place in the succession of events. that it will be the cause of the He supposes, conversion of " and (Ver. 11.) The beast was slain, and his body destroyed "and given to the burning flume. "From the same fountain are derived those expressions "in the Gospel, where this day is intimated or described; "The Son of man shall come in the clouds of heaven; The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his holy "angels: forasmuch as it is said here, Thousand thousands mi"nistered unto him; and that Daniel saw One like the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven, and he came to the An"cient of days, and they brought him near him. 66 "Hence St. Paul learned, that the saints should judge the "world, because it is said that many thrones were set, and (Ver. 22.) by way of exposition, that judgment was given to the "saints of the Most High. "Hence the same apostle learned to confute the false fear "of the Thessalonians, that the day of Christ's second coming was then at hand: because that day could not be till the man of sin were first come, and should have reigned his time appointed forasmuch as Daniel had foretold it should be " so, and that his destruction should be at the Son of man's "appearing in the clouds; whose appearing therefore was not to be till then. This is επιφανεια της παρεσίας αυτ8 in St "Paul: whom the Lord (saith he) shall destroy at the EQave of his coming. Daniel's wicked horn is St. Paul's man of sin, as the Church from her infancy interpreted it. "But to go on: while this judgment sits, and when it had "destroyed the fourth beast, the Son of man which comes in "the clouds, receives dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, "that all people, nations, and languages, should serve and obey "him (Ver. 14); which kingdom is thrice explained after"wards to be the kingdom of the saints of the Most High, Ver. 66 18, 22, 27. "These the Jews: whereas, according as matters appear to me, they will be previously converted; and "These grounds being laid, I argue as followeth : "The kingdom of the Son of man and of the saints of "the Most High in Daniel begins when the great judgment "sits. "The kingdom in the Apocalypse, wherein the saints reign "with Christ a thousand years, is the same with the kingdom "of the Son of Man and saints of the Most High in Daniel. "Ergo, It also begins at the great judgment. "That the kingdom in Daniel and that of a thousand years "in the Apocalypse are one and the same kingdom, appears "thus: "First, because they begin ab eodem termino, namely, at "the destruction of the fourth beast: that in Daniel, when "the beast (then ruling in the wicked horn) was slain, and his "body destroyed and given to the burning flame (Dan. vii. "11, 22, 27): that in the Apocalypse, when the beast and "the false prophet (the wicked horn in Daniel) were taken, and "both cast alive into a lake burning with brimstone, Rev. "xix. 20, 21, Secondly, because St. John begins the regnum of a "thousand years from the same session of judgment described “in Daniel; as appears by his parallel expression borrowed "from thence, Christ will be revealed, not to turn them to the faith, but to execute judgment upon his enemies. "I incline to think," says he, "that they shall be "called by vision and voice from heaven, as St. "Paul was; and that that place of Zechariah They "shall see him whom they have pierced, and that of "Matthew Ye shall not see me henceforth till you 66 Now, if this be sufficiently proved, that the thousand years begin with the day of judgment, it will appear further "out of the Apocalypse, that the judgment is not consummate "till they be ended; for Gog and Magog's destruction and "the universal resurrection is not till then; therefore the "whole thousand years is included in the day of judgment. "Hence it will follow, that, whatsoever Scripture speaks "of a kingdom of Christ to be at his second appearing or at "the destruction of Antichrist, it must needs be the same "which Daniel saw should be at that time, and so conse"quently be the kingdom of a thousand years which the Apo66 calypse includes between the beginning and consummation "of the great judgment." Mede's Works, B. 1y. Epist. 15. p. 762, 763. In short, the whole matter may be briefly stated as follows, The day of Christ's second advent or the great day of judgment commences at the close of the 1260 years, when the vengeance of God begins to go forth against the Antichristian faction; extends through the period of the Millennium; and terminates with the final destination of all mankind either to everlasting happiness or everlasting misery. Hence this day of the second advent comprehends two manifestations of the Messiah; the one previous to the Millennium for the destruction of Antichrist, the other subsequent to the Millennium for the universal judgment both of quick and dead. The first of these manifestations is predicted in Dan. vii. 9, 10, 11, 18, 22, 26, 27. and Rev, xix. 11-21, the second is predicted in Rev. xx. 11-15. say say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the "Lord*, seems to imply some such matter. They "will never believe that Christ reigns at the right "hand of God, until they see him. It must be “ an invincible evidence which must convert them, "after so many hundred years settled obstinacy. "But this I speak of the body of the nation; "there may be some Præludia of some particu"lars converted upon other motives, as a fore"runner of the great and main conversion †.” To this opinion of Mr. Mede it was objected by Dr. Twisse, how such a vision could be manifested to the Jews dispersed in seceral parts of the world. The answer was, that a cision or apparition in heaven may be seen by the greatest part of the world at the same time, as stars and comets are: how else shall the appearing of our Saviour in the clouds of heaven, at his coming to judgment, be seen at once by so many nations of the world? Mr. Mede adds, "Howsoever it be, I suppose it is no "sin to conceive magnificè and pewolws of so great a work of God towards a people for whom he "hath formerly shewn so many wonders; especially “this being to be the greatest work of mercy and "wonder that ever he did for them, far beyond "the bringing them forth of Egypt, and leading "them in the wilderness. And, in another part * Zechar. xii. 10. Matt. xxiii. 39. of of his works, he draws a comparison between St. Paul's conversion and the calling of the Jews, supposing the one to be a kind of type of the other *,. My objection to Mr. Mede's opinion, in the manner in which he has stated it, is neither its improbability nor its impossibility abstractedly considered; but simply that it cannot be made to harmonize with the general tenor of the prophecies which treat of the restoration and conversion of the Jews. It is expressly declared by Zechariah, that the' glory of the Lord shall be manifested in the midst of Jerusalem; and that, after such manifestation, Jehovah sent by Jehovah shall go forth and execute judgment upon his enemies. All the other prophets agree in attesting the same; that, whenever the Word of God is revealed, it shall be to pour destruction upon the rebel army of Antichrist. This glory will most probably be the same as the Shechinah that attended the children of Israel out of Egypt: a vast pillar of light, shooting up to an immense height in the air so as to be visible at a very great distance, and surmounted by a cloud; thus causing Jerusalem to appear, as if encom-passed and covered with fire . Now, if such a tre mendous vision as this continued to hover over Jerusalem (for that is the place assigned by the prophet for its appearance); and if the end of its Mede's Works. B. v. C. 2. p. 891. †There are some curious remarks on this subject in Mr. Bicheno's Restoration of the Jews the crisis of all nations. P. 219-227. 6 mani |