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OF THE ADVENT OF THE GLORIOUS DELIVERER, TO TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB II.

James Dodson

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DISCOURSE X.

ROM. xi. 26. As it is written, “There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.”

A writer on any subject, of some extent and variety, will find some parts of it less pleasant than others. It is so with this branch of our method. And why is it so? Because it is controversy. The signs of our times indicate the approach of that season, when “the Watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Sion.” Religious disputes, therefore, should not be unnecessarily agitated, at such a time as this. Indifference to Divine truth, the want of zeal for its defence and propagation, and apostacy from the belief and profession of it, must not be the causes of this ceasing from strife. But this should be done, lest it should prevent our united, cordial, and strenuous exertions, in the great work which the Head of the Church seems to have put into the hands of his people, in this generation, to perform. Notwithstanding of this, I have thought it necessary to express my views on this subject, for the two following reasons. Because this matter is contained in the words of inspiration which I am now considering; and because uncommon efforts are now made to misrepresent, as I think, the second advent of our glorious Redeemer. We now proceed to the

II. Head of our method. To state the scriptural account of Christ’s second personal advent, in order to prove that it will not take place at the beginning of the Millennium, but at the end of the world; and to examine some of the texts, by which those who hold the opposite opinion endeavour to support it.

1. Christ’s second coming is described Heb. ix. 27, 28. The Divine appointment concerning men is declared in verse 27, “As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” It is the unalterable purpose of the Eternal that men shall die. That sentence shall be executed on them, “For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return,” Gen. iii. 19. By the stroke of death, a separation between the soul and the body must be effected; when the dust shall return to the earth as it was, and the Spirit shall re-

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turn to God who gave it,” Eccles. xii. 7. It is added, “But after this the judgment.” At the day of death we must undergo our personal judgment; and at the last day we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ. This also is appointed for men. In verse 28, two things are mentioned concerning Christ, his death and his second coming, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” The Apostle contrasts, or compares with each other, the things which God has appointed unto men, and the things which he mentions relative to Christ. And as it is appointed unto men—so Christ was once offered. In the Apostle’s contrast, or comparison, of these solemn matters with each other, Christ’s death is connected with the death of men, and his second coming with their judgment. The former part of this contrast authorizes us to say, that as it is appointed unto men once to die, so Christ also died for his people that he might abolish death, and bring life and immortality to light by the Gospel; and that by death, he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil; and deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their life-time subject to bondage. In the latter branch of this comparison, Christ’s second coming is connected with the general judgment of all men. This connection assures us, that Christ’s second coming will be at the day of judgment, and for the grand purpose of conducting every part of this solemn work. Of this day we are informed by the Apostle, “Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead,” Acts xvii. 31. And again, “For as many as have sinned without law, shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my Gospel,” Rom. ii. 12, 16. This will be the day of Christ’s appearance, and this will be his work; and the beginning of the 1000 years cannot be the season of it. Christ’s coming is called his coming the second time. His first coming is mentioned in verse 26, “But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” His first appearance was at his incarnation and birth, when God was manifested in the flesh; his second appearance will be at the end of

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time to judge the quick and the dead. At the beginning of the Gospel dispensation he appeared, to give his life a ransom for many; and at the end of that dispensation he will come to close up the scene of time, to pass righteous sentences on the just and on the unjust, and to fix unalterably the everlasting state of men and angels. Than those two personal appearances of Christ in our world, no other is mentioned in the Scriptures, and no other can be expected by the Church.—At his second coming he will appear without sin. He will not then appear in a state of humiliation, having his people’s sin imputed unto him, that he might obey, suffer, and die for their salvation. This work, at his first appearance, he completely finished. Christ will come without sin in the persons of his people. Their souls having been glorified, their bodies, in the resurrection, having been fashioned like his own glorified body, and the living saints having been changed in soul and body, the whole redeemed company on his right hand shall be perfectly freed from sin.—He will also come unto salvation. At his second appearance he will bring all his saints to the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. All this blessedness he will bestow on them that look for him. All who have embraced him as their Saviour, who have devoted themselves to him and his service, who love his appearing, and who wait for the Son of God from heaven, shall be glorified, in soul and body, together with him. From the Apostle’s general account of Christ’s second coming, it is evident that the season of it must be the end of time, and not the beginning of the Millennium, because the Scriptures do not authorize us to expect such things as these at that happy season.

2. The second coming of Christ will be connected immediately with the resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust; and therefore the season of it must be the end of time. The words of our Redeemer, who knew his own glorious advent better than all angels or men, confirm this truth; “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats,” Matt. xxv. 31, 32. In the former verse, Christ unquestionably describes his coming in glory, even that advent of which the angels, at his public ascension, informed his disciples, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up

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into heaven? this same Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” In the latter verse, Christ tells us what shall instantly happen on his appearance: And before him shall be gathered all nations. All mankind who have been, are, or shall be in the world must then appear before his judgment-seat. This necessarily supposes their resurrection from the dead, without which they could not personally appear before his throne. The re-uniting of their souls and bodies in the resurrection, their appearance before the Judge, his separating the righteous from the wicked, and his placing the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left, clearly prove that the bodies both of the just and the unjust shall be raised on the same day, and demonstrate the error of that opinion which maintains the resurrection of the saints to be at the beginning of the Millennium, and that of the wicked at the end of time. His personal advent at the commencement of the 1000 years is also inconsistent with Christ’s own account of his second coming. These truths are confirmed, and those errors are refuted, by Christ’s declaration, John v. 28, 29, “Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice; And shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.” In verse 27, Christ said to the Jews, that the “Father hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man,” and in these verses he exhorts them to beware of being despisers, lest they should wonder and perish, saying, “Marvel not at this.” He plainly stated to them the glorious works he would perform at his second coming, of which he testified to them, when he afterwards stood before their tribunal. “Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of God, and coming in the clouds of heaven,” Mat. xxvi. 64. At his second advent, he shall utter his voice as the sound of a great trumpet, and immediately all who are in the graves shall come forth; not those only who shall enjoy the resurrection of life, but those also who shall be raised to the resurrection of condemnation. This resurrection both of the righteous and the wicked shall be effected at the same time; for the Saviour says, the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth. Is this consistent with a twofold literal resurrection, placed at the distance, from one another, of more than a thousand

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years? Our Saviour’s words clearly prove that all mankind, whether righteous or wicked, shall be quickened by the same energy, awakened by the same voice, and raised at the same hour. John’s vision of the last judgment is perfectly consistent with our Saviour’s account of the transactions of that solemn day. It is contained Rev. xx. 11—15. As soon as the Apostle saw the great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, he saw the dead small and great stand before God, stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, to give an account of themselves unto God. He saw the different receptacles of the dead surrendering their inhabitants to the judgment. He saw every one of them judged out of the opened books according to their works. He saw the misery of the wicked, verses 14, 15. He saw the blessedness of the righteous, chap. xxi. 10—27. And he saw the execution of the Divine decrees in all this; “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire; And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth—but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Daniel’s words, chap. xii. 2, 3, establish the same truths, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt, And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” That Daniel is speaking of the general resurrection at the last day, is evident from the duration of the happiness of the righteous, and of the misery of the wicked after the resurrection; the former shall be raised that they may enjoy everlasting life, and the latter that they may endure shame and everlasting contempt. Because the blessedness mentioned in verse 3d must be understood to signify the happiness of the saints in the heavenly glory, this must be the resurrection of which Daniel speaks. The happiness of the Millennial Church, either in her members or ministers, will continue only 1000 years; but the shining of the wise, as the brightness of the firmament, and the shining of them who turn many to righteousness, as the stars, will continue for ever and ever. It is therefore impossible that Daniel, in these verses, is speaking of the Millennial Church.

A late writer says, “Many of them that sleep,” certainly cannot mean all that sleep. Will he interpret Paul’s words in the same manner; “By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners?”

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Rom. v. 19. In this way he would make him contradict what he says, verse 12, “As by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” The same writer adds, “But we gather from this passage in Daniel, that not only the dead in Christ rise at this time, the beginning of the 1000 years, but some others are thus early called to receive their everlasting doom. And who can these so likely be as the persecutors and destroyers of the Church.” This gloss can serve no other purpose, but to make Daniel and John oppose one another, and the Holy Spirit of inspiration and prophecy to contradict himself. John, speaking undoubtedly of this very time, says, as he was moved by the Holy Ghost, “But the rest of the dead lived not again till the 1000 years were finished,” Rev. xx. 5. But this application of the words of Daniel, who also was inspired by the Holy Ghost, says nay to John; for this passage tells us, that some of the wicked will rise along with the martyrs and saints at the commencement of the Millennium. This contradiction, bordering on blasphemy, in which all who apply Daniel’s words to a literal resurrection at the beginning of the 1000 years, must necessarily be involved, furnishes us with a powerful proof that the application we have now made of them is correct. And this, with the other proofs which we have produced, clearly demonstrate that there will be no personal advent of Christ, and no literal resurrection of men, till the end of time.

3. The instantaneous change of the saints, who shall be living on the earth at the end of time, is another event which shall come to pass, when Christ shall appear the second time, without sin unto salvation. “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, (for the trumpet shall sound,) and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed,” 1 Cor. xv. 51, 52. These words contain the name which Paul gives to that doctrine which he was commissioned to declare unto them; he calls it a mystery. It is indeed a great mystery,—a mystery of the Divine will; and such a mystery of God’s power, love, and grace, to his redeemed people, as will excite them to wonder, adoration, and praise.—The mystery itself, “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” Death is not appointed to all men, or to every man; for all those of our race, who shall be found living on the

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earth at the sounding of the last trump, shall undergo a change which shall be equivalent to death.—The suddenness of this Divine operation is also set before us. It shall be done in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.—A mark of the season when this shall take place: “At the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound.” The last trump surely cannot be sounded more than a thousand years before the end of time; and yet it shall necessarily accompany Christ’s second advent.—The transactions that shall happen at this blessed season are also stated: “The dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” Their glorified souls, descending from heaven, shall be re-united to their glorified bodies in the resurrection, ascending from the grave. “And we shall be changed.” The souls and bodies of the saints, who shall be on the earth, shall undergo such a change, as will completely assimilate them to the glorified souls and bodies of the resurrection saints. The same subject is discussed, 1 Thess. iv. 15, 16, 17. “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, That 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. Then we which are alive, and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; so shall we ever be with the Lord.” In these words, the following things are found:—The authority on which this revelation is given to the Church; he said these things by the word of the Lord, by the inspiration of the Lord the Spirit.—The time when the things which he mentions should be accomplished; the coming of the Lord. That very day which God hath appointed to judge the world by Jesus Christ.—The division of the saints into two classes, according to their situation at their Lord’s coming; those who are alive on the earth, and those whose bodies are sleeping in their graves.—The descent of the Lord himself from heaven to the earth, with the glorious solemnity of it. He shall come with a triumphant shout, with the voice of the archangel, proclaiming his coming, and warning men, and with the sounding of the trump of God, the last trumpet that shall be sounded on the earth.—The order in which the next transaction shall come to pass, is also mentioned. The resurrection of the dead in Christ is the first, the change of the living is the next, their

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being mingled together in one company shall immediately follow, and then both shall, by Divine power and goodness, be caught up into the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, where they shall, during the solemnities of the judgment, remain on his right hand. Immediately after these are over, they shall be ever with the Lord. When the saints are on earth, their Lord is with them; but it is only when they enter the heavenly mansions, that they are with the Lord. Then, indeed, they are with him in the place where he is. The entry of the whole redeemed company, along with Christ, into the regions of eternal purity, glory, and blessedness, is one of the immediate consequences of Christ’s second advent; and, therefore, he will make no such personal appearance on our earth, more than a thousand years before the end of time. Since the wicked shall be raised at the same time, as we have already seen, they shall appear with frightful marks of Divine wrath, both in soul and body, corresponding to their resurrection to damnation, to shame, and to everlasting contempt. Those of them who are existing on the earth at Christ’s second advent, shall undergo a most degrading change, which shall conform them to their wretched brethren of the resurrection. Mingled together, they shall be placed on the left hand of the Judge, hear their sentence, and depart to the place of everlasting perdition. These transactions belong not to the beginning of the 1000 years; and therefore Christ will not, at that time, come in his glory, to sit on the throne of his glory. It is not of the Church’s millennial glory that the Apostle speaks, in these two remarkable parts of his inspired writings; but of the solemn procedure in the last judgment, with its marvellous concomitants and effects; and, therefore, Christ will not come the second time, till the 1000 years are finished, nor till the dismal period, which is called a little season, has also passed away.

4. The final judgment of all mankind will instantly take place, on Christ’s second advent. This truth is demonstrated by Christ’s own account of his work, on that solemn day, Mat. xxv. 31—46. His second coming is most clearly stated, verse 31, “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, he shall sit on the throne of his glory.” All the transactions mentioned by our Lord to the end of the chapter, as following on his appearance, relate to the general judgment, and to nothing else. The appearance of all nations before the glorious Judge, sitting on

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the throne of his glory, the separation of the righteous from the wicked, and the places which he will assign to the separated companies, the former on his right hand, and the latter on his left, all preparatory to the work of judgment, are mentioned, verses 32, 33. The sentence which the King will pronounce on those who are on his right hand, is recorded in verse 34. “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” In the two following verses, the evidences of their right to this sentence are declared. By his word, and Spirit, and grace working in them, they have been enabled so to exercise themselves unto godliness in the performance of duty, as to evidence that they are united to his person, brought within the bond of his covenant, clothed upon with his righteousness, and entitled to eternal life in glory through his mediation. We are informed of the sentence of those on his left hand, in verse 41. “Then shall he say also to them on his left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” The reasons of this sentence are given, verses 42, 43. By their unholy conversation in the world, they had manifested that Christ’s word did not abide in them, that his Spirit did not dwell in them, that they were strangers to his justifying righteousness and sanctifying grace, that they were still in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity, and that they were none of his. Of the immediate and everlasting execution of these righteous sentences, the last verse of the chapter gives an account. “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.” In the parable of the tares of the field, our Saviour gives us another representation of the general judgment. The report of this parable is contained, Mat. xiii. 24—30. An explanation of it is given, verses 37—43. The time of this judgment is represented as the harvest, which is explained to be the end of the world. The righteous and the wicked are symbolized by the wheat and the tares, the children of the kingdom and the children of the wicked one. The field in which they grow is the world. The reapers are the angels. The great Judge is the Son of man, who, at that time, shall come in his glory. The grand and eternal results of the judgment are expressed by the Judge in the following words: “As, therefore, the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of the

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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,” verses 40, 41, 42. As the Lord Jesus joins these words in the parable, with respect to the tares, with his account of the everlasting misery of the wicked; so we may connect the parabolic words with his account of the eternal felicity of the saints. “As, therefore, the wheat shall be gathered into my barn, so shall it be in the end of the world. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” The same truths concerning the final judgment, our Saviour reveals to the Church in the parable of the net that was cast into the sea, in the parable of the ten virgins, in the parable of the talents, and in the parable of the pounds. With the grand design of these parables of our Lord, the doctrine of his Harbinger entirely coincides. “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into his garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire,” Mat. iii. 12. Some writers who plead for the second advent at the Millennium’s commencement, maintain that Christ, in these parables, speaks not of the general judgment, but of the judgment of that generation of saints and sinners that may be on the earth, when Christ shall appear at the beginning of the thousand years. Oh, when will men, even great and valuable men, cease to pervert the plainest dictates of Scripture, in supporting a darling hypothesis! How can the end of the world signify the beginning of the Millennium, when we are assured that more than a thousand years of time must elapse after that era? What can be a more general collection of men, than the assembling of all the wheat and the tares, even all the children of the kingdom and the children of the wicked one, who have grown up in the field of the world, from its creation till its end, at the harvest of the general judgment? Must the operations of Christ, in sowing his good seed in this field, and the working of Satan in sowing tares, be confined to the men of that generation who may be in the world at the fall of Antichrist, and at the beginning of the Church’s prosperity and glory on the earth? This supposition is certainly absurd, because it is contrary to the scope of all those parables. What can be a more decisive and general result of the “eternal judgment,” than the wicked being cast into

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a furnace of unquenchable fire, and going away into everlasting punishment; and the righteous shining as the sun in the kingdom of their Father, receiving their everlasting reward, and going away from the place of judgment, not remaining on the earth with Christ, but going away with him on their head into life eternal? But say they, In the parables, Christ does not speak of the resurrection. The resurrection is supposed, and included, in every one of them. It is evident that those parables refer to that very hour, in the which all who are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth, some to the resurrection of life, and some to the resurrection of damnation. Besides, every inspired account of the general judgment does not detail all the transactions of that most solemn day. What is left out in one account of it, is given in another; while, from the general things stated in them all, we are infallibly assured that they all describe the events of the same judgment, and are speaking on the same subject. The Apostle says, Eph. i. 7. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Will any man say, he is not speaking on the same subject, Col. i. 14. when he says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins,” because he does not add, “according to the riches of his grace?” If Christ, in those parables, speaks not of the resurrection, and if they refer to the beginning of the thousand years, as they assert: what becomes of their resurrection of martyrs and saints at that season, according to their explanation of Rev. xx. 1—6? The Scriptures give no account of a twofold resurrection of men, nor a twofold judgment of them, at different periods of time; but it clearly reveals a general resurrection and judgment of all men at the end of the world, and these wonderful events cannot take place at the beginning of the thousand years.

5. Christ’s second advent will be followed immediately with the acquittal, the glorification, and the everlasting felicity of all his saints. Of their sentence, the glorious Judge himself, acting in the character of the great Prophet of the Church, gives us a most particular account. To them he will say, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” This kingdom, after the judgment, they will not enjoy on earth; for it is laid up for them in heaven. On the possession of this heavenly kingdom they will immediately enter; for

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the Lord Jesus has said, “The righteous shall go away into life eternal.” They shall not stay here, but they shall go away. When the solemn work of the judgment is finished, they shall enter into the heavenly and everlasting rest that remaineth for the people of God. It is impossible, therefore, that this judgment can happen at the beginning of the thousand years. The second coming of Christ, and the glorification of his people, are always connected. What will be the immediate consequence of the appearing of Christ, who is the believer’s life? “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory,” Col. iii. 4. When shall the faithful ministers of Jesus receive their gracious reward? “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away,” 1 Pet. v. 4. What will be the blessedness of all God’s children at Christ’s second coming? “Beloved, now are ye the sons of God; and it does not yet appear 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,” 1 John iii. 2. Perfect vision of Jesus in the heavenly glory above, producing in us perfect conformity to him in purity and blessedness, will be the privilege of all the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty at Christ’s second coming. What does Jesus promise to all his followers at his second advent? “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also,” John xiv. 2, 3. Christ’s Father’s house, which he mentions in these words, must signify the state and place of glory, in the third and highest heavens. In his ascension, he entered into this most holy place not made with hands, and sat on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. One end of his going thither was to prepare mansions in that house for every one who has believed in God, and believed also in him. By his mediatorial administrations in glory, he prepares the objects of his love, and of his Father’s love, for those mansions, and the mansions themselves for them. He also makes a gracious promise to his people: “And if I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again.” I, who have come already in my incarnation to purchase salvation for you, will come again the second time, with power and great glory, to perfect your salvation. He tells them also

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what he will do for them at his coming: “I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” One special end of his second advent will be, to conduct the whole redeemed company into the celestial mansions, and to give them an everlasting habitation with himself in the place where he now is. In these promises which Christ has made to his people, there is not one word concerning mansions on earth, or a place prepared for them in this world, where they shall reign with him a thousand years. We therefore must conclude, that Christ’s second advent will be at the end of time, when all human labours which are now necessary shall cease for ever, and that nothing is revealed to us concerning men, during his stay on earth, or during the judgment, but that the righteous shall stand on his right hand, and the wicked on his left, that both shall receive their sentence, and that the wicked shall depart to their infernal abode, and the righteous shall go away to their celestial habitations.

6. The Scriptures represent the condemnation and everlasting punishment of the wicked, as intimately connected with Christ’s second advent. When he comes in his glory, and sits on the throne of his glory, this shall be their sentence, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” This sentence shall be instantly executed on all the wicked; for Christ has said, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment.” At his second coming, therefore, all the wicked, from the beginning to the end of the world, shall be tried, condemned, and punished. That this will be a part of his work, on that solemn day, is also evident from 2 Thess. i. 7—10, “And to you who are troubled rest with us, 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 that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe.” Paul’s description of the second advent agrees with Christ’s own account of it. He shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, to take vengeance on them who know not God, or who have sinned without law; and on them who have not obeyed the Gospel, or who have sinned in the law, that both may be punished with everlasting destruction; and to be glo-

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rified in his saints, or to confer glory on them. In none of the accounts of Christ’s second coming is it declared, that it is his design to reign personally with his Church on earth for a thousand years. We are certainly warranted, for this reason, to reject it as a vain imagination of men. The second coming of Christ is always connected with the final destruction of the wicked, as well as it is with the glorification of the saints. When is that perdition to overtake the ungodly? It is at the day of judgment: “The day of judgment, and the perdition of ungodly men,” 2 Peter iii. 7. When shall the five foolish virgins, who represent sinners and hypocrites, be refused admission into the heavenly marriage-feast? It shall be when the cry is heard at midnight, or the last trumpet sounded, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; Go ye out to meet him,” Mat. xxv. 6. When shall the unprofitable servant be taken out and cast into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth? This shall be done when, “after a long time, the Lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them,” Mat. xxv. 19. When shall Christ’s enemies, who would not that he should reign over them, be brought forth and slain before him? This shall take place when our adorable Nobleman, who went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return, shall have returned, and called his servants before him, to give an account of the use they had made of his money, and of their obedience to his command, “Occupy till I come,” Luke xix. 12—27. In this parable, there are several circumstances which deserve our attention. This nobleman, after he had settled his affairs, and commanded his servants, went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. Christ Jesus our Lord, having finished his work which the Father gave him to do on the earth, went into the far country, by his ascension into heaven, to receive for himself a kingdom at his Father’s right hand, and promised to return to reward his faithful servants, and to punish his enemies. As this nobleman, having received the kingdom in the far country, returned, and judged his servants and citizens; so our King, having received the kingdom, shall return to judge the quick and the dead. Christ’s kingdom consists in his Gospel Church, wherever he is pleased to establish it; in his blessed administrations of grace among men; and in his mediatorial power over all persons and things in heaven and on earth. He received this kingdom when he ascended up on high. He does not

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receive this kingdom at his second advent. This is in opposition to Christ’s own account of it. The kingdom which Christ received began, in a most conspicuous manner, on the day of Pentecost; it will terminate, as it exists in this world, at his second coming. The Millennial state of his kingdom will be the most glorious period of his reign here below; but it is not the kingdom exclusively. It is not at the beginning of his kingdom, nor will it continue to its end. Christ’s kingdom will have existed in the world for more than 1800 years before its Millennial state will commence; and his kingdom shall continue in the earth “a little season,” after the thousand years of her Millennial blessedness are finished. Christ’s second coming cannot take place at the beginning of the Millennium, because he comes not to receive the kingdom, but to wind up its affairs on earth, by judging the world in righteousness, and this cannot be done till all human labours are ended, and every period of the Church in time, and time itself, are finished. In the time of the judgment, concerning the duration of which we can say nothing, the righteous on Christ’s right hand will be blessed with felicity and joy, and the wicked on his left hand will be cursed with misery and horror; but this period is altogether different from the thousand years, because the little season of apostacy, of Satan’s loosing, and of human crime, must intervene betwixt them.

7. The universal conflagration shall accompany Christ’s second coming. In the third chapter of his second Epistle, the Apostle Peter gives a full account of this most solemn and tremendous event. In the third and fourth verses, he predicts the prevalence of scoffers in the last days, probably during the little season which will certainly contain the last days, “walking after their own lusts, and 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.” As the saints who may live in those last days will be assured, from the accomplishment of Scripture predictions, that Christ’s second coming is drawing near; so they will be enabled to believe it firmly, and openly to express their hope of his speedy appearance. This faithful testimony will provoke the ungodly scoffers of that age to say, where is the accomplishment of the promise of his coming? where are the signs of it? For, in our own day, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, are still continued. The time when his coming

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shall be realized is called, in verse seventh, the day of judgment, and the final and everlasting perdition of all ungodly men who have lived on the earth, from the beginning to the end of time. The day which God hath appointed to judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ, and the day when he shall judge the quick and the dead. The world, and the quick and the dead, prove that the objects of the judgment are all the human race. The time of his coming is also mentioned in verse 10, “But the day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night.” It is likewise stated, in verse 12th, “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God.” This religious exercise, and the object of it, are also contained in Titus ii. 13, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” What shall happen to the heavens and the earth, at that awful day, is particularly declared in this part of Holy Scripture: “The heavens and the earth are reserved unto fire against the day of judgment,” verse 7. In this day of the Lord, “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 burnt up,” verse 10. In this day of God, “the heavens being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,” verse 12. These words describe inconceivably important and solemn transactions—transactions which are admirably adapted to the day of judgment, but utterly inconsistent with the beginning of the Millennium; and yet they will be the immediate consequence of Christ’s second advent. The conclusion is obvious; Christ will not come the second time at that era, but at the end of time. The Apostle adds, verse 13, “Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” If the new heavens and the new earth signify the blessed state of the Church on earth during the thousand years of her prosperity, the meaning of the Apostle’s words must be as follows: Although the heavens and the earth shall be burnt with fire and dissolved, believers have good reasons for expecting a happy condition of the Church on earth, for a thousand years, before these solemn scenes shall be acted. And if the new heavens and the new earth represent the renovated state of God’s works of creation, after the day of judgment; the Apostle’s meaning will be this: Although the heavens and the earth shall be dissolved by fire, they shall be puri-

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fied from all the effects of sin, restored to their original glory, and preserved as an everlasting monument of the power, holiness, wisdom, and goodness of their adorable Creator. Whatever way these words are interpreted, they give no countenance to an idea of Christ’s personal appearance at the beginning of the Millennium. The dissolution of all things will be realized at the general resurrection, and at Christ’s second coming to the general judgment. The first part of this assertion is proved from Job xiv. 12, “So man lieth down, and riseth not; till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.” These words refer to all mankind. Not one class of men, but all men; every man who shall sleep in the dust of the earth. The dissolution of all things is also mentioned; “till the heavens be no more.” It is also affirmed, that there shall be no resurrection of man till the period arrive, at which all things shall be dissolved, and the heavens and the earth, as to their present state, shall perish, wax old as a garment, and be changed as a vesture. These two Divine operations belong to the same era, and shall be realized at the same time. This inspired revelation totally overthrows the vain imagination of a literal resurrection before the end of time. The last part of our assertion is confirmed from Rev. xx. 11, “I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away; and there was found no place for them.” What John saw in vision, Job knew by the inspiration of the Almighty. Job saw the dissolution of all things connected with the general resurrection, and John saw it as an immediate effect of Christ’s second advent, according to his Father’s appointment, to judge the dead small and great, who shall all stand before him. These three things, Christ’s second coming, the resurrection of all men, and the dissolution and change of the heavens and the earth, shall be accomplished at the same period, which cannot be the beginning of the Millennium, but shall be at the end of time.

8. The time of Christ’s second coming is called the last day. Paul informed the Athenians, that God had appointed a day in which he would judge the world in righteousness. This day must certainly be the last day. This name our Saviour himself gives to it no less than four times, in the vi. chapter of John, 39, 40, 45, 54 verses. In the first of them, he says, “But should raise it up at the last day.” In the other three, his words are, “And I will raise him

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up at the last day.” The persons whom Jesus will raise up are also described by himself. They are those whom the Father hath given him, verse 39. They are the persons who have seen the Son, and believed in him, verse 40. They are persons whom the Father hath drawn to Christ, and who have come to him, verse 44. And they are those very persons who eat his flesh and drink his blood, by exercising faith on his incarnation, obedience, sufferings, and death, and have eternal life. In these verses, the Lord Jesus, who is the Resurrection and the Life, makes great and precious promises to his redeemed people; and the blessing which he has promised to them is a glorious resurrection. In every one of these verses, he also informs them of the time when he will perform his promise to them. He will bestow this blessing upon them, “at the last day.” This day is none other than the day of judgment, when he will judge the wicked as well as the righteous, for he gives to it that name; “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,” John xii. 48. The last day is also the season of the general resurrection of the dead. When Jesus said unto Martha, “Thy brother shall rise again,” she replied, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day,” John xi. 23, 24. This day must signify the last day of time. If another day succeed it, it cannot be the last day. This last day cannot be the first day of the Millennium, nor any one day belonging to the thousand years. It ought to be remembered, that they are the martyrs and saints, whose resurrection is pleaded for at the beginning of the Millennium. Now, the Saviour, in the verses we have now quoted, speaks of the resurrection of all his saints whether they have been martyrs or not, and plainly declares that the time of their resurrection shall be the last day. But these men affirm, that Christ shall raise them up at the beginning of the Millennium. Whether should we believe the testimony of the faithful Witness, who knows all things, or give heed to the fables of fallible and imperfect men? Since Christ has fixed the time of the resurrection of his saints for the last day, it must be a very great mistake to imagine that any of them shall be raised at a time which must arrive more than a thousand years before the last day shall come. We may then conclude, that there will be no literal resurrection of the saints’ bodies, till the last day of time, when they who sleep in Jesus, God will bring with

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him; and when the Saviour shall come from heaven, for whom all true believers look, and “change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his own glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself.”

9. Christ’s second advent will bring to an end all Gospel administrations on the earth. The present system of ordinances in the Church below—ordinances which have been so eminently blessed for converting sinners and edifying believers, will cease for ever, when Christ shall come with great power and glory. In the Apostle’s account of the solemn ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, this truth is revealed to the Church, “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come,” 1 Cor. xi. 26. This ordinance, and all other christian institutions, will be dispensed by Christ’s servants, and received by his people in the Church on earth, till Christ’s second coming. After his glorious appearance, there will be no more need for ordinances, nor even for the Divine word itself; because the saints will no more see through a glass darkly, but then face to face; they shall no more know in part, but they shall know, even as also they are known. The time when this change shall be effected is also stated, it will be at his coming; “till I come.” When these words shall be accomplished, “Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him; and they also who have pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen,” Rev. i. 8. Christ’s second advent, which is mentioned by both these Apostles, must take place at the end of the world, and at the general resurrection of all men. How is it possible, that every eye shall see him, and even those who crucified him, if he will come more than a thousand years before the general resurrection? Now, this is a character of the time, in which the glorious Redeemer will appear to perfect the salvation of his Church, when all the Gospel ordinances shall be superseded for ever. Will this system of Gospel ordinances be abrogated at the beginning of the Millennium? Will the Church, in her most perfect and extensive state on the earth, be deprived of the word and ordinances of Christ? The reverse will be her privilege; for the ordinances will then be dispensed with greater purity, will be accompanied with greater power, and will produce more glorious effects, than at any former time. The same truth is also proved by the Apostle’s words, 1 Cor. xv. 23, 24, “But every man in his own order; Christ the

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first-fruits; afterwards they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power.” In this chapter, the Divine Spirit, by the ministry of Paul, reveals many glorious things concerning the resurrection of the just. He first proves the truth of it, then describes its nature, and afterwards mentions its effects. He had said, in verse 20, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept.” In verse 23, he states the order of the resurrection, “Christ the first-fruits, afterward they that are Christ’s.” In the resurrection of his body on the third day after his death, Christ became the first-fruits of his people, by exemplifying and securing their glorious resurrection. The whole period of the Gospel dispensation must intervene betwixt the coming in of the first-fruits, in his resurrection, and the season appointed of God for reaping the full harvest, in the resurrection of those whom he hath redeemed. The season of their resurrection is declared to be “at his coming,” at the time of his second advent. By mentioning the things which will accompany Christ’s second coming, the Apostle demonstrates, in the most satisfactory manner, when it shall be realized, “Then cometh the end.” What end? Not “the time of the end,” mentioned in Daniel xii. 9. nor the “end” mentioned by Christ, Mat. xxiv. 6; but the end of all things, the end of time, and the last day. Christ, and the man greatly beloved, are speaking on a subject which is perfectly different from that which the Apostle was considering. Daniel speaks of the destruction of the fourth beast, the antichristian kingdom, both secular and ecclesiastic; and Christ spake of Jerusalem’s destruction, which happened a few years after his ascension to glory; but Paul is professedly treating on the general resurrection of the dead at Christ’s second coming. It is therefore most unfair to apply the words of Paul to the subject which is treated by our Lord and his servant Daniel. But this truth will appear with more evidence, from a view of the other two characters of the time of Christ’s second advent, and of his people’s resurrection. The Apostle assures us that they shall happen, “When he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power.” These are transactions which are peculiar to the end of time, when he shall have judged the righteous and the wicked—

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sent the goats away to everlasting punishment, and conducted the righteous unto life eternal. Shall the end of all things here below come at the beginning of the Millennium? Will Christ give up with all his mediatorial administrations in his Church here at that time? Will he surrender into the hands of his Father all his official authority at the commencement of that happy season? Will Christ exercise no more care over his Church, as her King and Head, in her most glorious condition on the earth? Will there be no more rule, nor authority, nor power, either in the Church, or in the world, during the thousand years of her peace and prosperity? If we are constrained to answer all these questions in the negative, we must conclude, and believe assuredly, that the Millennium’s commencement is not the season of his second advent, for all those things must immediately be accomplished “at his coming.”

10. Christ’s personal appearance on earth at the rise of the Millennium, and his personal reign here below throughout that happy time, subvert the established order of the Gospel economy. Our Divine Lord describes that order, in John xvi. 7—15. He begins this description, by stating to his disciples the necessity of his departure from them, in his bodily presence, in order to the introduction of that economy, and that Divine Person, by whose operation and influence, the whole Gospel administrations would be conducted and rendered effectual. “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you,” verse 7. In the remaining verses he describes the Spirit’s work. He will reprove, or convince, the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, verses 8—11. “He who is the Spirit of truth would guide them into all truth,” verse 13. He should also glorify Christ, “for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you,” verses 14, 15. The same blessed economy is stated by the Apostle Paul, 1 Cor. xii. 7—13. He begins with a general statement, that “the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal,” verse 7. In the three following verses, the Spirit’s gifts to Church-members are mentioned. Some of them are ordinary, and some of them extraordinary. In verse 11, the glorious Agent is mentioned, his work, and the rule of his operations. “But all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man, severally, as he will,” according to his sovereign pleasure. The Apostle declares,

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in verse 13, his special operations on those who are saved. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into the same Spirit.” The Father works on his people through the Mediator, and Christ works on them by the Spirit, who applies the Divine word, ordinances, and providences to them, for their salvation. This economy will continue for ever, or to the end of time. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever,” John xiv. 16. The bodily absence of Christ from the Church, and the Spirit’s peculiar presence in her, belong to the Gospel state of the Church. Till he come, this economy will be continued; but at his coming it shall terminate. When Jesus had shown the disciples his authority, and had appointed them their work, he left them with that gracious promise, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world, Amen,” Mat. xxviii. 20. This promise does not refer to his personal presence; but to his gracious presence in the Church, and with the souls of his people. The constancy and duration of this blessing are stated in the words: He has promised to be with them “always,” at all times, and in every situation. His presence will also continue till “the end of the world.” The Church shall enjoy his gracious presence, but shall not obtain his personal presence till the end of the world, till the last trumpet sound. In no other way will the Church, in the time of her grandeur on earth, enjoy Christ’s presence, but as it has been enjoyed by the saints in every generation since the promise was made; for he is to be with them in his gracious presence only “unto the end of the world.” There will be a vast increase in the degree, the extent, and the effects which his gracious presence will produce in the Church at that season; but in its nature and mode of manifestation, it will be invariably the same. Nor must we imagine, that the Divine Comforter is insufficient for the introduction, establishment, and preservation, even of the Millennial Church. The infinite strength, the absolute perfection, and the inconceivable variety of his influences, are represented by his peculiar names. “The seven Spirits which are before his throne,” from whom, in immediate personal agency, “grace and peace come to the Church.” “The seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” He is also “the seven eyes of the Lamb, which are the seven Spirits of God sent

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forth into all the earth.” His blessed influences are promised, as the grand efficient cause for rearing up the stately fabric of the Millennial Church, as well as for planting Christianity in the world. “And it shall come to pass afterwards, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants, and upon the handmaids, in those days, will I pour out my Spirit,” Joel ii. 28, 29. What are those blessed effects which the Eternal Spirit cannot produce on the souls of men? What are those changes which he cannot accomplish on the nations? Who are those enemies whom the Lord the Spirit cannot conquer? What are those thrones of iniquity that he cannot overturn? What are those systems of wickedness that he cannot destroy? What are those obstacles that he cannot surmount? What are those blessings which he cannot confer? And where are those persons or places to which the omnipotent and omnipresent influences of the Holy Ghost cannot be extended?

11. In our text, the Deliverer is said to come out of Sion. It is not said that he will come from heaven. If Paul had contemplated a personal advent, as he well knew where Jesus was, he would certainly have said, that the Deliverer shall come from heaven. But instead of this, the Apostle declares, “There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” The erection of the Millennial Church in the world, both among Jews and Gentiles, is the work assigned to Christ at his coming. By the light of his word, the efficacy of his grace, and the operations of his providence, under the immediate and personal agency of the Holy Ghost, the Deliverer will remove Jewish blindness, bring in the fullness of the Gentiles, work out the salvation of all Israel, turn away ungodliness from Jacob, and administer God’s covenant to the Jews, for taking away their sins. In the performance of all this blessed work, he will come out of Sion; but will not personally descend from heaven. By the powerful and abundant ministrations of his grace, accompanied with the Spirit’s influence, he will shine out of Gospel Sion, the perfection of beauty. Sion was the chosen spot where God’s public worship was celebrated. In that place, the symbols of the Divine presence were fixed, and to that place the tribes went up, the tribes of the Lord, to the testimony of Israel. In the court of the Priests, the altar of burnt-offerings stood, and in

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the sanctuary were found the golden candlestick, the table of shew-bread, and the altar of incense. The Holiest of all had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein were the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant. And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy-seat. All these things were figures for the time then present; but Christ has now appeared, a great High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands. The shadows vanished away when the grand spiritual substance appeared. This is our Gospel Sion, out of which shall come the rod of the Deliverer’s strength, making his people, in every age, obedient to his royal sceptre. This is that spiritual Sion and Jerusalem, from which the law and the word of the Lord shall go forth, for establishing the house of the Lord on the top of the mountains, for exalting it above the hills, and for causing all nations to flow into it. When the Deliverer shall come out of Sion, he will employ the human instruments that he hath raised up in his Church; he will make use of his word, and all his ordinances which he has appointed in it, and he will pour out his Spirit, and convey his grace to men by those means, until the knowledge of the glory of the Lord shall fill the earth, as the waters cover the sea. All this shall be done without any personal advent, concerning which the Apostle neither received from the Lord, nor communicated to the Church, any information.

12. From the last five visions that John saw, the impropriety of that opinion concerning Christ’s personal coming to the world at the beginning of the Millennium, and reign on the earth for a thousand years, may be demonstrated. This may be proved from the order of those visions, and from the nature of one of them.—It is evident from their arrangement. In the latter part of chap. xix. the last vision that John saw, concerning the destruction of the beast and the false prophet, and concerning Christ’s glorious appearance to accomplish it, is recorded. In the six verses at the beginning of chap. xx, he narrates his vision of the Millennium. From the 7th to the 10th verse, he tells us his vision of the little season. In the last five verses which conclude the chapter, he unfolds his vision of the last judgment, and of the perdition of ungodly men. And in chapter xxi. 10—27, and chapter xxii. 1—5, he relates at large his vision of the heavenly glory and blessedness of the saints: For of them in

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that state, it is said, “And they shall reign for ever and ever.” Christ’s glorious and personal appearance is fixed for the beginning of the fourth of those visions, that of the judgment of the great day. There is not one word of Christ’s personal advent, either in the vision of the Millennium, or in that of the little season. We may therefore conclude, that he will not be personally reigning on the earth, in either of those periods. His appearance which is mentioned chap. xix. 11—16, cannot refer to a personal advent. In some important circumstances, it is the very same with the vision, chap. i. which John had of Christ, when he sent by his hand the seven Epistles to the churches in Asia. In this vision, John saw a symbolical representation of Christ coming in the tremendous dispensations of his providence, for the destruction of his enemies, by judging among many people, and rebuking strong nations afar off, in the time of the vials; that they, during the Millennium, may beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks, that nation may not lift up a sword against nation, nor learn war any more. This vision of Christ cannot signify a personal advent. Every circumstance in the description forbids it. The opening the heavens, his sitting on a white horse, his fiery-flaming eyes, his numerous crowns, his bloody vesture, the armies that follow him, their white horses, their linen garments, the sword that proceeded out of his mouth, his smiting the nations, his ruling them with a rod of iron, his treading the wine-press, and the inscription on his vesture and thigh, applied to a personal appearance, are most absurd. But when they are contemplated as a symbolical representation of his mediatorial administrations, for the destruction of his enemies and the erection of his Millennial Church, they exhibit such a view of his glory and operations, both of judgment and mercy, as will excite angels and men to adoration, wonder and praise. But the account of his appearance, chap. xx. 11, contains such a plain description, without symbol and figure, as will constrain us to recognise nothing in it, but what our Saviour himself and his disciples have often foretold concerning Christ’s coming to judgment at the end of time. Of the fulfilment of those visions, this will be the order: Christ’s enemies must first be subdued. He will then set up his Millennial kingdom, which shall continue a thousand years. After this, the little season, which is of uncertain duration, will be fulfilled. Then the Mediatorial Judge shall personally appear to judge the quick

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and the dead. Then shall the wicked be cast into the lake of fire, and the righteous shall enter through the gates into the heavenly city. I have also said, that this truth may be demonstrated from the nature of one of those visions. It is the vision of the little season, reported chap. xx. 7—10. During this little season, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison; he shall go about to deceive the nations, which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog; he also will gather them together to battle; their number will be as the sand of the sea: by his instigation, and their own depravity, they will go up on the breadth of the earth, and compass the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city. At that time, fire shall come down from God out of heaven and devour 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,” verse 10. Of the fulfilment of this vision, in all its circumstances, we may be as certain as we can be of the Millennium itself; because they are detailed with equal precision, and ratified by the same authority. The Church, at this time, will be reduced very low, subjected to much suffering, and placed in imminent danger. Satan, and his innumerable hosts, will be greatly exalted, possessed of much power, and encouraged with extraordinary success. How is all this consistent with Christ’s personal presence and glorious reign with all his saints on this earth? Will Christ personally abide in his glorious mansion at Jerusalem, with all his glorified saints, or glorified martyrs around him, when the very camp of the saints, and the beloved city itself, are compassed about by the multitude of the wicked, with Satan on their head. Would such a state of things be no degradation to our ever-blessed, triumphant, and adorable King? Or, does this scheme contemplate Christ’s departure to heaven, at the end of the Millennium, and his return to the judgment at the end of the little season? If this belongs to their hypothesis, his coming to judge the quick and the dead must be a third personal advent, of which the Holy Scriptures are entirely silent. As the little season, with all its important events, must be fulfilled between the close of the Millennium, and the day of judgment; so the idea of Christ’s personal reign on earth, through the thousand years, must be altogether vain and imaginary.