the time, and when it began, he did not know, or understand, for it had not been revealed.

But, at the close of his prayer, as related chapter ix., Gabriel, the same heavenly messenger who had explained the vision of chapter viii., again appeared and announced to Daniel, "I am now come to give thee skill and understanding. Therefore, understand the matter and consider the vision." What matter and vision was he to consider and understand? Why, evidently, one familiar to both him and Gabriel; the one Gabriel had partly explained, but which Daniel did not fully understand. This vision he now came to perfect, and relieve the mind of the prophet.

To give him the key for understanding both the nature of a prophetic day and when to commence the time, he gave him the famous prophecy of seventy weeks, to be accomplished from the time of the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, to the cutting off of Messiah. In one week there are 7 days. 70 X by 7 490 days. But, as shown already, it was just 490 years from the decree of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, for the re-establishment of Jerusalem, to the death of Christ. Therefore, a day in the prophecy means a year.

That decree, we have seen above, was given, according to astronomical calculation, in the 4256th year of the Julian period. Then 2300 years will bring us to the 6556th of that period, which will be A. D. 1843, and the 6000th year of the world. Then the sanctuary will be cleansed; or, as the Savior says, Matt. xiii., "Then shall the righteous," after the gathering out of the wicked, "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their FATHER."

My hearers, do you believe the Bible? Then how will you evade the force of these two arguments, perfectly harmonizing as they do with regard to the time when the great Sabbath of rest for the people of God shall be ushered in?

I beseech you, treat it not lightly; but give diligence, watch and pray, that when he comes you may be blest; for blessed is every one whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing.

But if that servant say in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming, and begins to beat his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken, as many Christians, or rather professors, are doing at the present day of political excitement, the Lord of that servant will come, in an hour he looketh not for him, and cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with hypocrites.

DISSERTATION ON

THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL.

BY HENRY JONES, OF NEW YORK CITY.

THE restoration, or return of the Israel of God to their "own land," is abundantly revealed in the Scriptures, and probably admitted by believers generally; though admitted in their own way of understanding the words of the promise. And while they differ somewhat in certain matters of this return, they generally agree in giving it a very close connexion with the second coming of Christ in his glorious kingdom. There are two very common and prominent views now taken of this subject, even among ourselves who advocate Christ's coming and kingdom at hand. Some of us firmly believe that the Israel of the promise are the Jews, the literal descendants of Abraham,-that the land promised on the return is the country of Palestine, or former Canaan; and that the promised return or gathering is the literal going back of the natural Jews from all countries to that literal

country. Those of us who advocate this view of the promised return, do it only as a supposed indispensable prepara tory step to the soon-expected coming of the Son of man with his everlasting kingdom. In thus doing, it is natural for individuals to feel that nothing can prepare the way for the Messiah's glorious return, until the Jews, as such, shall be thus removed to the land of Palestine. Accordingly, should we all adopt this understanding of the promise and engage in the work of preparation for it, and should we unite all our efforts in it; we should, in our own view, be laboring most directly and expressly in preparing the way for the Messiah soon to come.

But others of us, in looking out also for the now immediate coming of our blessed Lord to redeem, and finally deliver all his people, consider that the literal and unbelieving Jews have nothing to do with these restoration and returning promises. We consider, rather, that the Israel to whom all such promises are made, are God's true saints, or

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Israel only by faith in Jesus Christ,-that the land of promise is a "heavenly country," or this earth new-created, so as to become the promised new heaven and new earth," for their eternal abode; and that the promised restoration, or return of God's Israel, is the final gathering of God's saints, also called Israel, from all nations of the whole world, into this glorious "heavenly Jerusalem," at the resurrection of the dead, and second appearing of Christ, in which "Jerusalem" they will all dwell and reign with him in their promised everlasting life, or forever and ever.

Thus, we consider this restoration, or return of Israel, to be one of the mighty events of Christ's second coming itself, and not as a lingering work done by mortals in the flesh, as only a preparation for it. In fearing to be found of our Lord among those who, in any way, say, "my Lord delayeth his coming," it naturally seems to us, that the theory of the unbelieving Jews' return, preparatory to the coming of Christ, is only as an imaginary mighty block before the chariot wheels of the Almighty; while, indeed, there is no such obstruction in the way of his coming suddenly as the lightning from heaven, to save his people, and to destroy his unbelieving enemies, both Jew and Gentile. And thus, it naturally seems to us, that such a hindering of ourselves to remove a mere imaginary impediment of the Lord's coming, must also, in an equal degree, hinder our necessary united and loud blowing of the trumpet in Zion, to "sound the alarm in God's holy mountain," that "all the inhabitants of the land" may "tremble," in view of "the day of the Lord -NIGH at hand," or of Christ's coming, at the very "door," instead of its being off beyond the natural Jews' return to Palestine.

Of course, the view now to be taken of this subject, is, that the glorious return of the Messiah is now specially at hand, without any foretold literal return of such Jews first; and that these restoration, gathering and returning promises all belong rather to God's believing Israel or saints, who, at the now soon coming of Christ, are to return and come to "Mount Zion," "with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads," where "sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

In undertaking to establish this position, I proceedI. To show its harmony with some of "the first principles of the oracles of God."

II. Its harmony with certain other scripture facts.

III. Its harmony with those returning promises, as explained by their several connexions. And,

IV. To show an apparent misapprehension in some of the

supposed most prominent arguments in favor of such a literal return.

I. I proceed to establish the position by showing its harmony with some of "the first principles of the oracles of God."

1. It harmonizes with the scripture principle, that the very word "Israel," and its parallels, in the promise, mean the saints, and not the unbelieving Jews. In seeing that this is a true scripture principle, it will be remembered how Christ himself explained it, when the unbelieving Jews pretended that they were the true Israel, or children of Abraham; he told them boldly that they were rather of their "father the devil." And thus has an apostle decided the same question, by saying that "he is not a Jew," or Israelite, "who is one outwardly; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly;" that they are not all Israel who are of Israel," or not all saints who may call themselves so; and that "all Israel" truly, or all the saints, "shall be saved," though not so of all the natural Jews. Further, he tells us that "they which are of faith," or are true believers, "the same are the children of Abraham," or "Israel" truly; and that they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." And again, he says, If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." And what a palpable contradiction it would then involve, to say, that the unbelieving Jews, of their "father the devil," are rather Abraham's seed, to inherit all these restoration and returning promises.

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2. The position is proved by the scripture principle, that the divine promises made to a believing Israel, are quite too great and glorious to be inherited in a temporal Canaan, and can only be received in an everlasting "heavenly Jerusalem" or city of God. Without multiplying proof, as might be done exceedingly, in showing that this is a scripture principle, we have only to remember, that, as now shown, all true saints are the Israel of the promise, and that, as all the saints agree, their own promise is for an everlasting rest in heaven, and not for a Palestine of this world. And further, the apostle sets this question beyond all appearance of doubt, in telling us of the seed of Abraham, as numerous as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand of the sea-shore innumerable;" that "these all died in faith," i. e. being true believers, "not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, were persuaded of them and embraced them, and confessed that they were pilgrims and strangers on the earth." Then the same apostle proceeds to call over by name, a catalogue of saints, including Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and many others, even "of whom the world was not

worthy," and says "these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise, God having provided some better thing for us ;" i. e. some better thing for us all, as such enduring saints, than a mere worldly inheritance before death. If a temporal Canaan were the true promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that vast multitude of the true Israel by faith, where most of them lived and died, then certainly they received that promise before their death; and the apostle would be wrong to say that they did not, and that they rather confessed themselves pilgrims and strangers on the earth. This apostle also further explains this better thing" of the promise, and says it is "a better country, i. e. an heavenly ;" and proceeds to call it also "the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." According to this scripture principle of the promise, and according to these clear explanations by the apostle, the divine promise to Abraham and all his true seed by faith, to the last, must be fulfilled to them in a "heavenly Jerusalem," and never in the return of unbelieving Jews to Palestine.

3. The scripture principle that God's word, containing Israel's promises, "is spiritual," is understood to show, that such promises cannot, of course, be so secular, or carnal, as the return of the natural Jews to Palestine. The apostle in his commentary upon "the law," and "the testimony," of "Moses," and "the prophets," says: "We know that the law is spiritual," as though we all ought to know, that the promises of this spiritual word of the Lord, are not so carnal as to gratify the carnal mind of unbelieving Jews, in a temporal land. And this same apostle, in all his instructions, dwelt on spiritual things, while reasoning "out of the Scriptures" of the Old-Testament promises, and says, that he only compared "spiritual things with spiritual, as an "able minister of the" divine word, "not of the letter, but of the spirit," for, as he said, "the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." Christ also affirms the same; being by his spirit in the prophets when they wrote, to inspire their writings and make them his own, he says of his own words, (surely including those of the promise in the Old Testament) "My words are spirit and they are life." These inspired commentaries on the spiritual and life-giving promises of the Old Testament, certainly forbid our supposing them to be so carnal and lifedestroying, as a temporal land, for unbelieving Jews, even should they afterwards come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved.

4. The scripture principle that all interpretations of the promise, which flatter the wicked, are false interpretations, shows that the saints are to enjoy these returning promises