bridegroom came. "Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps," and they were all called at once to go forth to meet the bridegroom. This by no means comports with the idea of a thousand years between the resurrection of the righteous, and the wicked. Neither does the parable of the talents favor this idea. The wicked and slothful servant at his Lord's coming was judged at the same time with the faithful servants: and in the latter end of the chapter Christ gives us an accurate account of the whole process of the day of Judgment. "When the son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on the right hand, and the goats on the left. Surely, if we can understand language we can find nothing here to favor, but every thing to oppose the idea of two literal resurrections, and two literal comings of Christ.

In the parable of the wheat and the tares we have a very particular account of the day of Judgment. (Matt. xiii.) "Let both grow together till the harvest;" (the harvest is the end of the world.) "And in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, gather first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barns." The parable of the net cast into the sea is another description of the last day. The net is drawn to shore; they sit down and gather the good fish into vessels, and cast the bad away. "So shall it be in the end of the world; the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." These parables give us no idea of two comings of Christ, or of two resurrections of the body; but directly the contrary.

In Acts xvii, 31, Paul told the Athenians that "God hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness." Compare this with Rom. ii. 5. “But after thy hardness, and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous Judgment of God." Also in ver. 12, 16. he says, "For as many as have sinned without law, shall also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law, shall be Judged by the law, in the day

when God shall Judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ." see (Rom. xiv. 10.) "For we shall all stand before the Judgment seat of Christ." (2 Cor. v. 10. 1 Cor. iii. 13.) "Every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it." (Matt. x. 15. "More tolerable for the land of Sodom-in the day of Judgment, than for that city." See also, Chap. xi. 22, 24. and Chap. xii. 36. "That every idle word, that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of Judgment." 2 Pet.

9. "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the Godlyand to reserve the unjust unto the day of Judgment." (Chap. 3. 7.) "But the heavens and the earth-are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men." (1 John iv. 17.) "That we may have boldness in the day of Judgment."

Surely every man who understands the natural sense of words, and phrases, must know from all these scriptures and many more which we could easily quote, that the idea which God intended to give us, and the idea which he has actually given to the world, is, that there is a day appointed, to wit, one particular set time, in which Christ will descend from heaven with his holy angels to Judge the world; when he will raise all the dead, both the just and the unjust, and all the race of Adam will be assembled before him, and every one shall be judged according to their respective works. If this idea is wrong, we have received it from the bible, and if we have taken wrong ideas from the statements and representations which Christ and his apostles have generally given us, it is because the language of the scriptures have been calculated to lead us astray. And we must quit our bibles, and betake ourselves to the dictates of a few learned, and ingenious men, who have very skilfully rectified our errors into which we have been led, by depending too much on what the inspired writers have over and over stated on this interesting subject.

We cannot pretend to say how long the day of Judg ment will be, or what may be the duration of that all important time; but it is evident that it will be but one time, but one resurrection, and but one Judgment. Two kinds of people, the righteous and the wicked, will be raised, but both will be raised at once. It is also true, that the righteous will be seated on the right hand, and the wicked on the left, and that the one will be acquited

and the other condemned; but still it will be but one day of Judgment. The statement of a thousand years between the first and second resurrection, in the twentieth chapter of the Revelations, is not an account of the general resurrection of the body, as we have already seen, but only the prophetic time between two metaphorical resurrections; and therefore this statement by no means contradicts the general account which the scriptures give of the general resurrection of the dead, and of Christ's second coming to Judge the world.

3. Although there are frequent instances, and occurrences stated in the scriptures, of Christ appearing for particular purposes, and on special occasions; yet we have no account of his ever coming personally, or as to his bodily presence, but twice; once when he was made flesh and dwelt among us; the second time will be, when he will come to Judge the world at the last day. When Jesus ascended, the disciples stood gazing, as he went up toward heaven. Two angels appeared to them and said "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." This certainly proves that Christ will come again in his bodily appearance as the disciples saw him going bodily away. This special circumstance of Christ's second coming is several times mentioned in scripture. Matt. xxv. 31. "When the son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him." (1 Thess. iv. 16.) "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God." (2 Thess. i. 7, 8.) "The lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his holy angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them who know not God, and who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." In Heb. ix. 28. the apostle states both appearances together. "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them who look for him, he shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation." See also Jude 14, 15. thousand of his saints

"Behold the Lord cometh with ten to execute Judgment upon all." And also Rev. i. 7. "Behold he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him." (Rev. 20. 11.) "I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it from whose face the heavens and the

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earth fled away." (xxii. 12.) "Behold I come quickly. and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be." (1 John iii. 2.) "But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."

From these passages we clearly see that Christ, who has come once in the flesh, will come a second time in a bodily and visible manner, and we also see that he will come but once more, to wit, a second time, in a bodily shape; and we also see from these scriptures that his second appearance will be when he comes to Judge the world at the last day.

If therefore his coming to reign with his saints a thousand years, before the last Judgment, be a literal, or a personal coming, then there will be three visible or personal comings of Christ; which is contrary to the whole tenor of the scriptures which give us only two literal appearances of Christ; one in the flesh, while he was on earth, when he came to die for sinners; and the second when he will come to Judge both the quick and the dead at the last day. This theory is therefore false, and contrary to the scriptures, and is nothing but the empty sallies of human imagination.

4. Although there are but a first and second, personal, appearance of Christ mentioned in scripture; yet every one who is acquainted with the bible knows that there are many passages that speak of his presence, and of his appearing in a metaphorical or spiritual sense. I will state a few instances out of many. In Matt. 24. 30. Christ is said to come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, to the destruction of Jerusalem, by the Roman army. This was not a literal, but a figurative coming; because Jerusalem was destroyed by the terrible Judgments of God, which was poured out on that wicked nation for crucifying the Messiah; and the Romans were the instruments which God employed to execute his will upon that devoted people; compare Chap. xvi. 28. and x. 23. and xxiv. 3. all which relate particularly to the destruction of Jerusalem. I know that many refer this prophecy of Christ to the day of Judgment; but this is evidently a mistake, for Christ himself, as if on purpose to prevent this notion, said expressly, "Verily I say unto you. this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled." Matt. xxiv. 34.

Christ several times said that he would come again to his disciples, and that he would see them again, and they should see him. John xiv. 16-20. "And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.--I will not leave you comfortless (Greek, ORPHANS.) I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me-At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me and I in you." Christ, here, evidently speaks of his spiritual presence, and of his coming to his disciples in a metaphorical sense, by his spiritual influences on the day of Pentecost. Chap. xvi, 16, 22, 23. "A little while, and ye shall not see me; and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father-And ye now therefore have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." "And in that day ye shall ask me nothing," &c. We therefore evidently see from these texts, that Christ came to his disciples on the day of pentecost, not literally, but by the influences of his Spirit, which is metaphorically called his spiritual presence, which is a very different thing from his bodily presence, or his literal coming at the last day. We are told in Acts ii. how Christ came to his disciples on the day of pentecost; that he came, not literally, but by the effusion of his Spirit, by which they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and were indued with power from above to preach the word, to speak with tongues and to work all kinds of miracles to attest the truth of the christian religion.

Christ is said to be with his ministers, his church, and with his people. Matt. xxviii. 20. "Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Chap. xviii. 20. "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Acts xviii. 9, 10. "Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision; Be not afraid but speak, and hold not thy peace, for I am with thee." 2 Tim iv. 17. "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me.” Rev. ii. 5. "Else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place." Verse 16. "Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth." See chap. iii. 3, 11, 20. These are instances which plainly