glorious state of rest for the church during the seventh thousand years of the world. The principal arguments in favor of this, are briefly as follows:

1. God made the world in six days and rested the seventh; and constituted the Sabbath a type of future rest. So we may expect that after the troubles and commotions of six thousand years, there will be a rest of a thousand years from all these sorrows.

2. The institution of the Sabbaths and jubilees among the Jews, has been considered typical of the same thing.

3. The third argument is from 2 Pet. iii. 8: "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day." This being spoken in reference to the "Day of the Lord," and the time of its coming, it has been argued that the writer intended to intimate that each day of the creation week is typical of a thousand years of time before the final and everlasting subjection of all things, and the Son himself becomes subject to him who did put all things under him, and God is all in all.

4. The fourth, and I think strongest argument, is from the 20th chapter of Revelation; where a 1000 years' reign with Christ and God is promised to the saints before the final resurrection and destruction of all foes. This 1000 years will be the grand jubilee of the redeemed of earth.

With these remarks, I will now proceed to show that the chronology of prophecy, as recorded in the Bible, presents us with seven thousand years from the beginning of the exercise of God's moral government over man, to the final period of the conquest of all God's enemies, and when Satan, death and hell, with all whose names are not written in the book of life, will be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. The first typical prophecy of this glorious rest was instituted A. M. 1, the first month and seventh day of the month. Soon after this event, sin entered into the world, and death by sin. But God immediately interposed, and renewed the prophetic promise of a final restitution of the fair works of his almighty hand through the woman's conquering seed.

Long and dreadful has been the conflict which has ensued, and during all this period the venom of the old serpent has been displayed in biting at his glorious conqueror's heel. But the word of prophetic promise makes the issue sure. "The kingdoms of this world" must and will yet become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.

Leaving this bubbling spring of hope to a lost world, we

will trace its chronology in the rippling stream through successive centuries. For with the exception of Enoch, who foretold the coming of the Lord to execute judgment on the ungodly, the allusions to the great Deliverer are few and slight to the time of Abraham. Attention is now invited to the following chronology:

After

At this point of time the rippling brook which began its course with the promised triumph of the woman's seed, begins to enlarge and deepen in its onward course. the death of Terah, God called Abram into the land of Canaan, and gave to him and his seed after him, as an everlasting possession, all the land on which his eyes looked. He also promised that in him all the families of the earth should be blessed.* From this time the general promise of deliverance to the world through the woman's seed was restricted to the family of Abram; then to Isaac; afterward to Jacob; and of the sons of Jacob, to the house of Judah, From the same period also began the 430 years' sojourn of the holy family. "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was 430 years. And it came to pass at the end of 430 years, even the self-same day, it came to pass that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt."+

From this text a difficulty has arisen, as to the time when the 430 years began; whether at the call of Abraham, or from the time Joseph was sold into Egypt. But according

* Gen. xii. 3, 7. Acts vii. 4.

Ex. xii. 40, 41.

to Clarke, the Samaritan Pentateuch and Alexandrian Septuagint both read the text as follows: "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel and their fathers which they sojourned in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt, was 430 years.". With this also agrees St. Paul, Gal. iii. 17, where he reckons 430 years from the promise of God to Abram, to the giving of the law. Therefore it was 430 years from Abram's call at Terah's death to the Exodus.

Although the Bible gives us a history of Joshua's life. and administration, together with his age at his death; and also the history of the subsequent interregnum and administration of the Elders, yet it does not furnish us with data as to the time either continued. Joshua lived a hundred and ten years.* Caleb, another of the spies sent by Moses to spy out the land of promise, was forty years of age when Moses sent him; and as we may suppose their ages were somewhere in the neighborhood of each other, it is not unreasonable to suppose Joshua was 45 at that time. Then 40 years would bring him to 85, when he went up with Israel into Canaan. If so, he was the ruler of Israel 25 years, And this perfectly accords with Josephus's chronology.

It is very evident from Judges, first and second chapter to the fifteenth verse of chap. 2d, that after the death of Joshua, although they had no particular leader, they were many years engaged under the direction of the Lord in conquering and settling the country, until after that whole generation were dead. But for the continuance of that interregnum no period is given; Josephus, however, has fixed it at 18 years, and this appears to me a reasonable time. At least it is better, it appears to me, to adopt the testimony of this eminent and credible historian, than to indulge ourselves in wild conjectures at this late period of the world. From this final settlement of the land among the tribes begins the 450 years spoken of by Paul, Acts xiii. 20, during which God gave them Judges, until the time of Samuel the prophet.

*Josh. xxiv. 29.

orbinsa bris yrs. m. d. A. M. B. C. Book. chap. verse

After the death of Eli and his sons, which closed the 450 years of the Judges, Samuel began the administration of the government of Israel. How long that administration continued before Saul was anointed king, does not appear on the face of the history. But that it was 20 years, is quite clear to my mind. For after the death of Eli, the ark of God remained in the country of the Philistines 7 months.* After that it was carried back, and abode in Kirjath-jearim a long time. How long it remained there, is uncertain; but certainly until some time after the death of Saul, which was at least 60 years; for it was not removed until the reign of David. The 20 years, therefore, mentioned 1 Sam. vii. 2d, must refer to something beside the time the ark abode at Kirjath-jearim.

The third verse of the same chapter begins a history of Samuel's labors, up to the time the people asked a king.‡ Are not the 20 years, then, to be understood as the chronology of that period of Samuel's administration, rather than the time of the abode of the ark at Kirjath-jearim? I do not see that the text can be reconciled with the facts in any other way. If others can discover a better mode of harmonizing it, I shall be happy to learn it.

I would read the place thus: "And it came to. pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long." Here I think the history of the ark, from Eli's

* 1 Sam. vi. 1. t1 Chron. xiii. 6.

Chap. viii. 5.

§ Verse 2.

death to the time of David, ends. Then begins the history of Samuel and Israel, from Eli's death to the appointment of Saul to be king of Israel. "It was 20 years and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." This history of the mourning of Israel, and exhortation, is perfectly natural after their defeat, and the death of Eli and his sons. It is more natural than it is to place it subsequent to the return of the ark.

At this point another advance is made in the development of the glorious plan of salvation, and triumph of the woman's seed. David, of the tribe of Judah, and family of Jesse, was chosen as God's favorite; and to him God gave the promise of a Son to sit forever on his throne. To this Son the heathen were to be given for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession.

A temporal succession was promised to David conditionally if his children kept God's law. But the everlasting Son and successor was unconditionally sure. The Lord

:

hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it: Of the fruit of thy body will I set on thy throne. Accordingly we have an uninterrupted succession of kings of David's line, from Solomon until Zedekiah was carried captive. into Babylon.

After this, that succession was broken, and the nation was ruled sometimes by their enemies, sometimes by the high priest, who also acted as king, and sometimes by a petty king, independent of the high priest. But through this long period the house of David was preserved distinct, even until the promised seed of David was born. Since that time it has been lost in the other tribes.