and while the Beast reigns, the gospel will not have much success in overturning Satan's kingdom. A great deal may be done, and a great deal has been done these twenty years past, by missionary and bible societies, in laying a grand foundation for the spread of the gospel, when the time appointed will come. The translating, and disseminating the word of God over the heathen world, in the different languages of the earth, is undoubtedly a great thing, and every friend to Jesus ought to encourage, and aid the glorious cause. But all this is not the Millennium. But it is laying an excellent foundation for it. Yet notwithstanding all these exertions, while ever the church remains in the wilderness, and the witnesses are prophesying in sackcloth, and are not slain, and while ever the Pope occupies his throne, the gospel will not do much good, and the church must wait till God's appointed time. If, therefore, the church is to be in the wilderness, constantly fleeing before the Dragon, oppressed with affliction, and distress; and if the two witnesses are still to prophesy in sackcloth, and at last to be slain, and lie dead until the Millennium commences, how is it possible for the cause of Christ to triumph over the kingdom of Satan? It is in vain for us to feed, ourselves up with fancies, and build thrones on empty imaginations, contrary to the express word of God. The truth is, the Pope, according to prophecy, will reign, and Mahomet will reign, until the Millennium begins; the Pope, Mahomet, and Pagans, all belong to the kingdom of Satan. They are all three reigning now, and will reign until God's appointed time; and that will be, as we have said, until the end of twelve hundred and sixty years from the commencement of Popery. All which time the church must, according to the declaration of God's word, be in the wilderness flying from the face of the Serpent. Also her two witnesses must all this time be clad in sackcloth, and go in mourning, and at last be slain. and be dead for three years and a half, at the close of their testimony. This then is what we are to expect if the word of God be true, and we understand it rightly.

These things being so, in vain do we talk of the gospel spreading over the world, and gaining ground on the kingdom of Satan. The fact is, Paganism, the Beast, and the false prophet are reigning, have reigned all over

1

the world, (except a very small part indeed,) and will reign until the twelve hundred and sixty years will be ended. If, therefore, the gospel is to come to a close at the commencement of the Millennium, what time will it have to spread all over the earth? how will it bring in the Jews? how will it extend from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth? how will all the ends of the earth see the salvation of God? But it is said that God can do wonders; he can cause a nation to be born in a day, and all these great promises can be fulfilled in a very short time, even between this time and the beginning of the Millennium. But it is impossible for the gospel to spread all over the world in the circumstances in which the church is now and must continue to be till the Millennium will begin. If the gospel would spread over the world, and convert heathens, Jews and Mahometans, it would bring the woman out of the wilderness, and take the sackcloth off the witnesses, and prevent them from being slain; it would raise them before they would be dead, and it would destroy popery and Mahometanism before the twelve hundred and sixty years would be finished. In short, it would overturn the whole series of prophecy, and falsify the word of God. The church cannot be prosperous, and be in distress at the same time; the witnesses cannot overcome the kingdom of Satan, and go in sackcloth at the same time. The meaning of sackcloth is mourning, sorrow, and distress, and the meaning of fleeing into the wilderness from the face of the serpent, is to be hiding from danger, and to be in a disconsolate, forlorn condition. In this melancholy, mourning, and distressed state, the church, and the witnesses have been for upwards of twelve hundred years, and must yet die, and lie dead for three years and a half before she, or they, can arise to glory and triumph. Therefore it is perfectly idle to talk of the gospel spreading over the world, while the church continues in this distressed and forlorn condition. God will not grant such success to his word; nay, he cannot do it consistent with his truth, and accor ding to the plan which he has revealed in his word. The gospel must be concealed in the wilderness, and the min isters of Christ must preach in sackcloth until God's time to favour Zion shall come; and therefore the gospel never can be successful, in the circumstances in which the church is, and in which she will, and must be, accor

ding to prophecy, until the Millennium commences. 3. In the last place, we are to consider, what Christ has yet to do before his mediatorial glory can be complete. This question is easily answered. He must do, exactly and precisely, what he has promised to do. He must fulfil his covenant engagements with his Father; and that is, to lose nothing of all he has given him to save; (John vi. 39. and xviii. 9.) and not suffer Satan, nor any thing else, to pluck one of them out of his hand; (John x. 28, 29.) and he must fulfil his promises to his church; and that is, "To bruise Satan under her feet;" (Rom. xvi. 20. Gen. iii. 15.) to bless all the families of the earth; (Gen. xii. 3, and xxviii. 14.) to destroy the works of the devil; (1 John iii. 8.) and to draw all men unto him; (John xii. 32.) and also to fulfil his solemn oath to Moses. (Num. xiv. 21.) "But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord," "and all the ends of the earth must see his salvation." (Is. lii. 10.) This he has never done yet; but he has bound himself by his own eternal truth to do it in due time; and his mediatorial glory depends upon his fulfilling every tittle of what he has promised to do for the salvation of sinners.

The

I have now endeavoured honestly to examine and see what Christ has engaged and promised to do; and also, we have seen, what he has already done, and thirdly, what he has yet to do, in order to fulfil his word; and we find that he has only entered upon and is about completing the exordium, a mere introduction of his work, and the main work of salvation is yet to be performed. Satan has evidently been reigning in triumph from the beginning of the contest, and will reign by the permission of heaven till the commencement of the Millennium. church has waded through many seas of blood, and she has one more, and the deepest and broadest one to wade through yet, before she will find TERRA FIRMA to rest upon. Now, what shall we say? This unhappy theory says, "the race of mankind will cease, the gospel will terminate, and all opportunity of salvation will be over, at the commencement of the Millennium." If so, then we say it, we have demonstrated it, we have proved it, that Christ will forever lose his mediatorial glory; his plan, which he has stated to us, will be defeated; and Although Christ will have taken a little flock of prisoners

from the camp of Satan, yet Satan will have gained a complete victory, and will have held, his dominion over the world, and it will be forever true what St. John said, "The whole world lieth and will eternally lie in wickedness!" The writer of these remarks feels his heart rising with indignation and abhorrence, at the ghastly idea of Satan's kingdom, according to this blasphemous hypothesis, becoming victorious over the church of Christ. But my heart is perfectly relieved when I see all the evidences and proofs both from scripture and from facts combining to prove this sentiment false, and bearing all the scandal and reproach on itself, which it attempts to throw upon the cross, and upon the church of Christ.

SECTION VII,

Having endeavoured to remove those obstacles out of the way, we now proceed to show more particularly what the Millennium will be. We state, in the first place, that the great object of the Millennium is, completely to fulfil all the promises of God relative to the glorious extent and grandeur of the church, destroying the kingdom of Satan, and extending the blessings of salvation to all the inhabitants of the earth, for a thousand prophetical years; all Jews, Mahometans, Papists and pagans, who will remain after the dreadful catastrophe of papal Rome, and all the numerous generations of mankind will be saved with an everlasting salvation, to the infinite glory of the Redeemer, and the eternal honor of the gospel of Christ. In order that this may come to pass several important things must take place. All the children who will be born must be of the elect number; or, in other words, they will all be "such as shall be saved." The seed of the Serpent will be destroyed, and no more of that unhappy number will be born until the thousand years are ended. This at least will be true on general principles; we do not pretend to say that every individual will be saved; perhaps it may be so; but it will no doubt be generally so. Satan also must be effec

tually restrained, so that he will not be permitted to tempt, deceive, or in any way disturb the inhabitants of the earth, during this happy season. Moreover, the influences of the Spirit of God, must in a superabundant degree, and in a most powerful manner, accompany the gospel, and the saving effects of the word of Gord will in due time, be felt in every heart, convincing and converting sinners, and building up believers in the faith and comfort of the gospel. Thus Christ will come down and reign in his church, and in and over the world, in a spiritual sense, by his spiritual presence, to wit, by the influences of his holy spirit, and the dispensations of his grace and providence, to the great joy, peace, happiness, and consolation of his church and people. He will guard them, preserve them, direct them, and bless them; and he will emphatically be a blessing to all the nations and families of the earth.

2. The gospel will be preached, and the ordinances administered, and all the means of grace dispensed in the church, which Christ has appointed in his word; and these will then, as well as now, be the only means by which sinners will be saved. Children will not be born holy, more than they are now; sinners will need regeneration, faith, and sanctification, as much as ever they did, and constant grace to direct, assist, and keep them in the way of duty, and preserve them in the ways of religion. But there will be no deficiency, either as to means, or grace to accompany the means, to render them effectual to salvation; for the gospel, the bible, and all the ordinances of the house of God, will be spread all over the world. Is. ii. 1, 2. "And it shall come to pass in the last days," (to wit, the days of the Millennium) "that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow into it, 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 Jerusalem." Chap. lix. 21. "As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord, my Spirit that is upon thee, and my words, which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's