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10. James, 5:8, 9.-" The coming of the Lord draweth nigh;-behold the judge standeth before the door."

In this manner the apostle James had understood his commission from Christ to preach the kingdom of heaven at hand: and thus he declares it here, as drawing nigh, and actually standing at the door. He also urges the doctrine as a motive to repentance; or for the patience and establishing of the heart, and grudging not one against another unto condemnation; so in putting these two parts of his doctrine together, it becomes precisely the same as that of Christ and John, in holding up clearly, both the requirements, and the speedy coming of the Judge and his kingdom as the motive for the sinner, who cannot in any other way be excited so deeply and truly, to flee from the wrath to come by faith in the Judge himself.

11. 1 Peter, 4: 5—7. "Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. For, for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the Spirit. But the end of all things is at hand, be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer."

Here, Peter writes as he preached on pentecost day and afterwards; representing the Judge, Christ, as ready to judge the living and the dead even in that day; as though his coming might then be looked for. Then his declaring "the end of all things at hand," was really the same as he had been directed to preach the kingdom of God "at hand;" since we all know that the actual coming from above, of the kingdom, will be with "the end of all things." So Peter here enjoins watchfulness, soberness and prayer, as the repentance required with this great and solemn mo

tive, of the Judge being already to each person, so near in coming to judgment.

12. 2 Peter, 3: 10, 11.-" But the day of the Lord will come, as a thief in the night,-Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?"

This passage, and indeed this whole chapter, is devoted to the subject and setting forth of the day of judgment, and Christ's coming, in language very impressive, in requiring repentance, or, a life of " all holy conversation and godliness," with the exciting motive of the certainty of the coming of "the day of the Lord," bringing with it the various events of the judgment. To see that Peter here specially means the coming of Christ, and his kingdom; by these things, it will be noticed, that, in the third and fourth verses, "he connects it with "the last days," when there will be scoffers"-" saying where is the promise of his coming?" So, in the 12th verse, he exhorts, to "looking for, and hasting unto the coming of the day of God," &c., as though all should be looking out for it as being very near and hasting in its approach, making it all look like" the kingdom," and "day of the Lord-at hand."

13. 1 John, 3:2.-"Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."

Here is John the evangelist, as well as John the Baptist, before considered, presenting the doctrine of Christ, as God, in his final appearing, to be seen as he is; as the first of all motives, in then making all his saints just like him in blessedness, holiness, and glory, so far as possible for creatures to partake of all with Christ in his kingdom.

14. Jude, 14, 15.-" And Enoch also, the seventh from

Adam, prophesied of these things, saying, "Behold the Lord cometh, with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds," &c. This the apostle Jude calls expressly the Lord's coming with the "ten thousand of his saints;" and more than this, it is "to execute judgment," i. e. it is Christ's coming with his kingdom from above to judgment; showing that all these things of the kingdom are coming together; that it is no new doctrine from him, from the other apostles, from Christ, from John the Baptist, from the former prophets, nor from Moses, but that even " Enoch," so long before Moses, and before the flood, only "the seventh from Adam,” prophesied of precisely the same things of Christ's coming and "kingdom," to the final "judgment." And all this he urges as apparently his strongest motive to mankind to comply with his exhortation, that they should "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3.) This is none else, than a godly, holy faith, and genuine repentance, such as Christ and the apostles preached first to the saints, or delivered to them, which they truly received, and according to which they lived, as a general thing for a long time after the refreshing of pentecost days. Thus it appears that very powerfully the apostle Jude preached the same gospel of the kingdom which Christ said was at hand, and which winds up the writings of all the apostles; and he would have it the more readily believed, from the fact of its having been preached to the people of God, from the early days of Enoch. We are told also, that these same things have been foretold by all God's "holy prophets since the world began." (Acts, 3:21.)

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REMARKS.

From this selection of passages concerning the apostles' preaching, it surely appears, that so far, at least, they severally understood the preaching of Christ, of John, and the former prophets, in those early days, when preaching "the kingdom"-" day of the Lord," &c., " at hand," to mean, neither Jerusalem's destruction, nor the Christian dispensation; but the final and glorious coming of Christ and his kingdom to judgment. And from a faithful searching out of every passage in the New Testament, it will be found also, that it contains not an instance of their advancing, in all their preaching and writing, a word of doctrine contrary to the coming of the "everlasting kingdom" of God" at hand." Neither is there any thing to be found in all their preaching and writings, apparently designed to awaken men to any thing, or to interest them in any thing short of the great concerns of Christ and his approaching kingdom. Thus their preaching was spiritual, powerful and awakening to sinners and sanctifying to saints. Then should not others now go and do likewise.

LECTURE VI.

COUNTER MILLENNIAL TESTIMONY EX

AMINED..

Mat. 3:2. Rev. 20:5.

"The kingdom of heaven is at hand."—" This is the first resurrection."

THE DOCTRINE

STILL to be maintained is, that "the kingdom of heaven at hand," preached by Christ, John and others, was and is God's everlasting and glorious kingdom, which is now coming shortly with Christ, the great King, to the "Resurrection"-" Judgment" and "End of all things"— together with the "New Heavens"-" New Earth," and a MILLENNIUM, to be heavenly and eternal.

Although several objections against this doctrine have been already answered, there is another, perhaps the greatest of all, which is, that there must be a temporal, or limited millennium, before the judgment, of at least " a thousand years" duration, supposed by some to be 360,000 years, and by others, as a long but indefinite period.

This OBJECTION at once puts far off, or "far away, the evil day," and would seemingly put to silence the great doctrine of Christ and John, that "the kingdom of heaven is at hand," to be heard no longer while the world shall

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