THIRD DIVISION. Our next endeavour shall be, to give a view of the signs of the times which preceded the great deluge and the birth of Christand an account of Herod the great, who put to death the infants of Jerusalem. Also, a minute description of the Ark, and the animals saved in it-proving it amply sufficient to contain all the Scriptures state it did. 4440 Before the whelming flood, when Enoch liv'd, THE reason why a view of those times are presented to the reader, is to prepare the mind for a view of the signs of our own times, which signify the Millennium nigh its coming. The signs of the times, which were eminently calculated to arouse the antediluvians to the expectation of severe judgments, to be poured out upon them, was, in the first place, their own great wickedness, corruption and violence. Of these things they were reproved and threatened by Enoch, the first prophet, who was the seventh from Adam, and was translated from earth to heaven by the miraculous power of God. We have in St. Jude, an account of his manner of reproof, which strongly indicates that those times were highly fraught with fearful forebodings, that great wrath was in waiting for those abominable nations who had so thoroughly corrupted their ways in the earth. E* The manner in which he communicated his reproofs of their doings, was, no doubt, at their public assemblies of riot, confusion and idolatrous worship; where he, in some commanding situation, harangued and fore-warned them of impending judgments, and said, "The Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, for their ungodly speeches, which they have spoken against Him:" namely, against the Lord God of Adam. For there is scarcely a doubt, but they constantly reproached and reviled his name, for what they might erroniously esteem severe in his conduct toward Adam and Eve, because he drove them out from Eden, for their sin. The local situation of Eden, was, most certainly, well known to the antediluvians, for they must have frequently conversed with their great progenitor, Adam, concerning it, who had informed them of its delights; which might have inflamed them with a spirit of coyetousness to possess it again; but this being impossible, they raged against the Lord, and spake injurious words against him on that account. Of their works, therefore, the holy Enoch reproved them, and perhaps told them, that if God had so se-、 verely judged Adam, they might not expect to escape some signal punishment. At which rebukes they were, unquestionably, enraged, and no doubt proceeded to lay violent hands upon him, to take away his life; but in the midst of their fury, God caught him up from their sight. He was a man in the prime of life, being three hundred and sixty-five years old when he was translated; but had walked with God three hundred years, consequently, was born again at the age of sixty-five. This holy man, who had been among them a preacher of righteousness, as Noah was, in after years, was no doubt translated in open sight, as was Elijah, near the fords of Jordan. This circumstance should therefore have been received of them, as an evident sign, that God sanctioned Enoch, and consequently condemned them. But what avails the signs of Heaven with the ungodly-the translation of Enoch should have been to them as a voice from the ETERNAL, informing them that they were in imminent danger, since God had so suddenly and miraculously removed that good man from among them. Not many years after the translation of Enoch, there was given to the antediluvians another sign from Heaven, which was the preaching of Noah, who declared to them that God had determined to destroy the earth by water; for God had said to Noah, "The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with violence; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." This surely was a novel doctrine, which was by no means worthy of the attention of the wise ones of that day, who, probably, began to philosophize upon the subject, and to say, how can this thing be, since the waters every where cleave to the lower parts of the earth, and cannot, therefore, climb the hills, and from thence overflow the globe. Neither is there water sufficient in the clouds of hea ven, if every drop were drained, to flood a globe like this they were not willing to suppose, that God, who out of nothing made the globe with all its seas, could as easily create an addition of water, sufficient to drown the world. And again, why should he do so? they might say; surely we have done nothing to offend him-he is far from us, and cares not what we do-it is beneath the notice of a God. But if he does, how can he find fault? are we not as he would have us? did he not create us? we have done only as we listed, and acted in accordance with the passions he implanted in us himself-therefore, he must be pleased, instead of being offended with us, when we live as we list. There are many of the same sect at the present day, who do not wish to confess that they are fallen from original innocence, who will, if they continue in that fatal error, fall into, not a flood of water, but of fire, according to the Scriptures. Therefore, Noah and his preaching were rejected, who no doubt, notwithstanding, took all opportunities to reform them, and to bring them to repentance, as Enoch had done before him, but without success. The people of that age, are they to whom Christ preached by Noah, in spirit, while they were in prison; which prison is to be understood as relating to the fact, that they were under condemnation; for God had said, “The end of all flesh is come before me." And the one hundred and twenty years in which Noah was building the Ark, is to be considered only as a respite of their lives from immediate death; therefore, during this time, they are spoken of as prisoners, or spirits in prison, and under the divine arrest. This idea is beautifully cor roborated in Genesis, where it is written "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for as much as he is flesh, yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years."—Gen. vi. 3, in which Christ, by his spirit, in Noah preached repentence to those nations, precisely as Christ, by his spirit, preaches to the people by his ministers at the present day. The strange news, concerning a man, whose name was Noah, had probably spread far and near, that he was, in fact, building a large vessel upon dry land, to save himself and family from drowning, excited, no doubt, a general curiosity to visit so strange a person, and to see his vessel, and to converse with him about it, and to ridicule his work of needless precaution. Upon this principle, it is reasonable to suppose, that immense assemblies, from time to time, visited him du ring the one hundred and twenty years, at which opportunities this great preacher of righteousness endeavoured to convince them of their sins, and assured them that he was not building this vast vessel but at the express command of God, for the saving of his house and every species of beasts, that the earth should not be desolated when the flood should be dried up. In this way, therefore, they were all warned of their danger, for God is just, and gives to every soul time and opportunity, according to his day and ability, to secure a place at his right hand. But suppose the antideluvians had all repented, or a half of them only, at the preaching of Noah, then |