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Christ always administering the government of the world-Its government by
the woman's seed a future event-Christ now reigning as the divine word—
His departure a mystery to the disciples-How he comforted them and ex-
plained the fact-Christ in the flesh, and under the curse, a servant in a sub-
ject condition-Necessity of passing from this to a glorified state-Must

Satan loosed-Gog and Magog-The final judgment-No account of Christ's
appearance-The dead and not the living judged-The righteous not in this
scene-The second coming of Christ previously described--The first Resur、

THE ECONOMY OF THE AGES;

OR

THE HISTORY OF REDEMPTION UNFOLDED.

CHAPTER I.

THE METHOD OF STUDY.

THE Bible is God's text-book of redemption, in which He has undertaken to unfold His plan of salvation for the human race; and if this be so, we cannot question that the book itself is wisely adapted to its appointed end in the instruction of mankind; as perfect as the work whose nature and history it develops. Divine wisdom, of necessity, must be displayed in the arrangement and plan of the text-book, so as to develop, in the clearest and most perfect manner, the grand scheme of which it treats, and bring it most easily within the apprehension of those who were to be instructed thereby. God would not fail in a matter of such importance as this. He would not furnish an ill-arranged treatise on His grandest work of redemption. His six days' work of creation was complete in every part; and, when finished, He saw that it was very good. There had been no failure at any point. So likewise His greater work of redemption was perfect also, as well as the revelation which developed its plan and history. We cannot

question, therefore, that God began the development of this system at the right point, so as to make it most intelligible to the human race, and bring it most easily within the reach of their thoughts. To accomplish this, he began with the elements, laying down first principles. The whole scheme was new-beyond the range of human thought, and to be communicated by a revelation from heaven. God, therefore, must of necessity begin at the beginning, and through a period of four thousand years did He continue the work of revelation, until the book of prophecy was closed by John. The system of truth was developed gradually from age to age during this long period-developed, too, in its order, as fast as the Divine plans matured, and as the race was prepared for its reception. God began this work of instruction in the infancy of the race, and wisely adapted Himself to its feebleness and necessities, revealing truth in its simplest form, and such truth as the years of its childhood required. Redemption was a stupendous work, to be carried forward through a series of dispensations, and, from its own nature, could be developed only gradually and more fully as the end drew on. The Bible, now, is the history of that divine working, its continuous development from the germ to its perfected state. Must there not be wisdom, then, in our studying this system in the natural order, following closely upon the track of the divine revelations? Is there not a very necessity here laid upon us, if we would comprehend the elements of this subject, and go on unto perfection? Are we wiser than God, that we can improve upon His method of instruction, or afford to lose the benefit of His plan of revelation?

Yet how signally have we failed of this most simple idea in our systems of theology, which have an artificial arrangement of their own, without any reference to the

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