suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves." (Rev. xi. 8, 9.) After three years and a-half, these same christian institutions shall be revived in such a way as to arrest the attention, and excite the fear of their enemies. They shall then with much glory be re-established as a portion of Christ's visible church, and shall be publicly acknowledged as such, by the other branches of Christ's kingdom. "And after three days and an half, the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them." (Rev. xi. 11, 12.) Before the time of these great events, the knowledge of the gospel shall be widely diffused throughout the world, and the motive urging men to be active in its dissemination, will be a clear and certain knowledge that the time of the end is come. "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Rev. xiv. 6, 7.) The certainty of the near destruction of Popery, towards the time of its end, will be such, that by the church it will be spoken of as a thing actually accomplished, before it comes to pass. "And then followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." (Rev. xiv. 8.) All men shall receive sufficient and timely warning of the peril of adhering to the systems

of error that are doomed to destruction: and they who obstinately disregard God's gracious and merciful intimations shall assuredly perish with their systems. "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation: and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." (Rev. xiv. 9-11.)

Before these things begin to come to pass, a very large number of the human family shall be separated from the rest of the world, and shall stand forth in a prominent position, giving glory to God in the highest, promoting peace on earth, good will to man. Men shall take knowledge of them that they have been with Christ, and they shall be to the praise and glory of His great name. They shall be redeemed from a particular place of the world; among them the temple and altar of God shall be built up, in exact accordance with the Scripture pattern; and they shall be His true worshippers. They shall pass through tribulation, but denying themselves, they shall take up their cross and follow Jesus whithersoever he goeth; and at length, separated from all that is unsound in principle and unholy in practice, being cleansed from all their idols, they shall be as first-fruits unto God and the Lamb.

A particular nation has been chosen under the New Testament economy, to which has been committed the

oracles of God; this nation occupying that position in the christian dispensation which the Jews did under the Mosaic; with this difference as to their destinies-the Jews were cast away for a season because of unbelief; whereas, the nation now chosen shall become the peculiar glory of the church in the latter days, and shall be highly honoured by God, as the people who shall propagate His Gospel throughout all the world, up till the time of the conversion of the Jews, when God's ancient people shall aid them in the glorious work. "They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities; and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation." (Deut. xxxii. 21.) "Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people." (Isa. li. 4.) "Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings." (Isa. li. 7.) "I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name." (Isa. lxv. 2.) This chosen nation is now the house of Jacob, the people of Israel; and when the time of its great glory comes, it shall make great public professions of religion; but, notwithstanding, there shall be much and great wickedness practised in it. The cry of oppression shall be heard in it; the poor shall find no place in its sanctuary; the Sabbath will be desecrated; but times of refreshing shall come from the Lord. They shall be visited with favour from the Most High; they shall do justly and love

mercy; they shall preach the Gospel to the poor among themselves, and through its instrumentality shall moral miracles be performed. "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign which shall not be cut off." (Isaiah lv. 13.)

Towards the time of the end, the Spirit of God, as a spirit of grace and supplications, will be outpoured upon all the churches of the chosen nation, and there shall be a general mourning throughout all their land, and among all their families, when the Lord shows them all his marvellous goodness and mercy towards them for many generations past, while they were dishonouring Him. "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, and be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart." (Zechariah xii. 10-14.) There shall be earnest pleading with God for the glory of Jerusalem. "For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth." (Isa. lxii. 1.) "I have set watchmen upon

thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence; and give him no rest till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." (Isa. lxii. 6, 7.) There shall be great zeal manifested by God's people at that time. "They helped every one his neighbour and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote with the anvil, saying, It is ready for the soldering and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved." (Isa. xli. 6, 7.) But as there will be much that is corrupt and unscriptural, in the alliances, principles, practice, and government of the churches, there shall be a great spiritual conflict; the powers of light and darkness, truth and error, shall wage war in the minds of individual men, and among all the churches; it shall be a troublous time, and many shall be tried. "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time." (Dan. xii. 1.) "Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried." (Dan. xii. 10.) "And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels." (Rev. xii. 7.) There will be ecclesiastical separations, and flowing from these there will be ecclesiastical unions; these again occasioning further separations, and these also preparing the way for further ecclesiastical unions; until at length the church is prepared for a general union; the Bride, the Lamb's wife, makes herself ready for the marriage of the Lamb; the Bond-woman and her children being cast