have thought that it is set forth under the figure of the new Jerusalem; whereto they are led by several things such as the declarations, " They shall reign for ever and ever," "And there shall be no more death," "Behold I make all things new." And of a surety there is, in the description of that sublime city, a certain tone which bespeaketh eternity and perfection. There is a peaceful rest within its walls, and a perfect brightness around it, which bespeak no change; and I have no doubt that it doth contain the germ of the world's regeneration. But while I agree that words like these,- -"Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people; and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne, said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write; for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done" (Rev. xxi. 3-6),-can be applicable to no shifting scene or changeable estate of things, I cannot agree with those who will therefore argue that it is not upon the earth during the Millennium, but the delineation of the after state. It is, I have said, in my judgment, the delineation of the after state, but I think beyond a doubt it is in existence from the beginning, and during the whole continuance, and for ever after the Millennium. To this I am drawn, not only from particulars in the description, as that "the nations of them which are saved, walk in the light of it," "the leaves of the tree which grows in it being for the healing of the nations;" and "the kings of the earth bringing their glory into it." And also from the expression, "the beloved city," against which the seduced nations rise in rebellion: but still more from the continual language of other parts of Scripture, where this city is made mention of. For example, "Our (conversation) citizenship is in heaven, whence we look for the Saviour, who shall change this vile body," &c. (Phil. iii. 21), where the city, the resurrection, and the coming of Christ are mentioned together. Again, in the xiith chapter of the Hebrews, where the whole hopes of the Christian

are exhibited together, "the heavenly Jerusalem" standeth among the rest. Also, the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, looked for that city and country at their resurrection (Heb. xi.); and the Apostle gives it as our mother city, to which therefore we must enter so soon as we get the resurrection right and title; also because it is among the seven promises to the victorious, and, like the other six, should come to them so soon as the battle is fought and over. Sound interpretation, as well as sound doctrine, therefore, I think, require of us to believe, that the new Jerusalem is in existence from the beginning of the Millennium, from the very coming of Christ; while at the same time, I believe, it hath in it all the features of the eternal state also.

My idea of the new Jerusalem is, that it is the figure of the inward purity, peace, and power which there is in the church, (the Head and the members, the Bridegroom and the bride), during the Millennium, and for ever; and that it stands collateral and contemporary with the crowned and enthroned kings of the millennium vision (chap. xx.), as Babylon, the false church, is collateral and con temporary with the kings of the earth over which she rules. And like as those be the same persons who govern in the kingdoms of Babylon, and who compose the city of Babylon; as the city and the confederacy of the kings are but symbols for the same form of Antichristian power; so deem I that the kings of chap. xx. and the city of chap. xxi. are but two symbols for the same thing, which is the righteous and holy dominion of the Christ during the mil. lenial age, yea and for ever. And I think that the living creatures and elders are the compound symbol for the same thing. I can see throughout, the same doubleness of symbol; but whether I have attained to the exact reason and utmost depth of this arrangement, I cannot take upon me to say. I have touched, and will touch upon it, as it occurs, and perhaps God may vouchsafe us more light as we proceed. Sometimes I think it is to set out the double office of kings and priests; sometimes that it savours of the two dispensations, the Jewish and the Gentile, and presents the united, yet distinct, brother. hoods of the saved out of each; and sometimes I think it is a twofold symbol, one part to express the separate per

sonality of the saved, the other to express their community. And I leave every one to take the view which pleaseth his mind the best, for I confess my own is not altogether made up.

In the book of Daniel, where the fourth empire is brought to its end, there are thrones cast or planted down; and besides them a throne of judgment, whereon is seated the Ancient of Days, who instateth the Son of Man in an universal and eternal kingdom (chap. vii). This is the vision to which the xxth chapter of the Revelation carrieth a continual reference. The planting down of the thrones, the opening of the books, the act of judgment, the reign of the saints, have all their origin in that vision of Daniel, which is most explicit as to this point, that the kingdom of the saints hath no end. We conclude, therefore, from this other source of knowledge, that the thing which comes to a close at the end of the thousand years, is not the reign of Christ and his saints upon the earth, which continues for ever, but the putting down and casting forth into the lake of fire of all adverse power whatsoever. It is the ending of the judgment, and the beginning of the eternal state of holiness; answering to the eighth day of circumcision, to the eighth and great day of the feast of tabernacles. The Millennium is properly the day of judg ment, beginning in judgment, and ending in judgment, and all along continuing in judgment; that is, in the putting down and suppression of all evil;-evil in existence, but under restraint; Satan in life, but in imprisonment; the evil passions of men in being, but kept under by good government: in one word, Christ and his people exhibited as able and successful resisters of iniquity, holy judges of wicked persons, and blessed governors of the world. This ended, they have been proved by power as well as by weakness, by possession as well as by destitution, by enjoyment as well as by suffering, and having by their labours accomplished the complete redemption of the earth, and the eternal suppression of evil, they enter into the eternal enjoyment of the work which they have wrought. Christ is working now, and under him the church disembodied, of which he is the Head; and they are together achieving a great victory over the spiritual powers; then Christ shall work, and his embodied church

along with him, and they shall achieve and keep a great victory over the visible world also; which being finished, they shall enter into their finished work, and possess it for ever. Daniel had not the change at the end of the thousand years revealed to him, nor had any other of the prophets until John; and so they simply announce the kingdom as eternal, without end, and for ever and ever. And when we find John giving specialty to the first thousand years, we are not therefore to suppose, in the face of all the Scriptures, that therefore the whole scene of things will be shifted away from this earth altogether. This is to fly in the face of all Scripture, and to use the further revelation of the Apocalypse to supersede, contradict, and make void the other Scriptures, and not to open and explain them. So do others abuse the Gospels, containing the coming of Christ, and opening all the prophecies which speak of his coming to the earth, in order to reign there for ever, into an occasion and means for making void those prophecies, and turning them into a dead letter; as if there was to be no more coming of Christ, nor acts for him to accomplish upon the earth. The canon which we have laid down above is good for guiding us in the right. use of the Apocalypse, which opens all Scripture, contradicts and supersedes none. The reference which we have made to Daniel, confirms much the conclusion which we have come to above, that the great white throne is in being upon the earth with the other thrones during the Millennium, for the very beginning of the day of judgment; because the same supreme Throne ruling over the others, is set forth in Daniel. And there is yet another passage to which we will refer, as casting light upon the same great truth.

It is our Lord's famous discourse, in the xxiv th and xxvth chapters of Matthew, which, the more I consider it, impresses me the more with a sense of its completeness, as an exhibition of the full truth of his coming and kingdom. There, after tracing the course of events until his coming, and enlarging upon the signs thereof, and commanding all to watch, he presenteth three parables, which, being well and justly weighed, record a consistent idea of the kingdom. There is first the parable of the virgins, and the marriage supper, and the Bridegroom entering

into the chamber, and shutting the door, and his church entering in along with him. This is the new Jerusalem, the bride of the Lamb, the marriage chamber, the blessed nuptials to which the people are invited. Next there is the parable of the faithful servants, who receive their rewards of government over five cities, and ten cities, &c. which they are to hold as kings under the King's Son. This answers exactly to the thrones of the xx th chapter, in which the faithful are instated at the coming of the Lord from the far country unto his kingdom; and, lastly, there is the parable of the Son of Man coming in the throne of his glory, and calling all the nations into his presence, to render him an account of their treatment of himself and his children. This is the great white throne of the Apocalypse, and the throne of the Ancient of Days of Daniel; and the throne of the Father in our text, which sits in judgment upon the fourth beast, and upon all the beasts, upon the quick and upon the dead, and whose decrees fix the fate for ever both of angels and of men. So that these three parables give a compact and consistent view of all the matters which the Revelation unfoldeth. And in this case also, it is for ever that the sentences extend," into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels."

All these things work together, in strong confirniation of our doctrine, that both the great white throne and the new Jerusalem are in being upon the earth from the beginning, and during the continuance of the Millennium, and for ever. It is not our purpose to go into the details of the exposition of these symbols, but simply to appoint to them their proper place, time, and condition, and gather from them the instruction and consolation which they afford to us. Now, the conclusion is, that the Father's throne in which Christ sits is in existence during the Millennium; or, in other words, that he is manifested as God, and reigns as God; also that he is manifested in the glory and power of the Son of Man, which he shares with us his faithful people; likewise, that together with them he formeth the dwelling-place of God, the seat of his power, and the instrument of his working, to the effect of reducing all things into the very form in which God would have them to be. After which millennial works Christ