earth wherein dwelleth righteousness." That righteousness will form the distinguishing characteristic of the new creation, is a very essential part of the promise. The promise to which the apostle refers, and the only promise to which he can refer, is found in Isa. lxv. 17-25. It is to be observed that ver. 17, which some are inclined to refer to the eternal state, separating it from the following verses, which they take as descriptive of the millennial state, is not the whole of the promise, but only a part of it; it foretells only new heavens and a new earth, but it says nothing whatever of their character of their predominating feature as being the abode of righteousness. It may be said that this is necessarily implied in the fact that. they are new; but this is not by any means self-evident. For, suppose that Scripture had given us no more information on the subject than what is contained in ver. 17, would we have been justified in coming to such a conclusion? Most assuredly not; for the chief feature of the new creation, for aught we could have known to the contrary, might have been other than the dwelling-place of righteousness. We should naturally have inferred indeed, that righteousness would dwell in the new earth, but that is a very different thing from inferring that this would be its great distinguishing characteristic. Righteousness or justice is different from perfect holiness; and a world which is the abode of the former is not necessarily the abode of the latter, as we see from the state of things described in Isaiah xi., of which righteousness, not perfect holiness by any means, is the principal feature. Had we only ver. 17 to guide us, we should certainly conclude that the new earth would be distinguished by being the abode, not of righteousness merely, but of perfect holiness. The 17th verse, therefore, is not the whole promise to which the apostle refers, as it could warrant him to look only for a new creation, but not to expect that it would be specially distinguished as the abode of righteousness or justice. He learned to expect this from the remaining part of the promise, which we naturally look for in the following verses, viz., ver. 18-25; and there, if we do not find it stated in so many words that righteousness dwelleth in the new earth, we see very plainly the effects of righteousness or the results of a righteous rule. It is to these verses that the apostle must refer as the promise of the new earth "wherein dwelleth righteousness;" if not, there is no promise at all to which he can refer, which is absurd. Ver. 18-25 form part of the promise, therefore, of which ver. 17 is the beginning, or the whole passage (ver. 17-25) is the promise referred to by the apostle. Ver. 18-25 describe the millennial earth, but

they form part of the promise of the new heavens and earth; therefore the new earth and the millennial earth are the same, or the new earth is created at the coming of the Lord.

It is very difficult to see how it is possible, without treating Scripture in the most arbitrary manner, to split up the passage, and refer one part, as ver. 17, to one subject, and the other part to another and a different subject. The passage is a complete whole, most closely connected in its parts, and its subject is one. That which "I create "in ver. 18 can be nothing else than the object of the creative act in ver. 17; it is perfectly impossible to refer the creative action in these two verses to different things. "Be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create." Rejoice in what? The only possible answer is, in the new heavens and earth. Wherefore rejoice? It was not enough for them-i.e., the Jews, for they are addressed in this place that new heavens and earth were to be created; that might not have been to them, as a matter of course, a cause of rejoicing, for it was quite possible, anterior to the revelation of God's will upon the subject, that neither Jerusalem nor the Jews as a nation should have any place in the new creation. Yea, but rejoice, "for behold," as part of the new creation, as part of the new earth, "I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy." And then the prophet goes on to describe the state of things in Jerusalem and the land of Canaan re-created in the new earth. Ver. 18, and through it the whole passage, is most closely connected with ver. 17; and this leads us to the same conclusion as before regarding the identity of the new and millennial earth.

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But to return to 2 Pet. iii. It is not by any means true that this passage leaves the time of the conflagration indefinite. Ver. 10 only places it in the day of the Lord (ev ĥ); but ver. 12 is more precise" looking for and hasting" Tην Tаρoνolav τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμέρας, δι ̓ ἣν οὐρανοὶ, κ. τ. λ. Δι' ἣν does not mean " wherein," but "whereby," or on account of which," or "by means of which." It is most natural to refer the relative ἣν not to ἡμέρας, but to παρουσίαν: δι ̓ ἣν παρουσίαν οὐρανοὶ πυρούμενοι, κ. τ. λ. But should ἣν be held to refer to ἡμέρας, the meaning is nearly the same, for παρουσίαν must be taken into account; δι ̓ ἣν ἡμέραν παροῦσαν, οι ὅταν παρῇ, "by which day being present," or, "when it is present." But whether be relative to nuépas or to πapovoìav, the apostle evidently means to teach not only that the day of the Lord stands in a causal relation to the conflagration, but that it is not by that day taken indefinitely, but by the coming or the presence of that day, or by that day in its beginning, that the

conflagration is effected. It seems impossible to reconcile this passage with the view that the earth is not burned till the end of the millennium; for it is expressly stated that that event is brought about by the presence of that day, or by that day becoming present. But if it does not happen till the end of the day, then it is not brought about by the presence of the day at all, but by something else, since the day has been present for a thousand years. So that we must hold, either that the apostle does not use words in their proper sense, in which case he cannot be understood, which is absurd; or that he uses them without any sense at all, which is profane and irreverent; or that he does not speak the truth, which is blasphemous. The conflagration takes place, therefore, at the beginning of the day of the Lord, as also does the creation of the new earth, which is, consequently, identical with the millennial earth.

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Not to insist upon any other arguments to the same effect which might perhaps be furnished by the same passage, as in ver. 7 and ver. 11-14, the view that the conflagration is occasioned by the presence of that day, or by the presence of Christ, is confirmed by such passages as Ps. 1. 3, "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him." Ps. xcvii. 3, "A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about," which may be compared with 2 Pet. iii. 7, The day of judgment and perdition” τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνθρώπων, i. e., the wicked living at the second coming. (See Wood's "Last Things," p. 155.) Ver. 5, "The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord." Isa. lxiv. 1, "Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might tremble (5) at thy presence, (oh that thou wouldest appear,) as the burning of fire," &c. (IRE). Mic. i. 3, 4, "Behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place." Isa. xxxiii. 12, 14, "And the people shall be as the burnings of lime, as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire. . . . The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" Isa. xxiv. 6, "Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left." There are many other passages, of course, which might be quoted, but these are sufficient to shew that

the prophets expected the Lord to come with fire, which would melt the mountains before Him, burn up the earth as a devouring curse, and destroy His enemies, who shall be "afraid," surprised," by the sudden and unlooked-for fiery storm, which shall introduce the morning of that great and dreadful day, that shall burn as an oven.

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These considerations seem to me sufficient to shew that the new earth and millennial earth are one and the same.

ART. III. THE FIVE HUNDRED BRETHREN,

THE surpassing grandeur of the latter part of that glorious chapter, the fifteenth of 1st Corinthians, and the many solemn associations thereof, have, it may be, tended rather to cast into the shade the former part of it. The reading in public frequently begins with the twentieth verse; and we fear that the glorious facts, the touching appeals, and the beautiful arguments contained in the former verses are in a measure overlooked. This ought not to be, because these two parts of the chapter certainly stand related to each other as cause and effect. While we admire the Niagara-like grandeur of the apostle's eloquence, and listen with rapture to its grand melody, we should delight to trace the broad, deep, placid stream of truth which flows on so calmly to feed that majestic torrent, yea, and to trace that river to its fountain-head. While we rove with delight over the temple of resurrection-glory, as described in ver. 42-54, and join in anticipation the rapturous anthem that fills it, ver. 55-57, we shall find time to examine the deep and stable foundations of that building, as exhibited in the apostolic teaching concerning Jesus, His glorious career of lowly love, and His deathless triumphs.

The apostle begins his great discourse with referring to certain facts relating to that Saviour whom he loved to preach. As Dr Candlish beautifully observes, "These pregnant and significant facts give an insight such as nothing else can give into the scope and meaning of the Old Testament Scriptures, and the fixed essential principles of the government of God, of which these Scriptures are the witness, the exponent, and the revelation." He reminds the Corinthians that he began with these "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of

above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep." (Ver. 3-6.) These were my first words, without preface or preamble, suited to Grecian cars polite."

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The gospel is based on facts. All its doctrines, privileges, and prospects grow out of certain facts, and are the offspring of "things that have happened." Herein consists one striking difference between Christianity and heathenism. The one is built on actual occurrences, and the other on mere fables, or else spun out of the human brain. The difference, yea, the contrast, is seen in the two words," Mythology," and "Theology "the one the doctrine or science of a myth," the other the doctrine or science of "God"—yea, of "God manifest in the flesh." (1 Tim. iii. 15.) As is the foundation of heathenism, such is its nature-it is a delusive shadow, passing into eternal oblivion. As is the foundation of our most holy faith, such, too, are its nature and properties. The facts on which it is built pervade all truth, filling everything really belonging to it with their infinite reality and undying glory. And let it also be observed, that as the facts are stupendous, so the doctrines are correspondingly glorious, and the privileges and prospects also boundless. Grace and glory take their character from the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession of the Son of God.

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus may be considered as the CENTRAL fact of all other facts. Hence so much importance is attached to it in the Word of God, and especially in this chapter. There it stands, in the sacred page, sublime, lifegiving, heart-cheering. With the lowly manger, the loving life, and the sacrificial death of Jesus, on the one side, His ascension, intercession, and coming glory on the other, and itself most intimately connected with all, what redeemed heart can think of it without glad exultation? Without the resurrection of Christ, prophecy is not true, types have no meaning, the life of Christ is a failure, His death of no value, and the Old Testament a worn-out document. But, with the resurrection of Christ, all is true that the prophets wrote, the types shine bright with excessive beauty, Jesus is proved to be the true witness, the friend of man, the one all-sufficient sacrifice, yea," declared to be the Son of God with power," and the Sun of the Old Testament Scriptures. In proportion to the importance of this fact, is the necessity for its being well attested. God who raised up His Son Jesus from the dead, in infinite wisdom and sovereignty overruled the malice of Christ's enemies, and the infirmities of His friends, for the further de