Lectures on the Millennium online

under foot by such pretended Jews, such
lying Gentiles, who have really no lot nor
part with the true Israel of God.

But even in Rome, within the limits of the
mystical Babylon, God has always reserved
ito himself some, who would not bow the
knee to the harlot's idols, nor kiss her ima-
ges. We are not to suppose, however, that



204 . The 1£60 Days.

they were ever reduced to so small a num-
ber, as two; tlio tlieir number, no doubt, has
been generally small, compared with the
144,000, that were sealed at the Reforma-
tion. The witnesses are represented as be-|
ing two, probably because, that is the least
number which, according to scripture, is
sufficient to prove a fact by testimony. "In ]
the mouth of two or three witnesses shall!
every word be established." The two wit-'
nesses probably represented hundreds even
in the darkest times of Papal delusion.
These were God's witnesses. They often
showed the wicked around them, that they
bad something to say on God's behalf. They
testified against the abominations of the se-
cular and ecclesiastical beast. No wonder,
they should prophesy in sackcloth. But
when the 1250 years shall be ended, the
Lord's witnesses will arise, and put on their
beautiful garments, and tlit days of their
mourning shall be ended.

The woman that fled into the wilderness
undoubtedly represents the true church, and
probably symbolizes the same persons, as
the t%vo witnesses, considert^d in somewhat
different respects. No doubt the dragon
made use of the beast, and indeed of both
beasts, as his instruments in persecuting the
woman. But at the end of the 1260 years,
when both beasts shall go into perdition, they
will then be able to persecute the spouse of
Christ no more. Leaning on her Beloved,



The 1260 Bays. . 205

she will come up from the wilderness, she
will leave the desert, and upon the height of
Zion she will shout. <»Aileluia, for the Lord
God omnipotent reigneth."

Mr. Faber is decidedly of opinion, that
the Mahometan kingdom, or apostasy, was
destined to continue exactly tlirough this
same period of 1260 years; that it commenc-
ed in the year 606, ar d that it will end in
the year 1866. If so it will add one more
very important distinction to this period, and
to the era of its termination. J have very
little doubt that Mr. Faber is correct upon
this point, as well as upon most other gi*eat
points, relating to this wonderful period.
His reasoning upon this subject, however,
IB too long and intricate, to admit of insert-
ing even an outline in these Lectures.

But however it may be with regard to
Mahometan abominations, there is no doubt
that the close of the 1260 years will be great-
ly distinguished by the divine dealings with
the Jews. When it was inquired how long
it should be to the end of certain wonders,
which Daniel had been inspired to furetel,
the prophet "heard the man clothed in linen,
which was upon the waters of tlie river,
when he held up his right hand and his left
hand unto heaven, and sware by him, that
liveth forever and ever, that it shall be for
a time^ and times and an half; and when he
shall have accomplished to scatter the power
18



£06 #a 1260 Days.

of the holy people, all these things shall be
finished.'* 1^^

There seems very little reason to doubt,
that by the holy people here we are to un-
derstand the Jews. At the end of the 1260
years, God will have accomplished to scatter
this people, or he will cease to scatter themj
or begin to gather them; or they will be
completely gathered, and no more be in a
scattered state. At this distinguished era
then, we may expect that God will begin to
gather his ancient people in his church, and
perhaps to bring them back to the land of
their fathers, or that he will have completed
this gathering and restoration.

The termination of the 1260 years then
will be an era scarcely less interesting to the
Christian, than the commencement of the
Millennium itself. And no doubt many pas-
sages of scripture, that are often applied to
the Millennium, were more particularly de-
signed to apply to this era. Then, we have
reason to believe, will commence w^hat Mr.
Mede calls the reign of the mountain in dis-
tinction from the reign of the Stone, w^hich
commenced at the birth of Christ, or rather
at the beginning of the gospel dispensation,
when the vail of the temple was rent in
twain. At the end of the 1260 years, the
stone cut out of the mountain without hands,
shall have fallen upon the image and broken
it to pieces; and tlien the stone will be-
gin to be a mountain, and continue increas-



The 1260 Dap, £07

ing,till at tlie commencement of the Millenni-
um, it will fill the world. At the end of the
1260 years what is called the latter day glo-
ry may be said to begin; at least in one very
important sense, it may be said to begin.
Then shall Zion arise, and shake off the
dust and ashes, with which she was covered
for 1260 years, she shall lay aside her sack-
cloth, in which she prophesied through the
same dismal period; she shall arise and shine;
a happy degree of her light will be come,
and in a great measure the glory of the Lord
will be risen upon her; she will look forth
as the morning — as the morning after a long
and dreary night — she will "look forth as the
morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun^
and terrible as an army with banners." As
the church can never be terrible, except to
her enemies, she can hardly be said to be
terribl e in the Millennium, when she will
have no enemies to contend with. It is prob-
able the church will be more terrible to her
enemies from the end of the 1260 years to
the beginning of the Millennium, than in any
other period of her whole existence, in time
or eternity. At the end of the 1260 days^
the mountain of the Lord's house shall be es-
tablished in the top of the mountains, and
shall be exalted above the hills; many na-
tions shall flow unto it; all other nations shall
be flowing unto it; tho all nations shall not
actually flow unto it, until the Millennium.
In sliort, at the end of the 1260 years, a pe»



^@8 The Time of the End,

riod will commence, which for the sake of
distinction at least, may be called THE
TIME OF THE END, a period that will
be really more bright and glorious, and de-
sirable, than many have imagined even the
Millennium will be. But the time of the end
will not be the Millennium. Tho the impe-
rial and ecclesiastical beast, or in other
words, the beast and the false prophet,will be
gone into perdition; tho Papal superstition
and idolatry will be no more; tho Mahometan
delusion will probably be entirely eradicat-
ed; tho the bible will be read in every
tongue; tho many will have run to and
fro, and knowledge will be greatly increas-
ed; tho the vail that has been so long upon
the heart of the Jews in reading the Old
Testament, shall be in a great measure tak-
en away, and great numbers or the whole
of the stock of Israel shall be regrafted into
their own olive; tho vast improvements will
have been made in all the useful arts and
sciences, still the Millennium will not have
arrived. Tho great encroachments will
have been made upon Satan's kingdom at the
time cf the end^ that kingdom will not then
be destroyed; tho Satan will be much more
limited in his operations, than before, yet
he will not be cast out. Tho war may not
rage so extensively, it will not cease; nor
will Satan, the great instigator to wars and
fightings, be cast out from the earth, and
confined to the bottomless pit, till the blessed



The Time of the End, 209

and glorious THOUSAND YEARS shall
actually begin.

We have seen, that probably the 1260
years will terminate, and the time of the end
commence, in the year 1866. The question
now arises, How long will be the time of the
end? and when will the Millennium com-
mence? Tho I would by no means feel con-
fident with respect to a future period, upon
which the torch of prophecy has hardly
cast a single beam of light, y et 1 am inclin-
ed to think, that the time of the end will be a
period of 75 years, and that the Millennium
will commence in the year 1941,

It seems that a considerable length of time
must elapse from the end of the 1260 years,
to the beginning of the Millennium. Very much
rubbish, a great part of the sweepings of
dark and filthy ages, will be to be clear-
ed away, Tho at the end of 1260 years, the
church will have the ascendancy, and no
weapon formed against her shall prosper; yet
considerable time must be necessary for her
to put all her enemies under her feet. It is
doubtful, whether at that era one quarter
part of mankind will be real Christians.
Great, very great things must be done there-
fare during the time of the end, for the intro-
duction of the Millennium. Surely a hundred
years, nay two hundred years would be a
very short period, for the accomplishment of
all this. If it were not that the Lord has
promised to hasten the glorious day, when a
=^13



^m The Time of the En^

little one shall become a thousand — when!
the people shall be all righteous, and shall
inherit the land forever,^ we might reasona-
bly conclude that the time of the end would be:
a period of three or four hundred years. But
he will hastt'n it, and probably he will hasten
it faster and faster, as th^ day approaches
nearer and nearer. Then the faithful heralds
of salvation will not have to take up the bitter
lamentation, that they have labored in vainj
and spent their strength for nought — that
year after year, they have stretched fortli
their hands to disobedient and gain-saying
people. Houses of public worship will then
be thronged I and congregations will seem t(^
be all eye, all ear, all attention. The chil-
dren of Zion will be increased by thousands
and by millions. The earth will seem to
bring forth in a day, and a nation to be born
at once. In seventy five years therefore
may be accomplished what might seem the
work of hundreds.

That the time of the end is to be a period
of 75 years, is by no means a mere conjecture
of mine. It is the decided opinion of Mr.
Faber^ wliich fie mentions repeatedly in his
work on the 1260 years. Speaking of the
prophet Daniel, Mr. Faber observes <«He
teaches us that 75 years will elapse between
the termination of the 1260 yearsr, and the
cojnmencement of the time of blessedness, or
the Millennium. Hence it seems most rea^

8 Is. 60:21,22,



The Time of the ErJL 311

sonable to conclude, that these 75 years con-
jtitute what Daniel styles the end, or the
ime of the end^ as being that short portion
3f iniermediate time, which cuts ojff and di-
i^ides the great period of 1260 years, from
the great period of the Millennium." The
passages upon which this remark is ground-
ed is Dan. 12:7,11,12. *<Andi heard the man
clotlied in linen, which was upon the waters
of the river when he held up his right
hand and his left hand unto heaven, and
swore by him that liveth forever, that it shall
be (that is the end of wonders predicted) /or
a time, times% and an half; and when he shall
have accomplished to scatter the power of the
holy people, all these things shall be finished..
— And from the time that the daily sacrifice
shall be taken away, and the abomination
that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a
thousand two hundred and ninety days.
Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the
thousand three hundred and five and thirty
days." Here are three periods mentioned^
The first is the famous period of 1260 pro-
phetic days, or years; the second is 129.0; and
the third 1335. We have seen, when the
first period probably begins and terminates.
This then may be considered as a period well
known to those who are well acquainted with
the prophecies. But the other two are no
where else mentioned in thebible;and as there
seems to be no other point of time iutima-
ted, from which the commeiicement o£ eitlier



£12 The Time of the End.

of them can be dated, we are necessitated t(
conclude, that they commenced with the firstj
and consequently that the second will clost
SO years after the first; and that the third will
close 75 years after the first. Tlie close of
the second, no doubt, will mark some very
important era. There is no doubt, that the
third period will terminate at the commence-
ment of the Millennium. "Blessed is he that
waiteth and cometh to the thousand three
hundred and five and thirty days/' If all
must be blessed who arrive at that era, then
surely that era will be in the Millennium; for
as there is no true blessedness to the wick-
ed, the time, when all shall be blessed, must
be in that glorious period, that is predicted
and prdmised, when all shall know the Lord
from the least unto the greatest.

We may conclude therefore as the third
period will end 75 years after the first, and
as the Millennium will begin at the termin-
ation of the third period, that the Millenni-
um will commence 75 years after the close of
the 1260 years; and that the duration of the
time of the end will be 75 years.

If, then, the 1£60 years commenced in the
year 606, they will terminate in the year
1866; and if the opinion is correct, that the
Millennium will commence 75 years after,
then that glorious period will begin in the
the year 1941.



LECTURE XL

%e Millennmm more than a literal thousand
years.-^drgumejit from an expression in
th6 Second Commandment. — The period be-
tween the coming of Christ and the Millen"
ninm represented as comparatively nothings
^^The waxing old of the earth and heav-
ens. — The period between David and the
Millennium short, compared with the Mil-
lennium. — Meaning of the thousand years
mentioned in Rev 20;— T/ic Millennium
360,000 Vears. - - Objections answered; So
long a period inconceivable.-^The earth
must be overstocked with inhabitants »-^
JSTearness of' the day of judgment.

We come now to consider the Third gen»
['al Inquiry,

What will be the duration of the Millen*
ilium?

To some, it may possibly appear like tri-
ing to inquire the length of a thousand
ears. But the inquiry is really a serious
ne; and surely there is no more improprie-

in inquiring what is the meaning of this
[irase in such a book as the Revelation,
lan to inquire what is meant by a locust,
? a serpent.

The first question, that naturally occurs
5Specting the thousand years^ is whether



£14 Duration of the Milleimium,

tliey are literal or prophetic years? If tiie;
are understood as prophetic, it may be stil
asked, whether they represent a definite peL
riod, or one that is indefinite? and if a defiu
ite period, what is its length?

The first question is, Will the Millenniiirj
consist of a thousand literal years, or a thod
sand prophetic years? To me it is very evil
dent that the Millennial years are to be un;
derstood as prophetic years, and that the;
represent a period vastly longer, than th
literal meaning of the expression.

I endeavored to show, in the first Lecture
that the bruising of the serpent's head by th
Seed of the woman, implies that by far thj
greater part of the human race will be saved
iiay that almostthe whole of mankind will b
saved. But if almost all the human race are t
be saved, when are tliey to be gathered int
the fold of Christ? Surely not before the Mil
lennium. That long period of nearly 600<
years could afford but "here and there atraVi
eller'' in the strait and narrow way, Nol
are tlie great majority of the human racei
nor indeed any considerable part of man
kind, to be brought in, after the Millenniumi
Tiie period between the Millennium ad
the end of the world, will be a little sew
son. It will be little, compared with tli<
amount of all preceding periods; and nd
doubt, as it is mentioned in connexion wit!
the Millennium, it will be short compared
with that period; and if the Millennium is t^



Duration of the Mllennium, 215

[)e only a literal thousand years, the period

rfter, cannot be supposed to be more than

twenty or thirty yeai's. Besides, during that

ittle season, there will be a great declension

n religion; Satan will be let loose to devour

he nations, and a considerable part of man-p

jind will take up arms against the saints.

We must look to the Millennium, then, for

luch a gathering of the people to Christ, as

ihall constitute the great majority of Adam's

ace. But granting (what 1 am very much

isposed to grant) that all, who live and die

uring the Millennium, will be heirs of the

Lingdom and blessed indeed, can we sup»

>ose, that almost the whole of the human

ace will live in the course of a literal thou-

and years? It is indeed probable, that during

)ne thousand of Millennial years, more peo-

)le will live upon earth, than ail that had

ived before; but to suppose, as some have

lone, that they will be more than a thousand

imes as many, appears to be extravagant,

lot to say wild. I can by ho means sup-

lose, that a sufficient number will live in

me thousand years to answer the prediction

f bruising the serpent's head, I should

herefore be constrained to believe, from this

onsideration alone, if there were nothing

Ise, that the Millennium w^ill be more than

.000 years.

There is a remarkable passage in the sec^^
md commandment, which seems clearly to
how, that the Millennium will continue



B16 Duration of the Mllennium» 4

more than a thousand years, "For I theti
Lord thy God am a jealous Gt)d,vi^iting the
iniquity of falhers upon children unto the
third and fourth generation of them that hate
me; and shewing mercy unto thousands o|
them that love me and keep my command-
ments.'' By thousands here we are unques-
tionably to understand thousands of gener-
ations. To say that God will show mercy
to thousands of people, would be saying very
little comparatively, and surely, not the ten
thousand millionth part of the truth. But it
seems very manifest from the connexion,
that it refers to generations. And this is
agreeable to the opinion of Poole, Orton
Scott, and Adam Clark. Upon this pas-*
sage Mr.Ularke strikingly remarks, "What
a disproportion between the works o
justice and mercy J justice works to the
third or fourtli, meicy to thousands of gen-
erations.'* But if the Millennium is to con-
tinue but 1000 years, all the generations of
the world acc«)rdi!ig to the usual method of
computation, so far from amounting to
thousands, will not amount to a quarter of
one thousand. Perhaps some may object,
that the word thousands here is meant to ex-
press what is called a round number, and
does not mean any definite number. But
even allowing this to be the case, can we
suppose thousands to mean less than 240?
Suppose a general should say, that his ar-
ray consisted of thousands^ what should we



1



Duration of the Millennimn. 217"

think to find the whole number of his men
less than 240? There is no doubt, fJiat the
thousands here mentioned should ?^e under-
stood, as expressing an indefinite numberi but
we cannot suppose it to mean less than one
thousand. Probably it means many thou-
sands. Surely then the Millennium mustb©
a period much longer tlian 1000 years.

When the prophets speak of gospel-days,
they often carry our views forward to the
Millennium, without considering the inter-
vening period. Thus Jacob prophesied con-
cerning Shiloh, "The sceptre shall not de-
part from Judah, nor a lawgiver from be-
tween his feet, till Shiloh come; and unto
him shall the gathering of the people be."
This seems to imply, as tho the people were
to be gathered to Shiloh immediately after
his coming. I will produce one more in-
stance, as a specimen, from Is. 11: "And
there shall come forth a rod out of the stem
of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his
roots" After giving some account of the
qualifications of this righteous and glorious
branch, the prophot goes on to describe the
happiness of the Millennial state. "The
wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the
leopard shall lie down with the kid," 6cc.
If the prophets thus pass over nearly 2000
years, as unworthy of their notice, when
about to speak of the Millennium, may w®
19



,218 Duration of the Mlllennhim*

not cortclode, that most probably that period
will be more than 1000 years?

The bible informs us, that the earth shall
Wax old like a garment; and of tlie heavens
it is said, "They all shall wax old as doth a
garment.'' Do the heavens or the earth be-
gin to manifest any marks of decay? Is there
any reason to think, that the sun shines with
Jess effulgence,than it did in the beginning of
time? or that the planets run their races
with less vigor, than when they were first
launched from the hand of Omnipotence?
And is the earth waxing old, and becoming
unfit for use? So far from it, that it seems but
just beginning to come into use. Scarcely
the hundredth part of the earth has yet been
cultivated to such a degree as to deserve the
name of culture* The earth was made to be
inhabited. <«He created it not in vain,"
says the prophet, ^*he formed it to be inhab-
ited.'^^ But by far the greater part of it has
not yet been inhabited^ nor has the hundredth
part of it yet been inhabited, as it may
be— as it will be. And can we suppose, that
ninety-nine hundredths of a planet, made on
purpose to be inhabited, will be waste for
6000 years, and then be inhabited onl)* lOOO
years? nay less than 1000? for the MiJlen-
nium must commence some hundreds of
years before the earth will be replenished.
But the earth is not only to be inhabited; but
it is to ba worn out by culture. Will it wear



Duration of the Millennium, 219

out in 1000 years? China has already been
cultivated for more than twice that period.
The earth wear out in 1000 years! In that
short period it will scarcely be subdued; at
least some of the rough, rugged, rocky, or
miry places, may be hardly conquered in
that time. How many thousand years then
must elapse, before ^he earth will wax old as
a garment!

We have seen in a former Lecture, that
evil doers shall be cut off: but those that
wait upon the Lord shall inherit the eartho
<<For yet a very little while, and the wicked
shall not be; yea thou shalt diligently consi-
der his place, and it shall not be| but the
meek shall inherit the earth, and delight
themselves in the abundance of peace. The
righteous shall inherit the earth forever.'*
There seems to be no solid ground for the
opinion, that the latter part of this passage
means, that the righteous shall inherit the
land of heaven forever. The connexion
shows it to be confined to the earth. It is the
very same place, from which the wicked
shall be exterminated. The word/m-erer
must be understood here, as in several other
places, to mean a very great e]^tent of time.
Thus it is said, that "the earth abideth for-
ever." There are other passages, which
represent the triumphant reign of the saints
on earth as hQin^forever, The stone, cut out
of the mountain without hands, is to become
a great mountain, and fill the earthy and las|;



220 Duration of the Millennium,

Jbrever, Thus it is manifest, that the moun-
tain is td last in the earth forever. The God
of heaven will set up a kingdom, that shall
not be destroyed^ and the kingdom shall not
be left to another people, and it shall stand
forever. God says to Zion, "I will make thee
an eternal excellency, a joy of many genera-
tions. Thy sun shall no more go down^
neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for
the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and
the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
Thy people also shall be all righteous; they
shall inherit the laW A forever — A little one
shall become a thousand, and a small one a
itrong nation.''* Surely no person can
doubt, whether these passages are descrip-
tive of the blessed state of the church during
the Millennium; and this state is represent-
ed as being forever — as being everlasting*
Must we not conclude, then, that tlie Millen-
nium, which is thus represented as everlast-
ing, will be more than 1000 years?

But the argument does not rest wholly,
nor principally, upon the meaning of the
words forever and everlasting, thus simply
considered; but considered in contrast with
a little while, <*Yet a little while" says
David, "and the wicked shall not be." This
does not mean merelv that the wicked, who
were then alive, would be removed from the
earth in a little while. It was equally true,
that tlie righteous, who were then upon

* Is. loafjie— 22.



Duration of ^le Mllenninm, 2S^

eartli, should be removed in a little wliile^