in a fallen world, proclaiming the coming of his kingdom in the midst of the din and confusion, the clangor of arms, the thunder of cannons, the shocks of earthquakes, the roar of volcanoes, the wail of famine and pestilence, and the awful inflictions of Divine judgment upon the nations that reject his sway. Nor would he make an end of them, till in despite of all their conspiracies, persecutions, and vengeance, his gospel had delivered his testimony among them all, but that then the end would come, and come with fury and desolation, just as the flood broke loose upon the guilty inhabitants of the old world.

Where is there the least hint in all this, or in any other of the predictions of Christ, of such a Millenium as the spiritualist expects? We defy any man to produce a single passage on the subject from the lips of Christ; and is it at all likely that, if the prophets had predicted such a Millenium, and sung so nobly and sweetly, and in such exalted and extravagant strains about it, he would have never referred to it during the whole period of his ministry-especially when he undertook expressly to expound one of the most important predictions of Daniel, and to answer explicitly his disciples' question, what should be the sign of his coming and of the end of the world?

If the Saviour knew that a thousand years, of religious prosperity before his coming, are to supervene, after all wars, and famines, and earthquakes, and pestilences cease-and if he meant a spiritual coming, when they asked about, and understood him to speak of, his personal visible coming-he certainly evaded the disciples' question, and led them wide astray from the truth. For we do not hear one of them ever breathe the least hint of such a period. We defy any evidence of such a thing to be produced from them. Paul, on

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the contrary, delivers a prediction about the judgment, and the resurrection, exactly in accordance with the tradition of the house of Elias. Moreover, he often spake of the coming of Christ to judge the nations, and to establish his kingdom; in accordance with the notions of the more eminent and devout Jews, he employed language which actually filled the Thessalonians with alarm, as though the day of his coming. had already arrived, and afterwards allayed their ter rors by predicting the terrible apostacy that should take place in the Christian church, and the general and frightful corruption of society which should precede his actual appearance. Peter, too, and Jude, also, express themselves in the very same way; but are just as silent, as were Christ and Paul, on the subject of a great day of religious prosperity, to occur one thousand years previous to the coming of Christ. And, surely, if any one would be likely to have given a hint of such a period, it would have been Peter, whose visions carried him forward to the coming of Christ to the conflagration of the soil and of men's works-and to the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.t

There is nothing in the predictions of Christ and his apostles, or in their style of speech, which is inconsistent with the views expressed by the angel Gabriel, in his revelation to Mary, that the child to be born of her should be called "The Son of the Highest, and that 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."+

The apostle John does, indeed, expressly predict

* 1 Thess. 4. 16, 17. †2 Pet. 3. 13.

Luke, 1. 32, 33.

a Millenium; and he is the only writer in the New Testament that does. But the Millenium John predicts is exactly coincident, in its leading features, with the expectations of the pious Jews before the days of Christ. He falls in, precisely, with the current of traditionary testimony, and proclaims a Millenium, which is to be introduced by violence done to the old serpent, the devil and Satan, and by the resurrection of the saints, called the first resurrection, and which is to be characterized by Christ's reigning with them a thousand years.

Leaving now the writings of the New Testament, which are in accordance with the old traditions from the days of Daniel, and starting again from this point, in following down the chain of traditionary or historical testimony in the primitive church, we find nothing for the first century even approximating the views of the spiritualists. The prophecies were not allegorically, but literally, interpreted and understood.

But little from the pens of the writers of the first century has been preserved; yet, what little has, affords its testimony in favor of the literal interpretation, and against the spiritualists' views of the millenium. Barnabas, affirmed to be the companion and fellow-laborer of Paul the apostle, was, if not the same person, of very high antiquity. The epistle under his name, first published by Archbishop Usher and two years afterwards by Hugo Menardus, was declared to be genuine by Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Jerome.

Giesseler,* after detailing the authorities who had questioned its authenticity, and indeed the whole controversy on the subject decides, along with Archbishops

* See his Text Book of Ecclesiastical History, vol. i. pp. 67, 68.

Usher, Wake, Vossius, and others, in its favor, and admits that it must have been written soon after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. In this ancient epistle, Barnabas declares that the Abrahamic covenant survives and supersedes the Mosaic ; and, inquiring whether it has been fulfilled, argues that it has only been so fulfilled, that God has sent Christ, who is to be the covenant pledge for the remainder of it; and having quoted and commented on Is. 42. 6, and 61. 1, 2, notices the typical character of the six days' work of creation and of the Sabbath as the old Jews understood them, saying, "Consider, my children, what that signifies: 'He finished them in six days.' The meaning is this: that in 6,000 years the Lord will bring all things to an end; for with Him one day is a thousand years, as himself testifieth, saying, 'Behold this day shall be as a thousand years;' therefore, children, in six days (i. e. 6,000 years) shall all things be accomplished. And what is that He saith, 'He rested the seventh day?' He meaneth, that when his Son shall come and abolish the wicked one, and judge the ungodly, and change the sun, and moon, and stars, then He shall gloriously rest on the seventh day. Behold, He will then truly sanctify it with blessed rest, when we have received the righteous promise— when iniquity shall be no more, all things being renewed by the Lord.”*

The next testimony, which we adduce from the first century, is that of Clement of Rome, supposed to be the friend and "fellow-laborer" of Paul, whom he commends to the Philippian church, who was one of the most distinguished Roman Christians, became pastor of the church in that city towards the close of the

* See Bibliotheca Vet. Pat., tom. ii. p. 21.

first century, and is said to have lived till the third year of the reign of Trajan, or about A. D. 100. Of his writings, there are extant two epistles to the Corinthians. The first is generally admitted to be genuine, and to it Eusebius* has borne a very high testimony. Of the second, the same early historiant says, "We know not that this is as highly approved as the former, and know not that it has been in use with the ancients." He does not deny its existence, nor even its authenticity. All he says about it is, he knows not that it was as highly approved, or as much in use by the ancients. In this epistle, Clement says, "Miserable are they of doubtful mind and uncertain heart, who say (in reference to the promise of future delights and glory) 'All these things we have also heard from our fathers; but we, expecting day after day, have seen none of these things.' Ye fools! compare yourselves to the tree. Take ye a vine: first indeed it casts off its leaves; then it begins to bud; afterwards comes the sour grape; and then the ripe grape. So also hath my people borne agitation and tribulation; but afterwards they shall receive the good things. Therefore, my brethren, let us not vacillate in our mind, but abide in hope, that we may receive the reward. For he is faithful who hath promised that he would render to every one according to his works. If, therefore, we shall place righteousness before God, we shall enter into his kingdom, and receive the promises which ear hath not heard, nor eye seen, and the things which have not entered into the heart of

*Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. iii. ch. 16.—Toúrov dù oðv Toû Kanμevtos ὁμολογουμένη μία ἐπιστολὴ φέρεται, μεγάλη τε καὶ θαυμασία.

† Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. iii. ch. 38.- Ov μùv ë0' Eμoíws τη πроTÉρα καὶ ταύτην γνώριμον επιστάμεθα, ὅτι μη δε τους αρχαίους αυτη κεχρημένους ἴσμεν. Patres Apostol., vol. i. pp. 245-7, Oxf. ed.