in heaven and in earth will then be gathered, will be the one to whom prayer shall be addressed from all on earth, even as it will be through him and his glorified saints, that blessing will be universally administered. "And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil." No want, no scarcity even then. The voice of complaining will have ceased to be heard in the streets. Creation's universal groan will have been hushed; yea, it will have given place to universal hymns of gratitude and praise. "And they shall hear Jezreel." Now Jezreel, as scholars tell us, means, "the seed of God;" and this interpretation of the word is confirmed by what immediately follows, "And I will sow her unto me in the earth." Who is it that is thus spoken of? There has been but one subject treated of in the chapter, to which this feminine term can apply-Israel, under the figure of an unfaithful wife, whose restoration has been so affectingly foretold. It is of her that it is said "I will sow her unto me in the earth;" she is the "Jezreel," "the seed of God," from the sowing of which this harvest of universal blessing is to spring; and if there wanted confirmation of this, it is in the next words "and I will have mercy upon her (mark this, the same word "her") that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God." Sentence of "Lo-ruhamah" and "Loammi" had been in ch. i, verses 6, and 9, pronounced upon the nation. This sentence is to be reversed; and its reversal is to usher in the glorious period of which this magnificent prophecy treats. There shall be one unbroken chain of blessing, from the throne of Jehovah, the great Source of all, down to the enjoyment by mankind of all the blessings of this life and the place in this wondrous chain filled by restored Israel is that of Jezreel, the seed of God, sown by Jehovah, and to him, in the earth, and filling, as we learn from the passage previously considered, the face of the world with fruit. Jehovah-the heavens occupied by Christ and the church in glory-the earth-restored Israel, or Jezreel, the seed of God-universal blessing on the earth, even to abundance of corn and wine and oil, while war and violence are at an end, and "the glory of the Lord is revealed, and all flesh see it together?" Praise, eternal praise, to him who alone doeth wondrous things! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen. : : DUBLIN LONDON PARTRIDGE AND OAKEY, PATERNOSTER Row. No. 10.] Plain Papers on Prophetic [Oct., 1853. and other Subjects. THE GREAT PROPHETIC QUESTION. Is the Millennium, or Christ's Second Advent, to be expected first? It is undeniable that scripture represents the world's condition at the time of the second advent of our Lord, as one of utter carelessness and security on the one hand, and of great wickedness on the other. We shall quote no scriptures in proof of this, but such as are admitted by all to apply to the actual, personal coming of Christ. "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." Luke xvii, 26-30. "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." 1 Thess. v. 3, 4. "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.' 2 Thess. i, 7, 8. "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days, scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? .But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.” 2 Pet. iii, 3-10. No one will deny that these passages refer to the actual coming of Christ; and they are but a specimen of the way in which scripture uni L formly speaks of the condition in which the world will be found, when "the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men" bursts upon it. We are aware of the answer made to this, by our brethren who take the post-millennial view. They endeavour to account for the world being found in such a condition at that day, by the prediction of Rev. xx, that a great defection will take place, and a wide spread rebellion arise, after the close of the thousand years. We shall not at present discuss this point. We hope to give that passage a full consideration at a future stage of our inquiries. We only for the present beg the reader to observe what is admitted by those who view the subject in that light. They admit, in whatever way they may account for it, first, that wickedness and carelessness will characterize the world when Christ comes. They admit, secondly, that the scripture account of the world's condition at that epoch would not apply to its condition during the millennium, when "the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth, as the waters cover the sea. Now what we have to do is to prove from scripture, that no such period as this intervenes. It is admitted, as matter of fact, that the world was wicked when the New Testament was written. It is admitted, as undeniably predicted in God's word, that the world will be wicked when Christ comes. We shall prove to you, dear readers, that according to the prophetic teaching of the New Testament this will be the condition of the world throughout the whole period from apostolic times till the coming of the Lord. The first proof we adduce is our Lord's parable, in Luke xix, 11-27. The occasion of its being spoken is thus explained to us. "And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear." Now without going into any lengthened disquisition on the phrase "kingdom of God, we may safely assume that it is here used to express the people's expectation of Messiah's reign-" the kingdom" which "the God of heaven" was to set up, according to Dan. ii, 44-and that whenever a period shall arrive characterized by universal righteousness and peace, then the kingdom of God will surely have appeared. There were those who thought it was about to appear immediately when Christ was making his last entry into Jerusalem. The parable before us was spoken to correct this mistake. It begins as follows. "He said therefore, A 66 certain nobleman went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return." No one can question that the nobleman represents Christ himself. And can there be any doubt as to the kingdom which Christ has gone into heaven-the far country-to receive? Can it be any other than that of which Daniel speaks? "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man come with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Dan. vii, 13, 14. But not only had the nobleman to go into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom; he had to return ere the kingdom could appear. A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, AND TO RETURN." It is thus as though the Saviour had said, "You are expecting that the kingdom of God, the long-looked-for reign of Messiah, shall immediately take place. But I have to leave this world, and go into heaven, there to be invested with universal dominion, and I have then to return to this earth, ere the kingdom you are expecting can appear." But this is not the whole of the parable. The nobleman is represented as entrusting to his ten servants, ten pounds, that is, a pound to each, during his absence. He says to them, "Occupy till I come." We have their conduct in this stewardship delineated, and also the conduct of the enemies of the nobleman, his citizens, throughout the whole period of his absence. We have the several issues of their conduct also, when he does return. But not a word throughout the parable of anything like the subjugation of his foes, or the establishment of his kingdom, till after his return. "His citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us." Be it remembered that our brethren who hold post-millennial views, admit that this parable spans the whole period from the first to the second advent of Christ. The words, "Occupy till I come" are referred, and must without obvious violence to the meaning of the text be referred to the second, personal coming of Christ. At the close of the millennium we are sure that instead of receiving for himself a kingdom, he will deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, which formly speaks of the condition in which the world will be found, when "the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men" bursts upon it. We are aware of the answer made to this, by our brethren who take the post-millennial view. They endeavour to account for the world being found in such a condition at that day, by the prediction of Rev. xx, that a great defection will take place, and a wide spread rebellion arise, after the close of the thousand years. We shall not at present discuss this point. We hope to give that passage a full consideration at a future stage of our inquiries. We only for the present beg the reader to observe what is admitted by those who view the subject in that light. They admit, in whatever way they may account for it, first, that wickedness and carelessness will characterize the world when Christ comes. They admit, secondly, that the scripture account of the world's condition at that epoch would not apply to its condition during the millennium, when "the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth, as the waters cover the sea. Now what we have to do is to prove from scripture, that no such period as this intervenes. It is admitted, as matter of fact, that the world was wicked when the New Testament was written. It is admitted, as undeniably predicted in God's word, that the world will be wicked when Christ comes. We shall prove to you, dear readers, that according to the prophetic teaching of the New Testament this will be the condition of the world throughout the whole period from apostolic times till the coming of the Lord. The first proof we adduce is our Lord's parable, in Luke xix, 11-27. The occasion of its being spoken is thus explained to us. "And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear." Now without going into any lengthened disquisition on the phrase "kingdom of God," we may safely assume that it is here used to express the people's expectation of Messiah's reign-"the kingdom" which" the God of heaven" was to set up, according to Dan. ii, 44-and that whenever a period shall arrive characterized by universal righteousness and peace, then the kingdom of God will surely have appeared. There were those who thought it was about to appear immediately when Christ was making his last entry into Jerusalem. The parable before us was spoken to correct this mistake. It begins as follows. “He said therefore, A |