So.

It is peculiarly common to the Spirit of prophecy, to paint in strong colours, and to express with great energy, insomuch that matters of long continuance appear to be accomplished in an instant, or nearly Thus of the fall of Babylon: "And a mighty angel took a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." And again: "For in one hour so great riches is come to nought." And again : "For in one hour is she made desolate." (Rev. xviii. 17, 19, 21.) And yet this fall of Babylon is acknowledged to fill up many years, not to say ages. In like manner the sounding of the seventh trumpet has been confessedly going on for many years, and it is yet a secret with God how long it is to sound. And the fall of Babylon evidently commences with the sounding of the seventh, or last trumpet; for immediately therewith, "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever." But the fall of Babylon, or of the beast, or of the man of sin, (for I suppose few, if any, of the informed, will dispute these being all one, in the real spirit and substance of the matter,) is not until the last appearing of Christ, or day of final judgment. Neither will it any less agree with the sounding of the seventh trumpet; for that judgment is plainly taught as commencing with the sounding of that trumpet, as already stated. But that the fall, or destruction, of this beast, is not to take place until the commencement of the day of final judgment, is plainly enough taught by the apostle Paul in his second epistle to the Thessalonians; where he speaks in such explicit terms, that I know not if any dispute its being the last judgment of which he is treating, and in a few sentences introduces the man of sin, or beast, in such plain terms that they have been long acknowledged to apply to the same beast, or spiritual Babylon; and after showing that that day of the Lord, of which he had been speaking, would not come except there should be a falling away first, and that wicked, or man of sin, should be revealed; he then announces, in unequivocal terms, that the Lord will consume him with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy him with the brightness of his appearing. "Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you, and to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, [He maketh his ministers flames of fire, and by his Gospel shall judgment be executed in the world,] taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power; when he shall come [in the progress of that day] to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe [because our testimony among you was believed] in that day." (Thus there will be a real privilege of believing in that day, that being the time to gather in the elect, or to gain men to the true and perfect faith; For when the Son of man comes shall he find faith on the earth?)"Now we beseech you, brethren, by [concerning] the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us, as that the day of Christ is at

hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for (that day shall not come) except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God-And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." Thus clearly does the Apostle show, that the destruction of the beast is conjoined with the last appearing of Christ to judgment; for the brightness of his appearing cannot be seen, or have its effects, in the destruction of the son of perdition, until his appearing has commenced. Besides; His consuming him with the spirit of his mouth is an apt expression to designate the preaching of the Gospel to the world-the sharp two-edged sword which goes out of his mouth; "For the word of God is quick and powerful, [living and efficacious,] and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Heb. iv. 12.) And as to his being revealed in flaming fire, it is no unapt phraseology to indicate the flaming Spirit of Christ in his ministers and people, in whom he will be glorified and admired. "For our God is a consuming fire," and he dwells in his people. "For all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy, saith the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem." (Zeph. iii. 8; Isa. xxxi. 9.) For observe, That in his saints he comes, (that is, in his people or Zion where he dwells, and has promised to dwell for ever,) as the Apostle Jude also has it; "Behold the Lord cometh in myriads (Greek) of his saints." But to pursue the subject:

From the above statements it appears, that the seventh trumpet in the Apocalypse is the same as the last trumpet spoken of by Paul, and that it commences conjointly with the downfall of Babylon, the setting up of the kingdom of Christ, or Millennial reign, and with the last judgment of the quick and the dead. And to these things agree the words of the Apostle Paul in another epistle, (2 Tim. iv. 1,) speaking of the appearing of Christ, "Who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom." And if any Scripture testimonies inevitably contradict the expectation of the Gospel's being successfully preached to them that dwell on the earth, in the day and hour of judgment, or if any are incompatible with the execution of ample vengeance on the finally impenitent, the preaching of the Gospel notwithstanding, I should be glad to see them. When men hear the testimony, that the day of God's judgment has commenced, let them beware that they be not found among the scoffers, who walk after their own lusts and say, Where is the promise of his coming? and who speak evil of the things which they know not.

Although the proposed limits of this appendix are too contracted to admit of considering, minutely, many of the numerous Scriptures which relate to this important period, one or two more seem necessarily to present themselves. The prophet Daniel has spoken very pointedly of the same period and the same work in his vision of the last beast, his destruction, and the kingdom of God, or of the saints, succeeding

everlastingly (vii. 21-27 :) "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, 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; and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hands until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." Here is a very remarkable description of the beast in the Apocalypse; and also of his judgment, agreeing with the sounding of the seventh trumpet; as also the kingdom to last forever, as in the seventh trumpet, " And he shall reign forever and ever." It is also observable that the work is progressive, for the dominion of the beast is not destroyed at once, but the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it to the end. Once more; This kingdom and dominion and the judgment were all given to the saints, and the kingdom is the LORD's, with all things which pertain to it. Thus it is perfectly correspondent with the representation in the Apocalypse, which was shown to John in vision, and is called the first resurrection. "And I saw an

angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the Dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them: and judgment was given to them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and who had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.' ." (Rev. xx. 1-6.

In this vision Christ and his saints are represented as reigning a thousand years. But that phraseology in prophecy is by no means inconsistent with the continuance of the kingdom forever. And as other prophecies, concerning the same work and kingdom, (for the kingdom of God is one, there cannot therefore be a universal and everlasting kingdom for each distinct representation in prophecy,) assert that it

shall be everlasting, it is entirely safe to conclude the same in this place, inasmuch as this relates to the coming of Christ to judgment; and we read of his second coming, but not of his third; and therefore have but one coming to expect after the apostolic dispensation, of which more hereafter. Accordingly says Daniel, (vii. 18:) "But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. No difficulty need arise from Satan's being loosed a little season, at the accomplishment of the thousand years; for although some remarkable events may be expected then to take place, not only with the wicked, but even toward the holy city, or Church, there is nothing said which in the least resembles disinheriting them, even for a time, or even interrupting their reign; for when Gog and Magog compass the camp of the saints and of the beloved city, fire comes down from God out of heaven and consumes them, and the saints appear to suffer no loss nor interruption. But it is time to say something.

Secondly. Of the effect to follow on the sounding of the last trumpet; the dead shall be raised incorruptible; or the sleeping awaked, and the living be changed.

Having shown in the preceding discourse, what the true resurrection promised in Christ is, that it is a spiritual work effected in the spirit by the Gospel; and having just done showing that the Gospel is preached in the sounding of the seventh, or last trumpet, or in the day of judgment; I need only take time in this place, to show why this is called the first resurrection, which comes in the last day, and what is immediately implied in that saying. And it is so called in simplicity and plainness because it is the first which is finished and completed. These are the first inheritors of the kingdom and glory of Christ when he sets up his everlasting kingdom; or in other words, they are the true and real inheritors distinctly from the wicked, and have now got into the possession, at least in its commencement. "The dead in Christ shall rise first."

The apostles in their day had received the first-fruits of the Spirit, and were a kind of first-fruits to God; yet the first-fruits to God and to the Lamb, who had come to be fully ripe and perfect, were seen as having come long afterwards, with the Lamb on Mount Zion, contemporary with the fall of Babylon. So likewise, although the Apostles were risen with Christ, and travelled in the work of the regeneration, according to the dispensation and gift of the day in which they had lived, the fullness of the work was to come in another day, which they also foresaw and testified, though not always by the same terms. And this first resurrection in its perfection, was that which the Apostle so earnestly sought, That if by any means he might attain to the resurrection from among, or from the dead, as before shown. Nothing therefore appears in the account of this which is called the first resurrection to prevent any one of all those who have believed in Christ and been obedient from the beginning, from being amongst those who partake of it; the account seems actually to favour the impression that they are all there, and eventually all mankind, except the wicked who exclude themselves by rejecting the Gospel offer." And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them: and I saw the souls of them that were

beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and who had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. It is here worthy to be noticed, that there is no mention of a second resurrection, and that whatever may be said in proof of its existence, there is nothing said of any blessedness or holiness as the portion of those who partake of it. We may observe farther: That the resurrection and the judgment are intimately connected, as before stated; those who lived again, and participated in the first resurrection, are the same, and at the same period, who sat on the thrones and had judgment given to them. Once more: From what has been shown, it will naturally be understood, as formerly stated, that the resurrection is a progressive work; to such a degree that those who believed in Christ in the apostles' days or after, and kept their faith in obedience, entered into that resurrection which is finished in the second appearing of Christ, then called the first resurrection; and that with what they had gained and faithfully kept, they are ready to enter into the increased and finishing work of the resurrection to eternal life in Christ, in his second appearing, "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." "That the trial of your faith, being more precious than that of gold that perisheth, though it be tried by fire, might be found to praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ." (1 Pet. i. 5, 7.)

The multitude of symbolical representations exhibited in the Apocalypse, and the strong allegories used in this particular vision, seem to have led some to conclude that this is not properly a resurrection, which is here called the first, but that the phraseology is wholly symbolical. But without endeavouring to crowd the understanding of any man beyond measure, I would make free to remark, that, To count all the phraseology in this narrative so symbolical as to exclude its being intelligibly applicable to the real substance, seems to be an error: good symbols have an aptness to represent the things signified. And whatever may be the rules among the learned, to disapprove of metaphorical and appropriate forms of language being mixed, it is certain these rules have not always been rigidly observed. And it is evident that prophecies are sometimes so far mixed, that the fulfillment comes out so exactly according to the letter of the prophecy, that it may be called at least nearly literal, while part of the same is metaphorical. But especially; Some parts of the symbolical representations in the Apocalypse appear evidently to have literal explanations. The vision of the Lamb on Mount Zion with the hundred and forty-four thousand, though highly symbolical, is immediately explained in language as free from metaphor as most of the prophecies, which are accounted the most literal; so free as to be in no wise embarrassing to honest minds under the Gospel. (Rev. xiv. 1-5.) So in this place, the vision is quite symbolical;