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visits to Abraham, Lot, Manoah, | the time when you will, with Paul, Elisha, the Saviour, to Peter, and receive a crown of glory? I know many others too numerous to men- you will say yes, if you are waiting tion, and then say, if you please, how for the appearing of our Lord Jesus absurd ! Christ. Then pray, “thy kingdom come."

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Once more. Satan is to be shut up in the bottomless pit during the thou- Proposition 11th is, that Christ sand years of peace and happiness. will reign in person where old JeruHe is to deceive the nations no more salem once stood. Zeph. iii. 14-15, until the end of the Millennium. Rev. Sing, O daughter of Zion, shout O xx. 1-3. Again: Isa. ii. 3, 4; "For Israel. Be glad and rejoice with all out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, The Lord hath taken away thy judgand he shall judge among the nations, ments. The King of Israel, even the and rebuke many people, and they Lord, is in the midst of thee. Thou shall beat their swords into plough shalt not see evil any more. Zech. shares, and their spears into pruning ii. 12, "Sing and rejoice, O daughter hooks; nations shall not lift up sword of Zion, for lo I come, and I will against nation; neither shall they learn dwell in the midst of thee saith the war any more." This prediction will Lord, and many nations shall be be completely fulfilled in the new earth; joined to the Lord in that day, and and not until that time. I believe that shall be my people, and I will dwell it was partially fulfilled at Pentecost; in the midst of thee, and thou shalt but only in part; for the time has know that the Lord of hosts hath never yet come when men have ceased sent me unto thee, and the Lord shall to learn and practice war. But such inherit Judah his portion in the holy a period is fast hastening on. May land, and shall choose Jerusalem God speed the time when man shall again. Joel iii. 17-21, “So shall ye no more murder his fellow man, but know that I am the Lord your God peace, love and harmony among all dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. abound! The scriptures teach that But Judah shall dwell for ever, and there is to be a period of one thou- Jerusalem from generation to generasand years when men and beasts are tion, for I will cleanse their blood, to dwell in safety, when this old earth which I have not cleansed, for the which has been groaning under the Lord dwelleth in Zion." So we close curse for almost six thousand years, this proposition. And when the thouduring which time its history has been sand years are expired, Satan shall little less than one continued scene of be loosed out of his prison, and shall bloodshed, carnage, disease, famine, go out to deceive the nations which pestilence, death, and distress in every are in the four quarters of the earth, form, shall be renovated. But it must Gog and Magog, to gather them tobe purified by fire. The curse must gether to battle, the number of whom be removed. Thorns, thistles, and is as the sand of the sea, (not the noxious plants shall no more annoy | wicked dead as some vainly suppose, men or animals; but it shall be made but the people that will then be living suitable for the residence of the Lord on the earth) and they went up on himself. Our kind heavenly Father the breadth of the earth, and comdoes not intend that Satan shall despoil passed the camp of the saints about, it for seven thousand years. No; he and the beloved city, and fire came has reserved one thousand years of down from God out of heaven and the seven to be a rest to his people, devoured them. And the devil that of which the Sabbath was a type. deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast

Christian, do you not long to see

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and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Rev. xx. 7-10. Here are the Popes of Rome, together with Mahomet, suffering the punishment due to them for their crimes. How long have they been suffering ?-During the time of the millennium. When the Lord comes they will be put into the lake of fire. Let us see if we can prove it. "Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his coming," 2nd Thess. ii. 8. "I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake. I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body given to the burning flame," Dan. vii. 11. This is to take place at the coming of the Lord. See the connection. Will there be any of the wicked dead raised at the coming of the Lord? See Dan. xii. 2, " And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." This is the only passage in the Bible that speaks of the resurrection of any of the wicked at the commencement of the millennium. Will the beast and tke false prophet be seen in their state of suffering by the people living in the new earth? See Isa. lxvi. 94, "And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me, for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." Read the connection. What an awful warning to the inhabitants then living to deter them from transgressing against God.

The next event that we shall notice is the general resurrection and final judgment. "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the heavens and the earth fled away, and there was found no place for them and I saw the dead small and great stand before God, and the books were opened, and

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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 death and Hades 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," Rev. xx. 11-15. Not one word in this connection about the coming of the Lord. Then, I apprehend, and not until then, will the living saints be changed. Then will come to pass the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory! Oh, death! where is thy sting? Oh, grave ! where is thy victory ?" Here time expires. Human existence comes to an end. The lamp of revelation which has illumined our path through time goes out. What is beyond we know not. We must wait with patience till our Heavenly Father developes it.

I have now laid before your readers some of my views in relation to the Millennium; that glorious rest into which the Christians now living and dead will shortly enter: into that blessed time when they will receive a crown of glory and be ever with their Lord. As I said before, I shall contend with no one for these views. Just take them reader for what they are worth: freely I received them, freely I give them. If they are the means of encouraging you to hold on your way to heaven, I shall be more than compensated for what I have done.

Your brother, waiting for the coming of the Just One.

J. F.

REMARKS BY THE EDITOR.

Although we assume the title of "The British Millennial Harbinger," and fully believe that the little stone cut out without hands-created by the Spirit of God on the day of Pentecost-is destined to become a great mountain, and to fill the whole world, yet we are not anticipating a millen

nium like that described in the three essays which we have published from the pen of J. F. Whether Christ reign literally or spiritually, is not for us to decide; but, in our opinion, such a state of society as that pourtrayed by J. F. will never be realized by mortals or immortals.

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must descend again, enshrined in the coil of their old mortality, to repeople this second cursed and death-smitten earth for there are to be sin and death in the new world ! Such is the confused, contradictory, and gloomy part of this theory. Alas, if it were true, what a cold and cheerless prospect lies before the vision of those who are looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who shall change our humbled body, and fashion it like unto his most glorious body by his Spirit given

unto us.

We are aware that some persons, in order to fill the world with apostates after the millennium, contend that all the wicked who have ever lived will be raised to life, and, beholding the beloved city, will be filled with madness at the sight of what they have lost, and with Satan at their head, go forth to fight against | it, when fire, coming down from God

If we correctly understand the theory propounded-a new heavens and new earth; or, in other words, a new solar system is to be created, which is to continue for at least a thousand years, and the inhabitants of which are to be partly mortals and partly immortals. These latter are to dwell in the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, which is to descend from God out of heaven, and alight exactly on the same spot as that on which old Jerusalem formerly stood. In this heavenly city Messiah is to ascend literally the throne of his Father, David, ruling the new heavens and new earth by the agency of his resurrected and immortal people, who shall live and reign with him a thousand years. | out of heaven, shall consume them for This is the first resurrection: blessed ever. This, they affirm, is the seand holy is he who shall have part in cond death. this, for upon such the second death Now, turning away from these vain shall have no power. In this glorious and imaginary speculations, let us city there shall be no more curse, nor read, with sober reflection, the foldeath, nor crying, for God shall wipe lowing testimonies of the inspiring away all tears from their eyes. And Spirit of God, which we quote from there shall be no night there: they Brother Campbell's pocket edition of have no need of the sun, nor of the the New Testament, lately published: moon, nor of (Popish) candles to en-1 Corinthians xv. 47, "The first lighten the city, for the Lord God and the Lamb shall be the light of it, and they shall reign with him for a thousand years. Such is one part of the theory now presented for the consideration of our readers.

The other part of this literal theory is, that the living saints who remain at the coming of the Lord are to be taken up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air-not to be changed, and so become associates with the resurrected saints in the heavenly city! No-this would be fatal to the cause of Satan after the thousand years have terminated; and therefore these

man from the earth was earthy, the second man is the Lord from heaven. As was the earthy so also are the earthy, and as is the heavenly such also shall be the heavenly. For as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. And this I affirm, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither can corruption inherit incorruption. Behold I show you a secret: we shall not all die, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for it shall sound, and then the dead shall be

raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. For this corruptible body
must put on incorruption, and this
mortal body must put on immortality.
Now when this corruptible body shall
have put on incorruption, and this
mortal shall have put on immortality,
then that saying of scripture shall be
accomplished, Death is swallowed
up for ever.'"-1 Thessalonions iv.
13-18, "Now I would not have you
ignorant, brethren, concerning those
who sleep, that ye may not be grieved
even as the others who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died
and rose again, so also those who
sleep will God through Jesus bring
with him. Besides this, we affirm to
you by the word of the Lord, that we,
the living, who remain at the coming
of the Lord, shall not anticipate those
who are asleep; for the Lord himself
will descend from heaven, with a
shout, with the voice of the arch-
angel, and with the trumpet of God,
and the dead in Christ shall rise first;
afterwards we, the living, who remain,
shall, at the same time with them, be
instantly taken up in clouds to join
the Lord in the air, and so shall we
be for ever with the Lord. Where-
fore comfort one another with these
words."
J. W.

fore, that we may understand this difference, we are to remember, that the ancients were far more rude and indistinct in their calculation of time than we have been since; and indeed, such is their confusion this way, that we are obliged to God's providence in giving us the exact compass of a prophetical year, even in this book, by fixing the synchronism of the three numbers above-mentioned. For by these it is determined, that thirty days make a month, and twelve of such months, a year. So that 1260 days being divided into three years and a half (or time, and times, and a half, in the apocalyptical dialect), 360 days must make up a year, without the additional five days and odd hours and minutes, that are added in the calculation of the Julian year. For the Julian (and Gregorian) months consisting, some of thirty, and some of thirty-one days (excepting February only) and the years consequently of 365 days, there must needs be some considerable difference in the revolution of many centuries; which difference appears still greater if we consult the curious astronomical calculations of Petavius, Tycho, Kepler, and others. But since their exactness hath only added five hours to every year (together with some minutes, firsts, seconds, &c. comminibus annis, which they themselves are not fully agreed in), I shall not be so nice upon this point as to follow them in all their criticisms this way. However, since five THE second preliminary considera- minutes additional to a year arise to tion is, that, in order to understand an entire day in the revolution of 163 the prophetical years aright, we must years, it ought not to be altogether reduce them to Julian years, or such neglected. But passing even these, as are in use with us now in Europe. and considering only the five days This is no idle or chimerical inquiry; that are added to the 360, in our seeing the ignorance of this has misled ordinary years, we will find that the all our great apocalyptical men hither- 1260 days in the Revelation, being to in their calculations, and yet unless reduced to years, are eighteen years we are able to adjust the difference short of Julian years, in the prophetibetween prophetical and Julian years, cal reckoning, by reason of the addiwe must still reckon at a venture, tional days turned into years in the without any certainty of the truth and ordinary accounts now, above the exactness of our arithmetic. There-apocalyptical reckoning. To demon

FLEMING ON PROPHECY.

NO. II.

(Continued from page 291.)

strate which, I present you with the ing heads to consider as to their rise following scheme :and duration. Let these things, therefore, be minded here.

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The Prophetical

Year.

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The Julian
Year.

365

365

730 1095 183

1278

Now if, according to this computation, we subtract 1260 apocalyptical years from 1278 Julian or Gregorian ones, (I call them so, ore rotunda, overlooking the smaller measures of time), there remain eighteen years to be cut off.

To apply this, therefore, to our design : If we may suppose that Antichrist began his reign in the year 606, the additional 1260 years of his duration, were they Julian or ordinary years, would lead us down to the year 1866, as the last period of the sevenheaded monster. But seeing they are prophetical years only, we must cast away eighteen years, in order to bring them to the exact measure of time which the Spirit of God designs in this book. And thus, the final period of papal usurpations (supposing that he did, indeed, rise in the year 606) must conclude with the year 1848.

1. That the seventh head, or king of Rome (as I hinted before), whose character is, that he was immediately to succeed to the imperial government, and to continue but a short space (Rev. xvii. 10)-that, I say, this government could be no other than that of the kingdom of the OstroGoths in Italy.

For it is plain that the imperial dignity was extinguished in Italy, |and in the western parts of the empire, by Odoacer, the king of the Heruli, who forced Augustulus, the last sprig of an emperor, to abdicate his throne and power in the year 475, or 476, as others say. And though this Odoacer was soon destroyed by Theodoric, the king of the Ostro-Goths, yet the same form of regal government was continued by | Theodoric and his successors. And though this kingdom continued for nearly eighty years, reckoning from Odoacer to Teias, yet the angel might justly call this a short time; for so it was, if compared either with the preceding imperial or succeeding papal government. Which suggests a very strong argument against some who would make this seventh king denote the Oriental empire, which, as it began long before this time, so lasted many centuries afterwards, and was not totally extinct till Mahomet the Great's time, in the year 1453. And surely this kingdom was sufficient to constitute a new head of the Roman people, seeing Rome and Italy were subjected entirely to those Gothish kings, and that they not only acted with the same authority that the emperors had used before (excepting that they abstained from that title by Seeing, therefore, as I said before, a special providence, that they might in the 4th postulatum, it is plain, not be confounded with that governfrom Rev. xvii. 10, that the imperial | ment), but were owned by the senate government was the regnant head of and people of Rome as their supethe Roman beast at the time of the riors, yea, by the emperors of the vision, we have only the two follow-East also, as might easily be proved

And now that I have hinted at the time of Antichrist's rise, as the conclusion of the preliminary considerations, I must proceed to prove this to be, in one sense, the true era of the papal beast's reign. And here it is that I find myself extremely straitened, in discoursing of so great a subject in so narrow a compass. All, therefore, that I can say here, will amount to a few short hints only, though, perhaps, no inconsiderable

ones.

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