them, unto himself. The types of Noah and of Lot, which are specially referred to by the Lord Jesus, as illustrative of the second coming, convey the most explicit intimation of this truth. These types have been just noticed for another purpose, but they must be considered further. "The Lord commanded Noah to come into the ark, and on the self-same day he entered, and Shem, and Ham, and Japhet," &c. "And the Lord shut him in" and then the flood came. And so also, before the destruction of the cities of the plain, the angel said unto Lot, arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters which are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And as he lingered, they laid hold upon their hands, and brought them forth. Lot prayed that he might be allowed to remain in safety at Zoar, which was granted to him; and the angel added, "Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither." In the account given in Ezekiel ix. of the angels with their slaughter weapons, who were commissioned to destroy; the man clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side, was commanded first to mark the chosen ones, that they might be spared from the vengeance. When the Lord smote all the first-born of Egypt, he passed over the door, which had the blood of the lamb upon the lintel and the side-posts, and would not suffer the destroyer to smite them: and

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it was specially commanded them on that night, that none of them should go out at the door of his house, until the morning. Hence it might be deduced, that in manner as pointed out by these types, will the Church' be brought into safety, before the vengeance is poured out upon the ungodly. But the Church is not left to collect this important and consolatory truth from types. Isaiah xxvi. represents the Lord speaking thus to his people in that day: "Come my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee? hide thyself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast: for, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place, to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity." Psalm lvii. 1, speaks to the same effect, in clear reference to the Church and the Lord Jesus, when he was about to go away, told his disciples, that "he would come again, and receive them to himself, and that then their hearts should rejoice." Paul says, "HE shall appear a second time without sin unto salvation," and in that day he✨ shall give "a crown of righteousness to all them that love his appearing." And so also the Lord himself, when prophesying of the latter day, as in Matthew xxiv. and in the corresponding gospels, represents the first act at his second advent to be the gathering of his chosen ones to himself, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. In conformity

with the preceding statements, the Apocalyptic vision having described, in general terms, the tribulation with which the adversary will be suddenly overwhelmed, upon the unexpected appearance of Messiah, relates the collecting together of the Millennial Church of Christ; and until this is accomplished, the judgments of the ungodly are stayed.-See Rev. vii.

The Apostle Paul, speaking of the second advent in 1 Thess. iv. thus explains the things of that day: 66 I would not have you ignorant concerning them that are asleep; for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend* from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” This Scripture is ex

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*It is worthy of semark, that the prophet Zechariah, in chap. xiv. 3, 4, 5, states the descent of the Lord, as if it would be upon the mount of Olives, from whence be ascended into heaven.

plained further by 1 Cor. xv. 51, et seq.

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"We shall not all sleep,"-not every individual member of the Church of Christ shall sleep the sleep of death, "but we shall all be changed," each one without exception. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we (who are alive and remain) shall be changed. And then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory;" for then (as in Rev. xxi. 4.) "there shall be no more death."

It was doubtless in reference to the truth now under consideration, that the Lord Jesus made use of those remarkable words at the grave of Lazarus, “I am

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me,

the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die"-in other words, the believer, though his life be departed, and he sleep the sleep of death, shall be made alive, notwithstanding, according to my word; for I will raise him up at the last day and he who believeth in me, and remaineth, alive at my coming, shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and shall not pass through death. His vile body shall be changed at once, that it may be fashioned like unto my glorious body, according to the working whereby I am able to subdue all things unto myself. See

Philip. iii. 21.

The Church of the Millennial dispensation will be established upon the mountains of Israel in the latter day, as many Scriptures seem to indicate; and thus the same spot which witnessed the humiliation, and the sufferings of Messiah in the flesh, shall also see his glory. Immediately upon the manifestation of his presence, his light will shine forth in his Church. "He makes bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth see the salvation of our God," Isaiah lii. He will call to his Church, "Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city"-be clothed with your spiritual bodies, O my people-" Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee," Isaiah lx. An expression in Isaiah lii. seems to refer evidently to the resurrection from the grave: "Shake thyself from the dust: arise and sit down, O Jerusalem, loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion."-What is the dust here spoken of, but the dust of the mortal body? and the bands are the bands of death. The Church thus raised up, and shining forth with the glory of her Lord, appears, by other Scriptures, to be made the instrument for gathering from out of the nations

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