the passing away of the old heavens and earth for the establishment of the new is clearly described. Now, in connexion with the change, the following words are addressed to Israel. "I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: the Lord of Hosts is his name. And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee with the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundation of the earth; and say unto Zion, Thou art my people."

Here, at the very time when the old heavens and earth pass away, and the new heavens and earth are established, the people of Zion are covered in the shadow of God's hand. And this deliverance from the fire is compared to the deliverance, in the first Exodus of Israel, from the overwhelming waves of the sea.

If now we turn to the book of Revelation, the same truth appears more plainly. The last fire is there seen to fall on the rebels who compass the beloved city. But the camp of the saints itself is preserved; the fire harms it not. The dead then, and the dead only, so far as that prophecy reveals, are summoned in judgment, but the faithful who are then living are passed by in silence; and the natural conclusion seems to be, that from them the new earth is peopled with holy and righteous generations.

A further difficulty arises from the doctrine of the general resurrection. If all the dead are raised and all the living changed at the same instant of time, there is no room left for any future race of mankind upon earth. For those who partake of the resurrection, and those who are changed, in like manner, neither marry nor are given in marriage. A final limit would thus be clearly assigned to the course of human generations. To meet this objection fully, it would be needful to anticipate the inquiry of the next chapter concerning the time and order of the resurrection. It is enough simply to remark that the doctrine on which the objection rests is nowhere affirmed in Scripture, but rather

the reverse. It is, indeed, everywhere announced to us that all the dead must be raised, and appear before the judgment-seat of Christ. It is also declared that immediately after the resurrection of those who sleep in Jesus, all the saints who are then alive will be changed suddenly and caught up to meet the Lord. But we are nowhere taught, in express terms, that all the dead, the righteous and the wicked, shall be raised at the same moment. Nay, we have a clear testimony that the reverse is true. "The rest of the dead lived not till the thousand years were finished." Once let these words be accepted in their natural meaning, and the whole objection disappears. All the saints who are alive at the first resurrection may be changed together, and enter into glory. And yet there may be others spared upon earth, and brought to repentance amidst terrible judgments, who shall abide unchanged when the wicked are raised at the last, and shall become, in the deep counsels of Divine wisdom, the forefathers of those nations who are to walk in the light of the new Jerusalem ; the patriarchs of the new earth where righteousness shall dwell for ever.

Such then appears to be the consenting testimony of the word of God. Even after the millennium, and the final act of judgment, the earth is not to be utterly abolished or destroyed. There are new heavens to succeed, and a new earth, the perpetual abode of righteousness. There happy and holy generations shall dwell, who shall walk in the light of the heavenly city, exempt from death, and perhaps translated in succession to a higher and celestial glory. The prospect may well dazzle and overwhelm us with its unutterable vastness. But surely it is a view which serves to magnify the riches of Divine power and grace; and nothing can be too vast for the wisdom of God to design, or for the love of God to bestow. "He that spared not His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" And when we catch the distant glimpse of this land of promise, how should

our hearts echo the words of the holy Apostle, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counsellor? Or who hath first given to Him; and recompense shall be made him again? For of Him and through Him, and to Him are all things, to whom be glory for ever. Amen."

CHAPTER XVII.

ON THE TIME OF THE SECOND ADVENT.

In the previous chapters it has been shewn, by clear and full evidence of Scripture, that there is a time, still future, of holy blessedness to the Church of God here below. Whether we confine this hope to the period of the millennium only, or extend it, which is the juster view, to the ages that will follow, in either case the general doctrine continues firm and unshaken. The lips of prophets and apostles, from the beginning, have assured us of its truth. They announce, with one consent, a time of restitution of all things, when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the seas."

An inquiry of deep interest still remains; and one which involves great and important lessons to the whole world. Is the coming of our Lord, that great hope of the Church, to introduce this time of blessedness, or only to follow, after an interval of at least a thousand years? On this important question the views of pious Christians differ widely at the present hour. And yet we shall find, I am persuaded, on examination, that the evidence of Scripture is clear, decisive, and full; and points, in every part alike, to the same conclusion.

There are two remarks, however, which appear necessary, to clear the way for this important inquiry. And first, it is a question totally distinct from all reasonings or conjectures as to the precise date of the Lord's advent. That day and that hour may remain, even to

the last, partially concealed; though doubtless increasing light will be given to the Church, in proportion as the end is drawing near. But the light may never, perhaps, be so full as to enable Christians to assign the year or the day, until the very eve of our Saviour's return. The inquiry relates simply to the place of the advent in the wide outline of God's dispensations. Are a thousand years, or are they not, certainly to intervene before the Son of Man is revealed from heaven? This is clearly a lawful subject for earnest inquiry. It seems the bounden duty of every Christian, since he is commanded to be waiting for his Lord, to search whether the Scriptures have anywhere revealed to us so long a period of delay. Till this great question is decided, we cannot interpret aright, and therefore cannot rightly obey, an oft-repeated commandment of the word of God.

Again, the form in which the question is often stated is the following. Will the Second Advent be pre-millennial or post-millennial? But since the millennium, as such, is mentioned in one passage only, it seems desirable to express the alternative in a more general form. Let us assume only, as an admitted truth, that, whether for a short or long period, there is a future time of blessedness here on earth, the subject of repeated promises in Holy Scripture. Is the Advent of our Lord to introduce this time of blessedness; or to follow long after it has begun? Such is the real nature of the alternative; and it remains for us to examine the evidence which the word of God, almost in every part, supplies for its decision.

I. First, let us consider the passage itself where the Millennium is expressly revealed, Rev. xix, xx. The future blessedness of the Church is there set before us with greater chronological distinctness than in any other place. And where, in the context of this vision, do we find the advent of our Lord introduced? The answer to the inquiry is very plain. A full and dis