habitants of the new earth, the character of the citizens of the New Jerusalem which descends out of haeven unto it. The distinction is obvious. While, in the new earth, Isaiah predicts there shall be both sin and death, the apostle John declares the exclusion of both from the Holy City. From the account of the descent of the New Jerusalem being placed in John's vision after that of the final resurrection and general judgment, it has been supposed by some to be the place of blessedness after the Millennium. But the order of insertion is of itself no criterion of the order of time. The apostle gives, in succession, different views; and when he has carried forward his narrative of one class of events he returns to take up another; or to explain particular parts which would have occupied too much space in the narrative itself. The whole book is constructed on this principle; and thus, (as respects the order of chapters,) long after the announcement of the kingdoms of this world having become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, we have again brought before us the existence and success of Antichrist. But, in all such cases, keys are given for the elucidation of the prophecy, and for determining the relative periods of the several parts. In the case before us, the New Jerusalem descends to the new earth, and this is connected with the Millennium by the prediction of the prophet Isaiah. Its relation to time and the things of time is farther evident from the fact, that "the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it ;" it must therefore be upon earth that they may have access into it, and have a rethe ference to this world while the relation subsists between kings and their subjects.*

* Mr. Mason, in his volume on the Gentiles' Fulness, etc. (p. 169 and 188,) applies this vision of the New Jerusalem to "the blessedness of the righteous" after the resurrection, "the heavenly glory and blessedness of the saints." But we observe with pleasure, that, since the publication of that work, he has obtained more correct views on this subject. In a more recent publication, (Sermon on the Seventh Vial,) on the words, "It is done," Rev. xxi. 6, he says, "standing as they do in connexion with God's work of making all things new, [they] must relate to the blessed alterations which He will establish on the earth, after the judgments predicted in the vials are finished" p. 4. Dr. Wardlaw also quotes the 3d verse as applicable to Millennial times, and gives it as one of the " passages of which the application is hardly questioned." p. 478.

T 2

SECTION XXIV.

FUTURE APOSTASY, GENERAL RESURRECTION, AND

FINAL JUDGMENT.

GLORIOUS and holy as the Millennial age will be, it is to be succeeded by a short space during which Satan, being loosed again from his confinement, once more shall succeed in seducing men from the allegiance they owe to their Divine King: "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city," the New Jerusa lem we presume. Rev. xx. 7-9. We have already shown, that during the Millennium, the nations are required to go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. It has been supposed that neglect of this privilege and breach of the law may be the commencement of this defection and ultimate apostacy, which terminates in their utter overthrow in the impious attempt upon the camp of the saints and the beloved city. This opinion has been founded on what is said of the punishment of those who refuse to go up to worship at Jerusalem, and the pointed reference to Egypt by name; "And it shall be that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem, to worship the King the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up and come not that have [ordinarily] no rain; there shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the pun. ishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.", Zech. xiv. 17-19. Besides the ordinary blessings o

Providence, the special communications of the Holy Spirit may be vouchsafed for compliance with the divine law, while they may be withheld from those nations which undervalue the privilege and neglect compliance with the injunction; and when Satan is again loosed from his prison, how soon may that Wicked Spirit succeed in stirring up men to the most impious enterprize! In this he will have a short lived triumph in the delusion of our race, whose holiness and happiness during theMillennium shall have increased the misery of his confinement. That he should succeed in seducing them from their allegiance to the Divine Redeemer and Glorious King, after such a display of His love and condescension, affords melancholy proof not only of the power of the Evil One, but also of the mighty malice by which he is actuated. But when we reflect on the guilt and audacity which first hurled him from glory, his subsequent hatred to God, and the enmity and cunning which have since chracterized his dealings with our race, our wonder is diminished at the success of his designs in deluding guilty men and inducing them to act the infatuated part here ascribed unto them. The guilt of their apostacy is not greatly more atrocious than was that of the fall of holy Adam. It is not more mysterious than was the fall of holy angels. Nor will they have more reason to triumph in the result of their daringness. Whatever be its origin, and however it may be conducted, the attempt receives an immediate and signal punishment: "and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured 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."* Rev. xx 10.

* Mr. Mason, the Examinator in the Instructor, and Dr. Hamilton, all consider the fact of such an apostasy taking place a strong objec tion to the Doctrine of Christ's personal reign on earth. It is by the rejection of mysteries that some have set aside the most valuable doc. trines of revelation. On this very ground many disbelieve both the existence and the agency of Satan altogether. But we trust that our authors have not so learned Christ as to deny any of His plainly re"ealed truths, however mysterious.

The overthrow of this apostacy is followed by the general resurrection. All who have died during the Millennium, and the rest of the dead who had previously died, and who "lived not again until the thousand years were finished," will then be raised to eternal glory or unending misery. We may remark, however, that there is not the slightest intimation of Christ's coming at this time, as some would insinuate. His return at the beginning of the Millennium is announced in the 19th chapter, his reign with his saints during that happy time, at the beginning of the 20th, and here at the close of that chapter is his work of final judgment. "And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it," continues the apostle, " from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was no place found for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God: and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." ver. 11-15. There is no exception of any then in their graves from this resurrection. The receptacles of death yield all their tenants to receive their doom-those whose names are found in the book of life being raised to glory, and the wicked to the condemnation of the second death, being cast into the lake of fire.*

* Dr. Hamilton labours to prove from this passage, that, as the language is of a general nature, there cannot have been a resurrection at the commencement of the thousand years. Dr. Wardlaw also (p. 510,) refers to it in proof of a simultaneous "resurrection of all the dead without distinction." True, it is a "resurrection of all THE DEAD; but it is only "the dead small and great," who are now raised and judged, which does not include those who lived in the First Resurrection a thousand years before. The language therefore is general only of the dead, among whom those already raised to life will not be found. But Dr. H. is not content with including in this last resurrection those whom the apostle had already seen live and reign with

This, then, terminates what the Scriptures reveal concerning our relation to the earth. In our enquiries we cannot go beyond this, for "then cometh the end, when" Christ" shall have delivered up the kingdom to God even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under His feet. But when He saith, all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted which did put all things under Him. And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.”*

Christ, but also makes it embrace all who have preceded them in the resurrection of life. No matter that we are informed by the evangelist that many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of their graves after Christ's resurrection, the Doctor (p. 207,) discovers from the language of the apostle that "it seems inevitably to follow that this is the resurrection of the whole human race; that till then there will be no resurrection of the dead, but then the whole body of mankind WITHOUT ONE EXCEPTION shall be raised from the dead." This sentiment is reiterated in the same page where he says "we are here assured that not only all the dead shall then stand before God, and be judged according to their works; but that they shall be judged · every man according to their works."" From this he concludes, that, if there be a resurrection prior to the Millennium, those who share in it" are neither judged at all nor receive according to their works." Here, again, the Doctor confounds the obvious distinction between those who have previously been raised and those who shall be dead at this general resurrection. It is only every man of the dead, small and great, who shall then be judged, among whom will not be found any who had been raised before. If all who are not raised in this resurrection "are neither judged at all nor receive according to their works," then it follows that not only those who share is the First Resurrection, and the "many" who were raised after Christ's resurrection, but also that Elijah who was carried to heaven amid the horsemen and chariots of the Lord, and Enoch who "was not, for God took him," cannot have received according to their works. Such is the legitimate conclusion from the principle assumed.

* Some have, however, denied that the Millennial dispensation can be meant in the predictions of Christ's kingdom, because it is said to be "for ever," while John represents the continuance of the Millennial reign as to 1000 years. But this, while it affords ground to con. Iclude that its existence will not be limited to a thousand literal years, is no argument against its identity with the Millennial kingdom predicted by the prophets, who also frequently speak of its dura