: of Antichrist-when these great events, I say, shall come to pass, then shall the kingdom of Christ commence, or the reign of the saints upon earth. So Daniel expressly informs us, that the kingdom of Christ and the saints will be raised upon the ruins of the kingdom of Antichrist, vii. 26, 27. '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.' So likewise St. John saith, that, upon the final destruction of the beast and the false prophet, Rev. XX., 'Satan is bound for a thousand years; and I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus Christ and for the word of God; which 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.' It is, I conceive, to these great events, the fall of Antichrist, the re-establishment of the Jews, and the beginning of the glorious Millennium, that the three different dates in Daniel of 1260 years, 1290 years, and 1335 years are to be referred.—And as Daniel saith, xii. 12, Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the 1335 years; so St. John saith, xx. 6, Blessed : and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.' Blessed and happy indeed will be this period; and it is very observable, that the martyrs and confessors of Jesus, in Papist as well as Pagan times, will be raised to partake of this felicity. Then shall all those gracious promises in the Old Testament be fulfilled-of the amplitude and extent, of the peace and prosperity, of the glory and happiness of the church in the latter days. 'Then,' in the full sense of the words, Rev. xi. 15, • Shall the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.' According to tradition*, these thousand years of the reign of Christ and the saints, will be the seventh Millenary of the world: for as God created the world in six days, and rested on the seventh; so the world, it is argued, will continue six thousand years, and the seventh thousand will be the great Sabbatism, or holy rest to the people of God. One day (2 Pet. iii. 8.) being with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.' According to tradition too, these thousand years of the reign of Christ and the saints, are the great day of judgment, in the morning or beginning whereof, shall be the coming of Christ in flaming fire, and the particular judgment of Antichrist and the first resurrection; and in the evening or conclusion whereof shall be the general resurrection of the dead, small and great; • and they shall be judged, every man, according to their works!" " * See Burnet's Theory. This is a just representation of the Millennium, according to the common opinion entertained of it, that Christ will reign personally on earth during the period of one thousand years! But Dr. Whitby, in a dissertation on the subject, Dr. Priestley, in his "Institutes of Religion," and the author of the "Illustrations of Prophecy," contend against the literal interpretation of the Millennium, both as to its nature and its duration. On such a topic, however, we cannot suggest our opinions with too great a degree of modesty. Mr. Winchester, in his "Lectures on the Prophecies," freely indulges his imagination on this curious subject. He suggests, (as has been already mentioned) that the large rivers in America are all on the eastern side, that the Jews may waft themselves the more easily down to the Atlantic, and then across that vast ocean to the Holy Land; that Christ will appear at the equinoxes (either March or September) when the days and nights are equal all over the globe; and finally, that the body of Christ will be luminous, and being suspended in the air over the equator for twenty-four hours, will be seen with circumstances of peculiar glory, from pole to pole, by all the inhabitants of the world! Dr. Priestley (entertaining an exalted idea of the advantages to which our nature may be destined) treats the limitation of the duration of the world to seven thousand years as a Rabbinical fable; and intimates that the thousand years may be interpreted prophetically then every day would signify a year, and the Millennium would last for three hundred and sixty-five thousand years! Again he supposes that there will be no resurrection of any individuals till the general resurrection; and that the Millennium implies only the revival of religion. This opinion is indeed to be found in his "Institutes," published many years ago; but latterly he has inclined to the personal reign of Christ. See his "Farewell Sermon," preached at Hackney, previous to his emigration to America. The Author of the "Illustrations of Prophecy" contends, that in the period commonly called the Millennium, a melioration of the human race will take place, by natural means, throughout the world. For his reasons, we refer to the work itself, where will be found an animated sketch of that period, when an end shall be put to many of the calamities now prevalent on the globe! The late Dr. Bogue published a "Series of Discourses" on the Millennium, well worth attention. The Reverend Edward Irving, the celebrated Caledonian orator, has also published two small volumes on prophecy, in which he contends for a Millennium involving the personal reign of Christ on earth. Its commencement he dates in 1866—that is, thirty-nine years hence. The younger portion of the present generation may witness the arrival of this august era-which it has been hitherto thought would be reserved to bless the eyes and gratify the longing expectations of the saints, down to the latest posterity. However the Millennarians may differ among themselves respecting the nature of this great event, it is agreed on all hands, that such a revolution will be effected in the latter days, by which vice and its attendant misery shall be banished from the earth; thus completely forgetting all those dissensions and animosities by which the religious world hath been agitated, and terminating the grand drama of Providence with universal felicity. We are not unmindful of the prophetic language of Isaiah, chap. xlix. 22, 23,-together with a sublime passage from the Book of the Revelations, chap. xi. 15, with which the canon of Scripture concludes" Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people. And Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their Queens thy nursing mothers, (they shall become good themselves, and be the protectors of religion and liberty,) and thou shalt know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.-And the seventh Angel sounded, and there were great voices in Heaven, saying,-The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever." These are the divisions of human opinions, which characterize the more popular departments of the religious world. I have endeavoured to delineate them with accuracy and brevity. Each system boasts of admirers, and professes to have its peculiar arguments and tendencies. To a thoughtful mind they exhibit a melancholy picture of the human understanding, misguided through passion, and |