But, before entering upon the proof, allow me to remind you that I am not about to advocate any theory of my own; I am not about to plead in behalf of any novel doctrine; the sentiments which I shall endeavour to bring before you, have been entertained by thousands of the faithful-the sentiments of those who have sealed their testimony with their blood, and who have been supported by the hope which they presented to their minds, while consuming slowly at the stake-they were the sentiments of the Church of God in its earliest, and purest ages, and number among their zealous advocates, many of the most celebrated, and learned members of the Church of England. Obscured for a long time, by the prevalence of Papal darkness and superstition, they burst forth with fresh lustre upon the glorious reformation; since then, it is true, they have been to a degree suppressed and discouraged; for Satan is ever on the watch to marr the effects of God's goodness, as far as the power so mysteriously committed to him enables him to do; and just as he endeavoured to counteract the blessed effects of the reformation, by the extravagancies of fanaticism, so also did he attempt to bring prophetical subjects into disrepute, by the absurdities of presumptuous curiosity; but nevertheless, "the things which are revealed belong unto us, and to our children," and as we would not forego the blessings of the reformation, on account of the licentiousness of some, so, let us not be deterred from the study of the prophetic page, by the idle curiosity of others; while we shrink with horror from the idea of being wise above what is written, let us not be debarred from the study of what is revealed; while we remember the awful warning, which forbids us to add anything to the Word of God, let us not be unmindful of that which prohibits us to take any thing away from it; let us come as little children to be taught of God, determined to renounce our own prejudices, and receive with meekness the engrafted word; and, earnestly supplicating the light of the Holy Spirit, to enable us to take forth the precious from the vile, "let us prove all things, and hold fast that which is good,* glory, and before him shall be assembled | nium. all nations;" this, too, is freely admitted, and forms a portion of the creed of all the orthodox, so far all are agreed-but then there is a difference of opinion, respecting the order of these events, which, (as we shall hereafter see) materially affects the nature of them. The majority of those whom I address, no doubt suppose, that the Millennium is to precede the second advent; that it is to be brought about by the gradual diffusion of Gospel truths, which is to prevail to such a degree over the whole world, as fully to account for the metaphorical, and highly, (as it is called) poetical descriptions given of that period, in the prophetic writings; after which time, there will be a great falling away, when the Lord Jesus shall come, to judge, at one, and the same time, the living and the dead; to consign the wicked to their final doom, and to receive the righteous into life eternal. This is a brief outline of what may be considered the popular view of this subject; others, on the other hand, believe that the Lord Jesus is to come before the Millennium, during which blessed period he is to reign personally, in visible glory, over the world, and that after it, is to take place the general judgment, when "the dead, small and great shall stand before God." Now, it is manifest, that before we can arrive at any satisfactory acquaintance with the particulars of this subject, we must first settle this point, viz.—whether the glorious appearing of the great God, and Saviour Jesus Christ, is to take place after or before the Millennium; and although the former opinion is, as I observed, the more popular in the present day, I have no hesitation in declaring, that the testimony of Scripture appears to me altogether in favor of the latter i. e. the pre-millennial advent of Messiah. I do not think the Bible warrants us to look for any period of national conversion, or season of universal blessing on this earth, previous to the coming of the Son of Man ;-take any passage you please, which plainly, and unequivocally speaks of the Millennium; and we undertake to shew you from the context, that it is subsequent to the second advent:—or again, take any text which undoubtedly speaks of the personal advent of Christ; and we think that it can be proved, either from that pas- pecting the opinion of the early Church on this sage itself, or else from one confessedly the 20th chapter of revelations, in his Dissersubject, see Bishop Newton's commentary on parallel, that it is previous to the Millen-tations on the Prophecies.' our *For a confirmation of the above statement res I propose, on the present occasion, to confine myself to this one point, (on which indeed the whole controversy will be found to depend) viz. to shew reason from Scripture, why we are to expect the advent of Christ before the Millennium, and entreat your earnest and solemn attention, to the following proofs. Proof 1.-The saints are to rise from the dead to partake of the Millennial glory, but as there is confessedly no resurrection to be expected until the Lord comes, to summon his people from the grave, it follows that his coming must take place before the Millennium. Why must the saints rise to partake of Millennial glory? because that glory is for them; such is the universal testimony of Scripture on the subject, "blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth;" let us consider this declaration, what is meant by the expression they shall inherit the earth?' the Scriptural answer to this question is found in Rev. v. 10, "and hast made us unto our God, kings, and priests, and we shall reign on the earth;" but, you will say, may not this be understood of the present dispensation?-may it not mean that the meek do now, in their present life, inherit the earth? no, for if so, the text should be differently worded, it should be, "blessed are the meek for they do inherit the earth," but it is not so, the present tense is not here used, but the future; and to make the matter still plainer, this future reward here spoken of is contrasted with their present condition, "blessed are the meek (those who are now meek) for they shall inherit the earth"—but again, you may ask, who are here meant by the meek? may it not mean those who are alive, and converted, during the Millennium? I answer again, no, for in the first place, we cannot but believe that our Saviour, when he uttered these words, meant them as a promise to his own faithful disciples, who then surrounded him, and to whom, in the first instance they are addressed, (see Luke vi. 20.) and that the promise belongs to all who shall realize the character of meekness to which the reward here spoken of belongs and, in the next, turn again to Rev. v. 9, 10, and you will find the promise belongs to all the elect people of God, and that it is there mentioned as being the object of hope to them, after they have left this world, and surround the throne of God in heaven, (compare 66 Rev. v. 8, with iv. 1,4,) it is the song of the redeemed in heaven, saying, we" (who were once in the world, but are now before the throne of God) "we" (still look for something further than our present blessedness) for "we shall reign on earth,"-now take another expression from the same context, "blessed are the poor, for theirs' is the kingdom of God," here, as in the former case, there can be no doubt that this blessing belongs to all who possess the characteristic which it supposes-all, in a word, who in this dispensation, are poor for Christ's sake.— Now how many thousands of such have lived, and died, since these words were spoken? and consequently, to partake of the " 'kingdom of God," must rise from the dead. But here, some one will say, may not "the kingdom of God" mean heaven, and not the Millennium? we answer, that the question for those who tremble at God's word to ask, is not what it may mean, but what does it mean? and upon appealing to the Bible for an answer to this question, we there find that it always signifies God's kingdom ("the kingdom of (not in) the heavens,") established upon earth; it were a tedious task to enter into an examination of all the passages where the phrase occurs; it is sufficient, to a candid mind, to refer to the second petition of the Lord's prayer, "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven;" consider for a moment this petition, (so thoughtlessly used by too many) "thy kingdom come," (not, observe, "take us to thy kingdom," but) bring it to us, "let it come,” (ɛλŋɛtw ǹ Baoiλɛia σov) and what is this kingdom which we thus pray for? let the prayer itself answer, "thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven;" could language be plainer on this point? and let me here ask in passing, do you really believe that our Saviour intends us to have no share of that which he thus bids us pray for? and can you give your heart and soul to this petition, in which you thus believe you have no interest? My dear brethren, consider well, before you use these sacred words, in what a spirit you repeat them. But turn (for further confirmation of these two truths, that the kingdom of God means his rule established on earth, and, that the saints are to rise to partake of it,) to Dan. vii. 13, 14, "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him, and there was given unto him, dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, and nations, and languages should serve him;" this will freely be allowed to be a kingdom upon earth, for where are the "people, and nations, and languages" to be found? surely not in heaven! but, to take occasion from those that seek occasion, turn to the 27th verse, and you will there find this kingdom thus described, "the kingdom, and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom, UNDER THE WHOLE HEAVEN;" which surely is enough to settle this point. But we are to shew that the saints are to rise to possess this kingdom, and we learn this from the verse just quoted, where this kingdom is said to be "given to the people of the saints of the Most High;" see also verse 22, "until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom”—now, lest it should be here objected that "the saints" are to be understood as those who are so fortunate as to be alive on earth during the Millennium, i. e. those who shall live to see that day brought about by the preached Gospel; and not as those who have died before that period,-observe, first, that the saints here spoken of are said to possess a kingdom, i. e. to be kings; and "judgment" is to be given them: but, I ask, if these are the Lord's people in natural life during the Millennial period, where are these subjects to be found? whom are they to judge? what is the meaning of a kingdom without subjects? those who inhabit the earth during that period, will be themselves the subjects, and therefore the saints who are here spoken of as kings, must be some other than they, even those who, being now in heaven, sing a song before the throne, saying, "thou art worthy, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation; and made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on earth;"-observe again, that this is made quite evident by the 22nd verse; turn to it again, and you will find that this assignment of the kingdom to the saints of the Most High synchronizes with the advent of Christ, "until the Ancient of Days came, and, &c." now, when he comes, his people come with him, and consequently, we can be at no loss to determine, who are they that are "to possess the kingdom."Now, turn with me to Rev. xx. 4, 5, "and I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given unto them, (compare Dan. vii. 22) and I saw the souls of those which were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast nor his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished, this is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection, on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." Here then you perceive, my brethren, we have the express testimony of the Holy Ghost to the great truth which we have been maintaining ; that the Millennium is for the saints to partake of, and that, in order to this, they must rise again from the dead; from whence the inference is undeniable, that the coming of the Lord takes place before the Millennium, which indeed is plainly expressed in this passage, for they who thus rise from the grave, are said to "reign with him ;" and besides, the whole action in this passage is subsequent to the advent of Christ described in the preceding chapter, (see chap. xix. 11— 21) and, to make the matter still plainer, the final resurrection "when the dead, small and great, stand before God," and when the general judgment is to take place, is expressly distinguished, and explicitly said not to take place until the conclusion of the thousand years reign, (see the rest of this chap.) And here, I entreat you to bear in mind that this is not the only place of Scripture where the first resurrection, which is confined to the saints of God, is described; it is indeed the most explicit passage on the subject, and, did it stand alone, ought to be quite sufficient for those who tremble at God's word; but the testimony here given is quite irresistible, when compared with those passages to which I have before referred you, as it asserts in express terms, what we were led to conclude from them; indeed almost every passage of Scripture which speaks of any resurrection, speaks of the first exclusivele see for instance, 1 Thes. iv. 13-18, and 1 Cor. xv. 23, in which passages we in vain look for any other resurrection, than that of the Lord's people; and naturally so, since the Bible was written for them, and consequently, that resurrection in which they are exclusively concerned, is that on which the Scriptures most frequently insist. How are we to account for the fact, that passages like these should be found-passages in which the glorious advent of Christ is mentioned, and that resurrection which synchronizes with it so powerfully described, and yet, that "the resurrection of damnation" should not be mentioned in them? shall we say, that the description given in them is deficient! God forbid !-the reason is plain indeed, when we read a passage like the present, and there find that there are two resurrections, and that it is only the saints that rise immediately upon the advent of the Lord. This passage is indeed so plain and unanswerable, when taken in its unsophisticated meaning, that it cannot be got over; and consequently, an interpretation, miscalled spiritual, has been put upon it" the first resurrection" is not a literal, but a spiritual one, it is said; but let us look at the passage, and I venture to say that there is not a single text in Scripture which speaks so plainly of a literal resurrection as does this, for you perceive, the persons here spoken of are not only said to have been dead, but the very mode of their death is actually told us, "they were beheaded,"-now, however, we may spiritualize the word "dead," I confess I do not see by what ingenuity we can affix a figurative interpretation to the word "beheaded."But again, what will you make of "the rest of the dead" (verse 5)? who are these? surely they are not figuratively dead, or else their resurrection must be figurative also; but this you will not allow, for then what becomes of the final resurrection? you shudder at the idea of spiritualizing this away; then shudder also at acting the same part with "the first resurrection," for if one is spiritual, so must the other be, whatever it is which takes place upon some of the dead, before the Millennium, the same it is which takes place upon "the rest of the dead," after the Millennium; if it is a spiritual resurrection in one instance, so must it also be in the other-if it is literal in the | latter instance, so is it also in the former. But, to proceed, our next proof is as follows. Proof 2. Is from the object of preaching the Gospel in this dispensation.-What is this object? We answer, first, negatively, it is not to convert the world. It will not be expected, that I should refer you to any text of Scripture, expressly affirming this negative proposition. The onus rests upon those who hold, that the object of this dispensation is to convert the world, to bring some testimony of God's word in confirmation of their opinion-but this cannot be done; and I therefore proceed, secondly, to examine what the Scripture tells us is the object of preaching the Gospel in this dispensation; and this we shall find to be, to test the world by bearing testimony to God's truth, and to gather out of it his chosen people. Turn to Matthew the 24th, we find in verse 3, the disciples asking Jesus, "what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world, or age, i. e. this dispensation (TOũ aiwvoç) from that to the 12th verse is taken up with the various signs which are to precede this event, and then (ver. 13 & 14) we read, "but he that endureth to the end (of this dispensation, see verse 3), the same shall be saved ;-and this Gospel of the kingdom (observe the word "this," it shews us the meaning of the Gospel of the kingdom-namely, that it is the good news of his coming and kingdom; this Gospel which I am now preaching to you) shall be preached in all the world (what for?-is it to convert the world? No such thing, but) for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end (i. e. of this dispensation) come," (compare Mark xiii. 9, 10.) Now, turn to Acts xv. 14, "Simeon has declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people to his name." Observe the occasion on which these words were spoken, the first opening of the door of faith to the Gentiles; and what was the object with which the apostles engaged in this arduous undertaking? Was it to convert the world? Not so, says the Holy Ghost, in this place, but The anxious inquirer will find this argument most powerfully pressed by Bishop Newton, in the Dissertation above referred to. "to take out of them a people to his name;" and accordingly, we have presented to us in Revelations v. ver. 9, 10, the glorious result of the work which was then commenced, in "a multitude which no man could number, out of every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation." It is interesting to the believer to see how Scriptural our Church Liturgy is on this subject: turn to the first prayer in our burial service, and you will find our church "beseeching God" (not to convert the world) but, "shortly to accomplish the number of his elect, and hasten his kingdom." Proof 3. Which is intimately connected with the preceding, is taken from the termination of this dispensation, as described in Scripture. What are to be the characteristics of the latter days of this dispensation? According to the popular view which we have been combating, there is to be a gradual diffusion of Gospel light, by means of which the world is to gradually improve, until at length the glorious period arrives "when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Now, in the absence of any express testimony of Scripture to this effect, we may appeal to experience of the past, and ask, what has the preaching of the Gospel hitherto effected, which warrants us in ascribing this glorious consummation to its effects? Look at the heathen world, with its hundreds of millions still unconverted-look again at the state of that small portion which vaunts itself in the name of Christendom, and what proportion of it do we find to have even the Gospel in its purity preached to them ?-Look at Great Britain herself, that highly favored nation, and say, is the present age characterised by an increase of reverence to God, and love to Jesus Christ; or whether, on the contrary, the words of a distinguished prelate in our upper house, are not most true. that it is "an age distinguished above all that has preceded it, for trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy?" But to come nearer home, I ask, what has the Gospel done here? How many are there, do you think, (and Kere consult your consciences, for it concerns you deeply) who have received the word of God" in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance ?" But, let me not be misunderstood-let it not be sup posed, that I mean to oppose experience, blasphemy and persecution during the milennial period, when "the fruit of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever." Oh! what a milennium this; while the corrupt Church of Rome rules with despotic sway over the consciences of her deluded votaries, and substitutes her mummeries and obsceni |