them. Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, 0 my peo- 
 ple, I will open your graves, and cause you to come 
 up out of your graves, and bring you into the land 
 of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, 
 when I have opened your graves, 0 my people, and 
 brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my 
 Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you 
 in your own land : then shall ye know that I tlie Lord 
 have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord." 
 
 This is the explanation which God gave Ezekiel of 
 the vision, and we need nothing plainer to sliow that 
 the earth will be the final abode of the redeemed. 
 " Behold, 0 my people, I will open your graves, and 
 
110 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 cause you to come up out of your graves, and wiU 
 bring you into the land of IsraeV^ Not away into a 
 foreign dominion, " but into your own land," the land 
 of your fathers. 
 
 This vision has been otherwise explained by some, 
 in such a manner as to make it teach the return of 
 the Jews somewhere down near the end of time ; 
 and while, we would pay due deference to the 
 teachings of wise men, yet where God has explained, 
 all other explanations, however interesting, are of 
 no authority. The above is God's own explanation 
 to Ezekiel, to whom he gave the vision. And 
 it needs not the touch of any man's pen to make it 
 more plain ; it has in it that clearness and beauty 
 of simplicity, characteristic of those explanations 
 which he has been pleased to give of parables and 
 visions. It commends itself to the heart and under- 
 standing ; it being so suitable to the case of his 
 people doomed to seventy years' captivity in Babylon- 
 ish slavery, only about ten of which had expired. — 
 Jer. XXV. 11. 
 
 0 my people, cast not away your hope ; your 
 bones will not bleach in Babylon for ever ; you are 
 not cut off from your part in the promise to Abraham. 
 What if ye die in slavery ? I sent you into slavery 
 in order to wean your affections from those things 
 which perish ; and I design by it to turn your hearts 
 from idols to me, that you may understand what I 
 commanded you, that " ye are strangers and sojourn- 
 ers in the land with me," as did your father Abra- 
 ham, who was a stranger and a pilgrim in the land 
 
THE EARTH RENEWED. 
 
 Ill 
 
 of promise ; having no inheritance in it, he looked for 
 one to come, for a city which has foundations, the 
 Holy City which shall come down from God out of 
 heaven ; when all your enemies shall be destroyed 
 and my kingdom shall come. Then, 0 my people, I 
 will open your graves and I will bring you up out 
 of your graves, and I will bring you, my sons and 
 daughters, from the east, and from the west, and 
 from the north, and from the south, and you shall sit 
 down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the king- 
 dom of God. And when I shall have accomplished 
 this, you shall know that I the Lord your God have 
 done it, and have done it for your good. Although 
 your enemies think they have done it, and they think 
 to crush you. Be still, 0 my people, and know 
 that I your God have done it. Do not cast away 
 your hope, and feel that your bones are dried, that 
 you are cut off from your inheritance. 
 
 Such comfort coming from the servant of God as 
 he repeats the message to them, could cause them, in 
 deep affliction, to lift their bowed heads and humbled 
 souls, and rejoice with gratitude in God their Saviour, 
 even for their trials. Now they can say, it is good 
 for us that we are afflicted ; for before we were 
 afflicted we went astray. 
 
 But suppose the common exposition true, that is, 
 Bome time down near the end of time, long after the 
 seventy years are up, hundreds and hundreds of 
 years afterwards, when their descendants are scat 
 tered among all nations for rejecting the Messiali 
 God shall cause them to return to Jerusalem again. 
 
112 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 Would such a message be consolation, or of anj 
 use to that afflicted people, suffering in despair, and 
 in cruel Babylonish slavery ? 
 
 " The wisdom of the wise is foolishness with God." 
 If the knowledge of the saints' inheritance had not 
 been lost sight of, no person would have thus 
 explained a vision which God had clearly explained ; 
 but it became necessary, as the exposition which God 
 gSiye contradicts positively the theory that the saints 
 heaven is away somewhere, as the church has long 
 sung, beyond the bounds of time and space." 
 Though the heaven and the earth are dissolved 
 with fire, "nevertheless we, according to his promise, 
 look for a new heavens, and a new earth wherein 
 dwelleth righteousness." 
 
 **So shall the world go on, 
 To good malignant, to bad men benign. 
 Under her own weight groaning : till the day 
 Appear of reparation to the just, 
 And vengeance to the wicked ; at return 
 Of him — thy Saviour and thj Lord ; 
 Last in the clouds from heaven, to be revealed 
 In glory of the Father, to dissolve 
 Satan, with his perverted world : then raise 
 From the conflagrant mass, purged and refined, 
 New heavens, new earth, ages of endless date, 
 Founded in righteousness, and peace, and love, 
 To bring forth fruits, joy and eternal bliss." 
 
 Milton. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE TWO HOUSES OP ISRAEL. 
 
 " And he shall be for a sanctuary : but for a stone of stumbling 
 and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and 
 for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them 
 shall stumble and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken." 
 — Isaiah viil 14, 15. 
 
 ' The being who shall be for a sanctuary, a covert 
 from the storm and the wrath, for a hiding place, 
 " till the indignation be over past," to one class ; and 
 to the other class, a stone of stumbling and a rock of 
 offence, is no other than the Lord of hosts Himself. 
 While the lives of his people are hid with Christ in 
 God, He is a consuming fire to those who are with- 
 out. The preaching of Christ is to the Jew a stum- 
 bling-block, and to the Greek foolishness ; but to 
 them who believe, the power of God and wisdom of 
 God. 
 
 But the text is a prophecy respecting the visible 
 church, including both Jewish and Christian, under 
 the title of the two houses of Israel. This applica- 
 tion of the prophecy is confirmed by New Testament 
 ^ writers which will be adduced in its place. It is evi- 
 dently figurative language. Christ was not literally 
 a stone of stumbling and rock of offence, or a gin and 
 a snare, but by a wrong application of the promises of 
 
114 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 Christ's coming they stumble morally. The two 
 houses of Israel are also used in a figurative sense, to 
 represent the Jewish and Christian church. 
 
 This great and natural division of the church wai 
 pointed out by Inspiration in a very early age. The 
 first which shall be adduced is found in the blessing 
 of the sons of Joseph by the Patriarch Jacob. There 
 is something very peculiar in the blessing which he 
 pronounced upon these two sons. — Gen. xlviii. 
 
 He says to Joseph, " Thy two sons, Ephraim and 
 Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of 
 Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine : 
 as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And thy 
 issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, 
 and shall be called after the name of their brethren 
 
 in their inheritance Now the eyes of Israel 
 
 were dim for age, so that he could not see, and he 
 brought them near unto him ; and he kissed them, 
 and embraced them. And Israel said unto Joseph, I 
 had not thought to see thy face : and lo, God hath 
 showed me also thy seed. And Joseph brought them 
 out from between his knees, and he bowed himself 
 with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them 
 both, Ephraim in his right hand towards Israel's left 
 hand, and Manasseh in his left hand towards Israel's 
 right hand, and brought them near unto him. And 
 Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon 
 Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left 
 hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wit- 
 tingly ; for Manasseh was the first-born. 
 "And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before w^om 
 
THE TWO HOUSES OF ISRAEL. 115 
 
 my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God 
 who fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel 
 which redeemeti me from all evil, bless the lads ; and 
 let my name be named on them, and the name of my 
 fathers Abraham and Isaac : and let them grow into 
 a multitude in the midst of the earth. And when 
 Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon 
 the head of Ephraim, it displeased him : and he held 
 up his father^s hand, to remove it from Ephraim^s 
 head unto Manasseh's head. And Joseph said unto 
 his father, not so, my father : for this is the first-born ; 
 put thy right hand upon his head. And his father 
 refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it : he 
 also shall become a people, and he also shall be great : 
 but truly his younger brother shall be greater than 
 he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. 
 And he blessed them that day, saying, in thee shall 
 Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and 
 Manasseh : and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.^' 
 
 In a literal sense the history of Ephraim^s descend- 
 ants will not justify the expression, a " multitude of 
 nations neither did he excel Manasseh so much 
 as to call forth this superior blessing of the Patriarch. 
 Israel was blind in his age, and could not discern 
 the lads, and Joseph presents the eldest to his right 
 hand, but Inspiration directs, and he crosses his hands, 
 placing his right hand on the head of the younger ; 
 and his blessing is far superior to the elder, so that 
 Joseph would interpose, and remove his father's right 
 hand from the younger to the elder, saying, " This, 
 my father, is the eldest son/' but his father replied^ 
 
116 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 " I know it, my son, I know it ; he also shall become 
 a people, and he shall be great ; but truly his younger 
 brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall 
 become a multitude of nations.'' 
 
 But consider these two sons of Joseph, whose 
 mother was a Gentile woman, as representatives of 
 the Jewish and Gentile Churches, and there is a 
 beauty in the prophecy which has been strikingly ful- 
 filled. The Christian, or younger Church, has far 
 excelled the Jewish Church in its blessings, its privi- 
 leges, its superior light and prosperity. It has 
 spread among many nations. The Jewish Church 
 has been great, but the Christian has truly been 
 greater ; so that in many respects the first has been 
 last, and the last first. 
 
 The Patriarch says, " Let my name be named on 
 them." The name of Israel has never been any more 
 especially given to Ephraim and Manasseh, than to 
 their brethren. But the name of Israel has been a 
 special name given to both the Jewish and Christian 
 Church, and the fulfilment of the prophecy thus 
 applied is complete. 
 
 Does not the Patriarch also allude to the two 
 Churches in blessing Joseph, the father of the two 
 sons, whose wife was a Gentile, under the beautiful 
 emblem of the vine ? He says, " Joseph is a fruitful 
 bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches 
 run over the wall." Is there not here an allusion to 
 that "middle wall of partition " between the Jews 
 and the Gentiles, which we are informed that our 
 Lord has broken down ? 
 
THE TWO HOUSES OF ISRAEL. 117 
 
 This same division of the Church runs through all 
 the prophets. They frequently commence with a 
 prophecy which applies especially to the Jewish 
 Church, and then immediately glance at the Chris- 
 tian Church as the antitype, and apply nearly the 
 same to it. Keeping this in view the prophets are 
 more easily understood. Paul, speaking of the his- 
 tory of the Jewish Church, while in the wilderness, 
 says, " Now all these things happened unto them for 
 ensamples : and they are written for our admonition, 
 upon whom the ends of the world are come." — 1 Cor. 
 X. 11. 
 
 The Apostle has also taken up the subject of the 
 textj and confirmed this view, making what Isaiah 
 calls the two houses of Israel, the Jewish and Chris- 
 tian Churches, Heb. iii. 1-6. The New Testament 
 must be our commentary for the Old, in all places 
 where it has spoken on the subject. He says, 
 " Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heaven 
 ly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of 
 our profession, Christ Jesus. Who was faithful to 
 him, who appointed him, as also Moses was faithful 
 in all his house. . . . And Moses verily was faithful in 
 all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those 
 things which are to be spoken after. But Christ as 
 a son over his own house, whose house are we, if we 
 hold fast the confidence, and the rejoicing of the hope 
 firm unto the end.'' 
 
 This testimony from the Apostle makes the subject 
 very clear, that the Jewish and Gentile Churches are 
 the two houses of Israel. Moses is represented as 
 
118 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 being faithful over his house, the Jewish Church, as 
 a servant, and Christ as a Son over his own house, 
 the Christian Church. There were not two Jewish 
 houses of Israel in being when Christ came ; there- 
 fore the two houses of which Paul speaks are the only 
 two on which the prophecy could be fulfilled. 
 
 By referring to Ezek. xxxvii. the reader will see 
 that the prophet takes the name of Ephraim to repre- 
 sent the Christian Church, and that of Judah to 
 represent the Jewish Church. He keeps in view the 
 same great division under the figure of two sticks. 
 
 He says, "The word of the Lord came unto me 
 again, saying, moreover thou son of man, take the 
 one stick, and write upon it for Judah, and for the 
 children of Israel his companions ; then take another 
 stick and write upon it for Joseph, the stick of 
 Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his com- 
 panions. And join them one to another into one 
 stick ; and they shall become one in thy hand. And 
 when the children of thy people shall speak unto 
 thee, saying, wilt thou not show us what thou 
 meanest by these ? Say unto them, thus saith the 
 Lord God ; behold I will take the stick of Joseph 
 which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of 
 Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even 
 with the stick of Judah, and will make them one 
 stick, and they shall be one in my hand. . . And I will 
 make them one nation in the land upon the moun- 
 tains of Israel, and one king shall be king to them 
 all ; and they shall be no more two nations, neither 
 shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at 
 
THE TWO HOUSES OF ISRAEL. 
 
 119 
 
 all. And David my servant shall be king over 
 them : and they shall have one shepherd : they shall 
 also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, 
 and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that 
 I have given unto Jacob my servant wherein your 
 fathers have dwelt, and they shall dwell therein 
 even they and their children, and their children's 
 children for ever ; and my servant David shall be 
 their prince for ever." 
 
 David, the king of Israel, had been dead many 
 years when Ezekiel uttered this prophecy ; therefore, 
 the David who is to reign over them is the son 
 of David, the Messiah, the. King of Israel. And the 
 time when He shall reign will be at the great 
 gathering of the subjects of his kingdom. When he 
 shall send forth his angels and gather his elect, from 
 among both Jews and Gentiles ; at which time they 
 shall have one Shepherd ; for Christ shall be both 
 Shepherd and King. " My tabernacle also shall be 
 with them : yea, I will be their God, and they shall 
 be my people." This is the same language which 
 the Revelator also applies to the heavenly state. 
 
 The testimony of Christ also confirms this appli- 
 cation. He keeps in view the same great division 
 and the same final union : but he brings still another 
 figure to represent the two houses, or the Jewish and 
 Gentile churches ; he calls tliem two folds. John x. 
 16, He says, " Other sheep I have which are not of 
 this fold : them also I must bring ; and they shall 
 hear my voice ; and there shall be one fold and cm* 
 Shepherd." 
 
120 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 The prophet says that in that day they shall have 
 one King and one Shepherd, and Christ says, one 
 fold and one Shepherd ; they both evidently allude 
 to the final gathering of his people in the everlasting 
 kingdom. 
 
 There is more proof that might be brought for- 
 ward, some of which will be seen as we pursue the 
 subject, in the application which the Saviour makes 
 of it ; but the above is sufficient to prove that the 
 two houses in the text are the Jewish and Gentile 
 churches. 
 
 Oh then, awake, awake, let the Gentile church 
 awake, and read her fearful doom. " And he shall 
 be for a sanctuary ; but for a stone of stumbling 
 and for a rock of offence to both the houses of 
 Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants 
 of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, 
 and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be 
 taken.'' 
 
 Though this prophecy by Isaiah was given some 
 seven or eight hundred years before its terrible 
 fulfilment was accomplished on the first house, the 
 Jewish church, yet in due time it was fully verified. 
 They misunderstood the promises of Christ's coming ; 
 they had dwelt especially on those promises that 
 refer to his second coming to reign gloriously, 
 which they applied to this corruptible state, over- 
 looking his coming in humiliation to sufl'er, so that 
 he proved to them a stone of stumbling and a rock 
 of offence. And the mass of the Jewish church, 
 even their learned Doctors and Scribes, " the 
 
THE TWO HOUSES OP ISRAEL. 
 
 121 
 
 builders rejected the stone which became the head 
 of the corner f they stumbled and fell, and were 
 broken and snared, and finally destroyed. 
 
 While we can read in their history so dreadful 
 and terrible a fulfilment of that part of the prophecy 
 wnich applied to them, shall we flatter ourselves 
 that the second house will not stumble and fall? 
 Has God fulfilled the prophecy to the letter thus 
 far, and will the remaining part fail ? Will a 
 member of the Christian church read this fearful 
 prophecy without examining the evidence of his 
 acceptance ? If a minister of the gospel, can you 
 claim that your life has been more strictly devoted 
 than were the Scribes and Pharisees ? concerning 
 whom Jesus said, except your righteousness exceed 
 theirs, " ye shall in no wise enter the kingdom of 
 God." 
 
 Let us consider the testimony of Jesus concerning 
 the stone of stumbling. He says (Matt. xxi. 44), 
 " And whosoever shall fall on this stone, shall be 
 broken ; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will 
 grind him to powder.'^ 
 
 Christ is that " stone which the builders rejected, 
 the same is become the head of the corner." Who 
 but the Jewish church fell on Christ ? They fell on 
 him, saying, " away with him, away with him, crucify 
 him, crucify him f and they sealed their own fearful 
 doom. 
 
 Hear Him, on whom they fell with such dreadful 
 malice, as he weeps over their terrible fate. " And 
 when he was come near, he beheld the city and wept 
 
 6 
 
122 
 
 THE SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 oyer it, saying, if thou hadst known, even thou, at 
 least in this thy day, the things which belong unto 
 thy peace ! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 
 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies 
 shall cast a trench about thee, and shall compass thee 
 round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay 
 thee eyen with the ground, and thy children within 
 thee ; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon 
 another : because thou knewest not the time of thy 
 visitation." — Luke xix. 41-44. 
 
 They were truly broken, their lovely Jerusalem 
 destroyed, and they broken from being a nation or a 
 government to this day. And still they are a 
 scattered and peeled people ; the full truth of the 
 prophecy has come upon them. 
 
 Will not the remaining part of the prophecy be 
 fulfilled ? It will be accomplished ; " not one jot or 
 tittle shall in any wise fail till all be fulfilled." But 
 will it fall as heavily upon the second house, or 
 Gentile church ? As much heavier as the antitype is 
 greater than the type. As much heavier as our light 
 and privileges are superior. 
 
 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be 
 broken." The Jewish church has fallen on it, and 
 was broken, as we have seen. But on whomsoever 
 it shall fall, it will grind to powder." 
 
 He will not come the second time, the man of grief 
 and sorrow to be fallen on and crucified ; but tc 
 reign the King of kings and Lord of lords ;" to fall 
 upon his enemies, and he will "grind them to pow 
 der." 
 
THE TWO HOUSES OF ISRAEL. 
 
 123 
 
 This agrees with the teachings of Christ, where he 
 speaks without a figure. He specified, among the 
 persons who would be shut out of the kingdom of 
 God when it shall be established, ministers and pro- 
 fessors of religion : " Many will say to me, in that 
 day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy 
 name ? and in thy name have cast out devils ? and 
 in thy name have done many wonderful works? 
 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew 
 you ; depart from me ye that work iniquity.'^ — Matt, 
 vii. 22, 23. 
 
 Here the Saviour evidently alludes to professedly 
 gospel ministers, who claim to have done many won- 
 derful work^ m the name of Christ. Perhaps have 
 been through a great many revivals of religion, and 
 baptized and received many into the Church. They 
 seem to be honest in claiming that they have done 
 much for his cause and in his name. Not a few of 
 this class who will be thus rejected, but Jesus says 
 that there will be " many." 
 
 Of professors, and those who use the form of 
 prayer, He says, " Not every one who saith unto me. 
 Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; 
 but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in 
 heaven." 
 
 Again, speaking of his second coming to judgment, 
 and of the signs which should precede his coming, 
 He says, " Who then is a faithful and wise servant, 
 whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to 
 give them meat in due season." — Matt. xxiv. 45. The 
 person brought to view here is the faithful minister 
 
124 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 of the gospel, whom the Lord has made a ruler in 
 his household to give timely instruction, "meat in 
 due season." 
 
 " Who then,'' then refers to the time he had been 
 talking about, when those signs would be fulfilled; 
 just previous to his coming. Then, if he is giving 
 timely instruction to the household, " Blessed is that 
 servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall find 
 so doing." Not all of them shall stumble and be 
 snared ; to the faithful " He shall be for a sanctuary." 
 " But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, 
 My lord delayeth his coming ; and shall begin to 
 smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with 
 the drunken." 
 
 The unfaithful minister who loved the praises of 
 men, thinketh in his heart, that the Lord will not 
 come as soon as his fellow-servant teaches, and shoul- 
 ders aside his fellow-servants, and would bring into 
 disrepute the idea of the Lord^s coming so soon. He 
 " smites his fellow-servant," " and eats and drinks with 
 the drunken." He does not get drunk, or even drink 
 ardent spirits. But the charge our Lord brings 
 against him, is, " he eats and drinks with the drunk- 
 en." He mingles with the world in the fashionable 
 circles, where the licentious receives the warm hand 
 of greeting, as well as those who occasionally get 
 intoxicated ; he consecrates their feasts by saying 
 grace over them ; he receives the friendship of the 
 world, and closes their festivals with prayer. " Ye ask, 
 and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may 
 consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adul- 
 
THE TWO HOUSES OF ISRAEL. 
 
 125 
 
 tresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world 
 is enmity with God ? Whosoever, therefore, will be 
 a friend of the world is the enemy of God." — James 
 iv. 3, 4. 
 
 " Church feasts," with the table spread with all the 
 luxuries that the heart could lust for, and the vile, 
 and the drunkard, and the licentious, and the church 
 member, and the minister, mingle at the same table ; 
 the profits of which are to go for charitable purposes. 
 
 The poor man returning from the toil of the day, 
 and seeing the stir about the house of feasting, 
 inquires, "what is going on here?" and is informed 
 that " it's a Church feast." " Well," he says, " I'm a 
 member of the church, I will go in and enjoy its bless- 
 ings." He is met at the door ; " a dollar, sir, for 
 admittance." He stands aside, while his godly 
 brother passes in, and his ungodly neighbor also. 
 He thinks of his poor family at home, and of the 
 dollar, and of the Church-feast. And passing home 
 he says to himself, " surely my poverty has shut me 
 from these heavenly feasts of charity, where my richer 
 brethren enjoy those choice blessings of my God," 
 He loves his brethren, but he is sad. He takes his 
 Bible and opens it to find something to justify them, 
 and to comfort his heart ; and he reads Isaiah Iv. 1, 
 " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, 
 and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy, and eat ; 
 yea come, buy wine and milk without money and 
 without price." 
 
 Now he says to himself, " I wonder if this Church- 
 feast, for charitable purposes, which excludes those 
 
126 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 who have no money, is the fulfilment of this free 
 and glorious gospel feast, foretold by the prophet/' 
 These feasts abound where this promiscuous assembly 
 of " charitable people'' meet, and revel in a sumptuoua 
 feast professedly for Christ's sake, to sustain his 
 cause. A very similar feast comes off once a year, 
 with few exceptions, at the minister's house, where the 
 licentious and the pure bring in their donations and 
 mingle in jollity and mirth. 
 
 "Eating and drinking with the drunken," "The 
 Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he 
 looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not 
 aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him 
 his portion with the hypocrites : there shall be weep- 
 ing and gnashing of teeth." 
 
 The parable of the ten virgins speaks clearly on 
 this subject. This parable is in one respect unlike 
 the rest of the parables. This is in the future, while 
 the rest are given in the present tense ; " the king- 
 dom of heaven is likened unto a sower ;" " the king- • 
 dom of heaven is likened unto a net ;" they are all in 
 the present tense, but this is in the future. " Then 
 shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten vir- 
 gins which took their lamps and went forth to meet 
 the bridegroom. And five of them were wise and five 
 were foolish." This parable was given to represent 
 a state of things in the church just previous to the 
 coming of Christ, the Bridegroom. 
 
 The main design of this parable is to teach that 
 many professors of religion who are alive on the 
 earth when the Lord comes will be rejected ; that 
 
THE TWO HOUSES OF ISRAEL. 127 
 
 tliey will be sadly disappointed, and seek to prepare 
 themselves to enter the marriage feast after it is too 
 late. Christ comes suddenly, and the door of mercy 
 is for ever closed. 
 
 It is not to be supposed that just one half is to be ' 
 rejected ; it may be more in some congregations, 
 while it may be less in others — more alive and con- 
 secrated to God ; but at least it speaks a fearful mes- 
 sage to the church. 
 
 Christian Reader, if the line was to be drawn this 
 day, and one half of the church of which you are a 
 member eternally rejected, what a fearful anxiety 
 would be awakened in your heart! These plain 
 declarations of Christ concerning ministers and 
 people agreeing so perfectly with the sure word of 
 prophecy^' of the two houses of Israel, should cause 
 every professor, minister, and people, to examine 
 carefully by the word of God the evidence of their 
 acceptance. 
 
 When Jesus declared that one of the twelve would 
 betray him, what an intense anxiety was awakened 
 among the eleven ! " Lord, is it I ? Lord, is it I 
 burst forth from the hearts of those dear disciples 
 who loved him. And now it is to be feared that 
 those overwhelming truths which assure us that the 
 mass of professors will stumble at the stone of 
 stumbling, which is still in Zion, and be eternally 
 rejected from the inheritance of the saints, will only 
 awaken the few who love him. 
 
 But if the thought of exclusion from being where 
 he is, and beholding his glory, rends your heart, tha 
 
128 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 evidence for you is far more favorable than though 
 you could read those fearful declarations of God's 
 word unmoved. 
 
 The Jewish church lost the true knowledge of the 
 inheritance which God had promised that the faith- 
 ful should possess, when the land should be redeemed 
 in the glorious restitution ; to be enjoyed in the 
 resurrection state, when the subjects of that inherit- 
 ance should also be redeemed from the grave, and 
 should "return to Zion with songs of praise and 
 everlasting joy upon their heads." And they applied 
 those blessed promises to the fathers, that the saints 
 should reign gloriously on the earth, to this corrupt- 
 ible state and time of trial, to be fulfilled in the 
 flesh, at the coming of the Messiah. They over- 
 looked the promise of his coming in humiliation, to 
 suffer and to redeem ; having their minds fixed on 
 that glorious coming to reign, the very promises of 
 his coming became to them " a stone of stumbling, 
 and a rock of offence." 
 
 The prophets had foretold both his first and 
 second coming ; the first in humiliation, the second 
 in the clouds of heaven, as seen in Dan. vii., at the 
 setting of the Ancient of days. Says Daniel, " I saw 
 in the night vision, and behold, one like the Son of 
 man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to 
 the Ancient of days, and they brought him near 
 before him. And there was given him dominion, 
 and glory, and a kingdom that all people, nations, 
 and languages should serve him : his dominion is an 
 everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and 
 
THE TWO HOUSES OF ISRAEL. 
 
 129 
 
 his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." 
 This coming is still future. 
 
 With their minds fixed on such a glorious coming 
 of Christ, they could at once stifle all conviction that 
 the humble Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, And 
 when Christ gave them the evidence of his divine 
 mission so that some inquired, " When Christ 
 Cometh will he do more miracles than these which 
 this man hath done?^^ they could set aside all his 
 claim to the Messiahship by appealing to those 
 prophecies which foretold his glorious coming. 
 They replied, " Howbeit, we know this man, whence 
 he is : but when Christ cometh no man knoweth 
 whence he is," John vii. 27, 31. They had evi- 
 dently fixed their minds on such prophecies as the 
 above in Daniel, of that coming which is still future, 
 and overlooking his coming in humiliation to suffer, 
 he became to them " a stone of stumbling, and a rock 
 of offence." 
 
 The Gentile Church has also lost sight of the inhe- 
 ritance, and they delight to sing that it is away " be- 
 yond the bounds of time and space." Believing that 
 their heaven is away beyond the stars, they conclude 
 that those prophecies which foretell the glory of 
 Christ^s kingdom upon the earth must be in this 
 mortal life. The Jewish Church anticipated a tri- 
 umphant reign in this life when the Messiah should 
 come ; she stumbled and was rejected of God. 
 
 The Gentile Church has become equally fascinated 
 with the hope of a triumphant reign, during the time 
 allotted for her trials. The' Church now believing 
 
 6* 
 
130 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 the error of the Jewish Church consisted in expect 
 ing a literal king ; to avoid this error, she claims 
 that she has a spiritual king, who will reign till he 
 accomplish for her a glorious triumph in this life ; 
 though she has changed, as respects the character of 
 her king, her hope and expectations are the same. 
 How can she but stumble ? 
 
 The error of the Jewish Church did not consist so 
 much in the nature of the king she expected, as in the 
 nature of her hope — of what he would accomplish for 
 her. The Jews would have had no objection if 
 Christ had told them that he would become their 
 spiritual king, providing he had also promised them 
 victory, glory, and honor in this life, instead of dis- 
 honor, reproach, suffering, and death. If he had 
 preached to them that their beloved Jerusalem should 
 become a glory in all the earth, and that the worship 
 of the God of Israel would become the universal wor- 
 ship of the nations, and that " against Israel shall not 
 a dog move his tongue,'^ instead of telling them that 
 Jerusalem should be destroyed and trodden down of 
 the Gentiles, that his followers would be despised 
 and persecuted, that 'men would think they were 
 doing God service in putting them to death, and that 
 they should be hated of all nations. 
 
 It was the doctrine he taught which made them 
 hate him. If they embraced his doctrine all their 
 hopes must be given up. Their prospect was similar 
 to the prospect held before the Gentile Church. To 
 . renounce their hope, and embrace the doctrine taught 
 oj the Saviour, would have been to give up what 
 
THE TWO HOUSES OF ISRAEL. 
 
 131 
 
 they supposed to be the object of Messiah^s coming ; 
 just as it is now claimed by those who hope for a mil- 
 lennium in probation. A very singular objection is 
 now brought against the doctrine we advocate. It is 
 said, that to give up the idea that the world will be 
 converted would abate the zeal to labor for the salva- 
 tion of men. Singular indeed ! If two men had each 
 a field of grain ready for harvest, which of the two 
 would have the greatest stimulant to labor ? the one 
 assured that the weather would be fair, that the 
 grain would be all secured safely in the garner, 
 whether he labored or not some one would gather it, 
 surely ; the other knew not what hour the storm 
 might beat his grain into the dust, only assured that 
 while there was time, if he labored his labor should 
 not be in vain. It is evident that the last of the two 
 would put forth all his energy. We have the promise 
 of God that if we labor, our labor shall not be in vain 
 in the Lord ; therefore we will seek to save men as 
 brands plucked from the burning. But on the con- 
 trary, when the Christian laborer meets the strong 
 foe and begins to " wrestle, not against flesh and blood, 
 but against principalities, against powers, against the 
 rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual 
 wickedness in high places," he is liable to be tempted 
 to abate his arduous work by that song of peace, as it 
 is whispered in his ear, " why should you be so 
 anxious ? why should you sacrifice your all in the 
 cause, so long as you know that the world will all be 
 converted ? Don^t be so excited about this great tide 
 
132 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 of wickedness ; God will over-rule it all to advance 
 the salvation of the world." 
 
 Does not this flattering prospect before the 
 Christian church already cause her to begin to 
 stumble ? That expected coining reign of peace is 
 claimed to be an incentive for good works, instead 
 of the love of Christ. If covetousness is manifested 
 in the church, they are told that " they must open 
 their hearts and be more liberal before the millennia] 
 glory can be introduced, instead of for His sake 
 who has purchased them with his own blood. If 
 the church has fallen into a life which needs reform, 
 they are told that " they must break off these sins 
 before the millennium can be introduced," instead 
 of laying aside their sins for the sake of Him whom 
 they wound in the house of his friends. 
 
 When an apostle would administer consolation to 
 the church in her afflictions and trials, he says, " be 
 patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the 
 Lord. ... Be ye also patient ; stablish your hearts : 
 for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." — James 
 V. 7, 8. But with this prospect of peace before the 
 church, to speak of Christ's coming, will make them 
 impatient, and cause offence. "He shall be for a 
 stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offence." 
 
 In view of these facts, who can conclude otherwise 
 than that the mass of the nominal Christian church 
 will be rejected of God at the introduction of the 
 coming dispensation of millennial glory, and personal 
 roign of Christ, as surely as the Jewish church waa 
 
THE TWO HOUSES OP ISRAEL. 
 
 133 
 
 at the introduction of the present gospel dispensa- 
 tion? 
 
 Oh I may these truths of God^s word have a salu- 
 tary effect in awakening and making ready a people 
 for the coming kingdom and glory of God, which 
 shall be revealed at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 
 
\ 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE TEST OR STANDARD BY WHICH TO TRY ALL RELI- 
 GIOUS TEACHING — AND THE WAY TO KNOW THE 
 TRUTH. 
 
 To the law and to the testimony ; if they speak not according to 
 this word, it is because there is no light in them." — Isaiah viii. 20. 
 
 In this text the prophet proclaims the word of the 
 Lord as the standard or test by which to try all pro- 
 fessedly religious teaching. Not only the suspected 
 heretic, and the wild enthusiast, but also the teaching 
 of the good old divine, should be brought to the test 
 which God has given. Said our Lord, " Take heed 
 that no man deceive you f no man, good or bad. 
 Have you a good sound orthodox divine? God still 
 requires that all he teaches be carefully compared 
 with the infallible standard, the word of God. 
 
 The Bereans " were more noble than those of Thes- 
 salonica, in that they received the word with all rea- 
 diness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily 
 whether those things were so," when an inspired 
 apostle was the teacher. The very best of men may 
 err, not being inspired ; should they preach only the 
 truth, and you receive it, the blessing falls far short 
 of what you might have received had you diligently 
 compared it with the word of God. Learning by 
 
THE TEST OR STANDARD. 
 
 13£ 
 
 that infallible guide that what is taught is really true, 
 we become " rooted and grounded in the truth f i1 
 gets a firm hold of our hearts, so that the enemy 
 cannot " catch away" the precious seed. 
 
 God might have inspired all of his ministers, but 
 he has seen fit to withhold from them plenary inspi- 
 ration, since the days of the apostles, and in its place 
 he has given a greater blessing, the full and complete 
 volume of his revealed will, " the holy scriptures 
 which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, 
 through faith which is in Christ Jesus." And in his 
 providence he has caused it to be so universally 
 spread abroad that every one may have access to it. 
 
 Although it is well understood that God^s servants 
 whom he has commissioned to preach the gospel aro 
 not inspired, yet what those teach who are acknow 
 ledged to be his ministers, is generally received as 
 truth, without comparing it with God's word, by 
 which he has commanded us to try all religious teach- 
 ing ; and it has become almost sacrilege to call in 
 question, to examine the teachings of the acknow- 
 ledged sound minister. 
 
 By whom could the church be more easily led into 
 error than by her approved theologians should they 
 chance to err? But will God sufi'er those who have 
 so much influence in his church to fall into error? 
 History reveals the fearful truth that the popular and 
 most influential teachers have been the very ones 
 hitherto who have led the church astray. It was the 
 popular prophets who led Israel into idolatry in the 
 days of Elijah. They were the most honored men in 
 
136 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 the nation ; four hundred of them eat at the Queen's 
 table. — 1 Kings xviii. 19. 
 
 The popular and learned Rabbles, whose wisdom 
 and learning are quoted to this day, so effectually led 
 the people into error by their traditions, that in 
 keeping of ^them, they transgressed the commandments 
 of God ; and their religion became so heartless, that 
 Christ informed them that it was merely an outward 
 show. It was the reputed orthodox ministry who led 
 the Christian church into Mystical Babylon, to wor- 
 ship saints, relics, and images. 
 
 God decidedly disapproves an undue confidence in a 
 fellow being for what concerns our eternal salvation. 
 
 Thus saith the Lord, cursed be the man that trust- 
 eth in man, and maketh flesh his arm.'- We are 
 called on to "try the spirits whether they are of 
 God." How shall we try them ? " To the law and 
 to the testimony ; if they speak not according to this 
 word, it is because there is no light in them." Christ 
 has commanded, saying, " Take heed that no man 
 deceive you." The true and humble minister of 
 Christ, whose object is the salvation of the people, 
 would gladly have all he preaches carefully compared 
 with the word of God. He not only prays that the 
 truth may have a salutary effect, but also that what 
 of error may have escaped his lips might do no 
 harm. 
 
 It is like Satan to seek, not the obscure, but the 
 influential to aid his cause, and we see in the history 
 of the past that his success has been very great. 
 Let popular men therefore beware. " Wo unto you 
 
THE TEST OR STANDARD. 
 
 137 
 
 when all men speak well of you," said Christ, " for 
 so did they unto the false prophets." If possible 
 Satan will gain them to be his tools ; " And no 
 marvel ; for Satan himself is transformed into an 
 angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his 
 ministers also be transformed as the ministers of i 
 righteousness," 2 Cor. xi. 14, 15. 
 
 But does not this destroy the confidence due the 
 ministers of Christ.? No ; they always rejoice to 
 know that the people carefully search the Scriptures 
 to see whether those things are so ;" and with the 
 apostle they are ready to acknowledge that such 
 " are the more noble" of their hearers ; knowing that 
 the more thorough the examination, the more will 
 the people be confirmed in the truth. 
 
 God has given his word at the cost of the perse- 
 cution and violent death of many of those faithful 
 men whom he inspired to write it, and of his only 
 begotten Son. He has also preserved it through the 
 most fiery ordeal, and in his providence it is trans- 
 lated into our language, and he has sent it among us 
 as plentifully as he did the manna from heaven for 
 the children of Israel : and as they loathed the 
 manna, and " lusted for the leeks, and the onions, 
 and the garlics, of Egypt," so now his precious 
 word, " the bread of heaven," is loathed ; instead of 
 being read with pleasure, as a privilege, it is 
 generally read as a duty or task, while the light and 
 pernicious reading with which the world is flooded, 
 is devoured witli eagerness and delight. This is 
 evident from the general conversation of churcli 
 
138 ^ THE SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 members. They can talk intelligibly of those publi 
 cations, history, science, business, or of the events 
 of the day, but of God's word they rarely speak, and 
 if introduced, they have a " poor memory although 
 their memory never fails in what concerns their 
 interest. 
 
 What wonder then if God should suffer the people 
 to be cursed with error, and even " send them strong 
 delusion, that they should believe a lie f because 
 they have no pleasure in his truth, thus freely given. 
 It is evident that error abounds on religious subjects, 
 from the fact that divisions are so greatly multiplied : 
 and the cause 'is equally evident. A man cannot be 
 led astray on a journey if well acquainted with the 
 road ; neither will the people embrace error if well 
 instructed in the truth. 
 
 The popular preaching, the religious instruction 
 of the day, has little or nothing to do with expound- 
 ing the Scriptures. Though a text is taken from the 
 Bible, it is not always explained, and when explained 
 the short text constitutes the extent of thek exposi- 
 tion. Very learned essays, and instructive and 
 interesting discourses on various subjects are given, 
 but expounding the Scriptures as did the primitive 
 Christian minister is all out of fashion, and therefore 
 out of order. A few short quotations from the Bible 
 are often interspersed and made applicable to the sub- 
 ject, being isolated texts, but are often made to 
 teach something foreign to what God designs, as 
 their context would easily show. And church mem- 
 
THE TEST OR STANDARD. 
 
 139 
 
 bers are better instructed on almost all subjects than 
 in the word of God. 
 
 It was the appointed work of the Christian minis- 
 ter to explain the Scriptures. 
 
 Our Lord also was accustomed to expound the 
 scriptures in his discourses. His sermon on the 
 mount is an exposition of the moral law. The early- 
 history of the church as well as " the Acts of the 
 Apostles," show that expounding of the Scriptures 
 was the business df the Christian ministry. 
 
 Christ and his apostles also gave special attention 
 to the prophecies, that portion of scripture now 
 greatly neglected. The fulfilment of the prophecies 
 is now the best external testimony of the divine 
 authenticity of the Bible ; " for the testimony of 
 Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." — Rev. xix. 10. 
 The miracles were an evidence to those who wit- 
 nessed them, of the divine mission of those by whom 
 they were wrought. But they are now the reason 
 why the sceptical mind rejects the Bible ; because 
 the miracles recorded in it are contrary to the 
 common course of things, or to the order of nature. 
 But the fulfilment of the prophecies is a living 
 miracle which forces upon the sceptical mind the 
 truth that the Bible is of Heavenly origin ; that it 
 is the word of the eternal God. Yet the prophecies 
 are now as much slighted as were the prophets who 
 wrote them ; and they might as well be where the 
 prophets were driven to, in the dens and caves of 
 the earth, as to be in our hands nev-er read 
 explained. 
 
140 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 Our Lord was careful to search out those prophe- 
 cies which referred to his day, and to show their 
 fulfilment. " As his custom was, he went into the 
 synagogue on the sabbath day and stood up for to 
 read. And there was delivered unto him the book 
 of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened 
 the book, he found the place where it was written, 
 The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath 
 anointed me to preach the gospel to' the poor : he 
 hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach 
 deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight 
 to the blind ; to set at liberty them that are bruised ; 
 to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he 
 closed the book and gave it again to the minister, 
 and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were 
 in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he 
 began to say unto them, this day is this scripture 
 fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, 
 and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded 
 out of his mouth." — Luke iv. 16-22. 
 
 He found the place where it was written of 
 himself and thus proved to them the truth of the 
 prophecies ; " and all bare him witness." 
 
 On the way to Emmaus, Jesus, "beginning at 
 Moses, and all the prophets, expounded unto them 
 in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." 
 And " they said one to another, did not our hearts 
 burn within us while he talked with us by the way ? 
 and while he opened to us the Scriptures?" Ex- 
 pounding the Scriptures, and showing the fulfilment 
 of the prophecies, was also the mode of teaching 
 
THE TEST OR STANDARD. 
 
 141 
 
 adopted by the Apostles ; and it is very evident that 
 expository preaching is decidedly preferable in 
 giving Bible instruction. It is certain that there 
 is a general lack of interest in reading the Scrip- 
 tures, which many Christians feel, and deeply deplore ; 
 and it is also certain, that well conducted Bible- 
 classes and sabbath-schools awaken much more 
 interest in the Bible than public preaching. This 
 general want of interest, this " famine of the word," 
 while it is in every man's hands, may not be charge- 
 able l^holly to the mode of preaching ; it may be 
 sent on the people for the low estimation they place 
 on the word of God so freely, so abundantly given. 
 
 Has the mantle of the noble Bereans fallen on no 
 one ? Where is that ardent love of the word of 
 God so characteristic of the Waldenses, who had 
 the Bible at their tongues' end ? Have we any 
 claim to be the children of the Protestants who 
 read the Scriptures so anxiously on- their knees ? 
 The word of God, this great and precious gift of 
 Heaven, so freely given ; the abundance of the 
 blessing will prove the greater condemnation. In 
 every man's hands, so cheap, it is valued nothing 
 worth, it will rise up in judgment a swift witness : 
 Christ said, " he that rejecteth me, and receiveth 
 not my words, hath one that judgeth him : the word 
 that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the 
 last day." 
 
 The great number of sects professedly founded ou 
 the Scriptures, is an objection, in the minds of many 
 to the Divine authenticity of the Bible ; and the 
 
142 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 argument seems plausible, that a book from which 
 so many theories may be sustained, cannot be from 
 God. But a careful examination of facts will show, 
 that the multitude of sects have not originated in 
 the teachings of the Bible, but from a foreign source ; 
 from a want of a careful adherence to the Scriptures. 
 There is not, however, so great a difference in the 
 fundamental doctrines believed by the sects, as the 
 objector may imagine ; and the fact that there are 
 many sects, instead of being an evidence against the 
 truth of the Bible, is an evidence of its divine 
 authenticity ; for the Bible reveals the truth that 
 divisions would be multiplied. Christ foretold, that 
 from his time onward there would be divisions. 
 
 How, then, shall we know, says the inquirer, what 
 is truth, seeing there are so many different views, so 
 many sects and isms, and even ministers who devote 
 their time to it, cannot agree, how shall a common 
 man know wliat to believe ? If it were true that 
 ministers did devote their time to learn the truth 
 from God's word, and to promulgate it, the excuse 
 might be reasonable ; but the facts are, they gene- 
 rally devote their time to learn the theology adopted 
 by the church which they have joined, and to sustain 
 its views ; therefore divisions continue. 
 
 God has given a rule in his word by which to 
 obtain the truth, and all those who have complied with 
 its requirements are no doubt already in possession 
 of the treasure, notwithstanding the various sects and 
 isms which are abroad. Mark the ascending steps 
 v^hich Inspiration has pointed out to obtain the 
 
THE TEST OR STANDARD. 
 
 143 
 
 truth ; and if the reader can honestly say, these steps 
 have I taken, then would we gladly sit at his feet 
 and listen to the voice of wisdom. Prov. ii. 1-9, 
 God says : — 
 
 " My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide 
 my commandments with thee." 
 
 What would he have us do? What is the first 
 step to be taken ? He answers : — 
 
 " So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom." 
 
 That is, give wisdom a hearing ear. Let the 
 voice of wisdom have your special attention. This 
 step perhaps the reader has taken. Well, have you 
 also taken the second ? 
 
 " And apply thine heart to understanding." 
 
 Your affections are to be placed on the truth ; not 
 on some adopted theory which you would gladly sus- 
 tain ; but are you really in love with the truth, even 
 should it cut off your adopted views, and make you a 
 reprobate? Can you say. Let the worst come, let 
 me know the truth? Many, no doubt, can answer 
 this question in the affirmative. 
 
 " Yea, if thou criest after knowledge." 
 
 This is not difficult to understand. Have dear 
 friends been taken away by the common enemy, 
 death ? And you could not refrain the quick-falling 
 tear, while your heart went out after them in groans 
 and sighs. You have read of " Rachel weeping for 
 her children, and would not be comforted, because 
 they were not." Has God heard the groans and 
 sighs, and counted the tears^ in your anxiety for the 
 truth? Then you have taken the third step. 
 
144 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 And lifteth up thy voice for understanding/ 
 Does your heart so go out after wisdom, that you 
 lift up your voice in sincere prayer to God for under- 
 standing? ''Who giveth liberally and upbraideth 
 not." Then you have taken the fourth step. 
 If thou seekest her as silver." 
 Have you sought to understand God's word, as 
 men have sought after silver? They have risen 
 early in their desire for it, and have sat up late in 
 their toil. It has been the theme of their conversa- 
 tion during the day, and they have dreamed of their 
 silver by night. They go bent early in life with toil, 
 and in the midst of their years they bow themselves 
 towards the grave with over-labor for silver. True, 
 God has commanded that we labor for our bread, 
 and it is right that we should " labor with our hands, 
 that we may have to give to him that needeth," as 
 well as to seek for that heavenly wisdom ; yet, as 
 time is to be compared with eternity, so are their 
 relative importance. Think of the time, toil, labor, 
 and strength of body and mind you have consecrated 
 to those things which perish, and compare them with 
 what you have devoted to know heavenly wisdom ; 
 and weigh them in the balance, and see whether you 
 have sought after wisdom as you have sought after 
 silver. Then weigh silver, with your souFs eternal 
 salvation ; and see how much to each your powers 
 have been devoted, in comparison with their relative 
 importance. If you fail in the fifth step, what will 
 . be said when you come to the sixth ? 
 
 " And searchest for her as for hid treasures." 
 
THE TEST OR STANDARD. 
 
 145 
 
 Let the dead who have perished on the way to 
 California be our witness of the ardent desire of men 
 for gold. Though so many have perished in the pur- 
 suit, yet that country so suddenly peopled, tells 
 plainly how men will search for hid treasures. And 
 while you acknowledge that the Heavenly Wisdom 
 far excels all earthly treasure, as eternity surpasses 
 time, and yet you have given the earthly treasure 
 decidedly the preference in your affections, your time, 
 your labor, toil, and search, how can you boldly 
 ask who can know the truth while there are so many 
 sects ? Jesus also says, " If any man will do his will, 
 he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, 
 or whether I speak of myself." — John vii. 17. 
 
 But if you have taken these steps, if you have^ 
 inclined your ear to Wisdom, and applied your heart 
 to understanding ; if you have lifted up your voice 
 with tears in prayer for Wisdom, if you have sought her 
 as for silver, and searched for her as for hid treasures, 
 God says, " Then shalt thou understand the fear of 
 the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the 
 Lord giveth wisdom : out of his mouth cometh under- 
 standing. He layeth up sound wisdom for the 
 righteous ; he is a buckler to them that walk up- 
 rightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and pre- 
 serveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou 
 understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity ; 
 yea, every good path." 
 
 Have you adopted a theory and supposed yourself 
 orthodox, perhaps a minister, and still acknowledge 
 you have not taken these steps which God has 
 
 7 
 
m 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 marked out to obtain the truth ; how, then, do you 
 know but what you have embraced fables, like the 
 Jewish Church ? Are you more confident and sin- 
 cere than were the Jews? or do you conclude that 
 God has lowered down the condition of obtaining the 
 truth in your case ? Have you been expecting a time 
 of glory and honor for the Church in probation, 
 where her Lord has said she should receive persecu- 
 tion, tribulation, and death ? and having been edu- 
 cated to believe the theory true, do you now think it 
 hard to find it at last a fable, and still acknowledge 
 you have not complied with the conditions God has 
 given to know the truth ? Then are you not already 
 beginning to say : " Lord, I knew thee that thou art 
 a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and 
 gathering where thou hast not strewed : and I was 
 afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth,'' 
 that I might toil for silver, and search for hid trea- 
 sures ? " Lo there, thou hast that is thine." 
 
 Is it any more strange that you should embrace 
 fables, which blind your mind to the truth and lead 
 off your affections from God, causing the reading of 
 his word to become a dull task, than for the Jewish 
 Church ? She was truly the visible Church of God ; 
 yet such proved the result of holding the same fables 
 with her, as has been shown. 
 
 You will not find a lack of interest in the study of 
 God's word, if you will bring your theories to it, and 
 try them by the testimony he has given, remembering 
 that God addresses you as a rational being, that you 
 are not to mystify or to spiritualize, but the plain 
 
THE TEST OR STAOTARD. 
 
 U1 
 
 word is to be understood as it reads, or as you would 
 any other plain written language ; and if your theo- 
 ries stand the test — well ; but if they do not, " it is 
 because there is no light in them." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 CHRIST TO REIGN PERSONALLY ON THE EARTH. 
 
 "Thy kingdom come." 
 
 The coming of the kingdom of God, the establish* 
 ing of Messiah's peaceful and everlasting reign, when 
 the will of God shall be done on earth as it is done 
 in heaven, is the most exalted and glorious theme 
 that can possibly come before the children of God. 
 
 When the child of God properly meditates on the 
 subject, his soul is stirred within him, and the ardent 
 desire of his heart is, " may thy kingdom come." 
 When he reads the description of that day, as given 
 in the word of God, " The holy city prepared as a 
 bride adorned for her husband" — the King with his 
 saints in immortal beauty and glory, — " the light of 
 the moon as the light of the sun, and the light of the 
 sun seven fold, as the light of seven days," yet " the 
 moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed 
 when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, 
 and in Jerusalem and before his ancients gloriously." 
 Then again he cries, 0 may thy kingdom come that 
 we may be where thou art, that we may behold thy 
 glory. 
 
 A kingdom supposes a territory, subjects, and a 
 king. The answering of this prayer must be " at hi3 
 appearing and kingdom," when "the kingdoms of 
 
Christ's personal reign. 
 
 149 
 
 this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord 
 and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and 
 ever." The territory is named, " Thy will be done 
 on earth as it is in heaven." The King is the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and the subjects are his people, as, will 
 be seen in pursuing this subject. 
 
 The Lord Jesus Christ was to be a Prophet, 
 Priest, and King. He was a Prophet literally, 
 personally. He prophesied of events from his day 
 down to the end of time ; and as a teacher, " he 
 spake as never man spake." He was a Priest 
 literally, personally. He offered not the blood of 
 lambs and of goats, but his own most precious blood ; 
 and as the high priest went into the most holy place 
 to make intercession for the people, so Christ has 
 gone into heaven itself, and now lives to make inter- 
 cession for the people ; He is our Priest. 
 
 These two offices he has filled literally, personally. 
 Shall we now, in our haste to have a king, imagine 
 that he is filling his kingly office spiritually ? 
 " Have we added unto all our sins this evil, to ask a 
 king?" as did the Jewish church. He is indeed 
 King, as the Sovereign of the Universe, but that 
 kingly office foretold by prophets he has not yet 
 filled ; nor can the prophecy be fulfilled till he reigns 
 in person on the earth as the Son of David. Having 
 filled the two former offices personally, to interpret 
 the prophecy so as to teach that he is filling the 
 kingly office spiritually, is contrary to all exegetical 
 rules of interpretation, and also to the plain teaching 
 of the word of God. 
 
150 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 As surely as lie has filled the two first offices in 
 person, literally, so truly will he fill the last, the 
 kingly office in person. 
 
 John the Revelator craves for the seven churches 
 of Asia, the grace of " Him which is, and which was, 
 and which is to come." Christ is now our living 
 Priest, he was our great Teacher or Prophet, he is to 
 come our King. 
 
 Gabriel said to Mary, " 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. 
 
 Even if Christ is now reigning spiritually, as some 
 believe, it is certain that he has never had the throne 
 of his Father David. And in order that the promise 
 be fulfilled, the tabernacle of David which has fallen 
 must be raised up, as the prophet Amos has foretold, 
 ix. 11, 12, " In that day will I raise up the tabernacle 
 of David which is fallen and close up the breaches 
 thereof : and I will raise up his ruins, and I will 
 build it as in the days of old ; that they may possess 
 the remnant of EdoiA, and of all the heathen who are 
 called by my name, saith the Lord, who doeth this." 
 The context shows that when the tabernacle of 
 David, or " the house of David," the royal family of 
 David, in the person of Christ shall be established in 
 his reign, the wicked shall be destroyed. " And the 
 heathen who are called by the name of the Lord^^^ that 
 is, the Gentile church shall be united with the 
 
 Jewish, and they shall be one " And I will 
 
 plant them upon their land, and they shall no more 
 
Christ's personal reign. 
 
 151 
 
 be pulled up out of the land which I have given 
 them, saith the Lord thy God." 
 ^ The covenant to David of a seed to sit for ever on 
 his throne was unconditional, immutable ; it did not 
 in any way depend on the faithfulness or unfaithful- 
 ness of David's family, but on the immutable promise 
 of Jehovah.— 2 Sam. vii. 8, 16. Ps. 89. 
 
 " I have found David my servant ; with my holy 
 
 oil have I anointed him Also I will make him 
 
 my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth, my 
 mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my 
 covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also 
 will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the 
 days of heaven. If his children forsake my law, and 
 walk not in my judgment ; if they break my statutes, 
 and keep not my commandments ; then will I visit 
 their transgressions with the rod, and their iniquity 
 with stripes. Nevertheless, my loving kindness will 
 I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness 
 to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the 
 thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn 
 by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His 
 seed shall endure for ever, and his Throne as the sun 
 before me. It shall be established for ever as the 
 moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven." 
 
 Though this covenant was unconditional, yet God 
 said if his children transgress I will visit their trans- 
 gressions with the rod. The descendants of the 
 throne did transgress grievously ; they caused Israel 
 to sin more than the heathen nations about them, and 
 God suffered the Chaldeans to come upon them and 
 
152 
 
 THE saints' INHPJRITANCE. 
 
 to capture them, and they carried away the royal 
 family, and overthrew the kingdom. Ezekiel the 
 prophet is sent to pronounce the curse, but in the 
 curse the immutable, the unconditional covenant with 
 David is remembered, it must not be broken. " And 
 thou profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is 
 come, when iniquity shall have an end. Thus saith 
 the Lord God ; remove the diadem, and take off the 
 crown ; this shall not be the same ; exalt him whp is 
 low, and abase him who is high. I will overturn, 
 overturn, overturn it, and it shall be no more till he 
 comes, whose right it is ; and I will give it him." — 
 Ezek. xxi. 25-27. Christ is the true and lawful heir 
 to David's throne, "whose right it is.'^ That king- 
 dom has been overturned, and it will not be restored 
 till He come whose " right it is." When He comes, 
 he will first thoroughly cleanse his dominion from all 
 impurity ; " He will thoroughly purge his floor, and 
 the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable." He 
 " whom the heavens must receive until the times of 
 the restitution of all things which God has spoken by 
 the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world 
 began," will remove the curse before he establish his 
 peaceful and glorious reign. 
 
 God in his great mercy to the holy propliets per- 
 mitted all of them to have a view more or less dis- 
 tinct, of the renovated earth, of Christ's coming, 
 peaceful, and everlasting kingdom ; which must have 
 greatly strengthened them while suffering those 
 *' cruel mockings," and extreme persecutions which 
 they endured rather than give up the hope of a part 
 in " the better resurrection.^' 
 
Christ's personal reign. 
 
 163 
 
 But has not the kingdom already been established 
 on the earth ? And is it not the Church ? Does not 
 Christ claim to be king? "Jesus answered, My 
 kingdom is not of this world ; if my kingdom were 
 of this world, then would my servants light, that I 
 should not be delivered to the Jews ; but now is my 
 kingdom not from hence. Pilate, therefore, said 
 unto him, Art thou a king, then ? J esus answered. 
 Thou sayest that I am a king ; to this end was I 
 born, and for this cause came I into the world, that 
 I should bear witness to the truth." — John xviii. 
 36, 37. 
 
 He did truly bear witness to the truth, and he 
 sealed it with his blood. He was also born to be 
 king, and he will come again to reign, not in this 
 world or age, this corrupted state, but in " the world 
 to come,'^ the restored state of the world, when He 
 shall remove the curse, and consecrate this earth 
 with his glorified presence. And now, He says, " To 
 him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in 
 my throne, as I have overcome, and am set down 
 with my Father in his throne." — Rev. iii. 21. 
 
 Christ is also the Anointed of the Lord, but he is 
 not yet established in his kingdom. David was also 
 anointed king in Israel long before he was esta- 
 blished in the kingdom. Christ " has ascended on 
 high and sat down at the right hand of the Father, 
 henceforth expecting till his enemies are made his 
 footstool f therefore he has taught his subjects to 
 pray for his kingdom to come. 
 
 Christ's kingdom is made a subject of the deepest 
 
154 
 
 THE SAINTS' INHBUITANCE. 
 
 interest throughout the Bible ; yet his reign ia 
 xlways placed in the future. The time when he shall 
 be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords, is at 
 Ms second coming. He says, " When the Son of 
 man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels 
 with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his 
 ^lory." This is the earliest period in which he is 
 represented as taking his throne. " Then shall the 
 King say to those on his right hand. Come, ye blessed 
 )f my Father." This is the earliest that he is repre- 
 seated as an acting King. 
 
 Though the title of King is often applied to him in 
 the Scriptures, it is only as a Prince, or an heir to 
 the throne. God "hath in these last days spoken 
 unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of 
 all things, by whom also he made the world." — ^Heb. 
 i. 2. 
 
 Notwithstanding the Scriptures do thus clearly 
 teach that Christ's reign is still future, and that he 
 is to reign personally, yet it is generally taught and 
 understood that he is now filling his kingly office by 
 the Spirit, and that the church is his kingdom. But 
 if the kingdom has come, why continue to pray, " Thy 
 kingdom come ?" Shall we continue to ask God for 
 what he has already granted ? And if the church is 
 that kingdom, then the kingdom had come before our 
 Lord taught his disciples to pray for it to come ; fof 
 God has had a church on earth since the days of 
 Abel. Some teachers are more consistent ; believing 
 the Church to be Christ's kingdom, and that he is 
 reigning spiritually, they teach that wc should now 
 
CHRIST^S PERSONAL REIGN. 
 
 165 
 
 pray, "may thy kingdom be extended over all the 
 earth." With such, the Lord's prayer is obsolete ; 
 or at least they revise the prayer which Jesus indited 
 for his church during all coming time. 
 
 But did not Jesus say, " that there be some stand- 
 ing here who shall not taste of death till they shall 
 see the kingdom of God come with power ?" True, 
 he did, and the saying is recorded by three of the 
 Evangelists ; and if we read carefully the context, w^ 
 shall see the fulfilment. They each record in con- 
 nexion with that saying, the description of the trans- 
 figuration of Christ. 
 
 So powerfully glorious was the manifestation of 
 the kingdom of God, although it was only in epitome, 
 that those three disciples who were honored with 
 the sight, were overpowered with the brightness 
 and splendor of the exhibition. Observe how it 
 reads, and you have their explanation. — Luke xx. 
 27-31. " But I tell you of a truth, there be some 
 standing here who shall not taste of death till they 
 see the kingdom of God. And it came to pass 
 about eight days after these sayings, he took Peter, 
 and John, and James, and went up into a mountain 
 to pray, and as he prayed, the fashion of his counte- 
 nance was altered, and his raiment was white and 
 glistening. And behold, there talked with him two 
 men, who were Moses and Elias, who appeared in 
 glory and spake of his decease, which he should 
 accomplish at Jerusalem." Here is the kingdom 
 of God in epitome. Christ thus transfigured repre- ^ 
 eented the King. Moses, who had been long dead, 
 
166 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 represented the righteous dead who shall be raised 
 and glorified. Elias, that is, Elijah, who had been 
 translated that he should not see death, represented 
 the living who " shall not sleep " or die, but shall 
 be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 
 at his appearing and kingdom. As much as though 
 the Evangelist had said, " about eight days after 
 these sayings he took three of his disciples who were 
 standing there, and went up into a mountain and 
 gave them an exhibition of the kingdom of God." 
 
 This exposition is confirmed by one of the eye- 
 witnesses. — 2 Peter i. 16, 17. " For we have not 
 followed cunningly devised fables, when we made 
 known to you the power and coming of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty. 
 For he received from God the Father honor and 
 glory, when there came such a voice to him from the 
 excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, in whom I 
 am well pleased. And this voice which came from 
 heaven, we heard when we were with him in the 
 holy mount." 
 
 Therefore, instead of the text so often quoted as 
 proof that the kingdom is already established being 
 an argument in its favor, it becomes through the 
 teaching of the apostle, an argument that the king- 
 dom is still future, and that its coming is no fable, 
 but that Christ^s personal reign is a glorious truth 
 of which that exhibition in the holy mount was 
 given as a sure pledge. 
 
 If that glory was such as to overcome the disciples 
 at the sight of the King and two of Lis suojects ia 
 
CHRIST'S PERSONAL REIGN. 
 
 157 
 
 glory, what shall be that ^' far more exceeding and eter- 
 nal weight of glory," of which Paul speaks ? And 
 when the prayer shall be answered, and the kingdom 
 of God shall come ; the earth renewed, and the great 
 company of the redeemed shall be thus glorified, the 
 oath of God will be verified — " as truly as I live, 
 all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the 
 Lord/' Then the will of God shall be done on 
 earth as it is in heaven. Oh! may thy kingdom 
 %ome. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 WHEN CHRIST REIGNS ON EARTH HIS SUBJECTS WILL BE 
 IMMORTAL. 
 
 "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom 
 of their Father. Who hath ears to hear let him hear." — ^Matt, 
 xiiL 43. 
 
 The prospect of a triumphant reign in this mortal 
 state over every foe, when the nations should lay 
 aside their idolatry for the worship of the God of 
 Israel, was the great moving sentiment of th*e Jewish 
 church, on which their hopes were placed, and around 
 which they rallied as the main-spring of all their 
 exertions, as -truly as the hope of a temporal millen- 
 nium is interwoven with the movements of the Chris- 
 tian church at the present day. 
 
 The explanation of " the parable of the tares in the 
 field," as given by our Lord, of which the text is the 
 closing part, was designed to cut off this pleasing 
 prospect of the Jewish church, and it still stands an 
 immovable truth against the vain prospect of a tri- 
 umphant reign in the flesh, for either Jewish or 
 Christian church ; and it will so stand till he end of 
 the world. 
 
 The disciples being educated in the Jewish church, 
 were more or less under the same delusive hope ; 
 therefore the parable awakened in them an anxiety ; 
 
CHRIST^S KINGDOM. l5'J 
 
 and as soon as the multitude were dispersed, and the 
 Saviour had entered the house, his disciples came to 
 him unanimously desiring an explanation, " saying, 
 declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.^' 
 
 But Christ seems to apprehend that even they were 
 not all prepared to receive the exposition ; for having 
 explained it to them, he adds, Who hath ears to 
 hear let him hear." 
 
 That truth is very unwelcome which cuts off long 
 cherished religious theories, and pleasing hopes ; and 
 those who have embraced the pleasing hope of peace, 
 ever seem, as Stephen said, " uncircumcised in heart 
 and ears." 
 
 The Jewish church at large were quite unprepared 
 to listen to the plain truth without a parable, as 
 Christ explained it to his disciples ; for Jesus had 
 just said of them, " that this people's heart is waxed 
 gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their 
 eyes they have closed ; lest at any time they should 
 see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and 
 should understand with their heart, and should be 
 converted, and I should heal them." They would 
 perhaps have gnashed on him with their teeth, as 
 they did afterwards on Stephen, while teaching a 
 similar sentiment. 
 
 Could the church have received the explanation of 
 this parable, they would have learned at once, that 
 the Messiah would not reign during the time of pro* 
 bation for his church, either literally or spiritually. 
 
 The Jewish church were right in expecting that 
 the Messiah would be a king, and that his reign would 
 
160 
 
 THE SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 be a triumphant reign of peace. One of the titles 
 given him is, " The Prince of Peace.'' But they mis- 
 applied the promises, and he proved to them " a stone 
 of stumbling f because they applied those promises 
 of his second coming to reign, to his first coming ; 
 which was to suffer ; and therefore they expected the 
 glorious reign of peace in the flesh, where both their 
 Messiah and the heirs of his kingdom were not to 
 reign, but to suffer. They seemed to overlook his 
 office as a Priest, to suffer, to redeem, and to inter- 
 cede for his people ; which office he still fills. 
 
 Though Jesus said, " All power is given to me in 
 heaven, and in earth yet an apostle says, " We see 
 not yet all things put under him." But it is revealed 
 to John that it shall be accomplished at the sounding 
 of the seventh angel. The four and twenty elders, 
 which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their 
 faces and worshipped God, saying. We give thee 
 thanks, 0 Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, 
 and art to come ; because thou hast taken to thee thy 
 great power and hast reigned." — Rev. xi. 
 
 Immediately in connexion with his taking to him- 
 self his great power to reign, the judgment sits, and 
 then are heard the " great voices in heaven, saying, 
 the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms 
 of our Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign for 
 ever and ever." 
 
 Though all power is given to Christ, yet it is here 
 clearly taught that he does not take to himself that 
 power and reign till the day of judgment. Then the 
 Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall 
 
Christ's kingdom. 
 
 161 
 
 gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, 
 and those who do iniquity ; and he shall be crowned 
 King of kings, and Lord of lords. Then he shall be 
 The Prince of Peace, and The Everlasting Father," 
 of " tlie world to come." At which time he will ful- 
 fil his word as given by Hosea ; " I will ransom them ^ 
 from the power of the grave ; I will redeem them 
 from death : 0 death, I will be thy plagues, 0 grave, 
 I will be thy destruction." And "then shall the 
 righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of 
 their Father." 
 
 Israel clamored for a king, that they might be 
 raised to honor as the nations around them, and God 
 gave them one in his anger, and took him away in his 
 wrath. 
 
 As soon as the people began to believe that Christ 
 was the Messiah, when they saw the miracles which 
 he did, they would have taken him by force and made 
 him a king, but he fled from their midst. 
 
 The Christian Church had only a little respite 
 from persecution in the days of Constantine, and her 
 hope is soon fixed on this world, and she must have 
 a king. They crown one of their bishops, and the 
 descendant of that throne now claims to reign as 
 Christ's vicar on earth. 
 
 The Protestant Church have had but a short respite 
 from persecution, and they claim a king; but theyj 
 would avoid the errors of those before them, who 
 demanded a temporal king ; so they claim a spiritual 
 king, still his subjects are in the flesh and blood. 
 
162 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 " But flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of 
 God," says an apostle. 
 
 What do they expect their king will accomplish 
 in this world ? They claim that he will reign till 
 the heathen are converted, and idolatry is abolished 
 for the worship of the true God ; and through him 
 the Church shall triumph over all her foes. And did 
 not those Churches before them, who have so greatly 
 fallen, anticipate the same thing ? 
 
 The desire for a kingdom and a reign in this world 
 has ever been a besetment of the Church. She has 
 at times, in her history, connected herself with the 
 state, and it has proved a snare. She would have 
 her glory before she has her suffering. " But if we 
 suffer with him, we shall also reign with him." The 
 Lord Jesus knowing this strong inclination to have 
 a kingdom in the flesh, was careful to protest against 
 it, saying, " My kingdom is not from hence," and he 
 therefore made the subject very plain. He spoke the 
 following words in order to correct his followers, 
 who had the same prevailing desire for a king- 
 dom in the flesh, Luke xix. 11-15. " And as they 
 heard these things, he added and spake a parable, 
 because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they 
 thought the kingdom of God should immediately 
 appear. He said therefore, a certain nobleman went 
 into a far country to receive for himself a kingdpm, 
 and to return. And he called his ten servants, and 
 delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, 
 occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and 
 sent a message after him, saying, we will not have 
 
Christ's kingdom. 
 
 163 
 
 this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that 
 when he was returned, having received the kingdom, 
 then he commanded these servants to be called to 
 him," and he rewards the faithful and punishes his 
 enemies. 
 
 " Having received the kingdom,^^ Christ returns to 
 reign. He spake this parable " because they thought 
 the kingdom of God should immediately appear." 
 He does not teach or intimate that the Church is 
 his kingdom, and that he would reign spiritually 
 while absent from them. But he has gone into a far 
 country to receive for himself a kingdom. " The 
 Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand 
 till I make thine enemies thy footstool." " He hath 
 ascended on high and sat down on the right hand of 
 God ; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be 
 made his footstool." 
 
 " And it came to pass when he was returned, hav- 
 ing received the kingdom." 
 
 Having accomplished his mediatorial work, " And 
 the seventh angel sounded ; and there were great 
 voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this 
 world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of 
 his Christ ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. . . . 
 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, 
 and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, 
 and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy ser- 
 vants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that 
 fear thy name, small and great ; and shouldest 
 destroy them which destroy the earth." — Rev. xi. 
 15-18. 
 
164 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 If the restitution of this earth had not been lost 
 sight of, when all things shall be made new as the 
 final abode of the saints ; no one would have thought 
 of applying what is to transpire under the sounding 
 of the seventh angel, to a temporal millennium ; but 
 fully believing that the heaven of the saints is away 
 in some other part of God's universe, where Christ's 
 everlasting kingdom will be established, they can 
 make no other application. Notwithstanding the 
 nations are represented as being angry, and God's 
 wrath has come, and the time to reward his servants, 
 and punish his enemies, all transpiring in connexion 
 with the " great voices in heaven, saying, the king- 
 doms of this world are become the kingdoms of our 
 Lord, and of his Christ, and He shall reign for ever 
 and ever." 
 
 Having lost sight of the inheritance of the saints, 
 how can they but teach that Christ is reigning spirit- 
 ually, and that the millennium will be in this mortal 
 state ? For wherever the location of Christ's king- 
 dom is mentioned in the Scriptures, it is invariably 
 fixed on the earth. And taking it for granted that 
 Christ's everlasting kingdom is in some other place, 
 they could but fix his reign in probation, if he ever 
 reigned on earth ; as they expect this earth will be 
 annihilated after the judgment. 
 
 Therefore those blessed promises of the " restitu- 
 tion of all things, which God hath spoken by the 
 mouth of all his holy prophets since the world 
 began," are applied by them to this corruptible state. 
 Those exceeding great and precious promises" con- 
 
Christ's kingdom. 
 
 166 
 
 cerning Christ's kingdom on earth being too high 
 and glorious for anything in mortal life, the only way 
 they have to dispose of them, has been to conclude 
 that they were " hyperbolical or poetical expressions." 
 But instead of being " hyperbolical expressions," the 
 recipients of these promises will no doubt say as did 
 the Queen of Sheba, " The half has not been told me." 
 Thus has God hitherto fulfilled his word. 
 
 How can the following language from Isaiah Ix. 
 18-21 be applied to this life ? Speaking of 'the Holy 
 City, " Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, 
 wasting nor destruction within thy borders ; but 
 thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates 
 Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day ; 
 neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto 
 thee ; but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting 
 light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no 
 more go down : neither shall thy moon withdraw 
 itself ; for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light ; 
 and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy 
 people shall be all righteous ; they shall inherit the 
 land for ever ; the branch of my planting, the work 
 of my hands, that I may be glorified." 
 
 " Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in 
 the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to 
 hear, let him hear." 
 
CHAPTER Xy. 
 
 Christ's beign continued — his kingdom to bb 
 without end. 
 
 "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give 
 you the kingdom." — Luke xii. 32. 
 
 The churcli of God on earth in all ages has been 
 a little flock ; afflicted, persecuted, a prey for the 
 enemy on every side. Many of her most promising 
 sons and daughters have been cut off by death just as 
 they were entering the field of usefulness ; and 
 before the time to lay off her mourning apparel she i 
 has had to renew it. A multitude from her ranks 
 have ^ been brought to a premature death by the 
 bloody hands of persecutors. Her martyrs number 
 many millions. During the most of her history the 
 voice of the blood of her children has cried unto the 
 Lord from the ground as did the blood of Abel, or it 
 has ascended from the stake in the burning flame, in 
 still louder cries to the God of the afflicted. The 
 church has her type in her Lord ; and in this life she 
 is to drink of the cup of which he drank. 
 
 In the text our Lord would encourage her, with 
 the promise of the kingdom ; but if the kingdom was 
 organized and they its subjects, then he promises 
 them that which they already had. When a person 
 is converted, he is not born into the kingdom of 
 
Christ's reign without end. 167 
 
 God, as many teach, but regeneration is a necessary 
 qualification for the kingdom. Verily, verily, I 
 say unto thee, except a man be born again he cannot 
 see the kingdom of God." Those who have departed 
 this life have not received the kingdom, or their 
 promised crown. Paul expected his crown at 
 Christ's appearing and kingdom. He says, " Hence- 
 forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- 
 ness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give 
 me at that day : and not to me only but to all those 
 that love his appearing." 
 
 The apostle, speaking of the worthies of the Old 
 Testament, says, These all having obtained a good 
 report through faith, received not the promise : God 
 having provided some better thing for us that they 
 without us should not be made perfect," Heb. xi. 39, 
 40. Those ancient worthies were not made perfect, 
 says the apostle, although they had departed this 
 life ; neither will they be, so long as death triumphs 
 over their bodies ; nor had they received the fulfil- 
 ment of the promise. They have not yet received 
 their inheritance, the promised kingdom ; nor will 
 they, without the New Testament saints ; " that they 
 without us should not be made perfect." John says, 
 Rev. vi. 9, 10, " I saw under the altars the souls of 
 them that were slain for the word of God, and for 
 the testimony which they held : and they cried with 
 a loud voice, saying, How long, 0 Lord, holy and 
 true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on 
 them that dwell on the earth ?" Thus we see that 
 all the departed saints are looking forward with 
 
168 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 bright anticipation to the coming of Christ's king- 
 dom ; when all the redeemed of the Lord shall be 
 made perfect by a resurrection from the dead, with 
 bodies like unto Christ's most glorious body ; then 
 they shall be for ever established in that glorious 
 reign ; " for it is your Father's good pleasure to give 
 you the kingdom." * 
 
 In view of that day the prophet says, Isaiah xlix., 
 " Sing, 0 heaven ; and be joyful, 0 earth ; and break 
 forth into singing, 0 mountains : for the Lord hath 
 comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his 
 aflBiicted. But Zion said the Lord hath forsaken me ; 
 and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman 
 forget her sucking child that she should not have 
 compassion on" her own son ? " Yea, they may for- 
 get, yet will I not forget thee. Behold I have 
 graven thee upon the palms of my hands ; thy walls 
 are continually before me. Thy children shall make 
 haste ; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste 
 shall go forth of thee." 
 
 In the above, Zion is represented as mourning in 
 her desolation ; being robbed and spoiled on every 
 side, with no redress, she imagines her Lord has 
 forgotten her. But she is informed that those who 
 destroy her and make her waste shall be cast out, 
 and that her children who have been cut oiBF, shall, 
 when raised from the dead, make haste to come ; and 
 in view of their return God says to her, " Lift up thine 
 eyes round about, and behold, all these gather them- 
 Belves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the 
 Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as 
 
Christ's reign without end. 169 
 
 with an ornament, and bind them on thee as a bride 
 doth." 
 
 " Then shalt thou say in thine heart, who hath 
 begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, 
 and am desolate, a captive, and roaming to and fro ? 
 and who hath brought up t'hese ? Behold I was left 
 alone ; these where had they been She is repre- 
 sented as being astonished when the multitude of her 
 children come from the grave. " Who hath brought 
 up these When Christ's kingdom is established 
 they are no longer a " little flock.'' " For thy waste 
 and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruc- 
 tion, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the 
 inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be 
 far away." 
 
 But there are some texts of scripture which speak 
 of a kingdom as being already established ; for 
 instance the gospel dispensation may be called a 
 kingdom, as in the parables ; that is, a reign of 
 heavenly principles. But that kingdom foretold by 
 prophets, for the coming of which Christ taught his 
 people to pray, is still future. There is a text, how- 
 ever, which seems to teach that it is already estab- 
 lished, made a prominent text with those who 
 idvocate that Christ is filling his kingly offices 
 spiritually while his subjects are in the flesh, their 
 'irst and last proof text. It is found in Luke xvii. 
 ^1. " The kingdom of God is within you." Some 
 exts isolated, seem to prove what they do not when 
 connected with the context. 
 "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees 
 8 
 
170 THE SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 when the kingdom of God should come, he answered 
 them and said, the kingdom of God cometh not with 
 observation. Neither shall they say, lo here ! or, lo 
 there! for behold, the kingdom of God is within 
 you.'' 
 
 The best critics, even on the other side of the 
 question, render this text, in the midst of you 
 this rendering corresponds with the marginal read- 
 ing ; which reads, " among you." It would be a 
 diflScult text to understand without the marginal 
 reading, even if the word of God taught in other 
 places that the kingdom of God was in the Christian : 
 for the persons whom Christ was addressing were 
 Pharisees, and in their wicked unbelief, they were 
 cavilling with him. He certainly would not teach 
 us that the kingdom of God was in them. 
 
 Mark their question : " When shall the kingdom 
 of God come ? '' They might as well have asked of 
 that day and hour of which he says, " no man know- 
 eth.'' They speak of the kingdom as though it was 
 still in the future, and he does not correct them, but 
 admits it by his reply : " the kingdom of God cometh 
 not with observation," or outward show ; neither 
 shall they say, lo here I or, lo there ! as of the 
 coming of an earthly monarch ; but behold, sud- 
 denly, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the 
 dead are raised and the living changed, and Christ's 
 reign is established " at his appearing and kingdom" 
 in the midst of you. Then shall his angels gather 
 out of his kingdom all things that offend, and those 
 who do iniquity. 
 
CHRIST^S REIGN WITHOUT END. 
 
 171 
 
 But if the " little flock," which was the church, 
 the disciples, had the kingdom of God in them, or 
 if the church was the kingdom, then the words of 
 the text were without meaning. " Fear not, little 
 flock, for it is your Father^s good pleasure to give 
 you the kingdom," would be promising them what 
 they already had. The kingdom is future, something 
 that the church has not yet had granted her. 
 
 Daniel, the prophet, was permitted to have a 
 vision which extended to the judgment day. — Dan. 
 vii. He s^ys, I beheld till the thrones were 
 cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose 
 garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head 
 like the pure wool : his throne was like the fiery 
 flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream 
 issued and came forth irom before him: thousand 
 thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand 
 times ten thousand stood before him : the judgment 
 was set, and the books were opened. . . . And behold, 
 one like the Son of man came with the clouds of 
 heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they 
 brought him near before him. And there was given 
 him dominion, and glorj^, and a kingdom, that all 
 people, nations, and languages, should serve him : 
 his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall 
 not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall 
 not be destroyed." 
 
 In the above quotation, three important truths 
 are clearly taught : that Christ^s kingdom is future ; 
 that it will be established in connexion with the 
 judgment day, and that its duration will be without 
 
172 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 end. And it is also implied, that this earth will be 
 the location ; but there is no lack for witnesses o*. 
 this truth. This whole scene is explained to the 
 prophet. He is informed, 18th verse, that "the 
 saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and 
 possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and 
 ever." And in the 27th verse, the location is fixed : 
 " and the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness 
 of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be 
 given to the people of the saints of the Most High, 
 whose kingdom is an everlasting kingd^qm, and all 
 dominions shall serve and obey him." 
 
 And still there is an abundance of testimony, some 
 of which shall be brought forward ; not that the 
 views advocated are not already well sustained, but 
 because long cherished theories are not readily given 
 up, and because we believe that the doctrine which 
 promises so high and glorious a reign for the Church 
 in this life, is calculated to quiet her while the 
 enemy fortifies himself on every side ; the Church is 
 unconcerned, perfectly confident of success ; the 
 world shall surely be converted ; Christ will reign 
 spiritually till he subdues them all by his grace, and 
 we shall triumph gloriously. While the Man of Sin 
 multiplies his converts, out-numbering the Church 
 ten to one, with a zeal worthy a better cause. The 
 work of years by the lonely missionary of the Church, 
 is destroyed by his emissaries in a few months. 
 That Man of Sin is daily rejoicing over his victories, 
 while the Church is satisfied with the joy of antici- 
 pated victory. 
 
 i 
 
CHPJST^S REIGN WITHOUT END. 17^ 
 
 Truly this reign for the Church in the flesh is 
 Satan's master-work to quiet all anxiety. It is cal 
 culated to make the church-member like Demas who 
 forsook Paul, " having loved this present world.'' It 
 holds out the prospect of long life and prosperity ; 
 it puts far away the day of judgment ; it says to all, 
 "ye shall surely have peace/' where God has not 
 spoken peace. But instead of a long and triumphant 
 reign in this mortal state, God says, " Seeing then 
 that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner 
 of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation 
 and godliness, looking for and hastening unto the 
 coming of the day of God." 
 
 The fulfilment of the following prophecy, literally, 
 so far as it has been fulfilled, were there no other proof, 
 would be sufiScient to show that Christ will reign in 
 person on the earth. " For unto us a child is born, 
 unto us 'a son is given : and the government shall be 
 upon his shoulder : and his name shall be called 
 Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Ever- 
 lasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase 
 of Jiis government and peace there shall be no end, 
 upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to 
 order it, and to establish it with judgment and with 
 justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of 
 the Lord of hosts will perform this." — Isaiah ix. 6, 7. 
 
 Christ was the Son given, literally ; and by what 
 exegetical rule can the remaining part be expected 
 spiritually ? He has never had the throne of David, 
 The oath of God to David cannot fail : " Once havb 
 I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. 
 
174 
 
 THE SAINTS' INHERITANCE. 
 
 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the 
 sun before me." And God commissioned his angel 
 to repeat the same unto Mary, the mother of Jesus. 
 " The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of 
 his father David ; and he shall reign over the housa 
 of Jacob for ever : and of his kingdom there shall 
 be no end."— Luke i. 32, 33. 
 
 Jeremiah has recorded a prophecy which sheds 
 light on this subject. Behold, the days come, saith 
 the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous 
 branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and exe- 
 cute judgment and justice in the earth. In his day 
 Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely : 
 and this is the name whereby he shall be called, 
 THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."^ Jer. 
 xxiii. 5, 6. 
 
 " His day" refers to the time of his reign, the 
 " righteous Branch," the King, whom God shall raise 
 unto David. The present state of things shows that 
 his righteous reign has not commenced, for every- 
 thing is the very contrary to what it shall be in " his 
 day." Judah is not saved, neither does literal Israel, 
 or the true Israel, the church, dwell safely. Judg- 
 ment and justice is not executed in the earth. For 
 the land is full of oppression, and whoever pleads for 
 the oppressed, " maketh himself a prey." And "judg- 
 ment is turned away backward, and justice standeth 
 afar off : for truth is fallen in the street, and equity 
 cannot enter." When he shall reign he will execute 
 judgment and justice in the earth. But Christ now 
 refuses to judge, or to execute justice in the earth, 
 
Christ's reign w.rnouT end. 
 
 175 
 
 and will refuse till he come again. While on earth 
 he said, " I judge no man/' and " if any man hear my 
 words and believe not, I judge him not, for I came 
 not to judge the world, but to save the world," John 
 xii. 47. He was then our Great Prophet, or Teacher, f 
 and he is now our priest. He still defers to judge oi 
 execute justice. " Therefore judge nothing before the 
 time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to 
 light the hidden things of darkness, and will make 
 manifest the counsels of the hearts." — 1 Cor. iv. 5. 
 
 How then can it be claimed that Christ is fulfilling 
 this prophecy by a spiritual reign, while the prophet 
 informs us that the " King shall execute judgment 
 and justice in the earth" when he reigns ? " Fear not, 
 little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to 
 give you the kingdom." 
 
 The circumstances which called forth these encou- 
 raging words to the little flock, will shed light on 
 this subject. A man in trouble about his inheritance, 
 interrupted the Saviour in the midst of a discourse. 
 It appears that his brother had got the whole posses- 
 sion, and would not divide. He says, " Master, 
 speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance 
 with me. And he said, man, who made me a judge 
 or a divider over you ?" 
 
 Jesus takes the occasion to exhort the people 
 against covetousness. He brings before them the 
 case of a man who had laid up much goods for many 
 years ; who said to his soul, take thine ease, eat, drink, 
 and be merry. " But God said, thou fool, this night 
 thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose shall 
 
176 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 these things be which thou hast provided Having 
 shovp^ed the foolishness of being so anxious for those 
 things which they must soon die and leave, he exhorts 
 them saying, "But rather seek ye the kingdom of 
 God, and all these things shall be added unto you." 
 Then he turns from the multitude to his disciples, 
 and says, " Fear not, little flock ; for it is your 
 Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." 
 You who have forsaken houses and lands and all 
 those things in seeking the kingdom of God, it is your 
 Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 
 
 But that teaching which says the kingdom is 
 already established, says also, that all those things 
 shall be added in this life. Some of God's suffering 
 poor, under such teaching, must conclude that " all 
 these things" do not amount to much. 
 
 How often have the pious suffered the most abject 
 poverty. They have even perished with hunger. 
 More than one Lazarus has lain at the rich man's 
 gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell 
 from his table ; and from poverty and want has 
 been escorted by angels to Abraham's bosom. To 
 comfort such in their wretchedness, they are told 
 that the promise means all the good things which 
 God sees necessary for them. In the case of these 
 destitute ones, such a qualification of the promise (7uts 
 it down to nothing, — to absolute destitution. No, 
 beloved friend, if you do truly seek the kingdom of 
 God. the promise is not to be qualified. Jesus means 
 all he says, and his words are not to be qualified in 
 such a way. He will verify his word fully ; yes, they 
 
Christ's reign without end. 17V 
 
 will surpass " exceedingly, abundantly, above all tha 
 we ask or think." If thou art in poverty, and lad 
 all these things, let not your heart be corroded witi 
 anxious thought. What if you and your childrei 
 even die with hunger ? Jesus says, " I know th} 
 poverty ; but thou art rich." How ? " Joint heir,- 
 with Christ," who is heir of all things. He was rich 
 but for our sake he became poor, that we through hi 
 poverty might become rich. He knows not only thy 
 poverty, but also the distress of long-continued fast 
 ing, and of craving hunger. These afflictions whicl 
 are but for a moment, compared with eternity, " shal 
 work out for you a far more exceeding and eterna 
 weight of glory" in the world to come " at his appear 
 ing and kingdom." Then all these things shall b( 
 added unto you." So Christ explained the promise 
 for he follows the promise with an exhortation t( 
 provide themselves with a treasure in the heaven 
 that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neithei 
 moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there 
 will your heart be also." 
 
 But again, Jesus says, Luke xxi. 31, "So likewise 
 ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know yr 
 that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." Th 
 reader may learn by reading Matthew xxiv. auv 
 Matk xiii., in connexion with this chapter h 
 Luke, that Christ had foretold a series of event; 
 from that time till he should come again. He say:* 
 27 th verse, " then shall they see the Son of man con, 
 ing in a cloud, with power and great glory. An 
 when these things begin to come to pass, then loo]> 
 
178 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draw- 
 eth nigh.'' And " when ye see these things come to 
 pass, then know ye that the kingdom of God i'j nigh 
 at hand — ^not yet come, or established, only nigh 
 at hand. 
 
 Why flatter ourselves that we have a king reign- 
 ing, before his kingdom has come? before he has 
 gathered his subjects ? Do we not greatly dishonor 
 our King to suppose him reigning while his subjects 
 are scattered, afflicted, suffering, perplexed, in trials 
 and distress, buffeted by Satan, their names cast out 
 as evil ? He is not reigning ; He is still suffering in 
 sympathy with his people. He is seen by the Reve- 
 lator, " as a Lamb newly slain," before the throne, a 
 living bleeding sacrifice for his people. He lives a 
 Priest, he pleads his sufferings for us. His kingdom 
 is not established, nor will it be, " until the appearing 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ ; which in his times he shall 
 show who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King 
 of kings and Lord of lords.'' — 1 Tim. vi. 15. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 INFANTS LAWFUL HEIRS OF THE INHERITANCE. 
 
 ** Thus saith the Lord : A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, 
 and bitter weeping : Rachel weeping for her children, refused to ba 
 comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith the 
 Lord : refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears ; 
 for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord ; and they shall 
 come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in 
 thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to 
 their own border." — Jer. xxxi. 15-18. 
 
 This portion of Scripture has been applied to the 
 Jews while being carried away captive to Babylon. 
 And Rachel has been represented as rising from the 
 grave, and weeping over her descendants as they go 
 iDOund into captivity. Those who so interpret it, 
 find in the same Scripture a promise of their return 
 to their own country again. " They shall come again 
 from the land of the enemy ; and there is hope in 
 thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall 
 come again to their own border." 
 
 However interesting and plausible such an inter 
 pretation may appear, yet we must dissent from it, 
 because a New Testament writer has taken up this 
 very scripture and explained it otherwise : therefore 
 
180 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 we have an infallible interpretation, given under th« 
 inspiration of God, and to it we appeal. 
 
 The Evangelist Matthew claims the above Scrip 
 ture as a prophecy, and says that it was fulfilled 
 when " Herod sent forth and slew all the childrei 
 that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof 
 from two years old and under according to the tinu 
 which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.* 
 — Matt. ii. 
 
 The rage of Satan, as manifested through that 
 depraved and cruel governor, in so horrible an 
 outrage on humanity, by the slaughter of so many 
 innocent and unofl'ending children, the Spirit of 
 Inspiration testified of beforehand, by the prophet ; 
 seeing also, that it was intimately connected with 
 the first advent of Christ ; for the testimony of 
 Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." When on one 
 occasion the brutal hands of jealousy were dipped 
 in the blood of little children throughout all that 
 country, opening the very fountains of tenderness in 
 every bosom, causing all hearts in that region to 
 bleed with anguish. 
 
 Friends could not go abroad to sympathize with 
 friends ; for children* were massacred everywhere, 
 and all hearts were wrung and torn with anguish 
 over their own loved ones at home, murdered, cold, 
 and lifeless. The sun never gave light on another 
 funeral scene such as followed that monstrous 
 slaughter. The whole country were seen moving in 
 little groups while the piercing wails of those 
 
 1 
 
INFANTS LAWFUL HEIRS. 
 
 181 
 
 broken-hearted mothers filled all the land as they 
 passed slowly on to the burying-places for the dead. 
 Soon those places were crowded with persons deeply 
 interested, for all were mourners. What " bitter 
 weeping and lamentation f what groans and cries 
 from. those stricken mothers, as they cling to the 
 forms of their innocent ones, so soon to be placed in 
 the cold prison-house of the common enemy, death. 
 And after they had " buried the dead out of their 
 sight," still they all wept, for all were heart-broken. 
 
 Matthew says, " then was fulfilled that which was 
 spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, in Rama was 
 there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and 
 great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, 
 and would not be comforted, because they were not." 
 
 Who could minister consolation, or what would 
 comfort a people thus afflicted, living under a govern- 
 ment so inhuman that would for the least pretence 
 massacre their innocent children ? To whom could 
 they turn for comfort? *To God, who beheld the 
 scene and knew how deep was the affliction, and 
 knew too that it was preparing those mourners to 
 sing that song with those " who have come out of 
 great tribulation to Him who alone is competent 
 to administer consolation to any thus afflicted. 
 Their tears were numbered ; their groans and their 
 cries came before Him. He also had given up his 
 only begotten Son to die for a lost and wicked 
 world, and he had but just come into the world ; 
 and this sign follows as an evidence of Satan's rage. 
 — Rev. xii. 1-5. 
 
182 
 
 THE SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 God pitied them ; for his children are as tender 
 in his sight as the apple of the eye ; and he had 
 foretold the scene by his prophet, and had prepared 
 beforehand words of consolation for those afflicted 
 families, and for all others like afflicted, who can 
 believe his promise. He had promised those mothers 
 in Israel, as found in the text, that he would watch 
 over even the very dust of those infant martyrs for 
 Jesus ; that he would restore them alive again as 
 innocent and much more beautiful and glorious 
 than when torn from their embrace by the ruthless 
 hand of death ; that he would restore them not 
 only to their believing mothers, but also to their 
 own land and country, under a peaceful and right- 
 eous government, that glorious kingdom and everlast- 
 ing reign of the Prince of Peace, even Him for 
 whom they had been martyred. Thus saith the 
 Lord : refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine 
 eyes from tears ; for thy work shall be rewarded, 
 saith the Lord ; and they shall come again from the 
 land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, 
 saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again 
 to their own border." 
 
 These truths as brought to view by the prophet, 
 that the land of the enemy is the grave where those 
 children were carried, and the promise of God that 
 they shall come again to their own country, where 
 the care and work of those mothers shall be rewarded, 
 explained by Inspiration through the Evangelist, 
 show that this earth shall be the final inheritance of 
 the saints, when all their foes shall be conquered, and 
 
INFANTS LAWFUL HEIRS. 
 
 183 
 
 the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death/* 
 1 Cor. XV. 26. And when God shall set his hand 
 again to renew the face of the earth, and Abraham 
 shall receive his inheritance, and "Daniel shall stand 
 in his lot at the end of the days,'^ then shall those 
 little ones return from the land of the enemy, the 
 grave, and shall come to Zion with songs of praise 
 and everlasting joy on their heads. Those babes 
 "ttlso who were slain in Egypt by Pharaoh's cruel 
 decree shall come ; so shall all those who have fallen 
 by death in infancy. 
 
 " Our children thou dost claim, 
 And mark them out for thine : 
 Ten thousand blessings to thj name, 
 For goodness so divine." 
 
 Some suppose the Bible to be quite silent on the 
 subject of the salvation of infants. But that they are 
 saved is a truth clearly revealed. So taught our 
 Lord and the Apostles, as well as the " sure word of 
 prophecy." " But Jesus said, suffer little children and 
 forbid them not to come unto me : for of such is the 
 kingdom of heaven." — Matt. xix. 14. Again it is 
 written, "And they brought young children unto 
 him, that he should touch them ; and his disciples 
 rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus 
 saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, 
 suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid 
 them not ; for of such is the kingdom of God. Yerily 
 I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the king- 
 dom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein 
 
THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 Ind he took them up in his arms, put his hands on 
 Aem and blessed them/' — Mark x. 13-16. 
 
 " See Israel's gentle Shepherd stand, 
 With all engaging charms ; 
 Hark, how he calls the tender lambs, 
 
 And folds them in his arms. 
 •Permit them to approach/ he cries, 
 
 * Nor scorn their humble name ; 
 For 'twas to bless such souls as these, 
 The Lord of angels came/ " 
 
 " Of such is the kingdom of God.'' As much as 
 hough he had said, These are the subjects of my 
 vingdom. They are saved ; no better testimony is 
 leeded. Should Christ say of a Church, or any 
 3lass of persons, " Of such is the kingdom of God,'' 
 the evidence of their acceptance would be satisfac- 
 tory. 
 
 This conclusion the Apostle Paul sustains, Rom. 
 V. 18. " Therefore as by the offence of one judgment 
 came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the 
 righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men 
 unto justification of life." 
 
 " By the offence of one," that is, Adam, "judgment 
 came upon all men unto condemnation." In Adam 
 all were condemned. " Even so by the righteousness 
 of one," that is Christ, " the free gift came upon all 
 men unto justification of life." In Christ all are 
 freely justified. If the all is unlimited in Adam, it in 
 equally so in Christ. But if the free unmerited gift 
 of justification has come upon all through Christ, 
 '*thcn will not all be saved?" inquires those who 
 
INFANTS LAWFUL HEIRS. 
 
 185 
 
 catch at the slightest hope. The answer is that all 
 those who have not transgressed personally, them- 
 selves, will most assuredly be saved. All mankind 
 having been brought into the world in a state of 
 infancy since Adam's fall, though under the condem- 
 nation of Adam's sin, yet God has granted them a 
 free justification through Christ. Therefore we are 
 forbid to say, " The fathers have eatqji sour grapes 
 and the children's teeth are set on edge." "But 
 every one shall die for his own iniquity." " The 
 soul that sinneth, it shall die." 
 
 We know that this text in Romans is claimed to 
 teach the salvation of all mankind ; but if this text 
 is the only ground of their hope, there is nothing 
 more sure than that all mankind who are grown up 
 in sin are lost ; for the sentence of death is still out 
 against the transgressor ; and no man lives who has 
 not sinned. If this is the extent of the atonement, 
 none but infants can be saved. We see, therefore, 
 that this boasted text for universal salvation does not 
 reach the case of any personal transgressor. 
 
 The atonement extends still further than this text, 
 thanks be to our Father in heaven, so that even for 
 those who have personally transgressed, there is sal- 
 vation. God can be just and justify even actual sin- 
 ners, who believe in Jesus ; therefore we plead for 
 mercy in his name. 
 
 The above testimony is sufficient that all are freely 
 justified in infancy, and that those who die in that 
 state are saved. Therefore says God to those whose 
 children have been cut off in infancy, "they shall 
 
186 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 come again from the land of the enemy." Christ 
 shall destroy their enemy, death, and raise them from 
 the dead, and beautify them with salvation, even 
 more beautiful than when in health they looked up 
 and smiled on you, before death took them from your 
 embrace, breaking all those tender fibres of your soul. 
 Thus saith the Lord to you, weeping mother, " refrain 
 thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears ; 
 for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord." 
 
 These truths greatly endear that blessed inherit- 
 ance to us. Who will not have some little friends 
 gathered there, to fill most gloriously the place God 
 has appointed them in that heavenly country ? Thy 
 toil, thy trials, thy pains, thy love, shall not be lost, 
 for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord." 
 God has something very glorious in reserve for you, 
 believing mothers, and for those jewels of his grace, 
 in that inheritance, as we shall see. 
 
 John, the beloved disciple, who was banished on 
 the isle of Patmos for the word of the Lord, was per- 
 mitted to see glorious visions of Canaan, as it shall 
 be in the glorified and heavenly state. And among 
 other things he saw that blessed infant band of 
 cherubs, as they shall be when God shall redeem their 
 bodies from the grave, standing with the Lamb of 
 God on Mount Zion — Mount Zion so highly celebrated 
 for its glory and beauty by the inspired.bards of Israel. 
 " Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is 
 Mount Zion," even in its degenerate state under the 
 curse, but when restored, filled with the glory of 
 God. 
 
INFANTS LAWFUL HEIRS. 
 
 187 
 
 At the commencement of the book of Revelation, 
 it is written, " Blessed is he that readeth and they 
 that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those 
 things which are written therein. Some of those 
 heavenly scenes which John has recorded seem almost 
 like bringing before us that glory which shall be 
 revealed at the revelation of Jesus Christ, " when 
 he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be 
 admired in all them that believe.'^ In the following 
 scene we see the prayer of the Psalmist answered, 
 " Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.'' 
 
 "And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the 
 Mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and four 
 thousand, having his Father's name written in their 
 foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven as the 
 voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great 
 thunder : and I heard the voice of harpers harping 
 with their harps. And they sung as it were a new 
 song before the throne, and before the four beasts, 
 and the elders : and no man could learn that song 
 but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which 
 were redeemed from the earth. These are they 
 which were not defiled with women : for they are 
 virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb 
 whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from 
 among men, being the first fruits unto God and the 
 Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile : for 
 they are without fault before the throne of G-cd," 
 Eev. xiv. 1-5. 
 
 Whoever carefully examines the above definite 
 description of character, will acknowledge, we think, 
 
188 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 that i fc can be applied to no class of beings on earth 
 or in heaven except to redeemed infants. 
 
 They were of mankind, for " they were redeemed 
 from among men," the subjects of redeeming grace. 
 
 " And they sung as it were a new song before the 
 throne ; and no man could learn that song but the 
 hundred forty and four thousand." 
 
 The definite number, ^' an hundred forty and four 
 thousand," is chosen for an indefinite number, for a 
 vast multitude, as in other places in Revelation. 
 For instance, twelve thousand are sealed of each of 
 the twelve tribes of Israel, Rev. vii. : making one 
 hundred and forty-four thousand ; not that there was 
 just that number saved of each tribe, but that at the 
 time to which the Revelator alluded the number that 
 would be saved will be completed, and definitely 
 fixed, for the day of salvation will be passed. 
 
 Why could not others in that heavenly state learn 
 the song which this company sang ? If it was 
 written angels could not learn the song, then it 
 would have been true of all the redeemed ; for the 
 song of redemption is a song which angels cannot 
 sing. " No man could learn that song but" this 
 company. Infants will sing a different song from 
 adults. Adults will sing a song of redemption from 
 actual transgression, while infants will sing a song 
 of redemption from that original sin, and condemna- 
 tion in Adam. 
 
 ''These are they which are not defiled with 
 women : for they are virgins." 
 
 Woman was the first in the transgression ; and 
 
INFANTS LAWFUL HEIRS. 
 
 these had never followed the example ; had never 
 committed actual sin. According to the word of 
 God, those are virgins with him who have never 
 placed their affections on the world, or on improper 
 objects of adoration. They had worshipped only at 
 the altar of God. " These are they which follow the 
 Lamb whithersoever he goeth." 
 
 Christians follow Christ sometimes ; and some- 
 times they do not ; but these have never committed 
 sin, they follow Christ in meekness through suffering 
 and death, and the resurrection, and they shall be 
 with him on the holy Mount Zion. 
 
 "These were redeemed from among men, being 
 the first fruits unto God and the Lamb." 
 
 Being early ripe, in infancy, they were taken away 
 from the evil to come, a rich and glorious harvest. 
 Opening buds plucked from this mortal state before 
 corrupted by the cankering worm, to bloom for ever 
 in immortality in the coming kingdom of God. The 
 first choice fruit of redeeming grace ; those precious 
 ones which he shall gather when he maketh up the 
 jewels of his love. 
 
 Some have supposed, because they are called " the 
 first-fruits," that they must be those who were raised 
 from the dead at the resurrection of Christ ; but those 
 then raised would not answer the description given 
 of this class, neither can it be applied in truth to 
 adults. "First-fruits" is variously applied in the 
 scriptures. 
 
 " Now is Christ risen from the dead and become 
 the first-fruits of them that slept :" In this text Christ 
 
190 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 is called " the first-fruits" of God's great harvest^ the 
 resurrection of the righteous dead. 
 
 " Of his own will begat he us with the word of 
 truth that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his 
 creatures.'' In this text the apostle James represents 
 himself and his brethren as a kind of first-fruits of 
 the gospel dispensation or Christian church. 
 
 " Ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the 
 first-fruits of Achaia." Here Stephanas' family is 
 called the first-fruits of the gospel in Achaia ; and in 
 the subject before us those who die in infancy are 
 called " the first-fruits unto God and the Lamb," and 
 are saved under that first, unconditional applica- 
 tion of the atonement, which would have saved all of 
 the descendants of Adam, had none of them trans- 
 gressed personally. They are those who were saved 
 in the great work of redemption under that general 
 application of the atonement to which we have 
 referred. Rom. v. 18. Therefore are they called 
 " the first-fruits unto God and the Lamb." 
 
 " And in their mouth was found no guile : for they 
 are without fault before the Throne of God." 
 
 They had never sinned, in their mouth was found 
 no guile ; no craft, deceit, duplicity, treachery, nor 
 sin. Had it been written, in their mouth is no guile, 
 it would have been applicable to all the redeemed 
 being purified ; but it is written in the past tense, 
 was found no guile." They had never transgressed. 
 Those grown up in sin, though pardoned and saved, 
 yet they are sinners pardoned ; but " these are with 
 out fault before the throne of God." 
 
INFANTS LAWFUL HEIRS. 191 
 
 This multitude of infants will not be helpless as wher 
 in this state. " There shall be no more thence an in- 
 fant of days, nor an old man that has not filled his 
 days," i. e., neither the weaknesses of infancy, nor the 
 infirmities of old age. " But they which are accounted 
 worthy to obtain that world and the resurrection 
 from the dead are equal unto the angels,'' who excel 
 in strength and wisdom as well as beauty and glory. 
 
 ^'Rachel weeping for her children refused to be 
 comforted for her children because they were not." 
 They are not to you, yet they are to God ; " for all 
 live unto him," and he will bring them again from 
 the land of the enemy. Think you, that then you 
 ^ill regret their being torn away from you ? I know 
 the heart bleeds and the very cords of life are broken, 
 and that the Holy One alone is able to render conso- 
 lation. Then look to Him beyond the present appa- 
 rent severity, and behold the goodness of God and 
 see if He will not reward thy labor and work on these 
 jewels of thine. Will you not be among the first to 
 glorify and admire your blessed Lord in this his work 
 of exalting these precious ones to be like himself in 
 purity, excellency, and glory ? 
 
 These truths, as seen in the word of God, are con- 
 stantly increasing our interest in that heavenly coun- 
 try, where this company of "harpers with their 
 harps" shall sing that untold song of praise with the 
 Lamb on Mount Zion. "When these little ones are 
 ^oriously adorned with heavenly robes and are 
 gathered in the morning of the resurrection to Mount 
 Zion, having harps shall sing praises to the Lamb 
 
192 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 who has redeemed them, how it will reveal the glory 
 of that gentle Shepherd, who, while in the flesh, 
 kindly took them in his arms and blessed them, say- 
 ing, " of such is the kingdom of God." Then Mount 
 Zion will be truly the joy of the whole earth. 
 
 " Thus saith the Lord ; a voice was heard in 
 Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping ; Rachel 
 weeping for her children refused to be comforted for 
 her children, because they were not. Thus saith the 
 Lord ; refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes 
 from tears : for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the 
 Lord ; and they shall come again from the land of the 
 enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the 
 Lord, that thy children shall come again to their owa 
 border." 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 MINISTRY OF ANGELS. 
 
 **For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to 
 come, whereof we speak." — Heb. ii. 5. 
 
 Those high and holy beings who stand in the pre- 
 sence of God, and delight to do his commandments, 
 are represented throughout the Scriptures as being 
 deeply interested in the welfare of men, in the affairs 
 of the world, in seeking to restore this revolted 
 dominion to its lawful Sovereign, in the restoration of 
 its inhabitants to a peaceful possession of their for- 
 feited inheritance ; and the inference from this text 
 is, that this world is, in its present state, put in sub- 
 jection to the angels. 
 
 The apostle, just previous to the text, having 
 spoken of the work and ministry of angels, says, 
 
 For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and 
 every transgression and disobedience received a just 
 recompense of reward ; how shall Ave escape if we 
 neglect so great salvation/' Stephen also in his 
 defence before the Jewish counsel, while enumerating 
 the sins of their fathers, said, " Who have received the 
 law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it f 
 but the world to come he hath not put in subjection to 
 angels. Those who are accounted worthy to attain 
 
 9 
 
194 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 unto that age, will be their equals, when all things 
 shall be restored in subjection to man as originally, 
 with the Creator in glorified humanity at their head. 
 This idea is beautifully expressed in the following 
 verse by Doctor Watts. 
 
 " The world to come, redeemed from all 
 The miseries which attend the fall, 
 New made, and glorious, shall submit 
 At our exalted Saviour's feet." 
 
 Man in this present state is in his infancy ; he 
 comes into being the most feeble and helpless of crea- 
 tures, but God has set before him, in the Gospel, the 
 hope of becoming the highest and most glorious of 
 created beings. 
 
 Did that fallen angel, the Devil, envy man while 
 in that blessed state of innocency, how does his 
 envy rage now, knowing, as he does, that humanity 
 shall be exalted higher than before the fall, even to 
 the throne of the Eternal God in the person of 
 Christ ? and that Christ now says to those who over- 
 come that wicked one " will I grant to sit with me in 
 my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down 
 with my Father in his throne.'' 
 
 " How poor, how rich, how abject, how august, 
 How complicate, how wonderful, is man I 
 How passing wonder He who made him such I 
 Who centred in onr m;ike such Btnmge extremes! 
 From different natures marvellously mixed. 
 Connexion exquisite of distant worlds I 
 Distinguished link in being*s endless chain I 
 
MINISTRY OP ANGELS. 
 
 196 
 
 Midway from nothing to the Deity I 
 A beam ethereal, sullied and absorbed 1 
 Though sullied and dishonored, still divine 
 Dim miniature of greatness absolute I 
 An heir of glory! a frail child of dust! 
 Helpless immortal I insect infinite I 
 A worm I a god I" — Young. 
 
 But our Heavenly Father has made ample pro- 
 visions for us in our weakness and infancy in this 
 present fallen state. He has not only given his Son 
 to redeem us from the fall, to raise and exalt us to 
 himself, and the Holy Spirit to take the things of 
 Christ and show them unto us, but also, pitying us as 
 a father pities his children, he has commissioned the 
 holy angels to become our guardians. 
 
 " Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth 
 to minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation 
 In our very infancy they begin this labor of love. 
 Jesus having placed a little child in IJie midst of his 
 disciples, said, Take heed that ye despise not one 
 of these little ones : for I say unto you that in heaven 
 their angels do always behold the face of my Father.^' 
 
 Not one alone to accompany them, but many ; 
 • " their angels do always behold the face of my Father." 
 Think of it, anxious parent. Those holy beings 
 sympathize with you, in deep solicitude for the wel- 
 fare of your children. You cannot endure the 
 thought of their being despised, or even slighted ; 
 neither can Jesus. " Take heed that you despise not 
 one of these little ones,'' for their angels will appear 
 against you before " the face of my Father which is in 
 
196 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 heaven.'' How precious is a little child in the sight . 
 of God and the holy angels, as seen in the light of this 
 declaration by Him who alone can reveal the mind 
 of the Father. Again says Christ, "Whoso shall 
 receive one such little child in my name receiveth 
 me." Again, " It were better for him that a millstone 
 were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, 
 than that he should offend one of these little ones," 
 or cause one of these little ones to stumble. Such a 
 revelation of the interest manifested m heaven in be- 
 half of a child, speaks volumes of man's high destiny, 
 of the worth of the soul, of the eternal weight of glory 
 which shall encircle the redeemed in the endless age 
 to come. Therefore said Jesus, " There is joy in the 
 presence of the angels of God over one sinner that 
 repenteth." 
 
 The angels are represented as taking part in the 
 affairs of this world as early as the fall ; at which 
 time man seems to have been placed in subordination 
 to them. " So he drove out the man ; and he placed 
 at the east of the garden of Eden, Cherubims, and a 
 flaming sword, which turned every way, to keep the 
 way of the tree of life." And in the history of the 
 world, whenever those holy beings have been seen, 
 they have been found deeply interested in the affairs 
 of men ; either aiding, assisting, and ministering to 
 the humble, obedient servants of God, or opposing, 
 resisting, and executing the wrath of an offended 
 God on those who will not submit to his righteous 
 government. 
 
 How encouraging to the humble servants of God 
 
MINISTRY OF ANGELS. 
 
 197 
 
 to know that the Eternal Jehovah is not only eng-aged 
 in their salvation, but that He has given charge to 
 all those holy intelligences who dwell in his presence, 
 and delight in his commandments, to minister to his 
 children, to deal kindly with them, to aid them in the 
 way of righteousness. And how appalling to the 
 disobedient, to know that not only the Eternal is 
 arrayed against them, for their resistance to his 
 righteous government, but also all those mighty 
 beings who obey his commandments stand ready to 
 execute on them his indignation. 
 
 " Though the eyes of the Lord are in every place, 
 beholding the evil and the good," yet when the sins 
 of Sodom had increased beyond forbearance, and the 
 Lord personally, in company with two angels, visits 
 Abraham, " the friend of God," to inform him of what 
 he is about to do, he speaks of Sodom only in refer- 
 ence to the reports, which had been brought to him 
 by those holy beings who came before him in faithful- 
 ness with the dark and loathsome crimes of Sodom ; 
 showing that the angels have charge of the affairs of 
 this world. 
 
 The courteous conversation of the Lord with the 
 angels, and with " Abraham, his friend," is worthy 
 our special notice. As they were walking towards 
 Sodom, " and Abraham went with them, to bring 
 them on their way," the Lord said, addressing the 
 angels, " Shall I hide from Abraham that thing wliich 
 I do ?" How much like Jesus, while with his disci- 
 ples He says, ^' Henceforth I call you not servants ; 
 for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth ; 
 
198 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 but I have called you friends ; for all things that I 
 have heard of my Father, I have made known to 
 you." The Lord proceeds to offer a reason for tell- 
 ing him : " Seeing that Abraham shall surely become 
 a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the 
 earth shall be blessed in him ; for I know him, that 
 he will command his children and his household after 
 him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do 
 justice and judgment ; that the Lord may bring upon 
 Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And 
 the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomor- 
 rah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, 
 I will go down now, and see whether they have done 
 altogether according to the cry of it, which is come 
 unto me ; and if not, I will know." — Gen. xviii. 
 
 We are here taught, that while angels are set 
 over the affairs of this world, they faithfully bring 
 all the acts of men before the Lord for the wisdom 
 of his counsel, and to wait his commands ; and, 
 although God is omniscient, yet before he will " do 
 his strange work," that of executing judgment on 
 the wicked, he will personally examine their case. 
 He says : " I will go down now and see whether 
 they have done altogether according to the cry of 
 it, which is come unto me ; and if not, I will know.'' 
 Hence Christ refers to the overthrow of Sodom and 
 Gomorrah to illustrate the judgment scene. 
 
 All the hosts of heaven are engaged in man's well- 
 doing, yet his sins cry aloud for the judgment of 
 God I What swift witnesses will those heavenly 
 
MINISTRY OF ANGELS. 
 
 199 
 
 messengers become against the finally impenitent in 
 the day of judgment I 
 
 " And the men turned their faces from thence, and 
 went towards Sodom." 
 
 A.ngels were often taken to be men, and are ' 
 described in the Scriptures as having the appearancb 
 of men. It appears that Abraham had entertained 
 the Lord and these two angels as three men, stran- 
 gers. — Gen. xviii. 1, 2. 
 
 The angels went to give those among the Sodom- 
 ites for whom there was any hope, their last warning, 
 and to separate the few righteous from the wicked. 
 "But Abraham stood before the Lord." Thus 
 honored, the father of the faithful stood before the 
 Lord. It seems, as they were walking and talking, 
 God having revealed the terrible truth to Abraham, 
 that he steps in before him, as a friend would step 
 before another, that he might stop him, and^there he 
 pleads before him, truly, as a " friend " pleading 
 with a friend, for that doomed people. 
 
 And oh ! what an argument he brings before the 
 righteous Judge of all the earth ! " And Abraham 
 drew near and said. Wilt thou also destroy the 
 righteous with the wicked ? " Abraham knew the 
 Lord, and he knew how to approach him ; " for he 
 was the friend of God." Oh, honored man! He 
 knew that the Lord loved the righteous, and that he 
 was a just God ; and he continued to plead. 
 
 " Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the 
 city : wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place 
 for the fifty righteous that are therein ? That be far 
 
200 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 from thee to do after this manner, to slay the 
 righteous with the wicked ; and that the righteous 
 be as the wicked, that be far from thee. Shall not 
 the Judge of all the earth do right ? 
 
 "And the Lord said. If I find in Sodom fifty right- 
 eous within the city, then I will spare all the place 
 for their sakes." 
 
 Though Abraham was " called the friend of God," 
 and he had just entertained Him at his tent as a • 
 friend, also two of the heavenly messengers With 
 him, not as humble servants, but as four friends they 
 met, and sat together ; they had walked, and talked 
 together. But when Abraham hears the answer of 
 God to his pleading, and sees how he regards the 
 righteous ; that he would not only save the righteous, 
 but spare the whole place for their sakes, he is 
 greatly humbled. 
 
 " And* Abraham answered and said, Behold now I 
 have taken upon me to speak before the Lord, which 
 am but dust and ashes." 
 
 Though he is greatly humbled, and feels his own 
 nothingness while standing before the Lord, still his 
 argument had such power, he pleads on with humble 
 boldness ; he lowers down the number, and pleads 
 again, and the Lord grants his request. And still 
 he lowers down the number and pleads, and still the 
 Lord grants his request ; and every answer seems to 
 humble " the friend of God." And yet he is embold- 
 ened to plead ; and finally cries, " Oh, let not the 
 Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once ; 
 Peradventure ton shall be found there. And he said, 
 
MINISTRY OF ANGELS. 
 
 201 
 
 1 will not destroy it for ten's sake. And the Lord 
 went his way as soon as he had left communing with 
 Abraham ; and Abraham returned to his place.'' 
 That night Lot, in entertaining strangers, " enter- 
 tained angels unawares," as Abraham had the day 
 before. 
 
 " And there came two angels to Sodom at even- 
 ing ; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom ; and Lot 
 seeing them, rose up to meet them ; and he bowed 
 himself with his face toward the ground : and he 
 said. Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into 
 your servant's house and tarry all night, and wash 
 your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your 
 ways. And they said. Nay ; but we will abide in 
 the street all night. And he pressed upon them 
 greatly ; and they turned in unto him, and entered 
 into his house ; and he made them a feast, and did 
 bake unleavened bread, and they did eat," Gen. xix. 
 
 Happy for Lot, and praise to God, for his saving 
 grace, that the communications of that polluted 
 loathsome city had not " corrupted his good man- 
 ners." 
 
 Lot had been accustomed to better society ; he 
 was the friend of Abraham, and had been reared 
 with him until manhood, and his influence was not 
 lost. But he had been " vexed with the filthy con- 
 versation of the wicked ; for that righteous mar 
 dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing ; vexed 
 his righteous soul from day to day with their unlaw 
 ful deeds." 
 
 Yet Lot is affable and kind, he does^not know the 
 9* 
 
202 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 errand of the strangers, nor stop to inquire who they 
 are, or of their standing and dignity ; but it was 
 enough for him to know that strangers in their way 
 had stopped to tarry for the night in that corrupt 
 city. 
 
 In that age travellers being dependent on the 
 hospitality of the people, the good man hastened to 
 meet them, and bowing himself most respectfully, 
 welcomes them, and generously offers to entertain 
 them in his own house ; and while they modestly 
 declined, offering to tarry in the street, as many of 
 the poor, perhaps, did, "he pressed upon them 
 greatly;" for the good man knew, not only how 
 corrupt the people were, but also that there was no 
 generosity in the place. 
 
 Sodom was like the present age in that respect. 
 The earth now brings forth an abundance, and the 
 proud and haughty roll in luxury and wealth, while 
 the children of the poor, being neglected, have to 
 beg ; and are even seen in our cities gathering with 
 their tiny hands the crumbs which are cast aside in 
 pails and tubs for the swine. 
 
 " As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister 
 hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast 
 done, thou and thy daughters. Behold, this was the 
 iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread 
 and abundance of idleness was in her and in her 
 daughters, neither did she strengthen the hands of 
 the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and 
 committed abomination before me : therefore I took 
 them away a^ I saw good." 
 
MINISTRY OF ANGELS. 
 
 20S 
 
 This cliarge could not be brought against Sarah, 
 Abraham^s wife, who had with her own hands made 
 cakes for those same noble guests ; while she consi' 
 dered them only travellers, who being on their journey 
 had stopped near her tent, under a shade-tree to rest 
 themselves. How" many mothers or daughters of 
 households as wealthy as Abraham's, would in these 
 days, knead dough, and make cakes with their own 
 hands in charity for strangers ? 
 
 Two angels are Lot's guests, but it is Sodom's last 
 night, and her darkest in depravity ; for God had 
 numbered the days of Sodom, and finished them, and 
 the Holy Spirit had left the people. Oh, dreadful 
 state ! They ran mad in corruption ; their crimes, 
 which may not be named, called loudly for the fire of 
 an offended God. 
 
 But why are angels there? Because there is a 
 righteous man in the city, and he needs their presence 
 and their guardian care, for he must be taken away 
 before the fire of a just God can fall on the wicked. 
 
 How precious is a good maa for a friend ! Even 
 as many of his friends as can be prevailed on to leave 
 are saved for his sake. But how terribly wretched 
 is that people from whom the Spirit of God has with- 
 drawn! Their mad passions would corrupt every- 
 thing pure in the city, seeking even vengeance on 
 Lot for his kindness to the strangers. " And they 
 pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near 
 to break the door. But the men (the angels) put 
 forth their hand and pulled Lot into the house to 
 them, and shut to the door. And they ^mote the men 
 
204 
 
 THE SAIXTS' INHERITANCE. 
 
 that were at the door of the house with blindness, 
 both small and great ; so that they wearied them- 
 selves to find the door. And the men said unto Lot, 
 Hast thou any here besides? Son-in-law, and thy 
 sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in 
 the city, bring them out of this place ; for we will 
 destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen 
 great before the face of the Lord ; and the Lord hath 
 sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out and spake 
 unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughters, 
 and said. Up, get you out of this place ; for the Lord 
 will destroy this city ; but he seemed as one that 
 mocked unto his sons-in-law." 
 
 As blind as they were corrupt, they could see no 
 danger ; peace and prosperity and a long life was 
 before them. In their estimation Lot was frightened, 
 and had got crazy ; his warning was nonsense to 
 them ; " he seemed as one that mocked." 
 
 " And when the morning arose, then the angels has- 
 tened Lot, saying. Arise, and take thy wife and thy two 
 daughters which are here, lest thou be consumed in the 
 iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men 
 laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his 
 wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, the 
 Lord being merciful unto him ; and they brought him 
 forth and set him without the city. And it came to 
 pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that 
 he said, Escape for thy life ; look not beliind thee 
 neither stay thou in all the plain ; escape to the 
 mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto 
 them, 0 not so, my Lord I Behold, now, thy servant 
 
MINISTRY OF ANGELS. 
 
 205 
 
 hatli fo^nd grace in thy sight, and thou hast magni- 
 fied thy mercy, which thou hast shown unto me in 
 saving my life ; and I cannot escape to the mountain, 
 lest some evil take me and I die ; behold, now, this 
 city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one. Oh, 
 let me escape thither ! (is it not a little one ?) and 
 my soul shall live.^' 
 
 The Lord was now there in person, and Lot's 
 prayer was addressed to him ; and the Lord answered, 
 and said, " See, I have accepted thee concerning 
 this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, 
 for the which thou hast spoken.'^ One of the cities 
 of the plain is saved purely for Lot's sake. " Haste 
 thee, escape thither ; for I cannot do anything till 
 thou be come thither ; therefore the name of the city 
 was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth 
 when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the Lord rained 
 upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire 
 from the Lord out of heaven ; and he overthrew those 
 cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the 
 cities, and that which grew upon the ground.'' 
 
 But there is a day coming, compared by our Saviour 
 to the overthrow of Sodom, when angels shall take 
 away the righteous, and none shall be saved on the 
 account of friends. " And he shall send his ans-els 
 with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall 
 gather together his elect from the four winds, from 
 one end of heaven to the other." There ministration 
 will not be accomplished for the heirs of salvation, 
 till God's chosen are all gathered in the great harvest 
 
206 
 
 THE saints' JNHERITANCE. 
 
 of the world. Then shall two be ia the field : the 
 one shall be taken, the other left." 
 
 The power and wisdom of these holy beings, their 
 ability to take the supervision of this world to be the 
 guardians of men, is apparent in those services they 
 have performed, which men have been permitted to 
 witness. 
 
 One of them whose work was higher than that of 
 Moses and Aaron, is commissioned to take the lead 
 of the thousands of Israel from Egypt through the 
 wilderness to the land of Canaan. 
 
 " Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee 
 in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I 
 have prepared. Beware of him and obey his voice, 
 provoke him not ; for he will not pardon your trans- 
 gressions : for my name is in him.'' Thus the chil* 
 dren of Israel acknowledge, " And when we cried 
 unto the Lord he heard our voice and sent an angel, 
 and hath brought us forth out of Egypt." 
 
 When Pharaoh and his host of warriors pursued 
 Israel and overtook them by the sea, though God 
 opened a way for them through the sea, still they 
 need the angel's tender care, for among his people 
 are the aged and the young, their wives and their 
 little ones, and the Egyptians might rush on them in 
 dreadful slaughter before the many families of Israel 
 could pass through. 
 
 "And the angel of God which went before the 
 camp of Israel, removed, and went behind them ; and 
 the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, 
 and stood behind them : and it came between the 
 
MINISTRY OF ANGELS. 
 
 207 
 
 camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel ; and 
 it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light 
 by night to these : so that the one came not near the 
 other all night." 
 
 As the angel smote the Sodomites with blindness 
 so that they wearied themselves to find the door, now 
 he covers the Egyptians with thick darkness, but 
 sheds a halo of light among the people of his care. 
 Thus this holy guardian filled his sacred trust, 
 resisting those haughty, proud oppressor^ while he 
 exercised a mother^s tenderness over the afflicted and 
 oppressed. As one of their prophets afterwards said, 
 In all their afflictions he was afflicted, and the angel 
 of his presence saved them : in his love and in his 
 pity he redeemed them ; and he bare them and car- 
 ried them all the days of old." 
 
 In the days of Hezekiah, when the Assyrians had 
 invaded the land of Israel^ and besieged Jerusalem 
 with a great army, so that the people of Jerusalem 
 trembled while the enemy boasted of their conquests, 
 and reproached and blasphemed the God of heaven. 
 But good Hezekiah made intercession to God, and his 
 prayer is heard, and God commissions an angel to 
 defend Jerusalem. 
 
 " And it came to pass that night, that the angel of 
 the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the 
 Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand." 
 Thus we see that these guardians whom God has com- 
 missioned to minister to the heirs of salvation, have 
 strength and power equal to their charge. 
 
 Also, the glory of their appearance equals theii 
 
208 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 power and wisdom ; and whether he slew those Dold 
 blasphemers by the strength of his arm, or by the 
 glory of his presence revealed before them, or by his 
 power over the elements, separating the component 
 parts of the air, causing instant death to the multf- 
 tude, we are not informed ; but from what they have 
 done it is evident he had power by either to accom- 
 plish his work. 
 
 That they have power to use the elements to serve 
 their purpose is evident from the act of the angel who 
 manifested himself to Manoah and his wife, the 
 parents of Samson. They being pleased with his 
 promise, offer an offering of thanksgiving, still sup- 
 posing him only to be a man of God. So Manoah 
 took a kid, with a meat-offering, and offered it upon 
 a rock unto the Lord ; and the angel did wonder- 
 ously, and Manoah and his wife looked on." 
 
 Now he would more fully impress them with the 
 importance of his mission and the necessity of keeping 
 his sayings : For it came to pass, when the flame 
 went up towards heaven from off the altar, that the 
 angel of the lord ascended in the flame of the altar, 
 and Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on 
 their faces to the ground." 
 
 A very singular power was manifested by that angel 
 who appeared to the Roman soldiers, and to those 
 women before the sepulchre at the resurrection of 
 Christ. While the glory of his presence strikes the 
 soldiers with terror, and they fall as dead men before 
 him, he appears to those humble women, whose love 
 of Christ had brought them early to the sepulchre, 
 
MINISTRY OF ANGELS. 
 
 209 
 
 as a gentle friend, saying, " Fear not ye ; for I know 
 that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not 
 here : for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the 
 place where the Lord lay.'' Having rolled back the 
 • stone placed to secure the door of the sepulchre, he 
 gently seats himself on it, and invites them kindly to 
 come and see the vacated tomb, that they might bo 
 confirmed that the Lord had risen. After they had 
 looked into the sepulchre, he tells them to do the 
 very thing, no doubt, that they were anxious to do : 
 " Go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen 
 from the dead, and behold, he goeth before you into 
 Galilee ; there shall ye see him : lo ! I have told 
 you.'' But to the soldiers, " His countenance was like ^ 
 lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for 
 fear of him, the keepers did shake, and became as 
 dead men." 
 
 So we see that when the angel would hinder 
 Pharaoh and his fellow-oppressors, he covers them 
 with thick darkness, vessels of wrath fitted for 
 destruction ; but again, when he would awe that 
 corrupt band of soldiers, who could be so easily 
 bribed by a still more corrupt priesthood, to lie 
 concerning the resurrection of Christ, his counte- 
 nance is as terrible as the lightning. 
 
 " Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in 
 strength, that do his commandments^ hearkening unto 
 the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye 
 his hosts ; ye ministers of his that do his pleasure." 
 
 Though they are thus highly exalted in strength 
 and power, and in wisdom and glory, yet they are 
 
210 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 meek and humble ; careful to do nothing without 
 the command of their God, manifesting all humility. 
 But puny men, as Jude says, " despise dominion, and 
 speak evil of dignities ; yet Michael the archangel, 
 when contending with the devil, he disputed about 
 the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a 
 railing accusation, but said. The Lord rebuke thee." 
 
 Like their Lord, while in the flesh, who delighted 
 to frequent that humble family of orphans, Mary, 
 Martha, and Lazarus, so they have generally been 
 permitted to honor the most humble abodes of men 
 with a manifestation of their presence. 
 
 Hagar, the bond-woman, is cast out with her child ; 
 she wanders in a dry and barren wilderness till she 
 and her child are ready to perish with thirst. Dis- 
 tracted with the cries and agonies of her child, and 
 with parching thirst, she lays him under a bush to die. 
 " And she went, and sat her down over against him, 
 a good way off, as it were, a bowshot ; for she said. 
 Let me not see the death of the child." With no 
 power to relieve his dying thirst, " she sat over 
 against him and lifted up her voice and wept." 
 
 God saw her, and had compassion on her, and he 
 " heard the voice of the lad : and the angel of God 
 called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her : 
 What aileth thee, Hagar ? Fear not, for God hath 
 heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift 
 up the lad and hold him in thine hand ; for I will 
 make him a great nation. And God opened her 
 eyes, and she saw a well of water." She was a poor 
 outcast bond-woman, with her child, in the wilder- 
 
MINISTRY OP ANGELS. 
 
 211 
 
 ness ; they were crying in distress. , God hears the 
 voice of Ishmael, and sees Hagar^s tears : and the 
 attention of those high and holy beings who dwell 
 in his presence was arrested, and being ready to 
 obey his voice, quickly one descends and gently calla 
 her name, soothes her aching heart, supplies her 
 present need, and assures her of the future special 
 care of her God. 
 
 The rapidity of their flight is beyond our imagi 
 nation to comprehend. 
 
 Peter is cast into prison ; the Church assembles, 
 and prayer is made without ceasing for him ; God in 
 heaven hears and answers ; a swift messenger is sent ; 
 he quickly descends from before the glorious presence 
 of his God into the loathsome prison, and a light 
 shines in the dark cell ; the chains fall from Peter 
 before his wondrous touch, and he says to him, " Arise 
 up quickly, and bind on thy sandals, and cast thy 
 garments about thee, and follow me." The iron 
 gate opens before his mysterious hand, seemingly 
 of its own accord. Peter, being set free, directs his 
 steps to the house of prayer, perhaps under the guid- 
 ance of the same ministering spirit, but now unseen. 
 The meeting has not closed ; they are still at prayer. 
 Thus speedily they do the will of God ; they tarry 
 not on an errand of mercy to the heirs of salvation. 
 
 Daniel, a captive, a slave, nevertheless a prophet 
 of God, is at prayer ; he had been studying the pro- 
 phecies of Jeremiah concerning the time of the de- 
 liverance of his people from captivity. But he mis- 
 understands the prophecy, and supposes the time ful- 
 
212 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 filled ; he humbles himself before God with fasting 
 and prayer, with repentance and deep humility ; he 
 confesses and bewails his sins, and the sins of hia 
 people, Israel. 
 
 He says, Dan. ix. 2, 3, " I, Daniel, understood by 
 books the number of the years whereof the word of 
 the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would 
 accomplish seventy years in the desolation of Jerusa- 
 lem. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek 
 by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sack- 
 cloth, and ashes. And I prayed unto the Lord my 
 God, and made my confession, and said, 0 Lord, the 
 great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and 
 mercy to them that love him, and keep his command- 
 ments ; we have sinned.^' 
 
 He goes on enumerating the crimes of his people, 
 and humbly confessing that they had merited all the 
 evil the Lord had brought on them. And in the 16th 
 verse he begins to pray especially for the restoration 
 of his people, which he supposes God was about to 
 accomplish, saying, " 0 Lord, according to all thy 
 righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy 
 fury be turned away from thy city, Jerusalem, thy 
 holy mountain : because for our sins and for the ini- 
 quities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are 
 become a reproach to all that are about us." 
 
 Daniel had been searching for the termination of 
 the time of the seventy years' captivity of the Jews, 
 foretold by Jeremiah ; but he was laboring under a 
 mistake ; the time was not quite fulfilled. He was 
 
MINISTRY OF ANGELS. 
 
 213 
 
 applying even a vision which God had given him, in 
 the previous chapter, to the restoring of his people. 
 
 And he says, 21st verse, " Yea, while I was speak- 
 ing in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had 
 seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to 
 fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening 
 oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, 
 and said, 0 Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee 
 skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy 
 supplications the commandment came forth and I am 
 come to show thee ; for thou art greatly beloved : 
 therefore understand the matter and consider the 
 vision." 
 
 The angel who, standing in the presence of God in 
 heaven, says he received the command to come and 
 instruct Daniel at the commencement of his supplica- 
 tion, and being caused to fly swiftly, he arrives before 
 Daniel concluded his prayer. Thus we see how 
 rapid is their power of flight. But he does not 
 reprove Daniel for searching the time, or reproach 
 him for his mistake, but says, " Thou art greatly 
 beloved, and I have come to give thee skill and 
 understanding." 
 
 The number of these wise and holy beings, who 
 thus excel in wisdom, strength, and flight, who wait 
 before the Lord to do his pleasure, is worthy our 
 consideration. 
 
 When Peter would defend his master, Jesus says, 
 " Put ui) again thy sword into his place : for all they 
 that take the sword shall perish with the sword. 
 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father^ 
 
214 
 
 THE SAINTS' INHERITANCE. 
 
 and he shall presently give me more than .twelve 
 legions of angels 
 
 At the sitting of the Ancient of days as seen by 
 Daniel, "thousand thousands ministered unto him, 
 and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before 
 him/' And the Revelator says, " I heard the voice 
 of many angels round about the throne, and the 
 beasts and the elders : and the number of them was 
 ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of 
 thousands." 
 
 These high and holy beings so far excel all our 
 ideas of greatness, beauty, and glory, that John, who 
 had even seen his Lord glorified, and was so over- 
 come with his glory that he fell at his feet as a dead 
 man, yet he mistakes the 'angel who ministered to 
 him on the isle of Patmos, for the Lord himself, and 
 bows down at his feet to worship him. But the 
 angel forbad him at once, saying, " See thou do it 
 not : for I am thy fellow-sdrvant, and of thy brethren 
 the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of 
 this book : worship God." 
 
 These are the beings who minister to the heirs of 
 salvation ; constantly attending God's people. " The 
 angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that 
 fear him, and dclivcrcth them." 
 
 When Daniel is cast into the den of lions, one 
 enters before him, unseen by his proud persecutors, 
 and shuts the mouths of those terrible beasts, fitted 
 by hunger to devour their victims ; and that beloved 
 child of God lacks not the presence of a glorious and 
 powerful friend during the night ; even in the lions' 
 
MINISTRY OF ANGELS. 
 
 215 
 
 den. And when the king, who had been lamenting 
 all ni2:ht DanieFs fate, and his own folly and pride 
 which had suffered DaniePs persecutors to prevail on 
 him to pass so foolish a decree, came in the morning 
 to the den, and calfed to Daniel with "a lamentable 
 voice, saying, 0 Daniel, servant of the living God, is 
 thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to 
 deliver thee from the lions ? Then said Daniel unto 
 the king, 0 king, live for ever. My God hath sent 
 his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they 
 have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him inno- 
 cency was found in me ; and also before thee, 0 king, 
 have I done no hurt.'' 
 
 Often are men strangely and wonderfully preserved 
 in the midst of the most imminent danger ; and happy 
 for them if, as Daniel, they ascribe it to God, through 
 the guardians of his people. Thus our benefactors 
 are constantly aiding us in this world, and we see 
 them not. 
 
 When the enemies of Israel turned their bitter ani- 
 mosity against Elisha the servant of God, and a large 
 Syrian army had overtaken him at night, Elisha's 
 friend who was with him, on rising in the morning, 
 discovered that they were surrounded by the enemy ; 
 he hastened in alarm to inform Elisha, saying, "Alas, 
 my master ! liow shall we do ? And he answered, 
 Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they 
 that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, 
 Lord, I pray thee, open the eyes of the young man ; 
 and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of 
 horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.'^ 
 
 1 
 
216 
 
 THE saints' INHERITANCEf. 
 
 Then Elisha asks that the enemy might all be made 
 blind, and suddenly they are smote with blindness. 
 And now he leads them into the midst of Samaria, 
 where they were surrounded by their enemies. But 
 Elisha forbids the king of Israel- to smite them, and 
 prays God to open their eyes, and he had a feast 
 made for them, and then sent them home to their own 
 country, which ended the war. Thus these guardians 
 deliver his people, when it will work for their good 
 and the glory of God. 
 
 Thomas Dick thinks that a part of the enjoyment 
 of the saints in the world to come will be the study 
 of their history, and the history of the angels. If so, 
 how interesting will it be to learn who our kind 
 guardians were, and what tender care they took of 
 us during those days of our infancy, while passing 
 through this vale of tears. 
 
 Our present knowledge of our heavenly Father's 
 kind care and good will towards us, is more limited 
 than the infant's of its parent's good will and tender- 
 ness. Said Jesus to his disciples, " I have yet many 
 things to say unto you, but ye cannot hear them 
 now." 
 
 In this world we know in part ; " for now we see 
 through a glass, darkly ; but then, face to face." 
 Then we shall become their fellows, " For unto the 
 angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, 
 whereof we speak." Those who are accounted ^ 
 worthy to attain unto that age and the resurrection, 
 are equal unto the angels ; and are the children of 
 God, being the children of the resurrection." 
 
MINISTRY OP ANGELS. 
 
 217 
 
 In the world to come, in the glorious restitution, 
 when we are quickened or made alive by the life-giv- 
 ing power of the second Adam, we shall not need one 
 to pray that our eyes may be opened ; for then we shall 
 see as we are seen. Said Jesus to Nathaniel, "be- 
 cause I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree 
 believest thou ? Thou shalt see greater things than 
 these. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, hereafter ye 
 shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascend- 
 ing and descending upon the Son of man." 
 
 This promise of Christ to Nathaniel is yet to be 
 fulfilled, and in the world to come there will not 
 only be a communication between heaven and earth 
 opened, but our eyes shall no longer be withheld ; we 
 shall see the promise to Nathaniel fulfilled, " the 
 angels of God ascend and descend upon the Son of 
 man." So also may the redeemed ascend and 
 descend, for they shall be equal to the angels. Even 
 all that Thomas Dick anticipates in his excellent 
 work, the "Philosophy of the Future State," may 
 be realized, and much more, during the annals of 
 eternity. 
 
 For if man in this state is in his infancy, what 
 shall he become when the degenerating influence of sin 
 is removed, and the weaknesses of infancy are passed ? 
 Every additional truth enlarges the mind, rendering 
 it more capable of clasping the next, and being per- 
 mitted to explore the universe and learn the wonders 
 of its mysteries, the mind shall continue to expand, 
 and his ideas of the Creator be still more exalted, and 
 his worship more sublime. Surely the love and care 
 
 10 
 
218 
 
 THE SAINTS' INHERITANCE. 
 
 our heavenly Father has manifested for us, speaks 
 the greatness of our future destiny. 
 
 And if these high and holy beings manifested suet 
 deep interest and joy in our welfare on the occasion 
 of the birth of Christ being announced to the shep- 
 herds by one of them, so that " suddenly there was 
 with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host prais- 
 ing God, saying, Glory to God in the highest, and 
 on earth peace, good will toward men,'' what shall 
 be their song of praise when Christ shall have re- 
 deemed his chosen from the grave, and from all the 
 effects of sin, and shall have beautified them with 
 salvation, and restored them to their dominion, 
 turned as the garden of God ? Or in short, what 
 shall be their joy and song of praise, when the object 
 of his coming into this world, of his suffering and 
 death, shall be accomplished ? 
 
 Will not all the sons of God shout again for joy 
 as when the morning stars sang together ? 
 
CHAPTER XVIIL 
 
 HO COVENANTS OR PROMISES TO JEWS MORE THAN TO 
 GENTILES. 
 
 " Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh : yea, 
 though we have known Christ after the flesh ; yet now henceforth 
 know we him no more." — 2 Cor. v. 16. 
 
 In connexion with the temporal millennium it is 
 also taught that the Jews after the flesh are to be 
 restored to the land of their fathers ; that old " Jeru- 
 salem, which is in bondage with her children," is to 
 be rebuilt ; that the Jews, as Jews, are yet to become 
 a very conspicuous and honorable people, and certain 
 great and precious promises of God's word are taken 
 from the children of the kingdom, the household of 
 faith, and are applied especially to the Jews. To 
 th-at infidel, stiff-necked, rebellious race, whose fathers 
 rejected the Messiah, clamoring for his life, saying, 
 " let his blood be on us and our children," whose sons 
 still declare that Christ was an impostor, and they 
 hate him with a deadly hate, and would be glad to 
 blot out his gospel from under heaven. 
 
 This doctrine has crept into the Christian church 
 in connexion with the doctrine of a coming day of 
 peace for the church in this world. It is old Juda- 
 ism revived, claiming that the promise of the inheri- 
 tance is still to be fulfilled in the flesh, the same error 
 which doomed their fathers to perdition in the days 
 
220 
 
 THE SAINTS' INHERITANCE. 
 
 of the Saviour. It looks back beyond Christ to pro- 
 mises given the fathers, exalting itself above the 
 cross, creating an aristocracy in religion, claiming 
 special favor to certain men after the flesh, to Jews, 
 though they be ever so infidel. 
 
 But in the text before us, Paul, himself a Jew, under 
 the Spirit of inspiration, thoroughly renounces this 
 Judaism ; for ever cutting off special promises or 
 favor to any man, or class of men after the flesh. 
 " Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the 
 flesh : yea, though we have known Christ after the 
 flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more." 
 
 The apostle comes to this sweeping conclusion 
 against Judaism from a very important fact which he 
 had just stated in a preceding verse ; " Because we 
 thus judge, if one died for all, then were all dead f 
 that is, Jews as well as Gentiles ; " for God hath 
 concluded them all in unbelief. And if Jews as well 
 as Gentiles are alike dead in trespasses and sin with- 
 out Christ, they all alike stand in need of the atoning 
 blood of Christ to make them alive ; there are there- 
 fore no covenants, promises, blessings, or privileges 
 to the Jews more than to Gentiles under the gospel 
 dispensation. 
 
 Before the coming of Christ there were certain 
 promises to the Jews, the descendants of Abraham 
 after the flesh ; many advantages, says an apostle, 
 *' chiefly because unto them were committed the ora- 
 cles of God." Also Christ was to be a Jew according 
 to the flesh. He himself said to the Samaritan 
 woman, " salvation is of the Jews." 
 
JEWS AS JEWS REJECTED. 
 
 221 
 
 But all the special promises to them as Jews were 
 fulfilled with the promised seed, and they terminated 
 in Christ, who "abolished in his flesh the enmity, 
 even the law of commandments contained in ordi- 
 nances : for to make in himself of twain (Jews and 
 Gentiles) one new man, so making peace. And that 
 he might reconcile both (Jews and Gentiles) unto 
 God in one body by the cross, having slain the 
 enmity thereby." — Ephes. ii. 15, 16. 
 
 Thus we see that one common and only door of 
 salvation is opened alike to all classes without any 
 distinction according to the flesh ; that strangers, 
 aliens, and foreigners are introduced into the com- 
 monwealth of Israel, and made ^^fellow-citizens with 
 the saints, and of the household of God." Whoever 
 therefore would preach the free, the pure uncontami- 
 nated gospel of Christ, as did the apostle, will hold 
 out no Judaism mixed up with the gospel, no special 
 promises to one class of aianers more than to 
 another ; he will make no distinction after the flesh. 
 
 Such an impartial free gospel to all classes was 
 exceedingly obnoxious to the proud aristocratic feel- 
 ings of the Jews, who had arrogated to themselves 
 the fulfilment of all the covenants and promises 
 shadowed forth through the law and proclaimed by 
 the prophets, notwithstanding the prophets had fore- 
 told a free gospel to the whole world ; saying, " Ho, 
 every one that tliirsteth, come ye to the waters, and 
 he that hath no money ; come ye." 
 
 True, the law of Moses gave the Jews a decided 
 preference over even a Gentile convert, but it was 
 
 4 
 
222 
 
 THE SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 designed only to shadow forth the blessings of the 
 true believer under the gospel dispensation ; of 
 whom Christ said, " unto you it is given to know the 
 mysteries of the kingdom, but unto those that are 
 without, these things are done in parables." 
 
 John the Baptist, one of the purest of God^s minis- 
 tering servants, who had not been educated under 
 the corrupting traditions of the Doctors and Rabbis, 
 but had by himself drawn from the pure teachings 
 of the law and prophets, through the aid of the Holy 
 Spirit, the uncontaminated truth, raised his voice 
 against this arrogating, selfish, hereditary teaching, 
 as soon as he began to preach. When he saw these 
 Judaizers, who claimed promises after the flesh, 
 coming to his baptism, instead of calling them 
 " God's ancient covenant people," he said unto them, 
 " 0 generation of vipers, who hath warned you to 
 flee from the wrath to come ? Bring forth therefore 
 fruits meet for repentance ; and think not to say 
 within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father : 
 for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to 
 raise up children unto Abraham," Matt. iii. 7-9. 
 John would teach them that God would, sooner than 
 ghow favor to them on account of their descent, raise 
 up the stones of the field to become the children of 
 Abraham. But in modern times, gospel ministers 
 teach that the descendants of those " vipers^^^ of whom 
 John spake, are " God^s ancient covenant people^ Israel,* 
 and that God has special promises for them on 
 account of their descent. 
 
 John further said to them, " now also the axe if 
 
 1 
 
JEWS AS JEWS REJECTED. 
 
 223 
 
 laid at the root of the trees : therefore every tree 
 which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, 
 and cast into the fire." Those Judaizing trees, 
 nourished in the schools of the doctors, withered 
 before John^s sharp axe of truth. And when Christ 
 began to preach he cut Judaism in pieces. John viii. 
 30-44. " Then said Jesus to those Jews which 
 believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are 
 ye my disciples indeed ; and ye shall know the truth, 
 and the truth shall make you free.'' Christ per- 
 ceived that there was Judaism hanging about these 
 professed converts, and unless it was cut away they 
 could never be the free sons of the gospel. " They 
 answered him, we be Abraham's seed, and were never 
 in bondage to any man : how sayest thou, ye shall be 
 made free ?" 
 
 They looked back to promises and blessings 
 through Abraham, therefore they could not take 
 Christ as their only Saviour. 
 
 " Jesus answered them, verily, verily, I say unto 
 you, whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin, 
 and the servant abideth not in the house for ever, 
 but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall 
 make you free, ye shall be free indeed. I know that 
 ye are Abraham's seed ; but ye seek to kill me, 
 because my word hath no place in you. I speak 
 that which I have seen with my Father : and ye do 
 that which ye have seen with your father.'' 
 
 Christ was addressing " those Jews who believed 
 on him." And if converts under his preaching were 
 not considered genuine, because they held to covo- 
 
224 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 nants and promises through Abraham, all hope of 
 which he sought to cut off, how can he accept of 
 modern converts among the Jews who are taught to 
 believe in covenants and promises through Abraham ? 
 No wonder so few Jews are converted under such 
 preaching. It flatters the pride of their hearts, and 
 says that, according to Christian teachers^ aliens and 
 strangers are not to be made exactly fellow-citizens 
 with them. 
 
 Again, " They answered and said unto him, Abra- 
 ham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were 
 Abraham's children ye would do the works of Abra- 
 ham.^' 
 
 Thus our Lord rejected the natural descendants of 
 Abraham from being the children of Abraham on the 
 account of their descent, and made the doing the 
 works of Abraham the condition of being his chil- 
 dren. But the unbelieving infidel Jews, who hate 
 Jesus Christ, and abhor his gospel, we are taught in 
 these modern times to believe are " God's ancient co- 
 venant people, Israel f but when they claimed Abra- 
 ham to be their father, Christ replied to them, " Ye 
 are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your 
 father ye will do." 
 
 How offensive must it be in the sight of Him, who 
 while on earth thus cut off every vestige of hope 
 to the Jews through Abraham or the fathers, and 
 would have them look to no other hope but to Him, 
 the Son, to be made free, as every other sinner must 
 look, if they are ever made free indeed— how oflfen- 
 Bive must it be to Him now to see his professed fol- 
 
JEWS AS JEWS REJECTED. 
 
 225 
 
 lowers claiming and teaching that there are some 
 special promises to them as the natural seed of Abra- 
 ham not held out to other sinners ; thus assisting 
 those proud haters of his gospel to build again that 
 "middle wall of partition'^ which he h^s broken 
 down upon the cross. 
 
 This Judaism is intimately connected with the tem- 
 poral millennium, to sustain which, they would even 
 build again that middle wall of partition" between 
 Jews and Gentiles which Christ has broken down. 
 Ezekiel says, xiii. lf)-16 : " Because, even because 
 they have seduced my people, saying. Peace, and 
 there was no peace ; and one built up a wall, and lo, 
 others daubed it with untempered mortar ; say unto 
 them which daub it with untempered mortar, that it 
 shall fall. Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not 
 be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith 
 ye have daubed it ? Therefore, thus saith the Lord 
 God : I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my 
 fury ; and there shall be an overflowing shower in 
 mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury, to con- 
 sume it. So will I break down the wall that ye have 
 daubed with untempered mortar, and bring it down 
 to the ground, so that the foundations thereof shall 
 be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be con- 
 sumed in the midst thereof ; and ye shall know that 
 I am the Lord. Thus will I accomplish my wrath 
 upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it 
 with untempered mortar, and will say unto you, the 
 wall is no more, neither they that daubed it ; to wit, 
 the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning 
 30^ 
 
226 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her^ 
 and there is no peace, saith the Lord God." 
 
 That these sayings of the prophet were in a prt 
 mary sense to be applied to the peace teachers of hig 
 day is no doubt true. But that they are applicable 
 to the gospel or last days is equally true. First, 
 from the fact that the prophet charges these teachers 
 in the 5th verse with not having prepared " the house 
 of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the 
 Lord f and further, from its appropriateness, " Vi- 
 sions of peace for her (Jerusatem), and there is no 
 peace saith the Lord God." But to whatever age 
 the prophet alluded, whoever proclaims visions of 
 peace for Jerusalem contradicts his teaching. " There 
 is no peace, saith the Lord God." 
 
 God has also declared by the prophet Jeremiah 
 that old Jerusalem shall never be rebuilt. Jer. xix. 
 The prophet is told to " go and get a potter's earthen 
 bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and 
 the ancients of the priests; and go forth unto the 
 valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry 
 of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I 
 shall tell thee. And say, hear ye the word of the 
 Lord, 0 kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jeru- 
 salem ; thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of 
 Israel ; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the 
 which whoever heareth, his ears shall tingle." 
 
 After enumerating their sins he proceeds, " And I 
 will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem 
 in this place ; and I will cause them to fall by the 
 Bword before their enemies, and by the hands of them 
 
JEWS AS JEWS REJECTED. 
 
 227 
 
 that seek tlieir lives ; and their carcases will I give 
 to be meat for the fowls of the heaven and for the 
 beasts of the earth. And I will make this city deso- 
 late and an hissing ; every one that passeth thereby 
 shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues 
 thereof. And I will cause them to eat the flesh of 
 their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they 
 shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege 
 and straitness wherewith their enemies, and they that 
 seek their lives, shall straiten them." This terrible 
 calamity came upon them fully, when the Romans 
 destroyed Jerusalem, about forty years after Christ'3 
 time on earth. Now observe the following, and see 
 if Jerusalem will ever be rebuilt, " Then shalt thou 
 break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with 
 thee. And shalt say unto them. Thus saith the Lord 
 of hosts : Even so will I break this people and this 
 city, as one breaketh a potter^s vessel that cannot be 
 made whole again.'' 
 
 Jesus repeats the same prophecy to the Jews in his 
 day, but they would not believe him any more than 
 their fathers did the humble prophet. 
 
 " And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with 
 armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. 
 Then let them which are in Judea flee to the moun- 
 tains ; and let them which are in the midst of it 
 depart out ; and let not them which are in the coun- 
 tries enter thereinto. For these be the days of ven- 
 geance, that all things which are written may be ful- 
 filled For there shall be great distress in the 
 
 land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall 
 
228 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away 
 captiw into all nations : and Jerusalem shall be 
 trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the 
 Gentiles be fulfilled/'— Luke xxi. 20-24. 
 
 Here Jesus repeats the prophecy of Jeremiah, and 
 declares that " Jerusalem should be trodden down of 
 the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fuL 
 filled." Therefore, while probation continues, Jeru- 
 salem cannot be rebuilt. 
 
 If there is a present prospect of the Jews being 
 restored to Jerusalem through Rothschild, or any 
 other source, then Gentiles had better prepare for 
 judgment ; for Christ's word for it, that before it can 
 be accomplished Gentiles' times will be fulfilled. 
 How can men who believe this plain declaration of 
 Christ still teach that the Jews, after they are 
 restored to Jerusalem, will take part in spreading the 
 gospel to the Gentiles ? What can the gospel do for 
 a people after their times have expired ? 
 
 Again, Isaiah says, Ixv. 11-15, that God has cut 
 off the Jews as such, and utterly rejected them from 
 being his people, and that no promises remain for 
 them but such as are for other sinners. 
 
 But'ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget 
 my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that 
 troop, and that furnish the drink-offering unto that 
 number. Therefore will I number you to the sword, 
 and ye shall bow down to the slaughter : because 
 when I called, ye did not answer ; when I spake ye 
 did not hear ; but did evil before mine eyes, and did 
 choose that wherein I delighted not. Therefore, 
 
JEWS AS JEWS REJECTED. 
 
 229 
 
 thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall 
 eat, but ye shall be hungry ; behold, my servants 
 shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty ; behold, my 
 servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed ; 
 behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but 
 ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for 
 vexation of spirit. And ye shall leave your name 
 for a curse unto my chosen : for the Lord God shall 
 slay thee, and call his servants by another name.'' 
 
 God says he will slay them and call his servants 
 by another name ; " The disciples were first called 
 Christians at Antioch." Not only does God utterly 
 reject them, but he even refuses to call his servants 
 by their name ; and says, " ye shall leave your name 
 as a curse unto my chosen." 
 
 This proud, arrogating, selfish Judaism destroyed 
 the Jewish church, and will it prove anything but a 
 curso to those who embrace and revive it ? To pray 
 for the Jews, as you would for other sinners, and to 
 send missionaries among them who would hold out to 
 them such promises only as should be preached to all 
 sinners, would be a good work, and no doubt accept- 
 able to God. But to teach that " they are God's 
 ancient covenant people, the Jews," and to pray for 
 them as such, is to build again that middle wall of 
 partition" which Christ has broken down upon the 
 cross ; it is to build a ladder for them to climb 
 up another way" into the kingdom of God ; and must, 
 as God has said, prove a curse to his chosen. Beware 
 therefore, how you build again this " wall, and daub 
 it with untempered mortar;" lest when God shall 
 
230 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 "bring it down so that the foundation thereof be 
 discovered, ye be consumed in the midst thereof/' 
 as God has said ; and so their name prove a curse to 
 you, who claim to be his chosen. 
 
 But we are told "that God has kept them a 
 separate and distinct people, that he may restore 
 them some future day." 
 
 We reply, that there have been as many of them 
 converted to Christianity during the gospel dispensa- 
 tion as of the Gentiles, in proportion to their num- 
 bers ; and when they have thus complied with God's 
 righteous requirements in believing on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, they have at once lost their distinctive 
 nationality ; showing clearly that if they would obey 
 God, they would be no longer a distinct people. 
 The argument would be equally as good in favor of 
 Mohammedans. 
 
 The men who make this argument would think 
 themselves worthy of scorn, if they should undertake 
 to claim that God had in reserve some special favor 
 for the Mohammedans, because they have been kept a 
 separate and distinct people through following the 
 teachings of the false prophet, Mohammed ; yet the 
 argument would be just as good. The fact that Jews 
 when converted to Christianity at once amalgamate 
 with Christians, and they twain are made one through 
 the cross of Christ, is full evidence that their infidelity 
 has kept them a distinct people. They had rather be 
 distinct and serve the devil, than to lose their nation- 
 ality and serve Christ ; as Jesus said to them : Ye 
 are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of your 
 
JEWS AS JEWS REJECTED. 
 
 231 
 
 father ye will do." Men do not use such weak argu- 
 ments when better ones can be found. 
 
 But it is said "that God has foretold that they 
 would be a separate and distinct people." Very 
 well ; is that an evidence that he approves it ? He 
 has also foretold the most horrible wicked acts of 
 other men. Is that an evidence that he designs to 
 show them special favors ? 
 
 The word of God is harmonious, therefore no other 
 parts can contradict these plain declarations ; and 
 we have seen that God is very jealous for his glory, 
 and would sooner raise up the stones of the field to 
 become his children, than to hold out covenants, or 
 promises, or hope to a Jew, or to any other class of 
 sinners, in any other way than by coming directly to 
 his Son ; and therefore whoever thinks before God 
 of any special promises for a Jew, that are not for all 
 sinners, demeans the cross, and dishonors the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, by seeking to restore a distinction 
 which Christ has put away by the shedding of his 
 own most precious blood. 
 
 But as it is claimed by some that Paul teaches in 
 the 11th chapter of Romans, that the Jews according 
 to the flesh will be restored to old Jerusalem, we will 
 examine what the Apostle says there on the subject. 
 The chapter commences with ' ■ I say, then, hath God 
 cast away his people ? God forbid. For I also am 
 an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of 
 Benjamin." 
 
 Therefore it was evident that notwithstanding the 
 Apostle had in the previous chapter shown them that 
 
2Se 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 tlie J ews under the Gospel dispensation were reduced 
 to a level with the Gentiles, that now to be a Jew 
 they must be one inwardly, " for he is not a Jew who 
 is one outwardly," that all were alike, Jews and 
 Gentiles, dead in trespasses and sins, ^' God having' 
 concluded them all in unbelief f yet they were not 
 so cast off that there was no salvation for them, pro- 
 viding they would give up all other hope, and come 
 directly to Christ as Paul had ; for he was a Jew, 
 and had obtained salvation. Therefore he says, 
 " God hath not cast away his people which he fore- 
 knew. "Wot ye not what the Scripture saith of Elias ? 
 how he maketh intercession against Israel, saying, 
 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged 
 down thine altars ; and I am left alone, and they 
 seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto 
 him ? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men ^ 
 who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal." 
 
 The apostle adds, " Even so then at this present 
 time also there is a remnant according to the election 
 of grace." Himself, the disciples, and many other 
 had believed, and were among the chosen, so that 
 there was still hope for those who would embrace 
 Christ. 
 
 In the 11th verse he comes more especially to the 
 subject before us, and says, " I say then, have they 
 Btumbled that they should fall ? God forbid : but 
 rather through their fall salvation is come unto the 
 Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy/' 
 
 The error which has led to Judaism undoubtedly 
 has in a great measure grown out of the misunder- 
 
 ■1 
 
JEWS AS JEWS REJECTED. 
 
 233 
 
 standing of what that fall of the Jews was, of which 
 the Apostle speaks in this verse. 
 
 A certain minister while pleading before a Chris- 
 tiaji church for aid to send the Gospel among the 
 Jews, after repeating this text, said, " Gentile Chris- 
 tians ought to pay liberally to sustain the Gospel among 
 the Jews, because through the Jews having rejected 
 Christ the Gospel was extended to the Gentiles." 
 
 This conclusion was correct, if the common exposi- 
 tion is right ; and if so, we should not only be liberal 
 m sending the Gospel among them, but they should 
 also have the praise of our salvation. Such would 
 be the consequence of the error fully carried out. 
 
 But the fall to which the apostle alludes in this 
 verse was not their rejecting Christ, for in re- 
 jecting Christ they stumbled, says not only Paul, 
 but Peter, and Christ also ; but in the fall to which 
 the apostle in this verse alludes, they did not stum- 
 ble that they should fall ; " God forbid,'^ or by no 
 means, says the apostle. 
 
 Paul in this epistle had already shown their com- 
 mon level with the Gentiles under the Gospel dispen- 
 sation, so that he anticipates their inquiry, " What 
 advantage then hath a Jew ?" He answers, " Much 
 every way ; chiefly because unto them were committed 
 the oracles of God." 
 
 The Messiah was to be a Jew, " of whom concern- 
 ing the flesh Christ came, who is over all (Jews and 
 Gentiles) God, blessed for ever. Amen." He was 
 to be known while in the flesh as the seed of Abra- 
 ham. Jesus says himself " salvatiori is of tho Jews.' 
 
234 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 But his most precious blood was shed, it was poured 
 out as an offering for the world not to be taken up 
 again. By this act their natural or blood relation- 
 ship was cut off, and all their special services ended 
 with the tabernacle, which was but the figure of the 
 true ; and all peculiar promises according to the flesh 
 terminated with the promised Seed on the cross^ 
 which let the Jews down, or " fall,'' to a common 
 level with the Gentiles. There was no stumbling of 
 the Jews in this. 
 
 The apostle in our text says, " we have known 
 Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know 
 we him no more." Now, he says we know no 
 man, not even Christ, after the flesh, the condition 
 of brotherhood being alike to all through the Spirit. 
 
 Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is 
 none of his.'' The Jews therefore in this fall, did 
 not stumble that they should fall ; but they were 
 provoked to jealousy. And now, what have we to 
 thank the Jews for ? Nothing ; unless for being 
 jealous and mad because the Gentiles were permitted 
 to enjoy alike with themselves the blessings and 
 covenants and promises of God. 
 
 I say then have they stumbled that they should 
 fall ? God forbid ; but rather through their fall sal- 
 vation is come unto the Gentiles." That is the 
 dropping of them on a level with the Gentiles, accom- 
 plished on the cross by the pouring out of Christ's 
 blood, has brought salvation to the Gentiles. This 
 view the apostle confirms in the next verse. " Now 
 if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the 
 
JEWS AS JEWS REJECTED. 
 
 235 
 
 diminisliing of them the riches of the Gentiles ; how 
 much more their fulness 
 
 Their fall which was accomplished by the atone- 
 ment through which salvation has flowed to the world, 
 is the true riches of the world. The diminishing 
 of them," or as the margin reads, their loss, is the 
 riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fulness 
 If the Jews generally could have been induced to 
 embrace Christ the world would have been still more 
 enriched. Their unbelief has been a terrible stum- 
 bling-block to the world. 
 
 " For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the 
 apostle of the Gentiles I magnify mine office ; if by 
 any means I may provoke to emulation them which 
 are my flesh, and might save some of them. For if 
 the casting away of them be the reconciling of the 
 world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life 
 from the dead." 
 
 The apostle does not hold out the idea that the 
 Jews generally would be saved, but ^^ifhy any means 
 I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh 
 and might save some of themP 
 
 " If the casting away of them." If the setting of 
 them back on a common level with the Gentiles, by 
 ending the ceremonial law, " which could not make 
 him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to vhe 
 conscience ; which stood only in meats and drinks, 
 and divers washings and carnal ordinances, imposed 
 on them until the time of reformation," until Christ 
 should come, ^' be the reconciling of the world ;" be 
 the means of the gospel of reconciliation being 
 
236 
 
 THE SAINTS' INHERITANCE. 
 
 preached to the world ; " What shall the receiving 
 of them be but life from the dead That is, if the 
 apostle could by " any mcans^^ prevail on these Jews 
 thus cast away, dead in trespasses and sins as Gen- 
 tiles, to embrace Christ, what shall the receiving of 
 them be but life from the dead And now, we ask, 
 does this look like the restoring of the Jews ? Far 
 from it ; but the apostle knowing the many strong 
 declarations against the Jews, because of their wicked 
 unbelief, and lest the Gentiles should boast and think 
 the Jews entirely set aside for them, he argues that 
 they being on a common level, special efforts might 
 also save some of the Jews. 
 
 Having cautioned the Gentiles in a most effectual 
 manner not to boast, the apostle proceeds in the 
 25th verse, " For I would not, brethren, that ye should 
 be ignorant of this mystery (lest ye should be wise 
 in your own conceits), that blindness in part is hap- 
 pened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be 
 come in.'' 
 
 If this verse proves that the Jews will be restored, 
 it also proves that they will remain blind until the 
 fulness of the Gentiles be come in which is fatal to 
 the whole theory ; for that theory makes the Jews 
 take a conspicuous part in carrying the gospel to the 
 Gentiles. Thus that teaching which offers special 
 favor to Jews, ends Gentile probation. Now then, 
 as " the fulness of the Gentiles" will not be accom- 
 plished till the end of the world, what docs this verse 
 teach, but that part of the Jews will remain blinded 
 till the day of judgment reveals the terrible truth 
 
JEWS AS JiiWS REJECTED. 
 
 237 
 
 that they have been hating the true Messiah, and 
 despising the gospel of the Son of God ? Now the 
 apostle says, 26th verse, " So all Israel shall be 
 saved : as it is written, there shall come out of Zion 
 the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from 
 Jacob/' 
 
 This also proves too much, for that theory ; for if 
 the " all Israel^^^ means the carnal Jews, then it proves 
 the salvation of every infidel J ew, concerning some 
 of whom Christ said, " I go away and ye shall seek 
 me, and shall die in your sins : whither I go ye 
 cannot come." How fearfully true Christ's words 
 have proved to that devoted race ! They rejected 
 the true Messiah, and have sought and sought in 
 vain for one yet to come, and have died in despair. 
 
 Though the apostle has used the name Israel in 
 speaking of the Jews as a nation, yet he denied them 
 the right to it only in a nominal sense, and claims 
 the name Israel as appropriate only to true believers ; 
 saying, " For they are not all Israel, which are of 
 Israel.'' 
 
 Give Paul's own definition to Israel, and there is 
 no difficulty ; and unless we do, we make him contra- 
 dict himself, for he applied the following words to 
 some of them : " Let their eyes be darkened, that 
 they may not see, and bow down their back always." 
 " But as it is written ;" his quotation from the 
 prophet clearly confirms this application of the name 
 Israel. Isaiah lix. 20 : " And the Redeemer shall 
 come to Zion, and unto them that turn from trans- 
 gression in Jacob, saith the Lord." Jesus said to 
 
238 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 his disciples, who had " turned from transgression in 
 J^cob/' and through them to all true believers, "I 
 will come again and receive you unto myself." 
 
 Yes, they all, the true Israel, shall be saved, even 
 from the consequences of sin, and shall be redeemed 
 from the grave. 
 
 27th verse : " For this is my covenant with them 
 when I shall take away their sins f this is the 
 covenant with all those who believe on Jesus, and 
 their sins are taken away, or forgiven ; " and this 
 is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all 
 which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but 
 should rais€ it up again at the last day." 
 
 In such a restoration of Israel we most firmly 
 believe ; that is, of Paul's true Israel, of all true 
 believers. But not to old Jerusalem; for she is 
 doomed, cast out ; " in bondage with her children f 
 but to a " city to come," to the " holy city, new 
 Jerusalem," which John saw "coming down from 
 God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for 
 her husband," and to that heavenly country promised 
 to Abraham. " For the promise that he should be 
 the heir of the world was not to Abraham, or to his 
 seed, through the law, but through the righteousness 
 of faith." " Wherefore, henceforth know we no man ' 
 after the flesh." 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 ME HOUSE OP MANSIONS ABOVE — THE HOLY CITY TO 
 COME. 
 
 "For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to 
 come." — Heb. xiii. 14. 
 
 In this mortal state our cities rise, and as quickly 
 fall ; our habitations are consumed, and they vanish 
 away. We build houses and others inhabit them ; 
 we plant vineyards and others eat the fruit of them. 
 **The earth and the heavens," the atmosphere about 
 the earth, " they all shall wax old as doth a garment, 
 and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they 
 shall be changed." 
 
 But the heavens and the earth, and the holy city 
 which is to come, shall be permanent ; for so has God 
 promised, saying, " Yet once more I shake not the 
 earth only but also heaven. And this word, yet 
 once more, signifieth the removing of those things that 
 are shaken, as of things that are made, that those 
 things which cannot be shaken may remain. Where- 
 fore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, 
 let us have grace whereby we may serve God accept- 
 ably with reverence and godly fear." — Heb. xii. 
 2G-28. 
 
 Though old Jerusalem is cast out in bondage with 
 her children, eternally doomed, yet there is a city to 
 come, a new Jerusalem which is above and free. In 
 
240 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 it there are many mansions. " In my Father's house 
 there are many mansions, if it were not so I would 
 have told you»" 
 
 But this holy city is to come down upon the earth. 
 This was the apostle's faith, " but we seek one to 
 come," and of its coming down John had a glorious 
 sight, Rev. xxi. " And I John saw the holy city, i 
 new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven ' 
 prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." 
 Jesus said, " I go to prepare a place for you." Yes, 
 Christ has prepared it most gloriously ; in the very 
 best, prepared as a bride adorned for her husbandJ^ 
 
 Not a rebuilding of Jerusalem, but a coming down 
 from God out of heaven. It is of heavenly origin ; 
 it is of unmingled purity : it is the holy city. The 
 reading of the record of its glory fills the soul with 
 holy melody. Being of heavenly origin, its beauty 
 is unfading ; an eternal excellency, a glory in all the 
 earth. And after John has given so magnificent a 
 description he fails to tell its glory, for it is conse- 
 crated with the presence and glory of God. 
 
 " And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, 
 Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and ho 
 will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, 
 and God himself shall be with them, and be their 
 God." 
 
 Not man carried away to dwell with God, but his 
 tabernacle is with men ; as of old in Paradise, God 
 walked and talked with our first parents, so now, in 
 humanity glorified, in the person of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ ; " for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the 
 
THE HOLY CITY TO COME. 
 
 241 
 
 Godhead bodily;'^ he shall be with his people, and 
 they shall behold his glory. 
 
 " And God shall wipe away all tears from their 
 eyes ; and there shall be no more death ; neither sor- 
 row nor crying ; neither shall there be any more 
 pain : for the former things are passed away." 
 
 This verse assures us that it is in the immortal 
 state, beyond the time of sorrow, pain, and death. 
 Here in this mortal state, decay, disease, waste, and 
 death, wither all about us. Blessed promise ! There 
 shall be no more pain, sorrow, or death. His peo- 
 ple quickened by the life-giving power of the Spirit, 
 they shall be filled with immortal vigor and energy. 
 Death, that mighty agent which has carried all 
 before it for these six thousand years, shall be 
 destroyed. There shall be no more death." 
 
 And he that sat upon the throne said, behold, I 
 make all things new. And he said unto me write, 
 for these things are true and faithful." 
 
 Not all new things made, but " behold I I make 
 all things new." The earth is not to be annihilated ; 
 it is to be made new and glorious as the garden of 
 God. This scene is not to be understood symboli- 
 cally, for " he said unto me write, for these words 
 are true and faithful." That is, they are not symbols 
 to represent something else : they are literally true, 
 and shall be fulfilled just as God showed them unto 
 his servant John. This is the city which has founda- 
 tions. " And the wall of the city had twglve 
 foundations, and in them the names of the twelve 
 apostles of the Lamb." 
 
 11 
 
242 
 
 THE SAINTS' INHERITANCE. 
 
 This is the city for which Abraham looked. " For 
 he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose 
 builder and maker is God.'^ This is the house into 
 which Paul expected to enter when his body should 
 be dissolved by death. " For we know that if our 
 earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we 
 have a building of God, an house not made with 
 hands, eternal in the heavens." 
 
 Not eternally in the heavens, as some would have 
 it, but an eternal house, now in the heavens, being 
 gloriously prepared by our Lord, that he may bring 
 it down to grace the renovated earth, as the capital 
 of his coming glorious and everlasting kingdom. 
 It is evident Paul understood that the eternal house, 
 now in the heavens, would come down on the earth, 
 for he adds, in the next verse, "For in this we groan, 
 earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our 
 house which is from heaven." — 2 Cor. v. 1, 2. 
 
 "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men." 
 This is " the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, 
 and not man." Blessed prophecy ! The Lord shall 
 come down to tabernacle with men, and they shall walk 
 in the light of his countenance, and behold his glory, 
 and listen to the accents of kindness that shall fall 
 in soft and soothing melody from his lips. Ilis own 
 prayer shall be answered : " Father, I will that they 
 also whom thou hast given me be with me where I 
 am ; that they may behold my glory which thou hast 
 givgn me : for thou lovcdst me before the foundation 
 of the world." 
 
 This is the Paradise of which Jesus spoke, while 
 
THE HOLY CITY TO COME. 
 
 243 
 
 bearing our sins in his own body on the cross ; into 
 which he said the penitent thief should enter. It is 
 then not only a city, but a garden ; in it is the tree 
 of life ; it is the Paradise of God. Many things join 
 to make this Eternal City of the Great King, the 
 joy of the whole earth. The tree of life is now in 
 Paradise, in the holy city which is above : He that 
 hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto 
 the churches : To him that overcometh will I give 
 to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of 
 the Paradise of God." And it shall also be upon 
 the earth again when the new Jerusalem comes down. 
 
 As of old there was in the midst of the garden of 
 -Eden the tree of life, " and a river went out of 
 Eden to water the garden," so John says of the 
 Paradise to come, the new Jerusalem. " And he 
 showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as 
 crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and 
 of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and 
 on either side of the river, was there the tree of 
 life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded 
 her fruit every month :" " For the Lamb which is in 
 the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall 
 lead them unto living fountains of waters." Feed 
 them ! Yes ; he will feed the eye with beauty, and 
 the ear with music, the mind with knowledge, and 
 the heart with love. This is no imaginary scene : 
 it is His word which has hitherto been fulfilled to 
 the letter. As originally " the Lord made to grow 
 every tree that is pleasant to the sight," so these 
 literal glories on which our eyes have been accus- 
 
244 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 tomed to look in their degenerate state, shall glow 
 with immortal beauty, more glorious than when 
 originally created. The Great King while in the 
 flesh was an admirer of the flowers of the field, and 
 declared, " that Solomon, in all his glory, was not 
 arrayed like one of these/^ Shall not He who thus 
 admired them, deck the earth again with their 
 beauty, and fill it with their fragrance ? 
 
 For a description of the Holy City, we refer the 
 reader to those high and lofty thoughts, to those me- 
 lodious words penned by John, the fisherman of the 
 lake of Gennesareth, who had been accustomed to 
 lean on the bosom of its Great King ; and whose 
 name shall be set in glorious gems, in one of the 
 twelve foundations of the Holy City. 
 
 This Holy City, this Paradise of God, will far sur- 
 pass the original Paradise ; so also does its Lord and 
 King far surpass, beyond comparison, the first Adam. 
 No Serpent there to tempt its inhabitants ; they shall 
 never be driven from it ; its duration is eternal, its 
 guardian Omnipotence. 
 
 Then shall come the kingdom of our God, and the 
 glory of his reign. "And I heard as it were the 
 voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many 
 waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, say- 
 ing, Alleluia : for the Lord God omnipotent reign 
 eth." Then shall have come the restitution spoken 
 of by all the holy prophets since the world began ; 
 and the " whole earth shall be filled with the glory 
 of the Lord." 
 
 Then shall be fulfilled as Daniel has seen in holy 
 
THE HOLY CITY TO COME. 
 
 245 
 
 vision, " the kingdom and dominion, and the great- 
 ness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be 
 given to the people of the saints of the Most High, 
 whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all 
 dominions shall serve and obey him." 
 
 Then shall be fulfilled the promises of the gospel 
 covenant. His people shall have returned to Zion 
 with songs of praise and everlasting joy upon their 
 heads ; and they shall teach no more every man his 
 neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know 
 the Lord ; for they shall all know me, from the least 
 of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord ; 
 for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their 
 sins no more." 
 
 Then shall his people " go out with joy, and be led 
 forth with peace ; the mountains and the hills shall 
 break forth before them into singing, and all the 
 trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of 
 the thorn shall come up the fir-tree ; instead of the 
 briar shall come up the myrtle-tree ; and it shall be 
 to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that 
 shall not be cut off." 
 
 Then shall " the wilderness and the solitary place 
 be glad for them ; and the desert shall rejoice, and 
 blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, 
 and rejoice even with joy and singing ; the glory of 
 Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of 
 Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the 
 Lord, and the excellency of our God." 
 
 The whole family of the redeemed, from Abel to 
 the last soul saved all immortal with that command 
 
246 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 ment upon which "hang all the law and the pro- 
 phets," that universal law of God, with which he 
 governs all holy intelligences, the law of love, fully 
 written in their hearts, which shall for ever unite 
 them to their common Lord, and -to all holy beings. 
 
 Something of the beauty and glory of the King 
 may be learned by the description John has given in 
 the first chapter of Eevelation. He says, he saw 
 * the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to 
 the foot, and girt with a golden girdle. His head 
 and his hairs were white like wool, as white as 
 snow ; and his eyes were as a flame of fire ; and his 
 feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a 
 furnace ; . . . and his countenance was as the sun 
 shineth in his strength." 
 
 Though John was accustomed to lean on Jesus' 
 bosom while he was in the flesh, he is now overcome 
 with his glory, like the three disciples who sawTiis 
 glory in the holy mount. He says, " when I saw 
 him I fell at his feet as dead." The eyes of flesh 
 and blood could not behold such glory. 
 
 But Jesus, though thus glorified, retains all that 
 love and tenderness of heart which he had while on 
 earth. " This was that disciple whom Jesus loved.'' 
 John says, " He laid his right hand upon me, saying 
 unto me, fear not ; I am the first and the last ; I am 
 he that liveth and was dead ; and behold, I am alive 
 for evermore, Amen ; and have the keys of hell and 
 of death." 
 
 This is the description of one who saw his glory. 
 And this same disciple says, " It does not yet appear 
 
 4 
 
THE HOLY CITY TO COME. 
 
 247 
 
 what we shall be, but we know that when he shall 
 appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as 
 he is." Look upon the sun in its strength and then 
 think of the King with the multitude of his redeemed 
 thus shining as the sun in his strength, in that ; 
 glorious kingdom. ^ 
 
 " And the city had no need of the sun, neither of 
 the moon, to shine in it : for the glory of God did 
 lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." 
 
 Isaiah, whose lips had been touched with hallowed 
 fire, was permitted a vision of the glory of Christ^g 
 kingdom in the renovated earth, and he said, ^' Then 
 the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, 
 when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, 
 and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously." 
 
 Thus have we seen that the Bible opens with the 
 unfallen glories of the creation, put in subjection to 
 man, who was then in the image of his Maker ; and 
 although man has fallen and forfeited his inheritance, 
 the Bible closes with the glories of the restitution of 
 all things made again the unfading dominion of man, 
 not only restored to the image of his God, but the 
 very Godhead in humanity, in the person of its Lord 
 and King, to be its eternal guardian. 
 
 " This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord^ 
 and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 EXTRACTS CONCERNING THE FINAL RESIDENCE OF THB 
 SAINTS. 
 
 From the writings of leading men in the church eminent for learning 
 and piety. 
 
 Edward Hitchcock, D.D., LL.D., President of Am- 
 herst College, and professor of Natural Theology and 
 Geology, in his work entitled " The Religion of Geo- 
 logy,'' most happily maintains from the science of 
 Geology, that the earth will not be annihilated, but 
 renovated at the conflagration which awaits it, and 
 that the Scriptures teach it will become the residence 
 of the redeemed. Whoever would enjoy a rich mental 
 feast, and have removed from his mind the last ves- 
 tige of fear that the earth's history or Geology can 
 possibly conflict with the truth of the Holy Scrip- 
 'tures, let him read carefully his work. The following 
 quotations are from chapter xi. After quoting at 
 length the Apostle Peter's description of the renova- 
 tion of the earth by fire, he says : 
 
 " The prevailing opinion in this country, probably, 
 has been, and stUl is, that the destruction of the world 
 described by Peter will amount to annihilation — that 
 the matter of the globe will cease to be. But in all 
 ages there have been many who believed that the 
 destruction will be only the ruin of the present eco- 
 
DR. HITCHCOCK'S OPINION. 
 
 249 
 
 nomy of the world, but not its utter extinction. And 
 surely Peter's description does not imply annihilation 
 of the matter of the globe. He makes fire the agent 
 of the destruction, and, in order to ascertain the 
 extent of the ruin that will follow, we have only to 
 inquire what effect combustion will have upon mat- 
 ter. The common opinion is, that intense combustion 
 actually destroys or annihilates matter, because it is 
 thereby dissipated. But the chemist knows that no 
 one particle of matter has ever been thus deprived of 
 existence ; that fire only changes the form of matter, 
 but never annihilates it. When solid matter is 
 changed into gas, as in most cases of combustion, it 
 seems to be annihilated, because it disappears ; but it 
 has only assumed a new form, and exists as really as 
 before. Since, therefore, biblical and scientific truth 
 must agree, we may be sure that the apostle never 
 meant to teach that the matter of the globe would 
 cease to be, through the action of fire upon it ; nor 
 is there anything in his language that implies such a 
 result, but most obviously the reverse." 
 
 In pursuing this subject Dr. Hitchcock shows the 
 perfect adaptation of the language of Peter to the 
 scientific discoveries of modern times. And further 
 says : 
 
 " In the fifth place, the passage under consideration 
 teaches that the earth will be renovated by the fiual 
 conflagration, and become the abode of the righteous. 
 After describing the day of God, Wherein the 
 heavens^ being on fire ^ shall be dissolved , and the elements 
 shall melt with fervent heat ; Peter adds, JVevcrthehss^ 
 
 11* 
 
250 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 we J according to his promise, look for new heavens and a 
 new earth, iv herein dwelleth righteousness. Now, tlio 
 apostle does not here, in so many, words, declare that 
 the new heavens and earth will be the present world 
 and its atmosphere, purified and renovated by fire. 
 But it is certainly a natural inference that such was 
 his meaning. For if he intended some other remote 
 and quite different place, why should he call it earth, 
 and, especially, why should he surround it with an 
 atmosphere ? The natural and most obvious meaning 
 of the passage surely is, that the future residence of 
 the righteous will be this present terraqueous globe, ' 
 after its entire organic and combustible matter shall 
 have been destroyed, and its whole mass reduced by 
 heat to a liquid state, and then a new economy reared 
 up on its surface, not adapted to sinful but to sinless . 
 beings ; and, therefore, quite different from its pre- 
 sent condition — probably more perfect, but still the 
 same earth and surrounding heavens." 
 
 Dr. Hitchcock might have given, no doubt, a verbal 
 criticism of the above language, which would have 
 made Peter say, in so many words, that this very 
 earth shall be renewed and become the abode of the 
 righteous ; but, perhaps, fearful his readers might 
 think he was influenced by scientific considerations 
 in his exegesis, he preferred to let it stand, deeming 
 it sufficiently strong. But with no such influence, the 
 late Professor of Sacred Literature in the Theological 
 Seminary, Andover, Edward Robinson, D.D., in his 
 invaluable Greek and English Lexicon of the New Tes- 
 tament, says, that the original word rendered new in 
 
DR. KNAPP'S OPINION. 
 
 251 
 
 2 Pet. iii. 13 ; Isa. Ixv. 17, Ixvi. 22, means renewed, 
 or 77iade new, hence better, superior, more splendid. 
 So the corresponding word of the Old Testament 
 means as a verb, to make new, renew, repair, restore, 
 as in 1 Sam. xi. 14 ; Job x. 17 : Ps. li. 12 ; Is. Ixi. 
 4 ; 2 Chr. xv. 8, xxiv. 4 ; Ps. ciii. 5. Whence are 
 de-rived the words rendered new, or renewed, and 
 new moon. So the phrase, a new heart, means a 
 renewed or regenerated heart, and when Paul calls a 
 Christian " a new creature," he means a renewed or 
 regenerated person. 
 
 Also, what Peter call 5 the heavens, John in Rev. 
 xxi. 1, calls heaven. The interchange of the singular 
 and plural of heaven and heavens, without change of 
 meaning, is common in the Scriptures ; therefore the 
 intelligent reader will feel under no necessity of un- 
 derstanding Peter to mean any more than the reno- 
 vation of this earth and its atmosphere, and not that 
 of the heavenly bodies whose renovation by fire the 
 Bible leaves astronomy to reveal. 
 
 Hitchcock further says, "that Dr. Knapp, one of 
 the most scientific and judicious of theologians, thus 
 remarks upon the passage of Peter already examined : 
 * It cannot be thought that what is here said respect- 
 ing the burning of the world is to be understood 
 figuratively, as Wettstein supposes ; because the fire 
 is here too directly opposed to the literal water of 
 the flood to be so understood. It is the object of 
 Peter to refute the boast of scoffers, that all things 
 had remained unchanged from the beginning, and 
 that, therefore, no day of judgment and no end of the 
 
 1 
 
252 
 
 THE SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 world could be expected. And so lie says that ori 
 ginally, at the time of the creation, the whole earth 
 was covered and overflowed with water (Gen. i.), 
 and that from hence the dry land appeared ; and the 
 same was true at the time of Noah^s flood. But there 
 is yet to come a great fire revolution. The heavens 
 and the earth (the earth with its atmosphere) are 
 reserved, or kept in store, for the fire, until the day 
 of judgment, (v. 10.) At that time the heavens will 
 pass away with a great noise, and the elements will 
 be dissolved with fervent hea"", and everything upon 
 the earth will be burnt up. ' l he same thing is taught 
 in verse 12. But in verse 13, Peter gives the design 
 of this revolution. It will not be annihilation, 
 but we expect a new heavens and a new earth, 
 wherein dwelleth righteousness, i. e. an entirely new, 
 altered, and beautiful abode for man, to be built 
 from the ruins of his former dwelling-place, as the 
 future habitation of the pious (Rev. xxi. 1). This 
 will be very much in the same way as a more per- 
 fect and an immortal body will be reared from the 
 body which we now possess.'" — Theology, vol. ii. 
 p. 649. 
 
 Again, says Dr. Hitchcock, " The wide-spread 
 opinion that heaven will be a sort of airy Elysium, 
 vv^hcre the present laws of nature will be unknown, 
 And where matter, if it exist, can exist only in its 
 most attenuated form, is a notion to which the Bible 
 Is a stranger. 
 
 " The resurrection of the body, as well as the lan- 
 guage of Peter, most clearly show us that the future 
 
GRIFFIN AND CAMPBELL. 
 
 253 
 
 world will be a solid, material world, purified indeed, 
 and beautified, but retaining its materialism." 
 
 Rev. George Campbell, D.D., of the Presbyterian 
 church, Scotland, says, in his translation of the four 
 gospels, Matt. xix. 28, " That at the renovation, when 
 the Son of man shall be seated on His glorious throne, 
 ye, my followers sitting also on twelve thrones shall 
 judge, &c." He remarks, " The principal completion 
 will be at the general resurrection, when there will 
 be in the most important sense a renovation or rege- 
 neration (a new creation) of heaven and earth, when 
 all things shall become new." 
 
 Rev. Edward D. Griffen, D.D., late president 
 of Williams College, Mass., says, " A question here 
 arises, whether the new heavens and new earth will 
 be created out of the ruins of the old ; that is, whe- 
 ther the old will be renovated and restored in a more 
 glorious form ; or whether the old will be annihilated 
 and the new made out of nothing. The idea of the 
 annihilation of so many immense and glorious bodies, 
 organized with inimitable skill and declarative of 
 infinite wisdom, is gloomy and forbidding. Indeed 
 it is scarcely credible that God should annihilate any 
 of his works, much less, so many and so glorious 
 works. It ought not to be believed without the most 
 decisive proof. On the other hand, it is a most ani- 
 mating thought that this visible creation which sin 
 has marred, — which the polluted breath of men and 
 devils has defiled, — and which by sin wUl be reduced 
 to utter ruin, — will be restored by our Jesus, — will 
 arise from its ruins in tenfold splendor, and shine 
 
 i 
 
254 
 
 THE SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 with more illustrious glory than before it was defaced 
 by sin. 
 
 " After a laborious and anxious search for light on 
 this interesting subject, I must pronounce the latter 
 to be my decided opinion. And the same, I find, has 
 been the more common opinion of the Christian 
 fathers, of the divines of the Reformation, and of the 
 critics and annotators who have since flourished. I 
 could produce on this side a catalogue of names which 
 would convince you that this has certainly been the 
 common opinion of the Christian church in every age, 
 as it was also of the Jewish.'' — Sermons^ vol. ii. 
 p. 450. 
 
 Reuel Keith, D.D., Professor in Theological Se- 
 minary of Virginia, in his translation of the Chris- 
 tology, by E. W. Hengstenberg, D.D., vol. i. p. 10, 
 says. The Messiah, " finally, when the present course 
 of the world shall have ended, will abolish even the 
 outward consequences of the fall, the evil which sin 
 has occasioned, and, after the utter extinction of the 
 kingdom of darkness, glorify his divine kingdom on 
 the renovated earth." And again, on p. 14, speaking 
 of the antiquity of this doctrine, he in substance 
 says, that during the present course of this world, 
 the conflict will continue between holiness and sin 
 and, at the time of the restoration, sin will bo 
 utterly destroyed, and men purified will enjoy a per- 
 fectly happy and peaceful life on the glorified earth. 
 
 Tlioluck, another distinguished German divine, of 
 the orthodox school, says, " still more definitely do 
 we find the belief of a transformation of the material 
 
THOLUCK, LUTHER, AND SMITH. 
 
 world declared in 2 Peter iii. 7-12. The idea that 
 the perfected kingdom of Christ is to be transferred 
 to heaven, is properly a modern notion. According 
 to Paul, and the Revelation of John, the kingdom of 
 God is placed on the earth, in so far as this itself 
 has part in the universal transformation. This ex- 
 position has been adopted and defended by most of 
 the oldest commentators ; e. g., Chrysostom, Thco- 
 doret, Hieronymus, Augustine, Luther, Koppe, and 
 others. Luther says in his lively way, ' God will 
 make, not the earth only, but the heaven also, much 
 more beautiful than they are at present. At present, 
 we see the world in its working clothes ; but here- 
 after it will be arrayed in its Easter and Whitsun- 
 tide robes.' 
 
 The Rev. John Pye Smith, D.D., says, " I cannot but 
 feel astonishment, that any serious and intelligent 
 man should have his mind fettered with the common, 
 I might call it the vulgar notion, of a proper destruc- 
 tion of the earth ; and some seem to extend the no- 
 tion to the whole solar system, and even the entire 
 universe, applying the idea of extinction of being, a 
 reducing to nothingness. This notion has, indeed, 
 been often used to aid impassioned description in ser- 
 mons and poetry ; and thus it has gained so strong a 
 hold upon the feelings of many pious persons, that 
 they have made it an article of their faith. But 1 
 confess myself unable to find any evidence for it, in 
 nature, reason, or Scripture. 
 
 If it be the purpose of God that the earth shall be 
 subjected to a total conflagration, Ave perfectly well 
 
256 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 know that the instruments of such an event lie close 
 at hand, and wait only the divine volition to burst 
 out in a moment. But that would not be a destruc- 
 tion ; it would be a mere change of form, and, no 
 doubt, would be subservient to the most glorious re- 
 sults. * We, according to his promise, look for a new 
 heavens, and a new earth ; wherein dwelleth right- 
 eousness.' " — Scripture and Geology, pp. 190-192. 
 New York Ed. 
 
 The Rev. John Wesley, A.M., in a sermon from the 
 text, " Behold, I make all things new," Rev. xxi. 6, 
 says, " Very many commentators entertain a strange 
 opinion, that this relates only to the present state of 
 things ; and gravely tell us, that the words are to be 
 referred to the flourishing state of the church, which 
 commenced after the heathen persecutions. Nay, 
 some of them have discovered, that all which the 
 apostle speaks concerning the * new heaven and the 
 new earth' was fulfilled, when Constantino the 
 Great poured in riches and honours upon the Chris- 
 tians. What a miserable way is this, of making void 
 the whole counsel of God, with regard to all that 
 grand chain of events, in reference to his church, yea, 
 and to all mankind, from the time that John was in 
 Patmos, unto the end of the world ! Nay, the lino 
 of this prophecy reaches farther still ; it does not 
 end with the present world, but shows us the things 
 Uiat will come to pass when this world is no more. 
 For thus saith the Creator and Governor of the uni- 
 verse : ' Behold I make all things new 1' — all which 
 arc included in that expression of the apostle, 'A 
 
Wesley's opinion. 
 
 257 
 
 new heaven and a new earth/ This is the introduc- 
 tion to a far nobler state of things, such as it has not 
 yet entered into the heart of man to conceive, — the 
 universal restoration. For * we look/ says the 
 apostle, *for new heavens and a new earth, wherein 
 dwelleth righteousness.' 2 Pet. iii. 7, &c." 
 
 Wesley proceeds to give a very glowing descrip- 
 tion of what changes shall take place in the heaven 
 or the atmosphere about the earth, and proceeds to 
 say, Let us next take a view of those changes which 
 we may reasonably suppose will then take place in 
 the earth. It will no more be bound up with intense 
 cold, nor parched up with extreme heat ; but will 
 have such a temperature as will be most conducive to 
 its fruitfulness. If, in order to punish its inhabit- 
 ants, God did of old 
 
 " *Bid his angels turn askance 
 This oblique globe/ 
 
 thereby occasioning violent cold on one part, and 
 violent heat on the other ; he will, undoubtedly, then 
 order them to restore it to its original position ; so 
 that there will be a final end, on the one hand, of the 
 burning heat, which makes some parts of it scarce 
 habitable ; and on the other, of 
 
 " 'The rage of Arctos and eternal frost!' 
 
 And it will then contain no jarring or destructive 
 principles within its own bosom. It will no more 
 have any of those violent convulsions in its own 
 bowels. It will no more be shaken or torn asunder 
 
258 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 by the impetuous force of earthquakes ; and will, 
 therefore, need neither Vesuvius nor Etna, nor any 
 burning mountains to prevent them. There will be 
 no more horrid rocks, or frightful precipices ; no 
 wild deserts, or barren sands ; no impassable mo- 
 rasses or unfruitful bogs to swallow up the unwary 
 traveller. There will, doubtless, be inequalities on 
 the surface of the earth ; which are not blemishes but 
 beauties. And though I will not affirm, that 
 
 * " Earth hath this variety from heaven, 
 Of pleasure situate in hiU and dale 
 
 yet I cannot think gently rising hills will be any 
 defect, but an ornament of the new made earth. And, 
 doubtless, we shall then likewise have occasion to say, 
 
 * " Lo, there his wondrous skill arrays 
 The fields in cheerful green ! 
 A thousand herbs his hand displays, 
 A thousand flowers between I' 
 
 " And what will the general produce of the earth be ? 
 Not thorns, briers, or thistles ; not any useless or 
 fetid weed ; not any poisonous, hurtful, or unpleasant 
 plant ; but every one that can be conducive in any 
 wise, either to our use or pleasure. How far beyond 
 all that the most lively imagination is now able to 
 conceive. . . . For all the earth shall be a 
 more beautiful paradise than Adam ever saw. 
 
 " But the most glorious of all will be the change 
 which then will take place on the poor, sinful, mise- 
 rable children of men. These had fallen in many 
 respects, as from a greater height, so into a lower 
 
DR. gill's opinion. 
 
 259 
 
 depth, than any other part of the creation. But they 
 shall ^ hear a great voice out of heaven, saying, be- 
 hold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will 
 dwell with them ; and they shall be his people ; and 
 God himself shall be their God,' Rev. xxi. 3, 4. 
 Hence will arise an unmixed state of holiness and 
 happiness, far superior to that which Adam enjoyed 
 in paradise. In how beautiful a manner is this de- 
 scribed by the apostle : ' God shall wipe away all 
 tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more 
 death, neither sorrow nor crying ; neither shall there 
 be any more pain ; for the former things are done 
 away.' As there will be no more death, and no more 
 pain or sickness preparatory thereto; as there will 
 be no more grieving for. or parting with friends ; so 
 there will be no more sorrow or crying. Nay, but 
 there will be a greater deliverance than all this, for 
 there will be no more sin. And, to crown all, there 
 will be a deep, an intimate, an uninterrupted union 
 with God ; a constant communion with the Father 
 and his Son Jesus Christ, through the Spirit ; a con- 
 tinual enjoyment of the Three-One God, and of all 
 the creatures in him." — Wesley^ s Sermons^ vol. ii. 
 pp. 82-87. 
 
 The Rev. John Gill, D.D., an eminent theologian 
 of the Baptist denomination, England, taught that 
 the earth would be made new or renovated, and the 
 millennium introduced by the personal advent of » 
 Christ and resurrection of the righteous dead. The 
 following is from his commentary republished at 
 Philadelphia, 1811. 
 
260 
 
 THE SAINTS^ INHERITANCE. 
 
 " Rev. XX. 4. And reigned with Christ a thousand 
 years. Christ being descended from heaven, and 
 having bound Satan, and the dead saints being raised, 
 the living ones changed, He will reign among them 
 personally, visibly, and gloriously, and in the fullest 
 manner ; all the an ti- Christian powers will be des- 
 troyed ; Satan will be in close confinement ; death, 
 with respect to Christ and his people, will be no 
 more ; the heavens and the earth will be made new, 
 and all things will be subject to him ; and all his 
 saints will be with him, and they shall reign with 
 him ; they shall be glorified together ; they shall sit 
 on the throne with him, have a crown of righteous- 
 ness given them, and possess the kingdom appointed 
 for them. The saints will not be in a mortal, but in 
 an immortal state ; the children of this resurrection 
 will be like angels ; and this reign will be on 
 earth/' 
 
 * But the rest of the dead lived not again until the 
 thousand years were finished." — Rev. xx. 6. Mean- 
 ing not the dead saints, for they will be all raised 
 together, but the wicked dead ; and not them as 
 morally or spiritually, but as corporeally dead : these 
 lived not again until the thousand years ivere finished; 
 so that there will be such an exact term of years 
 between the resurrection of the saints and the resur- 
 rection of the wicked ; nor will there be any wicked 
 living upon the earth, or in bodies during that time ; 
 for the wicked dead will not be raised with the saints 
 at Christ's coming, and the wicked living will bo 
 destroyed in the conflagration of the world, and 
 
 ■A 
 
FINAL RESIDENCE OF THE SaINTS. 
 
 261 
 
 neither of them shall live again till the end of those 
 years." 
 
 Verse 8th. " And shall go out to deceive the na- 
 tions which are in the four quarters of the earth, 
 Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle ; 
 the number of vs^hom is as the sand of the sea." 
 
 The Gog and Magog," says Dr. Gill, " will be all 
 the wicked dead, the rest of the dead, who live not 
 again till the thousand years are ended, when will 
 be the second resurrection, the resurrection of all the 
 wicked that have been from the beginning of the 
 world ; and these, with a posse of devils under Satan, 
 will make up the Gog and Magog army. These may 
 be said to be in the/o7/r quarters the world, since 
 where they die and are buried, there they will rise 
 and stand upon their feet, an exceeding great army ; 
 and as they will die enemies to Christ and his peo- 
 ple, they will rise such." 
 
 The above views commend themselves to the heart 
 uid understanding ; they show the future being and 
 jQabitation of man to be realities, instead of a mys- 
 terious, spiritual, intangible heaven, situated some- 
 where in an unknown region of pure space beyond 
 the stars, where we shall enjoy simply a spiritual 
 existence. This truth opens to the mind a real 
 
 heavenly country," a firm tangible residence, where 
 meeting and taking the hand of our friends, we may 
 feel the glow of life, and know that they live, that it 
 is not their spirits, as said Jesus to his loving disci- 
 ples, after he had risen from the dead : " Handle me, 
 and see, a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me 
 
262 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 have.'' And looking on them we may identify the 
 material form, and behold the gracious smile of wel- 
 come in the countenance of our living fnends, and 
 enjoy the comfort that springs from the pleasure of 
 social intercourse with friends whose hearts beat in 
 unison, and whose thoughts are congenial. Where 
 the voice of friends shall make melody in holy con- 
 verse, dictated by pure and virtuous hearts, chastened 
 by the same deep afflictions through which they have 
 passed during probation, and renewed by redeeming 
 grace shall mingle in holy sympathy as arm in arm 
 they may walk among the literal glories of our 
 second Paradise, when God shall set his hand again 
 to renew the face of the earth, spreading over it a 
 vegetation blooming in more than its Eden beauty. 
 
 As our identity will remain, so our attainments 
 and affections must continue, and knowing our 
 friends, we shall of course love them. It is said that 
 selfishness alone dictates the thought that we shall 
 know and love our friends, that all our powers of 
 heart and mind will be completely absorbed in the 
 love and glory of Christ. No doubt our love to 
 Christ, and admiration of him, will be supreme. Yet 
 this will not detract anything from our love to one 
 another, but increase it. The affections were not 
 given us to be cultivated here, and to be destroyed 
 at death. Love is the fulfilling of the law, it is the 
 commandment, it is the law of heaven ; it not only 
 brought Christ down from heaven, but in his hu- 
 manity he set us the example. It is written, Now 
 there was leaning on Jesus^ bosom one of his disci- 
 
FINAL RESIDENCE OF THE SAINTS. 2G3 
 
 pies, whom Jesus loved." Did not Jesus love all his 
 disciples ? Most certainly he did. But this disciple, 
 gentle and lovely in his character, was thus highly 
 honored with the natural affections of our Lord^s 
 pure human heart. Jesus also loved his mother, and 
 he ceased not to love her ; even in his agony on the 
 cross he remembers her, and provides her a son on 
 whom she might lean when he was gone. " When 
 Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple 
 standing by whom he loved, he saith unto her. Wo- 
 man, behold thy son ; then saith he to the disciple. 
 Behold thy mother, and from that hour that disciple 
 took her unto his own home." It is also written, 
 " Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Laza- 
 rus." Were they orphans? Jesus loved them never- 
 theless. Honored family ! whose pure hearts had 
 won the uncontaminated affections of his humanity. 
 
 Lazarus was sick, therefore his sisters sent unto 
 him, saying. Lord, behold he whom thou lovest is 
 sick.'' His heart was moved in tenderness with these 
 sisters in their affliction, and at their brother's grave 
 when they wept, " Jesus wept." Honor and glory 
 be ascribed to His name. He still retains the same 
 sympathizing heart! therefore we have a merciful 
 High Priest, who can be touched with the feelings of 
 \)ur infirmities. Does his weeping appear a weak- 
 ness to you? It is my joy and my glory. In the 
 midst of his tears, as they flow with these afflicted 
 sisters, his divinity shines the brighter, while he 
 speaks to the dead, not in the name of another, but 
 with authority, he says, " Lazarus come forth," and 
 
264 
 
 THE saints' inheritance. 
 
 the dead hears his voice, the grave yields its victim, 
 the brother lives, and is restored to the sisters, the 
 tears are wiped away, and again they are permitted 
 in union, to enjoy the society of their meek and sym- 
 pathizing, yet great and glorious Friend, who had 
 often graced their humble cottage with his presence. 
 Surely in the resurrection state the affections shall 
 live and increase as the mind expands, while the re- 
 deemed made beautiful and lovely in the likeness of 
 their glorious Lord, by the affections shall be for 
 ever united in one common bond of brotherhood, 
 when the Great Restorer shall, in the plenitude of 
 his grace, shed universal beauty and happiness 
 throughout a renovated world, and " all the earth 
 shall be filled wii^i the glory of the Lord.'' 
 
 THE BND. 
 
A New and Invaluable Work, Just Published and 
 to be had of Bpoksellers generally. 
 
 THE SAINTS' INHERITANCE; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE WORLD TO COME. 
 
 Price^ jplain, $1 00 ; Gilt^ $1 37J. 
 
 This Work is well calculated to awaken the interest 
 of the soul and to engage all the powers of the heart 
 and mind in the study of the Holy Scriptures, our^ only 
 guide to a glorious immortality. 
 
 It teaches that the earth, instead of being annihilated 
 at the consummation which awaits it, will be restored and 
 become far more glorious than in its Eden state, when 
 God shall in the plenitude of his grace crown his ran- 
 somed ones with eternal glory and gladness, and shed 
 universal and unfading beauty over the renovated world, 
 making it the heritage of the people of God, under the 
 righteous reign of the second Adam, the Lord from 
 Heaven. 
 
2 
 
 NOTICES. 
 
 The following notices will show the estimate placed 
 upon the work by clergymen of diflferent denomina 
 tions : — 
 
 From Rev. F. De W. Ward, late Missionary from India, author 
 of " India and the Hindoos," and of the " Christian Gift," Pastor 
 of the Presbyterian Church, Geneseo, N. Y. Copied from the 
 Livingston Republican, 
 
 " A New and Important Volume.— Neither the intellect nor 
 piety of that person is at all to be envied who can refrain from 
 thoughtful meditation upon questions like these : What is to be- 
 come of this vast globe ? Is it literally to be dissolved, and 
 
 * Like the baseless fabric of a vision 
 Leave not a rack behind ?' 
 
 Is it to be the victim of some future explosion which shall send its 
 mighty masses hurling through space to fall upon other planets 
 like the aerolites upon our own ? Or is it to be made over and 
 become as the Garden of the Lord, a fit abode for man to pass an 
 immortality of blessedness ? Again : What is to be the winding 
 up of earth's history ? Are all mankind to be put in possession 
 of the sacred volume, and thus become, individually, perfect in 
 knowledge, love, purity, and every heavenly grace ; or are multi- 
 tudes to be overwhelmed with destruction by an Almighty arm, 
 and thus the victory be achieved ? Again : Is our Lord to revisit 
 our earth in person with an union of majestic splendor and glory 
 only equalled by the humiliation and distress which attended his 
 former mission ? Again : What mean the Scriptures by the mil- 
 lennium — the first and second resurrection — the battle of Gog and 
 Magog — the ministry of angels, and the extent of the Jewish 
 covenants ? These are questions of admitted interest, and well 
 merit a thoughtful consideration. To say ' we do not know,' is a 
 ready mode of reply, but surely should not satisfy the Christiao 
 whose aim should be intelligence as well as piety. This may bo 
 his decision, but it should be arrived at considerately. 'Tha 
 World to Come' has for its aim to discuss these topics. The work 
 is written with an energy of style, a command of Scripture text, 9 
 strength of argument, and a general freshness and vigor which do 
 great credit to the head and heart of the author, and can but com 
 mand the respect and interest of the thoughtful and pious reader 
 
3 
 
 . . . We venture to say that no one can rise from its perusal 
 without a consciousness of personal interest and benefit. The 
 book will lead to the stiidy of the Bible, and thus an end will be 
 secured which has scarcely a second for importance within the cir- 
 cle of human obligations. , . . We take pleasure m recommend- 
 ing its purchase and candid study ; for studied it must be, in order 
 to be understood and appreciated." 
 
 The following concise, yet full, endorsement of the 
 book is from that great and good man, the learned Scotch 
 divine, Rev. John Gumming, D.D., F.R.S.E., Minister 
 of Crown Court, London, in a letter to the Rev. F. De 
 W. Ward. He writes 2 
 
 7 Montague Place, > 
 Russell Sq., July 10. J 
 
 Dear Sir I have read the work of Mr. Hill, " The World to 
 Come," with great pleasure. Its spirit and sentiments and con- 
 clusion please me very much ; and pray present my compliments 
 to him, and thank him for sending me a copy. 
 Believe me. 
 
 Yours, very sincerely, 
 
 John Gumming. 
 
 From Rev. 0. I. Sprague, Pastor of the Baptist 
 Church, Mount Morris, N. Y. Copied from the Living- 
 Stan Union, 
 
 " Mr. Editor — Sir : Permit me through your paper to call atten- 
 tion to a recent work, entitled * The Saints' Inheritance ; or, The 
 World to Come.' It is, in my own judgment, an important work 
 for the times. While the greater portion of the Christian world 
 are under the strange fantasy that the Jews are to be literally 
 restored to Palestine ; that the Church must enjoy, in this mortal 
 state, a thousand years' Millennium ; and, while others are con- 
 fused in view of the many facts and appearances adverse to such 
 opinion, this work, if thoroughly considered, will serve to correct 
 the error on the one hand, and so to enlighten the mind on the 
 other, as to lead out of darkness, and settle ihe perplexity of sphit 
 of those who are vacillating amidst conflicting \iews. 
 
 " The book, I think, pre-eminently a work of rich biblical illus- 
 
4 
 
 tration, containing brief, clear, and forcible argument, confirmatory 
 of the positions taken, and by abundant scripture proofs rendering 
 them impregnable. As intimated by the writer, it is too true, that 
 much of the teaching of the present day tends to flatter vain hopes, 
 and to foster the conception of building up an estabUshment more 
 pompous and earth-made glorious, than the Jew, in his wildest 
 speculation ever conjectured. This work is well designed to re- 
 move from the vision of the church this illusion, and to restore in 
 the sentiments of her devout children the important and healthful 
 truths taught by our Lord, that, ' in the world ye shall have tribu- 
 lation,' and that ' The wheat and the tares shall grow together un- 
 til the harvest.' 
 
 " It is a work which should interest every one, especially Chris- 
 tians — all should read and candidly ponder its truths. It presents 
 a tangible and consistent view of the nature and character of 
 ' The Saints' Inheritance,' an interesting chain of Bible history, 
 as well as rich sentiment, and will incite more earnest action 
 for a world's salvation. 
 
 «0. 1. Sprague." 
 
 Letter to the author, from C. L. Bacon, A.M., Pastor of 
 Baptist Church, Trumansburg, N, Y. 
 
 " Trumansburg, April 1, 1853. 
 
 " Rev. H. F. Hill : — ^Dear Sir : I thank you for a copy of your 
 work, entitled ' The Saints' Inheritance ; or. The World to Come.' 
 The topics discussed are of the first importance to every human 
 being, for to us all there is ' a world to come.' In the midst of so 
 many works as this age is producing, which attempt to show the 
 philosophy of religion, it is refreshing to find a work which mani- 
 fests a simple faith in the Sacred Scriptures. This is a striking 
 feature in your book, and to me it is a most grateful one. 
 
 "The eminently Scriptural views of the great facts in the 
 future history of Redemption, which your chapters furnish, are 
 cheering to the heart of the Christian, and instructive to all who 
 will carefully read them. I devoutly pray that the great object 
 which you had in view in writing this work may be accomplished. 
 
 " Ever yours, 
 
 **C. L. Bacon." 
 
b 
 
 The Rev. Lyman Stilson, late missionary from Burmah, 
 flays : — 
 
 " I have no hesitation in saying that I believe the work calcu- 
 lated to do much good, especially in leading many Christians to a 
 more careful perusal of the word of God." 
 
 James S. White, Esq., Lake Providence, La., says : — 
 
 "I am well pleased with the book, and had I the means, I 
 would place it in the hands of every minister in the United 
 States." 
 
 Rev. J. Chapman, Pastor of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, Groveland, N. Y., says : — 
 
 " The author has selected for his theme one of the most impor- 
 tant subjects in the entire range of revealed truth — a subject, how- 
 ever, on which, with many, there is much darkness and confusion 
 of mind. 
 
 " The author, in a clear, concise, and forcible manner, brings to 
 bear on his subject an abundance of Scriptural argument. The 
 unprejudiced inquirer after the truth cannot fail to derive much 
 pleasure and profit from the perusal of its pages. 
 
 " I most cheerfully endorse the theological view of the author, 
 and recommend his book as one, the practical tendency of which 
 must lead to a more careful searching and love of the Sacred 
 Scriptures, 
 
 "J. Chapman." 
 
 The Editor of the Livingston Republican says — 
 
 " The subject is one of surpassing interest and importance, and 
 gives abundant evidence of a knowledge of Scripture, and a depth 
 of thought on the part of the writer that can but prove interest* 
 ing." 
 
6 
 
 From Rev. J. Watts, Pastor of Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 Geneseo, N. Y. Copied from the Northern Christian Ad- 
 vocate^ Auburn, N. Y. 
 
 The Saints' Inheritance ; or, The World to Come. — This work 
 evinces a comprehensive knowledge of the Bible, and a firm belief 
 in its truth. Its style is attractive and vigorous, and it breathes 
 throughout a spirit of earnest piety. Its arguments are not of the 
 abstract, metaphysical kind, but drawn from the great fountain of 
 truth, the oracles of God. 
 
 " The doctrine for which the author contends, that the earth 
 will not be annihilated by the general conflagration, but purified 
 and restored to its pristine beauty and glory, and become the ever- 
 lasting abode of the saints, cannot fail to intensely interest every 
 reflecting mind. There is inspiration in the thought that the ulti- 
 mate and eternal abode of the saints will not be a land of ' dim- 
 ness and mystery beyond all comprehension,' but ' that there will 
 be beauty to delight the eye, and music to regale the ear, and the 
 comforts that spring from all the charities of intercourse between 
 man and man, holding converse as they do now on earth, and 
 gladdening each other with the benignant smiles that play on the 
 human countenance, or the accents of kindness that fall in soft 
 and soothing melody from the human voice,' — that the earth in- 
 stead of being annihilated by the conflagration which awaits it» 
 will be by him who called it into being ' in the beginning,' 
 
 • 'renewed, improved 
 
 With fertile vale, and wood of fertile bough ; 
 And streams of milk and honey, flowing song ; 
 And mountains cinctured with perpetual green ; 
 In clime and season fruitful as at first, 
 When Adam woke, unfallen in Paradise, 
 And God shall from the fount of native lights 
 A handful take of beams, and clothe the sun 
 Again in glory ; and send forth the moon 
 To borrow thence her wonted rays, and lead 
 Her stars, the virgin daughters of the sky.' 
 
 I " The book deserves, and we hope will receive a large circula- 
 tion. 
 
 "J. Watts." 
 
 The Rev. Stephen H. Tyng, D.D., of New York, eudoi-set 
 
7 
 
 the leading sentiments of the book, as seen in the following 
 letter to the author : — 
 
 " New York, September 7, 1854. 
 
 '* Rev. and Dear Sir : — have received your volume and read 
 it with attention. I am favorably impressed with its general 
 character, though I could not adopt all its particular conclusions. 
 In the great view of the Saviour's personal reign, on a regenerated 
 earth, as the final and everlasting abode of his redeemed, I rest 
 with confidence and delight. I trust he will be pleased to own 
 and bless your efforts to make known his truth for his own glory. 
 
 "I am, with Christian regard, 
 
 " Your friend and brother, 
 
 "Stephen H. Tyng." 
 
 From B. R. Swick, Pastor Baptist Church, York, N. Y. 
 
 " York, December 17, 1853. 
 
 " I have read ' The Saints' Inheritance ; or, the World to 
 Come,' and am more than willing to commend its perusal to 
 others. When I commenced reading it, I entertained feelings of 
 sufficient prejudice to make me cautiously examine each senti- 
 ment that was advanced; but as I read on, my prejudices softened 
 into approval, as I found that the doctrines advanced were in keep- 
 ing with the Scriptures, and written in a style becoming the 
 Christian. The whole work is so profusely interspersed with 
 quotations from the great standard of appeal, that if the sentiments 
 were not true, it would not be possible, I think, to form what it 
 now seems to be — an unbroken chaki. I was led to ask myself, 
 whether a chain containing so many golden links of truth could be 
 formed, and be so happily joined together by those links, and yet 
 fail to be itself a chain of truth ? Reason and judgment answered, 
 * these things that are written are words of truth.* I am, indeed, 
 happy to find one book written in this age, whioh draws all its ar- 
 guments and conclusions from the word of God ; and this, in my 
 judgment, accounts for the kind spirit which is breathed through- 
 out the entire work. T deem the book well adapted to the present 
 age, and admirably calculated to comfort the saints and awake 
 them to duty. 
 
 " May the Lord bless the book, to the joy of many hearts. 
 
 "B. R. Swick." 
 
8 
 
 From the Rev. F. D. Simonds, editor of the California Chris^ 
 tian Advocate :— 
 
 " Having carefully read the * World to Come,' we most heartily 
 commend it as a candid and earnest work on the subject of Christ's 
 Kingdom in this world. The principal argument is to show that 
 this earth, made -new or transformed by fire, will become the place 
 of the saints' inheritance, where with raised and glorified bodies 
 they will dwell for ever with Christ. It is a theme which involves 
 the highest questions of scriptural interpretation, and is treated 
 with sober sense and judgment, which often raises the style to 
 true eloquence and power ; and there are no speculations indulged. 
 The work will do good." 
 
 Rev. Dr. Poor writes from Ceylon in a letter to the Rev. 
 Mr. Ward : 
 
 " I have read the book throvgli with much interest. I am happy 
 to find the writer so well grounded in what I have long regarded 
 the primary and fundamental points on this whole subject, viz : 
 That the second advent, according to the scriptures, is to take 
 place at the inirodiiclion or commencement of the millennium, 
 rather than its termination ; and that Christ is coming to redeem 
 the earth, to reign during a thousand years. In all this part of 
 the subject the writer has done well. The 6th and 12th chapters 
 are especially admirable. Please to present Mr. Hill my Christian 
 salutations and best wishes." 
 
 ^g' Any person who will send by mail seventy-five 
 cents in cash or postage stamps to the author, H. F. Hill, 
 Corning, N. Y., shall receive the book by mail, postage 
 paid. 
 
aq; JO .Cjo;sijj po^ 
 ' sSuipuiq snouBA 
 
i