rily have taken place, and also the transfiguration of the living saints, and the coming of the Lord Jesus. But the marriage of the Lamb's wife is in Rev. xix. intimately connected with the period of the final judgment on Babylon, (see verses 1-8, and their connection with the previous chapter, and apparently takes place immediately after the judgment on the great whore, but precedes the judgment on the infidel confederacy that burns the whore: (see verses 11-21.) The armies on white horses, and in fine linen white and clean, are probably, if we compare verse 8, these same risen saints, who receive "the two-edged sword"—"to execute vengeance upon the heathen and punishments on the people, to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints.-Praise ye the Lord."* But be this as it may, it again makes the resurrection of the saints premillennial; and if their resurrection, so also the advent of their Lord.

The same may be proved from a consideration of what is revealed concerning the kingdom of God. But this is an extensive subject, and occupies so prominent a place in scripture, and involves so many other important considerations, that it will afford ample matter for a distinct chapter.

CHAPTER VI.

THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST.

Having treated of the coming of Christ, our attention is next directed to the great objects of that second advent: viz. the KINGDOM and JUDGMENT of Christ which will then be established.

The Kingdom of Christ will with propriety first come under consideration; in regard to which the notion of many is, that it signifies the present visible Christian church, or the Christian religion in the hearts of God's people, or both; and its setting up and establishment in the earth is supposed to be commensurate with the establishment of Christianity, and to have been manifested to the world ever since. This view is not altogether devoid of truth, as will presently be shown; but

*Compare Psalm cxlix. from which this is quoted, especially the sentences in Italics, with verses 5, 15, 18, of Rev. xix.

it is nevertheless in the main erroneous, inasmuch as it mistakes the means for the end, and substitutes what may be considered as the preparation for the kingdom, for the establishment and manifestation of it. But the reader's patience must be drawn upon, whilst this matter is examined step by step.

1. It will be evident to any one who reads the scriptures of the New Testament, that John the Baptist and our Lord Jesus both make mention of a kingdom which was approaching, or at hand; and that they speak of it, not as a new notion or doctrine introduced by them for the first time, but as an object of expectation familiar to the Jews, and which they would readily understand without the need of Jesus or of John explaining to them what they particularly meant by it.*

That the Jewish mind was prepossessed with this notion of a king and a kingdom may be shown, first from the exclamation of Nathanael, when brought to believe in Jesus as the Messiah,-"Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel." (John i. 49.) When the Lord fed the five thousand in the wilderness, the whole multitude would have taken him by force, and made him King, had he not withdrawn from them. (John vi. 15.) When he rode triumphantly into Jerusalem on the ass, the populace shouted, "Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord." (Mark xi. 10.) "Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord." (Luke xix. 38.) And this indeed is

declared by St. Matthew (xxi. 4, 5,) to have been done in fulfilment of an ancient Jewish prophecy which, among others, gave rise to or confirmed this expectation:-"Rejoice greatly, Ŏ daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee, &c. (Zech. ix. 9.) Nor was this expectation confined to the inhabitants of Palestine alone: when the Magi came from the East to Jerusalem at the time of the birth of our Lord, their first inquiry was, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews." (Matt. ii. 2.)

It is almost superfluous to show from the Old Testament Scriptures, how very general this expectation was in the Israelitish church prior to the advent of Christ; for there is scarcely any one prophecy, in which it may not be discovered. It probably had its first distinct origin from the promise to Sarah, of the seed who was to be as vn over the Gentiles, and from whom "kings of nations should arise;"† even as declared by St. Paul,

See Matt. iii. 2; iv. 17, 23; v. 3, 10; vi. 10, 33. Mark i. 14. Luke iv. 43. These texts are sufficient for the point in hand: many others might be adduced.

+ See this treated of at page 26, where, for Gen. xvii. 6, read Gen. xvii. 16; and for ευλογήσαν read ευλογήσω.

that he was "to rise to reign over the Gentiles;" (Rom. xv. 12.) and the Psalmist also states, "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth." (Psalm xlv. 16.) The same expectation was again raised by Balaam in the time of Moses: "There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel," &c. (Numb. xxiv. 17.) The last words of David (2 Sam. xxiii.) were on the same subject; and in numerous other places the king or the kingdom are spoken of.*

It is however quite notorious that the Jews did, in the time of our Saviour, look for a king who should in an illustrious and glorious manner inherit the throne of David, reign over Israel, and obtain dominion and possession over all nations. It is indeed objected to them, by many who interpret the word of God, that they mistook the promises of scripture in this respect, and putting a carnal sense upon various passages which relate to spiritual things, looked only for a temporal kingdom. This objection is however itself founded in mistake, in more respects than one, and does great injustice to the theology and views entertained by the orthodox portion of the Jewish church. The grosser Jews did undoubtedly overlook those exhortations to righteousness and those intimations of the necessity of conformity to God, which are constantly mixed up by the prophets with their predictions of the times of the Messiah; and even the most holy portion of the nation had, at the period of our Lord's ministry, lost sight of the prophecies which relate to the suffering and humiliation of the Messiah, and were most unwilling to have their attention drawn to them; but these things are independent of what relates to the throne, and visible glory, and power of his kingdom. It is not, as some suppose, that they mistook or perverted those passages, imposing a sense upon them which comported with their own views of earthly dominion; nor is it that they were unable to perceive the true meaning of passages which are now thought to be so plain and unquestionable to us. The fact is, they overlooked passages which were really of the nature here alluded to; but most of those perversions imputed to them are not perversions; they understood them in their appropriate and harmonious sense, though not perhaps in their full sense; and the wonder is, not that they should thus have understood them; but that any among ourselves should understand them

The following additional places may be mentioned: viz. Numb. xxiii. 21; xxiv. 7. 1 Sam. ii. 10. Psalm ii. 6; xxi. 1; xiv. 7—10; 1xxii. cx; cxlv. 1; cxlix. 2. Isaiah_vi. 5; ix; xi; xxv. 8; xxviii. 5; xxxii. 1; xlii. 1; xlix. 6; lii; liii; Jer. xxiii. 5, 6; xxx; xxxi; xxxiii. Ezek. xvii. 22; xxix. 21; xxxvii. 24; lx. 1. Dan. ii. 44; vii. 13, 14; ix. 24-27. Hosea iii. 5; Micah iv. v.; Zech. iii. 8; iv. 12; xiv. 1, 16. Mal. iii. 1.

otherwise; seeing that their primary and most obvious sense is so plainly accordant with the Jewish expectations. And another remarkable circumstance is, that our Lord should never give them any hint of their mistake, in regard to these expectations. He did indeed press upon them the need of being inwardly regenerated and sanctified, before they could see or enter into this kingdom; but many of his allusions to the kingdom were calculated to confirm them in their mistake, had it been one;* and even at the very last, when he was about to leave them, and his disciples put the question to him, "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" he does not tell them, "Ye have been all along deceived in this matter;" but gives a reply, which, while it admonishes them, that they were not to know the time, would nevertheless strengthen their expectation in the general.-"It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power." Acts i. 6, 7.

Another instance in which the Jews are misrepresented in this matter, is in their alleged expectation of a temporal kingdom. If by temporal is meant a kingdom that was not to be spiritual in its nature, it is to be feared that too many were in error in this respect, as before stated; but if by temporal is meant, that it was to be a kingdom of only limited duration, and subject to sublunary changes, like other secular kingdoms, this certainly was not their expectation; for they looked for "a kingdom which could not be moved," (Hebrews xii. 28.) and the duration of which should be "for ever and ever. 99 Dan. ii. 44; vii. 27. And the spiritual portion of the Jews would likewise fully understand, that it was to be heavenly in its nature and character; the phrase kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God having been well understood and frequently made use of by their Rabbins.

1. We have next to make inquiry into the different forms made use of in the scriptures to express this kingdom, which are principally three; viz. "the kingdom of God," "the kingdom of Christ," and the "kingdom of heaven." "The kingdom of the Father" is so evidently the same as "the kingdom of God," and "the kingdom of the Son of man" the same as "the kingdom of Christ," that it will not be necessary to consider them separately. The other three expressions, when spoken with reference to a future kingdom, or the kingdom proclaimed by John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostles, may equally be shown to signify one and the same.

* See for example Matt. xix. 28; xx. 23. Mark x. 37-40, and Luke xxii.

For example: that the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are the same, is evident from a comparison of those passages in St. Matthew's gospel which mention the former, with the parallel places in Mark and Luke. For the phrase "kingdom of heaven" is peculiar to Matthew, being never met with in any other part of God's word; unless we except one passage, viz. 2 Tim. iv. 18. where the apostle speaks of the Lord's "heavenly kingdom," which can have no other signification. Thus where Matthew has, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven;" (v. 3.) Luke has, "Blessed be ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God," (vi. 20.) And where Matthew has, "It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven." (xiii. 11.) Mark has, "Unto you is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God." (iv. 11.) Matthew indeed does himself use the two phrases indiscriminately in the following passage: "Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (xix. 23, 24.)

The formulas "kingdom of God," and "kingdom of Christ," may be shewn to be the same by a similar process. In his narrative of the transfiguration St. Matthew relates that Jesus said: "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:" (xvi. 28.) which latter sentence St. Luke has, "till they see the kingdom of God come with power. (ix. 27.) In the parable of the tares St. Matthew says, "that at the end of the world the Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend;" and immediately he adds, "then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father;" (xiii. 41, 43.) thus making the kingdom of the Father and of the Son of Man the same; even as St. Paul calls it, "the kingdom of Christ and of God." (Ephes. v. 5.) And it is further to be noted, that the parable of the tares, in which the two formulas just mentioned of the kingdom are used, is introduced by the use of the third formula,-"The kingdom of heaven is likened," &c. v. 24.

In regard to the meaning of these different expressions, "the kingdom of heaven" is most frequently used by St. Matthew in the plural number av ovgavov the kingdom of the heavens. This is no other than a Jewish phrase to signify the kingdom of the God of heaven: the phrases heavens and God being both used by Daniel in this connection and sense. Thus he forewarns Nebuchadnezzar,-"Seven times shall pass over VOL. II.-12