general view, which is grounded upon the parable of the leaven.

The conclusion, then, which we would draw is, that the termination of the times of the Gentiles will be a separation of the saints from the ungodly, of the just from the unjust, similar to the separation of Lot from the men of Sodom; accompanied, also, with a dreadful judgment upon Christendom, similar to that upon the cities of the plain. This conclusion is confirmed by the memorable words of our Lord, (Luke xvii. 26-30,) " 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." We have further proof

In the apostolical epistles. Paul says to the Thessalonians, "Yourselves know perfectly, brethren, 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 shall come upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not

in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief; ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness; therefore let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober."-" 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, 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 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." Here a separation is marked between the church and the world, in that day, as wide as between light and darkness-salvation and destruction. These passages addressed to Gentile converts are of the utmost importance: for whereas the coming of the Son of Man, spoken of by our Lord himself, is commonly interpreted to apply exclusively to the destruction of Jerusalem; it cannot be maintained that the apostle referred to that event when writing to Christians in Greece, who were in no way interested in the fall of the holy city. The chronological marks contained in 2 Thess. ii. put this beyond any reasonable doubt.

2. We have now further to consider the date of the close of this dispensation. On this point I shall not enter upon the grounds for direct chronological calculations, with which it has pleased God to supply the church, and whereunto they that are wise and learned do well that they take heed. I confess that I have no confidence in any of the interpretations upon this point, which have as yet been given to the church: nor do I see my way to the proposal of any thing more satisfactory. I observe, however, upon the relative date of the termination of the times of the Gentiles; that it will synchronise with the restoration of the Jewish people, and precede the introduction of millennial blessedness."

The proof of this has been anticipated; for, if Jerusalem be trodden down till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled, those times must be fulfilled, when Jerusalem is lifted up; and if, as we have seen in the parable of the Tares and the Wheat, a continued mixture of good and bad growing together, be a characteristic of this dispensation, then this dispensation cannot include a period when all will be good; and consequently, it must end before the millennium begins. This supplies the true answer to those who allege, that the descriptions of separation given above at the coming of the Son of Man, apply to a period subsequent to the millennium, when a great falling off will have taken

See Mr. Faber's Sermon, before the Jews' Society, in 1822, where this subject is ably discussed.

place: for, however the question may be determined, concerning the condition and character of the nations of the earth during the millennium, it is clear, that our Lord's description of the state of the field until the harvest, and the description which the prophets have given of the prevalent, if not absolutely universal righteousness of the millennial nations, cannot, without violence, be applied to the same period.d

In a volume of Sermons by the late Mr. Milner, published for the benefit of the Church Missionary Society, this view of the subject is advanced, but without any attempt at argumentative support. (Pages 268---272.)

Matt. xiii. 24-30; 36-43. Let both grow together UNTIL the harvest. The harvest is the end of this dispensation, when the Son of Man will return with the holy angels, who are the reapers. Let both tares and wheat GROW TOGETHER, is characteristic of the whole period of the Lord's absence. Now, I ask, is this phrase, let both grow together, equally characteristic of the millennium, and of this dispensation? If it be answered, yes; I cannot for a moment dispute that such a millennium will precede the coming of the Lord: we have it already. The millennium predicted by the Holy Ghost, is not, however, so motley a concern as this would make it. Its characteristics are, the people shall be ALL righteous-they shall all know the Lord, from the least of them unto the greatest of them. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. The earth shall be covered with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. From the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in EVERY place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a PURE offering; for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts. These, and similar predictions, mani

I forbear from any detailed application of the subject at present; simply observing, that if this view of the dispensation be indeed scriptural—and if, instead of being in the dawn of wide-spreading improvement, making progress towards the meridian of millennial righteousness, Christendom be really on the eve of a tremendous overthrow-then nothing can be more obvious than the connexion between this view of the subject, and the watchfulness of the church of Christ: what he said to his immediate disciples, he says to us all, Watch!

festly describe a state of things contrasted with the present. That state is the millennium. The tares must be removed previous and preparatory to the millennium. The season of the removal of the tares is the harvest. The harvest is the period of the Lord's coming with the holy angels. Consequently, the Lord's coming must be previous and preparatory to the millennium.

It may be here remarked, how every sectarian effort to get what is called a pure church, is a petty attempt to antedate the millennium by the removal of the tares. In all such attempts, the wheat also is removed, or tares are mistaken for wheat, or both, and the scheme proves abortive. A visible church, and open communion, correspond with our Lord's-let both grow together until the harvest. Then, indeed, "the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous."