lennialist, in his work entitled "Modern Chiliasm Refuted," truly says, "Jerome and other writers of this period were great scoffers at the doctrine, and the consequence was, that it fell into disrepute, and entirely dwindled away, so that we hear scarcely no more of it, until the tenth and a portion of the eleventh century, the Reformation and the present time."*

But this admission of Mr. Morris every close thinker will at once see is prejudicial, nay, even fatal to Post-millennialism! It allows that Rome banished the true Millennium, and more even than this!

count.

AUGUSTINE. A. D. 390.

Augustine was Bishop of Hippo. Born A. D. 358, and died in 434. He was contemporary with Jerome, and is acknowledged to have been a great and justly celebrated divine. Though not thoroughly free from the superstitions of his times, yet with regard to the doctrines of free grace in Christ, as Dr. Cumming says, "Augustine was a brilliant exception, and continued evangelical," and Milner also states that "the light from his writings glimmered through many ages, down even to the Reformation," Gibbon hinting that Rome had a secret repugnance to them on this acHe was once a Chiliast, but abandoned that view through the influence and misrepresentations of his enemies, particularly Eusebius, as Mr. Brooks argues. He then developed what is usually called the Augustinian view of the Millennium, which afterwards became very prevalent, and which constitutes a new era in its history. On the first view he expresses himself: "Those who have supposed from these words, Rev. 20: 6, that there shall be a first corporeal resurrection, have been moved among other things chiefly *See Jerome's Comment on Jeremiah, 19: 10. De Instit. Cap. Horæ. Apoc., vol. 4. Lond. Quar. Jour. Proph., No. 7. Mede's Works, p. 602. Ward's Hist. Mill,, p. 21, Mosheim, vol. 1, p. 116.

XV.

by the number of the thousand years; as if there ought to be among the saints a sabbatism, as it were in a holy vacation after their six thousand years of trouble; which opinion would indeed be tolerable if it should be believed that spiritual delights should redound to the saints in that Sabbath, by the presence of the Lord, for we also were ourselves formerly of that opinion." Augustine's objection does not militate against us, for we hold to a pure Millennium of spiritual delights by the personal presence of the Lord, and his admission is that such an one can be tolerated. The abuse of Millennial truth evidently caused him to reject it as of carnal tendeney; so Elliott supposes.

Elli

On the four kingdoms of Daniel's prophecy, Augustine made the first three to be Babylon, Chaldea, and Macedon, and the fourth to be Rome, as did, according to Jerome, all the previous Fathers. He identifies the little horn of the fourth beast with St. Paul's man of sin, and St. John's Antichrist; the Roman empire be thought hindering the revelation of the latter, who would bring in a great religious apostacy, pretended miracles, etc. On the question of the Jews, " Augustine," says ott, "only speaks of their conversion, never, I believe, of their national restoration in Palestine." In this he agreed with Jerome, who held that the local Jerusalem would never be rebuilt, but remain in ruins to the end of the world. He thus describes the character of the virgins of Math. 25th: "But men continually say to themselves, Lo the day of judgment is coming now, so many evils are happening; so many tribulations thicken; behold all things which the prophets have spoken have well nigh fulfilled, the day of judgment is already at hand.' They who speak thus and speak in faith, go out as it were, with such thoughts, to meet the bridegroom." He represented the world as "old and full of troubles; distressed by the heavy breathing of old age," and taught the earth's renovation at Christ's coming: saying on the Lord's prayer, Math. 6:10," His kingdom will come when the resurrection

THE MILLENNIUM.-CONFIRMATORY VOICES.

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of the dead shall have taken place; for then He will come himself. And when the dead are raised, he will divide them, as he himself says, and he shall set some on the right hand and some on the left. To those who shall be on the right hand he will say, 'Come ye blessed.' This is what we wish and pray for when we say, 'Thy kingdom come,' that it may come to us. For if we shall be reprobate, that kingdom will come to others but not to us. But if we shall be of that number who belong to the members of his only begotten Son, his kingdom will come to us and will not tarry. For are there as many ages yet remaining as have already passed away? The apostle John hath said, 'My little children, it is the last time.' Let us watch now, &c." On the earth's renovation, he writes: "By the change of things the world will not entirely perish or be annihilated. Its form, or external appearance, will be changed, but not its substance. The figure of this world will pass away by the general conflagration. The qualities of the corruptible elements of which our world is composed, which were proportioned to our corruptible bodies, will be entirely destroyed by the fire; and the substance of those elements will acquire new qualities which will be suitable to our immortal bodies, and thus the world by becoming more perfect, will be proportioned to the then improved state of the human body." So taught Augustine. The world's duration he made sex-millennial, and says Dr. Elliott, "with the other Anti-millennarian Fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries, explained the Sabbatical seventh day, not of a seventh Sabbatical Millennium of rest, but an eternal Sabbath a view generally adopted afterwards."* In viewing the advent and end of the world, as occurring on the termination of 6000 years, Augustine negatives a Post-millennial advent.

* Augustin De Civit, Lib. 20; c. 5, 14, 16. Homil., vol. i. pp. 43, 358, 252, 83, 70. Ox. ed.

CONFIRMATORY TESTIMONY TO THE PRE-MILLENNIAL FAITH OF THE EARLY CHURCH.

NATHANIEL LARDNER, D. D. Born in Kent, England, 1684. Died 1768. An erudite, voluminous author, and a name-says Dr. Clarke-never to be mentioned but with respect. An Anti-m. he is, but of the early church, and Chiliasm he thus testifies: "The Millennium has been a favorite doctrine of some ages, and has had the patronage of the learned as well as the vulgar among Christians."* "It must be owned that the orthodox Millennarians do speak of one thousand years reign of Christ before the general resurrection; which good men, having been raised from the dead, should spend on this earth, when there shall be extraordinary plenty of the fruits of the earth." They certainly grounded their sentiments upon the Revelation and upon other books of the Old and New Testament universally received." Such is the testimony of one who, like Bishop Russell, denies the theory we advocate.

WILLIAM CHILLINGWORTH. Born at Oxford, England, 1602. Died a captive, 1644. He was Chancellor of Salisbury, and a powerful theologian. On the early catholicity of Chiliasm, he writes as follows, while controverting Romanism: "That this doctrine is by the present Romish Church held false and heretical, I think no man will deny. That the same doctrine was by the church of the next age after the Apostles (mark this!) held true and catholic, I prove by these two reasons: First, whatever doctrine is believed and taught by the most eminent Fathers of any age of the church, and by none of their contemporaries opposed or condemned,

* Credibility of the Gospel History, Vol. iv. p. 513. † Ibid, Vol. iv., pp. 640, 641.

CHILLINGWORTH-MOSHEIM.

101 that is to be esteemed the catholic doctrine of the church of those times; but the doctrine of the Millennaries was believed and taught by the most eminent Fathers of the age next after the Apostles, and by none of that age opposed or condemned; therefore, it was the catholic doctrine of those times." Quoting the Fathers in proof, he continues: "And Second, whatever doctrine is taught by the Fathers of any age, not as doctors, but as witnesses of the tradition of the church, that is, not as their own opinion, but as the doctrine of the church of their time, neither did any contradict them in it: ergo, it is undoubtedly to be so esteemed."* Again, he says: "It appears manifest out of this book of Irenæus, that the doctrine of the Chiliasts was in his judgment Apostolic tradition, as also it was esteemed (for aught appears to the contrary) by all the doctors, and saints, and martyrs of, or about his time, for all that speak of it, or whose judgments in the point are any way recorded, are for it; and Justin Martyr professeth that all good and orthodox Christians of his time believed it, and those that did not, he reckons among heretics."†

JOHN LAURENCE MOSHEIM, D. D. Born 1695. Died 1755. He was a celebrated German Protestant theologian, and writer of a well known and valuable Ecclesiastical His" he tory. He was a Post-m. Under the "Third Century," says: "Long before this period, an opinion had prevailed that Christ was to come and reign a thousand years among men, before the entire and final dissolution of this world. This opinion, which had hitherto met with no opposition, was variously interpreted by different persons, &c. But in this century its credit began to decline, principally through the influence and authority of Origen, who opposed it with the greatest warmth, because it was incompatible with some of his favorite sentiments."

* Works, fol. ed., p. 174. † Ibid, p. 347. ‡ Ecclesiastical History, Vol. i., p. 89, Chap. 3, Sec. 2.