one innocent." To justify an individual is to acquit him. The term is applied to the acquittal of a sinner through faith in Christ; but the full discharge from all the consequences of sin does not take place till the resurrection of the just. See Rom. iv. 25: "Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." Compare this with 1 Cor. xv. 17, 18: If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." See, also, Isa. xlv. 25: "In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory:"—till then, the church groans, being burdened, for that event she waits. See Rom. viii. 18 -23: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit; even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body."

When will this justification of the church take place? See Phil. iii. 20, 21: "Our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body," &c. See, also, 1 John iii. 2: "It doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him," &c.

We may expect the church to be completely, fully, and eternally justified from all the consequences of sin, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. So that if the church is the sanc

tuary to be cleansed, or justified, it is at the end of this world.

Let us now see if we can find any other sanctuary to be cleansed. The earth or land is called a sanctuary. See Ex. xv. 17: "Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in; in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established." See, also, Psa. lxxviii. 54: "He brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain which his right hand had purchased." Compare these with Eph. i. 14: "Which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession." See, also, Rom. iv. 13: "For the promise that he should be HEIR OF THE WORLD, was not to Abraham, or his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." Thus, we see, the earth is the inheritance, the sanctuary of Christ and his saints. Has it been defiled? and does it need cleansing? See Isa. xxiv. 5: "The earth is defiled under the inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, broken the everlasting covenant. God crea

ted the world to be a mountain of holiness: but the wicked have corrupted it, so that the Lord is to purify it by destroying "those who destroy [corrupt, as the margin reads] the earth." See Rev. xi. 18. The very ground is now under the curse, in consequence of sin. See Gen. iii. 17: "Cursed is the ground for thy sake." This world has been trodden under foot by wicked men and wicked governments unto this day. See Dan. vii. 23: "The fourth beast stall be the fourth kingdom upon earth—which shall devour the whole earth, and shall TREAD IT DOWN and break it in pieces." Such is emphatically the character of all worldly governments; they are a usurpation of the territory of God, and have corrupted the earth.

How will the earth be cleansed? I answer—By fire. See 2 Pet. iii. 7: "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."

When will this earth be cleansed? We have already seen it is to be at the day of judgment; but before I give a direct answer to the question, I wish to call attention to the following texts: Titus ii. 13: "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Ps. 1.3:"Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence ; a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him." Also, Ps. xlvi. 6— 9: The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, and the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire." See, also, Ps. xcvii. 3—5: "The fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. His lightnings enlightened the world; the earth saw and trembled. The hills melted

like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth." See Nahum i. 5, 6: "The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him." See Matt. xiii. 40—43: "As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be at 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; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Lastly, see 2 Pet. iii. 10—13: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night: in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that

are therein, shall be burned up. 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 hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."

Having now decided what the sanctuary is,—that it is to be cleansed at the end of this world; and that it is to be done by fire,—the way is now prepared to show when the END of this world will come.

We will now give you the 13th and 14th verses of the eighth chapter of Daniel, leaving out what our translators have supplied :—" Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain which spake, How long the vision, the daily and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand three hundred days: then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."

The inquiry, "How long the vision," clearly related to the "Ram" and "Goat," as well as "little horn" -and, the 2300 days are given in answer to the question,— How long the vision?"

It was the meaning of the vision Daniel soughtverse 15: "It came to pass, when I had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning,'

" &c.

It was to make Daniel understand the vision Gabriel was sent—verse 16: "I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision."

It was to make Daniel understand the vision Gabriel came—verse 17: "So he came near where I stood, and said unto me, Understand, O son of man."

The first thing Gabriel would have Daniel understand, was, that the vision was down to the end,—verse 17: "At [or unto] the time of the end shall be the vision." He would have Daniel understand that the

end intended was the last end of indignation,"- --verse 19: "Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation;" and he would have Daniel know that, at the time appointed, the end shall

be."

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The 2300 days is the only time appointed. That time cannot be applied to a particular agent or event, without violence to the whole subject.

Now, let us inquire what Daniel did understand, and what not. The angel explained everything to him respecting the Ram, He-Goat, and Little Horn. But Daniel tells us in the last verse, "I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it." What did not Daniel understand? There were, evidently, three things he did not understand: 1st. What "sanctuary" was intended in verse 13; 2d. He did not understand how to reckon the days; and, 3d. Where to commence his reckoning. As Gabriel is not to be charged with disobedience to the command to make Daniel understand the vision, and as he has not fulfilled that command in this chapter, we must look elsewhere to see if he ever did what he was directed to do, and what he promised Daniel he would do.

Let us now look into the 9th chapter. Daniel there informs us that he found out "by books, the number of years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem." We might here inquire, Why did not Daniel "find that out before?" It was written in the book, but he did not discover it till now. Our opponents seem to think it is a conclusive argument that we are wrong, because the time of the end of the world has not been found out before now. But is it any more marvellous than that Daniel did not learn that the captivity of the Jews in Babylon was to be seventy years, till those years were accomplished?

When Daniel discovered this fact, fifteen years had passed since the vision of the eighth chapter, and he