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Israel." This place is, by those who spiritualize (or rather allegorize) the scriptures, interpreted of the authority which the apostles exercised in the church, which (they say) being the spiritual Israel, is therefore the twelve tribes; and the eating and drinking at the Lord's table, is explained of the administration of the Sacrament of the Lord's supper. But how clearly the context disproves this, both in Mark and Luke,"Their great ones exercise authority upon them; but so shall it not be among you." But, surely, to sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes would be exercising lordship among each other, contrary to our Lord's direction. So, the kingdom appointed, in which they are to be elevated to thrones, is evidently to follow the time of temptation; for only "if we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him.” 2 Tim. ii. 12. Therefore to place them upon thrones, during the time of their tribulation and temptation, is quite irreconcileable with all that the scripture says on the kingdom. The apostle Paul did not account thus; for he writes to the Thessalonians,-"We ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure; which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also SUFFER." 2 Thess. i. 4, 5. Well would it be, for the ministers of the Lord in particular, if they would bear more continually in mind, that they are now to be servants and not rulers. There is a great proneness, even in many excellent and good men, to carry themselves as lords, rather than ministers, in the heritage of Christ, and to assume authority even in the world. But we must prophesy in sackcloth, and patiently wait for the blessed time, when-"Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and PRINCES shall rule in judgment;" (Isa. xxxii. 1.) when God will also make the commonest officers in his kingdom peace, and his exactors righteousness;when violence shall no more be heard in their land, wasting nor destruction within their borders. Isa. lx. 17, 18.

2. There is another important feature of the judgment yet remains to be considered, and that is the vengeance of the Lord upon his own and his people's enemies: for all this, and the gathering out of his kingdom every thing that offends and does iniquity, is, in my apprehension of it, included in THE JUDGMENT. The period of judgment must consequently comprehend those tremendous visitations or vials of wrath, which precede the millennium, the whole time of the saints rule on earth, and that final visitation of the wicked which occurs at the expiration of the millennium. This is the time of Gentile ascendancy: that the period (as I hope hereafter to show) of

Israel's domination. This is the day of depression and of tribulation among the saints: that is to be the period of their supremacy and triumph.

It is indeed objected against such a view of the subject, that the judgment is called in scripture "the day of the Lord," "that great day," and even "the hour of his judgment," which expressions are considered incompatible with its duration through upwards of a thousand years. This would not be a sufficient objection, even were we to understand the terms day and hour in their restricted sense of a period of twenty-four hours, and of a twenty-fourth part of the same; for it is evident from the context, in most instances where these expressions occur relative to the judgment, that a particular feature only of the judgment is spoken of-viz. the crisis when the divine wrath will be poured out: just as has been shown in the former chapter, the reference to the kingdom is sometimes to the circumstances connected with the progress of Christianity, and not to the future glory of the kingdom. And truly that period, when plague, pestilence, famine, the sword, and fire, shall fall upon the ungodly, may be with propriety distinguished as "that great day"-"the dark and cloudy day,"-seeing it is to put an effectual check to the ungodly tyranny of man, and to usher in a glorious period of righteousness and peace.

The expressions, day and hour, however, have not that limited meaning, either in the scriptures or among ourselves, as is here attempted to be imposed upon them. They are doubtless used in the restricted sense at times; but this is readily determined by the context. But on the other hand, any period of time, during which events of a uniform character take place, are called the day thereof. Thus in Gen. ii. 4, the whole period of creation is called a day. In Psalm xcv. the forty years wandering in the wilderness is called "the day of temptation." And in 2 Cor. vi. 2. the period of the divine mercy under the gospel is called "the day of salvation." So the word hour has the same extensive signification, on which account our translators often render (ga) it by the word season, as in John v. 35. 2 Cor. vii. 8. Philemon v. 15. In the first instance it signifies the whole period of John the Baptist's ministry; in the second, the time which elapsed between the reception by the Corinthians of the two epistles of St. Paul to them; and in the third instance, the whole term of the desertion of Onesimus from his master Philemon. In 1 John ii. 18. it is translated time, and relates to the whole period from the time of John to the second advent.

For a more elaborate discussion, however, of these terms, I must refer the reader to Abdiel's Essays, page 83; and here

content myself with remarking further, in regard to the judgment, that if the seven vials, in which is filled up the wrath of God, are a portion of that judgment, the description of one of them plainly indicates, that it cannot take place in a period of twenty-four hours; for under the sixth vial, the Euphrates is dried up, that the way of the kings of the east may be prepared; and three spirits are seen to go forth from out of the mouths of the dragon, and beast, and false prophet, to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them together to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." Rev. xvi. 12-14. Now without insisting on any particular interpretation of the Euphrates, the armies of the kings of the whole world cannot be gathered together in one day of twenty-four hours; to say nothing of the previous work of preparation, here said to be effected by the spirits of devils working miracles.

(2.) It only remains therefore for me now to instance some of the more striking passages of scripture which relate to the vengeance or wrath, so frequently made mention of as forming part of the judgment.

Isaiah xxxiv. commences by solemnly inviting the attention of all flesh: "Come near, ye nations, to hear, and hearken ye people; let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the Lord is upon ALL NATIONS, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them: he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood." At verse 5, it continues-"Behold it shall come down upon IDUMEA, and upon the people of my curse to JUDGMENT. The word of the Lord is filled with blood," "for the Lord hath a great sacrifice in BoZRAH, and a great slaughter in the land of IDUMEA, &c.—their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness; for it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion." Then, after dwelling upon the manner in which the land shall be desolated, the prophecy bursts forth, in the next chapter, into a rapturous description of the way in which the earth shall afterwards be renewed for the righteous.

In the preceding passage it will be perceived, that the judgment, therein spoken of, falls on Idumea (or Edom,*) of which Bozrah was the capital. These names, with other characteristics of the prophecy, serve to identify and connect it with

* Both the ancient and modern Jews, and after them, various Christian expositors, interpret Edom to be Rome. Mr. Scott considers it a mystical name for all the enemies of the church.

another prophecy in chapter lxiii. 1-5, which informs us also, who is to be the great actor in the tribulation: "Who is this that cometh from EDOM, with dyed garments from BozRAH? this, that is glorious in his apparel, travailing in the greatness of his strength?" (Answer:) "I, that speak in righteousness, mighty to save." "Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth the wine-fat?" (Answer:) "I have trodden the wine-press alone; and of the people there was none with me. For I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments; and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my

REDEEMED is come.

Those expositors who have constantly endeavoured to turn every thing in prophecy to the circumstances of our Lord's first advent, take advantage here, from the mention of its being "the year of the redeemed," to apply the whole to Christ's shedding his own blood as an atonement for his people. The expressions however are such as to shew that a very different event must be intended. He comes in his "glorious apparel," and he travails in the "greatness of his strength;" whereas, at his first advent, there was no beauty in him, and in his travail his soul was poured out like water. He here "treads the people in fury;" then he was trodden under foot of men. sprinkles his garments with their blood; then his own blood was poured out unto death.* Another prophecy, however, will clearly point out, by an identity of certain leading expressions, to what event reference is here made by the Spirit in Isaiah.

He here

In Rev. xiv. we have a description of "the vine of the earth, which is cast into the great wine-press of the wrath of God; and the wine-press is trodden without the city, and blood comes out of the wine-press even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs:" and in chap. xix. one is introduced, "clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called THE WORD OF GOD, &c., and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF

* Mr. Scott in this instance forms a bright exception to these commentators, He says, "These verses contain a prophetical representation of the victories of Christ over the enemies of his church; for of him the passage must be interpreted, nor can so much as an accommodation of it to any other be admitted. But it is remarkable, that many have understood it of the sufferings of Christ, and of his being covered with his own blood: though nothing can be more evident, than that he is represented by the prophet, as covered with the blood of his enemies, and as a mighty Conqueror and Avenger, and not as a Lamb slain for a sacrifice. (See in Loco.)

KINGS, AND Lord of Lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God, that ye may eat the flesh of kings, captains, mighty men, horses, &c."

The mention of the fowls of heaven, called to a great supper, further connects this subject with a prophecy in Ezekiel xxxix. concerning the destruction of Gog and Magog, the slaughter of whose armies will be so great as to require seven months to bury the dead. At verse 17 are these words: "And thou, Son of man, thus saith the Lord God; speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field. Assemble yourselves and come, gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth; ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God. And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my JUDGMENT that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them."

The wine-press, and mention of the gathering of the mighty ones, &c. connect both these last prophecies with Joel 9, iii. 14. "Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles: Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause the mighty ones to come down,* O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I set to JUDGE all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: Come, get you down, for the press is full, the fats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision; for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." Such is the description of the prepation for vengeance; it terminates in verse 17, by declaring; "then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more;" and it goes on to describe the regeneration of the earth.

I shall close this series of prophecies by a reference to one more, which is connected with them by similar expressions relative to the vintage, &c. in Jeremiah xxv. Mr. Begg has

The Septuagint renders this last clause, "Let the meek man be a warrior." + The harvest and vintage both appear combined here, as in Rev. xiv. 14—20. VOL. II.-14

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