the millennial Church? Again, if it is at all scriptural to expect there will arrive a time, when the sanctuary, which is nothing else but the Church of God on the earth, shall be cleansed, then we may calculate from this, as from an immoveable data, that all such as are merely moral only, shall be cast out at the time of that cleansing. If this shall not be the fact, how is it that Mount Zion is to become finally the joy of all the earth? How is it that this Zion, which is the king's daughter, is to be all glorious within, if there shall, in the Millennium, be any sinners at all? The very genius and nature of salvation, commenced by a competent Saviour, contemplates such an effect over his enemies. If such shall not be the fact, how then are the saints to take the kingdom, if a part of the inhabitants, at that time, belong to the kingdom of Satan.

But we resume the other idea, which is, that it is not probable the millennial state is to be brought on by the slow advances which real piety is supposed will make, so as to overcome all opposition. Far enough from this, it is to be feared, will be the horrible fact.

Man is a free agent, and we have no precedent, in the dealings of God with man, to fix upon, as data, from which to calculate a suspension of that free agen cy, so that he should become incapacitated thereby, to follow the will of his own mind. Hence, we conclude, that such shall not be the fact therefore, man shall continue to exercise this power, (given) till the final period arrives, when all free agents, who are sinners, shall have that gracious, yet wonderful gift taken away. See Matt. xxv. 28, 30.

Therefore, I perceive no peculiar reason, why the whole world shall absolutely become more religious this side the Millennium, than at any period which is past. But that while the Gospel shall pour itself like a river, over all heathen countries, and lift them up from their low and degraded state, it is much to be feared, that infidelity will follow hard after, to subvert the gracious designs of the Gospel.

This has been the constant procedure of Satan, the destroyer, ever since the promise to the woman was made, that of her seed a Redeemer should arise. Of this John, (Rev. xii. 12.) had a view, when he cried, Wo to the inhabitants of the earth, and of the sea, for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time; who will not cease his opposition till he is shut up in the bottomless pit.-See Rev. xx. 3. Of this spirit, who had passed from a holy and happy nature, to a vile and sinful one, it is said, that when he saw he was cast out in the earth, he persecuted the woman who brought forth the man child. This man child by some is supposed to mean the Christian Emperors, be ginning with Constantine the Great, who espoused the Gospel, and were caught up to God and his throne;" i. e. caught up to sit on the throne of the Roman Empire, and from thence to rule the nations with a rod of iron: this, say they, the Christian Roman Emperors have done. Others suppose the child to mean Jesus Christ, who would have been devoured by the dragon, Herod, when an infant, but was finally caught up to God and his throne at his resurrection, and from thence rules the

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wicked nations with a rod of iron, or signal judg ments. But the vile spirit cailed Satan, soon seduced to his purposes the whole race of man, with but few exceptions, which is evident when we examine the history and end of the nations before the flood.

And afterward, when the race of man was renewed from the family of Noah, the same wicked spirit all along till Christ, by corruptions and abominations among the people, manifested himself to be the enemy of God and his Church in the earth.

He prevailed among the nations to adopt the vile und unnatural service of dumb idols; and animals, with many kinds of reptiles, the sun, moon and stars, and herbs of the field were the objects of their adoration: and mingled with these, in their assemblies, were the abominable rites of of obscenity.

But notwithstanding all the opposition of a combi`ned world, the promised seed of the woman, step by step, came on, conquering and to conquer, till he stood, finally, on Mount Calvary and made expiation for siu. Since that time, the modes of attack practiced by Satan, have been extremely various; among the Jews he has ever been malicious and cruel towards this seed of the woman; among the heathen he has been the blackness of darkness, confusion and error, that they should not see this seed, who is the desire of all nations; for such is the fact, there has been no nation but in some way have looked for a Mediator. Sometimes he has been seen upon the throne of nations with sceptre and crown, as in the person of Constan- . tine the Great, who espoused the Christian cause, from

O other design than to increase his popularity and power, which saved the shedding of much Christian blood at that time. Here, no doubt, was manifest the extreme subtlety of the devil, who, when he saw that the gospel of the Son of God was becoming popular, thought it a good expedient, in order to counteract its holy healing influence upon the souls of men, if he could get its support incorporated with the affairs of state, and its ministers recognized among the great ones of the earth; when thus corrupted with ambitious desires of riches and worldly glory, its holy converting designs would be frustrated. Because when once the corruption is fastened on so firm a rock as the secular government, its ministers no longer under the salutary discipline of exposure to persecution, become idle and wicked; consequently, could not teach the truth, and did not hesitate to supply its place with fables. Such is the fatal tendency of privileged orders. Such has been, and is the fact in many countries where the abominable power of a clerical monopoly has obtained; in whose gripe the consciences of men are so firmly holden, that nothing less than the arm of God can break the chain.

A history of which we shall now exhibit as given by. Dr. Clark, which will not fail to strike the mind with wonder, when we contemplate this monster in its convolutions, rolling its snaky folds in undescribed postures of horror, and is called a beast rising out of the sea. Rev. xiii. 1.

Verse 1. And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea] Before we can pro

ceed in the interpretation of this chapter, it will be highly necessary to ascertain the meaning of the prophetic symbol beast, as the want of a proper understanding of this term has probably been one reason why so many discordant hypotheses have been published to the world. In this investigation, it is impossible to resort to a higher authority than Scripture; for the Holy Ghost is His own interpreter. What is, therefore, meant by the term beast in any one prophetic vision, the same species of thing must be represented by the term whenever it is used in a similar manner in any other part of the Sacred Oracles. Having, therefore, laid this foundation, the angel's interpretation of the last of Daniel's four beasts need only be produced, an account of which is given in the 7th chapter of this prophet. Daniel being very desirous to "know the truth of the fourth beast which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, and the ten horns that were on his head," the angel thus interprets the vision "The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise," &c. In this Scripture it is plainly declared that the fourth beast should be the fourth kingdom upon earth; consequently, the four beasts seen by Daniel are four kingdoms hence the term beast is the prophetic symbol for a kingdom.

As to the nature of the kingdom which is represented by the term beast; we shall obtain no inconsiderable