à a prophetic manner of expression, and clearly demonstrates the truth of I what I have endeavored to substantiate; that there were those in the apostolic age, who, from conscience, lived a virgin life, in imitation of the blessed Saviour. It is said, in the 7th chap. of Rev. that this hundred and forty-four thousand, were before the throne of God, and served him day and night in his holy temple. That could not be in the invisible world, for day and night are not reckoned there. It is further said of them, that they should reign on the earth.

Whether you credit it or not, I now state to you the truth in sincerity. The fulfilment of this sublime vision may be seen in the order of the United Society. If there were no other proof within the lids of the Bible, the vision which we have examined, is altogether sufficient to satisfy my mind, that this Church owes its origin to divine Power and Wisdom. Where, under the broad canopy of heaven, can you find another order, to which it will apply? There is both internal and external evidence of this. Examine every part of the vision, and you will perceive that, that which was applicable to the primitive church, is equally conspicuous in = the Millennial Church of the latter day. How many are ardently desiring for Christ to come and reign on the earth! How many are fondly anticipating a glorious period to come! O that some ministering angel would whisper in their ears, "The time has already come, the period has arrived, and Christ has begun to set up an everlasting kingdom of righteousness, love and peace."

B. From what has been said already, I perceive you are confirmed in the belief, that you are connected with the only true church; and that the New Jerusalem, or the new heavens, or the new earth, are created, and are now located and established on this terrestrial ball. I presume further, from what has been said and admitted, that you will not deny that the Almighty, according to present appearances, to say the least, is dependent upon the children of men, or as you might term it, upon the world, for subjects to compose and build up this New Jerusalem, this incorruptible church. The whole train of your remarks thus far, has been, not only against all illegal intercourse, but against those who may live in strict conformity to the marriage contract, and whose only avowed object may be to propagate their species, which, if I should admit, then of course, those who live in this order, cannot please God.

Now I presume you will not deny, that if Christ came to condemn and bring an end to this order, then, of course, all should follow him; and, as every rational soul is endowed with volition, all might have followed Christ. If all, in that day, had forsaken the world, as you term it, then the mystery of God would have been finished. But, if you say that the work of regeneration could not be then matured, as Christ had not made his second appearing, yet I do not see how you will reconcile these things. You will not deny, that the hundred, forty and four thousand, were begotten after the order of the first Adam, as well as every one now of your order. Of course, it follows that the order of the first Adam was, and now is, necessary, that the order of the second, may be completed. It appears obvious, therefore, even according to your reasoning, that the New Jerusalem is built, to say the least, of materials furnished by the old creation. How, then, can the order of the first Adam be condemned, if properly organized and conducted, when it is so plain, that it must have been preserved, at least to this day, that the de

signs of God to man thus far, might be perpetuated on earth? Should all now close in with your views, in a few years, the Church of Christ must be extinct on the earth, and the saints, even in Heaven, must be limited.

M. I am pleased to have you so free in raising all 'real, or imaginary objections.

It is evident that the Creator always works according to his own designs. Hence we may conclude, that it was his design that the first Adam should multiply in the order of the earthly creation, and people the earth in obedience to the law of his Creator; and had Adam and all his posterity kept his Divine law, and of course, their rectitude, they would have subserved the purpose of God, in their creation; but this was not the case. Man rebelled against God and his law; then he lost his union to God, and his right hand of heirship to heavenly blessing; and, notwithstanding man's rebellion, God did not leave him in that dilemma, without hope. He gave him the promise of a Saviour, who would save him from the power of the serpent to which he had yielded obedience. God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh is come before me;" yet he did not disannul the promise he had before made, but suffered them to go on and multiply, to subserve the purpose of the New Creation. Some suppose that God was diverted from his purpose of making an end of all flesh, because "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." It was only to subserve the plan of the New Creation. An end was determined. The decree went forth, "My spirit shall not always strive with man," although it was four thousand years before the promised Saviour appeared, yet the first promise was not disannulled; and should it be two thousand years from his appearing to the end of all flesh, the decree is no less certain. It would be proper to observe, that God promised a Saviour at the time of the fall, and in the fulness of time, he appeared; but had God put a stop to multiplying at the time of the flood, there would have been no sinners to save. So, also, after Christ appeared, he promised he would come again; but had he put a period to generation, in his first appearing, it would be useless for him to appear on the earth again.

No doubt God comprehended his whole work from the beginning, and designed his plans accordingly, so that each part should be fulfilled in its own time and season, as is evident from the different requirements of the different dispensations; and as you say man was, and is, endued with the power of volition, therefore, man was not prohibited from sinning, if he chose. All the transgressions of man from the fall of Adam to the present day, did not, nor cannot, alter the purpose of God, but only affect himself, and he will be rewarded accordingly. As it was the purpose of God to make an end of the old creation, and establish a new in its proper time and season, and as every thing effected has a beginning and an end, so it required an adequate length of time to complete this purpose, both in relation to the old and the new creation. The new creation is formed out of the old, by regeneration, and if there never had been an old creation, by generation, there never could have been a new creation by regeneration; nor could there be a new creation, unless it was radically and materially different from the old. As the new creation was to be made, or formed by the process of regeneration, it was necessary that they should exist coeval with each other. So that when the new creation commenced, it began among the subjects of the old. Of

such materials the church of Christ may be said to be composed. As there must be a beginning to the old creation, and as it must be matured before it could have an end, so also must the new have a birth, and be matured before the work of Christ can be completed. Hence it is plain that there will be two kinds of people, or two orders on the earth at one and the same time, till the consummation of the design of God, and the finishing of the work of Christ.

It is the general opinion of all professors in Christendom, that the world will come to an end at some future period. The first, or old creation, must exist on the earth until the close of Christ's work, until every soul has had a full and free offer of salvation and eternal life, which is, and will be left to their volition, whether to accept or refuse; and when the work of Christ is completed on the earth, no doubt the design of God will be accomplished in all respects, as to how, when, and how many, will become, or make themselves the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem. Then the mystery of God will be finished. The church of Christ will never be extinct on the earth, so long as there is one soul of the old creation, who has not had an offer of the gospel. When that is effected, the work of Christ with man, will be completed.

man.

When the work of Christ, or the new creation, commenced, it was offered to man as a privilege, and not as compulsion, and has so continued, and will so continue, to the end; and whoever has received, or may hereafter receive or reject it, do it upon the estimation they put upon each. The way of life and the way of death will yet be offered to every soul. When the gospel is offered, there are two objects placed before Then is the time for him to elect his alternative, whether to become a worker with Christ in the new creation, whose work was to destroy sin and him that had the power of it, or to be a worker with the first Adam, all of whose followers propagate sin, for no one can beget an offspring unless they beget it in, and with the propensities of the fall; so then it is evident they are workers against Christ, whose work is to destroy the works brought in by the fall, while they are propagating a generation who always were, and always will be, by nature fallen, sinful

creatures.

Condemnation does not rest upon those who live after the order of natural generation, until they have the offer and privilege of leaving the old, and embracing the new; or at least until they are so far enlightened as to believe that word in part, which Christ said should judge every man at the last day. What right can any one claim to the new creation, or even to the name of Christian, so long as he is propagating and increasing that which is against Christ, even if it is done under a pretext of furnishing Christ (or the Almighty,) with sinners or subjects for him to save.

O ye sons and daughters of despondency, come to the river of life; come to the fountain of living waters, that you may receive "the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of peace."

B. I am constrained to acknowledge that your arguments are reasonable, and you have illustrated the foregoing subject so clearly, and to my satisfaction, that I do not incline to discuss this part of our topic any farther.

DIALOGUE VIII.

B. You say that every part of this vision is applicable to those who compose the United Society. Your arguments are conclusive; yet I must be better acquainted with the characters that make up that Society, before I can speak with such assurance. But still, from what I do know, there is no body of people, within my knowledge, that possess so many characteristics pointed out by the Revelator. Perhaps there are other peculiarities which, if I understood more perfectly, would strengthen me in the belief that the Millennial Church is, in truth, the one to which both the Prophets and Apostles had a prophetic allusion. This being established, leaves no room for disputation.

M. It has long been a subject of dispute, whether it can be said of any, that in their mouth is found no guile; and that they are without fault before God. Although volumes have been written upon this subject, both for and against; it has produced no good. Both parties have exhibited but little of that Christian meekness, which is indispensably necessary to render any theological discussion, profitable. Those who have been the most zealous advocates for Christian perfection, have evinced, by their spirit and conduct, that they are the farthest from it.

Christ said, "Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven, is perfect." And the Apostle says, "He that doeth righteousness, is righteous, even as he (that is, Christ,) is righteous." Those who "follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth," attain to Christian perfection, and no others. As to modern disputants and their productions, but little or no light can be obtained from them. The simple truth is, Christ never required perfection, when he knew, at the same time, that perfection was unattainable. Let the leaders of the different religious sects "deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Christ," and it will, at once, end the dispute with them about Christian perfection. Let then! rid themselves of the violent antipathies to which this subject has given rise; and no longer harbor in their bosoms, those asperities that have generated the most unfriendly feelings with those who look to them for instruction. When they come to all this, sinless perfection will not appear to them a groundless hypothesis. They then will see that we have given no forced application of the vision of John.

You say that other peculiarities, if explained to your understanding, might convince you that the Millennial Church was the subject of ancient prediction. It was said of the primitive Christians, that they were a "peculiar people." Those who compose the Millennial Church, are no less so. But they have no more peculiarities than the gospel requires.

B. In many important respects, I acknowledge there is a striking similarity; but still, one peculiarity in relation to your manner of worship, I cannot understand. I have been told you worship God in the dance. This, to me, is altogether unaccountable. I cannot see the propriety of this mode of worship. There is but little or no scripture testimony to warrant you in turning the dance into religious worship.

M. I am well aware of the prejudices that pervade the community in relation to this manner of Christian worship. I well recollect when

but a youth, that thoughtless boys who were my associates, turned this manner of worship into ridicule, by a pretended imitation of God's people. This was done in the presence of men who, I supposed, were venerable for their age and piety. Instead, however, of reproving such indiscreet behaviour, they evidently applauded their children in all their rashness and impiety. As if to make manifest the displeasure of God, these heedless youth were all taken out of the world at a premature age. The only one remaining among those who were together on that occasion, is the writer of this article, and he refused to join his comrades from an impulse that never will be forgotten while life remains.

Little did I think at that time that ever I should be found in the ranks of a people whose very worship was made a theme of merriment, not only to thoughtless youth, but to venerable age. But so it is. And so far from this being a subject of shame or regret, I glory in it, as the consummation of my happiness. What if the world deride this manner of worship? Does this prove that it is not of God? The Almighty declared that he would "create all things new." Why not, with the rest, establish a new order of worship? About the time of the commencement of this testimony, the religious community was wrapped in the gloom of impenetrable darkness. A form of worship was kept up; but it consisted of a round of ceremonies, without spirit or power. When the night of ages passed off, and the morning began to dawn, words were = inadequate to express the joy, the ecstacy of those who found themselves awakened from their long slumber. There were duties appropriate to that vast occasion; and those to whom this ample field of labor was opened, burst from the trammels of blind tradition, and involuntarily I united their bodily organs with their mental faculties, in the praise of God. They did not know, themselves, at that time, that it was the fulfilment of ancient prediction. They yielded to the dictates of the spirit; and though it was a source of mortification, yet it was crowned with the blessing of Heaven. From this circumstance, how can you doubt that this manner of worship originated from God? Where is the Christian sect that can appeal to such a source as this, as the origin of their mode of worship? I mention this to show, that I have not assumed ground that cannot be sustained by incontrovertible facts, in support of which, we not only have the testimony of those who were engaged in this work from the beginning; but an appeal can be made to those who were foremost in the ranks of opposition, in the corroboration of the truth of this statement.

You may suppose that I have attached undue importance to this circumstance. Such a supposition is groundless. Had the founders of the United Society followed the footsteps of the church of anti-christ, in this respect, it would have been incompatible with the nature of their testimony. It was the design of Heaven, that there should be an entire renovation in the religious world, both as to theory and practice; and that, too, by the instrumentality of individuals whose very condition in life was inconsistent with the conclusion, that such a change was the result of human wisdom.

This worship was established by the agency of the Holy Spirit. They acted in reference to no scripture testimony. To their apprehension, it was sui generis, in the Christian world. They would not have voluntarily united in a mode of worship, that had a direct tendency to bring upon them such a flood of contumely and reproach. There can