those suffering under cruel persecution; to those who were personal followers of Christ, and to those who should live till his coming. At his coming their persecutions should end, their redemption be effected, if they remained faithful, and watched, so as to escape when the last sign made its appearance.

This agrees with what we have in the epistles on the coming of Christ. Thus St. Paul says, "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand." Phil. iv. 5. Now was Paul mistaken here? About eighteen hundred years ago, he said, "the Lord is at hand." He could not, therefore, refer to a coming now future; for if he had, he could not have said, — It is at hand.

In Thessalonians, he says, "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 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. 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." 1 Thess. v. 16. Here it is said, the Lord would come as a thief, come suddenly and overtake them, unless they were constantly watching. But how could such language have been used unless Christ was to come in their day? Besides, how are we to understand the following, unless it referred to a coming of Christ in their day?

"But

ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." Now, surely, such language is not idle declamation; and, therefore, Christ was to come in their day; and unless they walked as children of the light, he would come unexpectedly, and they would be overwhelmed in judgment.

In Hebrews St. Paul says, "Cast not away, therefore, your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience; that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry." Heb. x. 35-37. Do we understand the apostle here? "Yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry"! Can eighteen hundred years be called a little while?

But I must not enlarge, and I need not; for he, that, in view of such abundant testimony, would still persist in saying, Christ did not come at the destruction of Jerusalem, would not be persuaded though he should appear personally, and declare it himself. Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."

Thus have we taken away the main pillar of this theory. It is built on the supposition, that Christ did not come at the destruction of Jerusalem; that he did not come during the life of some of his first followers; that he was not at hand in the days of the apostles; that he was not to come in a little while, and before the apostles should have gone over the cities of Israel. Consequently, the theory is not built upon the rock of truth; its foundation is utterly fallacious; it contradicts

the most positive and express testimony of the Bible.

But here an objection will be raised. I shall be told, that the passages which I have quoted speak of Christ's coming in the clouds; coming with his angels; coming in power and great glory; coming to judge all nations; coming to separate the righteous from the wicked; and declare, that he should be seen coming in the clouds and in his kingdom, and to be admired of all who believe in him. Now the Lectures before us say, he did not come thus at the end of the Jewish dispensation; that the things here mentioned did not occur; that he was not seen in the clouds and in his kingdom, and that no such judgment did occur! This matter I will explain in my next Lecture; which will be on the questions, How, and for what, did Christ come at the destruction of Jerusalem? This will cover the entire ground presented by the objection just stated.

Before closing this discourse, I wish to call your attention to the following passages of Scripture. "Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels. And he said unto them, verily I say unto you, that there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." Mark viii. 38; ix. 1. "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be

some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God." Luke ix. 26, 27. "Then Peter, turning about seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, he shall not die; but, if I will that he tarry, what is that to thee?" John xxi. 20-23.

According to the foregoing views, Mr. Miller is entirely wrong in all those calculations designed to prove that Christ will come to judge the world A. D. 1843. The texts brought to prove this had their fulfilment A. D. 70. On page 67 he says," And through his policy, he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand." This description agrees with Paul's man of sin, the mystery of iniquity which worked in his day, and which would be destroyed by the brightness of Christ's coming. See 2 Thess. ii. 3-8. 'So that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.' Gabriel says, 'And he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many; he shall also stand up against the Prince of Princes.' That is, against God; the very same character which Paul has described. 'But he shall be broken without hand,' that is, 'by the brightness of his (Christ's) coming,' as says Paul. But as Daniel has said, By the stone cut out of the mountain without hand'; or as he

says, Daniel vii. 21, 22, I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom." This brightness of Christ's coming; this coming of the Ancient of days was A. D. 70, or before his apostles had gone over all the cities of Israel.

In Lecture XVI. Mr. Miller gives an account of the last judgment founded on Matt. xxv. 1. "Then shall the kingdom of heaven," &c. The whole discourse, however, is wrong; for it is built on the erroneous supposition, that Christ did not come at the destruction of Jerusalem. The judgment described in Matt. xxv. was to be at the coming of Christ; and as he came A. D. 70, that whole chapter was then fulfilled. All that he has said about the first resurrection and the judgment to take place then, instead of being fulfilled A. D. 1843 was fulfilled A. D. 70. See Mr. Miller's 2d Lecture, where he argues, that this resurrection was to take place at the second coming of Christ. Here he is unquestionably right, as may be seen by consulting Dan. vii. 21-28. We have only to ask, therefore, when was Christ to come? This we have already answered. John tarried till he came.

At this time there was a resurrection to life, and a resurrection to damnation. Henry says,"When upon the appearance of Michael, our Prince, his Gospel is preached, many of them who sleep in the dust, both Jews and Gentiles, shall be awakened by it, to take upon them a profession of religion, and shall rise out of their Hea