of heresy and fanaticism. A mysterious prophecy, which still forms a part of the sacred canon, but which was thought to favor the exploded sentiment, has very narrowly escaped the proscription of the church."* We suppose he means the Apocalypse.

From THE AMERICAN ENCYCLOPEDIA we give the following extracts. "Chiliasm, or the expectation of a blessed Millennium, became a universal belief among the Christians of the first centuries, which was strengthened by the prophecies contained in Revelations of the times which were to precede and indicate the happy times of the Millennium."

"Before it began, human misery, according to their opinion, was to rise to the highest degree; then the overthrow of the Roman empire would follow, and from its ruins would proceed a new state of things, in which the faithful who had risen from the dead, with those still living would enjoy ineffable happiness ** * and the blessed reside in the heavenly Jerusalem, which would descend from heaven in extraordinary splendor and grandeur to receive them in its magnificent habitations."

"This faith the Christian teachers of the first centuries were unanimous in adopting and promulgating. *** When Christianity became the predominant religion of the Roman Empire, it lost its interest for the multitude; victory, liberty, and security, which the Millennium was expected to bring, being now actually enjoyed." The Encyclopædist is careful to notice the fact, as do the others, that they regarded the Apocalyptic Millennium as being the seventh Chiliad of the world's existence.†

Quotations to any amount like the foregoing, might be made. We will abridge a few others thus:-Giesseler says of the first centuries, " Millennarianism became the general

* Decline and Fall, vol. i. pp. 411, 413,

† Encyclopædia Amer., Art. Millennium.

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belief of the time." Dr. Kitto remarks that "The Millennial doctrine may be regarded as generally prevalent in the second century." Bp. Newton says, "The doctrine of the Millennium was generally believed in the three first and purest ages." Mede, "This was the opinion of the whole orthodox Christian church in the age immediately following St. John." Maitland, of the first two centures, says:“As far as I know nc one, except such as were notoriously out of the pale of the church, had impugned the doctrine of the Millennium, as held by Justin, or taught any doctrine contrary to it." Bishop Russell admits that "The Apostles clung to the expectation of the Millennium during their whole lives." Of the days of Nepos, a German historian of Chiliasm, says "At that time the number and respectability of its supporters was not small.". Whitby, on the Pre-millennial views of the early church, says: "They held that this (first) resurrection was not confined to the martyrs only, but that all the just were then to rise and reign with Christ." Jeremy Taylor admits that "The doctrine of the Millennium was in the best ages esteemed no heresy, but true Catholic doctrine." Stuart affirms that Justin Martyr, Irenæus, Tertullian, &c., regarded the descriptions of the thousand years reign on earth, of the first resurrection of the dead, and of the New Jerusa lem, as designed to be literally interpreted in order to elicit the true meaning of the Apocalypse." Milner on the Premillennarian faith of the early church, says: "This fact is not disputed," and we would add in conclusion that he who doubts it after perusing these pages thus far, would not believe though one rose from the dead. Says the London Quarterly Journal of Prophecy: "Thus, by the testimonies of men, many of whom are wholly unfriendly to our doctrine, we have established this point, that, during the first two cen turies and a half, Pre-millennialism, or Chiliasm, as it was then called, was the faith of the church. We can distinctly

trace it back to the days of the Apostles, nay, to the very lips of the Apostles."

THE SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGY.

The chronological calculus of the early church, leading them to expect the termination of the 6000 years in their day or later, the reader will perceive is incorrect. Says Gibbon, "The primitive church of Antioch, computed almost 6000 years from the creation of the world to the birth of Christ." Their calculations were founded on the Septuagint, i. e., the ancient Greek version of the Old Testament, which was universally received during the first six centuries, on which Dr. Burnet says: "The reason why so many of the Fathers were mistaken in supposing the end at hand was because they reckoned the 6000 years according to the chronology of the Septuagint; which, setting back the beginning of the world many ages beyond the Hebrew, the six thousand years were nearly expired in the times of those Fathers; and this made them conclude the world was very near an end." Prof. George Bush thus observes of the primitive Christians :"Owing to a radical error in their chronological calculus, they conceived themselves as actually having arrived at the eve of the world's seventh Millennary, or in other words, as having their lot cast on the Saturday of the great anti-typical week of the creation."+ Dr. Elliott also affirms the same, and exhibiting a vast discrepancy of hundreds of years between the chronology of the Hebrew and Septuagint text, there being then extant different copies of the latter, he instances, Clement of Alexandria, as terminating from then the 6000 years about A. D. 374; (others earlier), Eustathius, Lactantius, Hillarion, Jerome, and perhaps Hippolytus, in A. D. 500; Sulpitius Severus, in A. D. 581; Augustine, in A. D. 650; and Cyprian, about A. D. 243; this being, he says, e earliest application of the world's supposed nearness to its *Theory of the Earth, vol. ii. † On the Mill., p. 28

SEPTUAGINT CHRONOLOGY.

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seventh Millennary in proof of the nearness of the consummation, save the Sibylline Oracles, Book seventh which fix on A. D. 196. As proof of the incorrectness of the chronology of the Septuagint, he observes that it makes Methuselah to have lived till fourteen years after the flood!*

And now taking our leave of the early church, after noticing more at length the decline of the primitive doctrine of the Millennium, and the introduction of a new Millennial theory we plunge into the ages of darkness.

* Hor. Apoc., vol. ii. pp 206–7, &c.

CHAPTER V.

FROM AUGUSTINE TO LUTHER.

“In the latter times some shall depart from the farth.” 1 Tim. 4: 1. "Others were tortured not, accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection."—Heb. 11: 35.

PRE

sus.

RE-MILLENNIALISM, we hold, is Apostolic; but in reviewing the testimony of the early church on the question of Chiliasm, it is of course admitted that they mixed errors with the doctrine. We remember that "the mystery of iniquity" worked in Paul's day, and we have read his solemn prediction in his farewell charge given to the church at EpheAn English writer has well observed, "I do not appeal to the writings of the early Christians as authority; so far from it, I regard their writings as the history of truth perverted; so that while on the one hand I should be surprised to find any truth taught by the apostles, unnoticed in the Fathers, I should be almost equally surprised to find it taught Scripturally and unincumbered by human additions, so early did the apostacy begin to work." Above antiquity, tradition or human opinion, in the words of Burnet, we should always require a higher witness, viz: the Bible." This is the first. But we highly esteem the faith of that church whose characteristics, says Milner, were "to believe, to love, and to suffer." "Whatever is first," says Tertul. lian, "is true, whatever is later is adulterate," and Mr. Faber has truly said: "If a doctrine totally unknown to