with reward to the righteous given in the first instance and retribution to the wicked-first privatively, afterwards positively. As to the parallel prophecies in Isaiah, St. Peter, and Daniel, the harmony of the apocalyptic with them, too, would be also then complete and evident. The passing away of the old heaven and earth and substitution of the new, together with the saints' everlasting reign, would in every case begin with the fall of Antichrist and the Jews' restoration; there being, moreover, coincidentally, what St. Paul declares coincident, the manifestation of the sons of God—that is, of the new Jerusalem" (iv. 208),

Two consequences follow from this most important, most striking, and, as we think, most satisfactory view of the day of judgment. First, that as the destruction of the earth is partial and confined to that region where Antichrist had his seat-that is, the Western Roman empire-so, when it is said there is no more sea (Rev. xxi. 1), it is to be understood in a corresponding sense and of the European or Mediterranean sea, which "might, by the convulsions at the opening of the Millennium, have its bed elevated and made dryland:" secondly, that, as the earthly and heavenly Jerusalem will co-exist on the earth, the heavenly will be to the earthly what the earthly will be to "the nations of them that are saved" (Rev. xxi. 24): thus realizing on a large scale in the millennial earth the three degrees of holiness represented on a small scale in the tabernacle of Moses in the most holy, the holy place, and the court of the congregation--the heavenly Jerusalem occupying the present site of Christendom.

"And thus, when we turn to consider the state of things during the Millennium, our minds seem irresistibly directed to Jerusalem, as the Mother Church of a Christianised universe......... There the Shekinah glory of Messiah's presence is, as it would seem, to shine refulgent there the King to be seen in his beauty-there too, probably, the manifestation to be made, more fully than elsewhere, of the perfected company of the redeemed-the general assembly and Church of the first born now entered on their inheritance—the glorified sons of God......... Meanwhile thither, concomitantly, are to converge the desires and the gatherings of the whole family of man. The mountain of the Lord's house having been established on the top of the mountains, all nations shall flow unto it, and the Lord's prophecy be fulfilled-I, if I be lifted up, shall draw all men to me. The blessedness thence resulting is to be universal. The creature, delivered from the bondage of corruption, is to experience the glorious liberty of the children of God: the river of life from God's throne diffusing its blessings over the world, and the leaves of the trees beside it being for the healing of the nations" (211).

Mr. Elliott does not say that he regards Christendom as the site of the heavenly Jerusalem; but it seems to us deducible from the premises. For, as the fire of God's wrath falls upon

Rome as the seat of the beast, and upon all the countries which acknowledge him, and by that fire those regions are purified and the sea is turned into dry land, so there would be no more suitable place for displaying the final triumph of Christianity than the mystical Babylon where it has been most outraged. This great city is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, and there our Lord has been crucified afresh and put to an open shame. The judgments written in the thirtyfourth chapter of Isaiah will fall upon the Roman territory, and the blessedness written in the thirty-fifth chapter may be expected to ensue. The measure, too, of twelve thousand furlongs (Rev. xxi. 16), seems to indicate a definite place, which would agree in extent with the Roman earth; and its situation, west of Jerusalem, would correspond with the position of the most holy place in the tabernacle, which holy of holies, in the epistle to the Hebrews, is made a type of heaven.

Concerning that important epoch, called in Scripture "the Time of the End," Mr. Elliott regards the convergence of all the chronological predictions as indicating that it lies within the range of seventy-five years, commencing A.D. 1790, terminating 1865, which seventy-five years form the interval between Daniel's first period of 1260, and his last period of 1335-all the other numbers terminating somewhere within these extreme dates. "In regard of the seventeen long centuries preceding, that intervene between the apocalyptic revelation and French revolution, there is none within which they can, with at all the same probability, be made to converge; and I must say that the fact of their thus travelling, as they are alike found to do, to a close, within our present era, from their several sources more or less remote in the depth of antecedent ages, much impresses my own mind as confirmatory of the conclusion which was primarily deduced by me from the evidence simply of the apocalyptic prophecy. Like as the convergency of many lines of road to a geographical centre indicates that centre to be the place of some important and mighty city, so the convergency of these several chronological lines to an ending within the present century, now above one-half run out, seems to mark this century as an important era of crisis, big with momentous issues as to the destinies of the world" (239). And to this period of seventy-five years he would apply the words of our Lord (Luke xxi. 32)-"This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled;" understanding it as an intimation that the generation which witnessed the beginning of these fulfilments should also witness their completion.

The signs of the times, which force themselves on the

observation of the most careless, afford another indication of the approaching end: not merely because they are appalling -not merely because they were unlooked for-not merely because they are ominous of still greater evils, but chiefly from their being in such exact correspondence with the signs given in Scripture as notes to mark the "time of the end," and as precursors to announce the speedy coming of the Lord. Last year, there was a gathering from all quarters of the earth, which was looked upon by many as the beginning of a commercial Millennium-as the harbinger of universal benevolence and as the earnest and pledge that henceforward there would be peace on earth and goodwill amongst men. This year we have wars and rumours of wars-men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking on those things that are coming on the earth. When they shall say, Peace and safety, sudden destruction cometh.

But beyond all these secondary considerations, those who have made the prophetic Scriptures their study know from the WORD OF GOD that the "time of the end" cannot be far distant; for so large a portion of prophecy has been already fulfilled in the past history of the Church that the part which yet remains to be accomplished lies in a very narrow compass; and its process of fulfilment may be clearly understood, by analogy, as being similar to, or the consequences of, the things which have already taken place. The principles are already at work, and the agencies already in action, which in their full development and final issues and results shall bring on the great tribulation, to be "immediately" followed by the coming of the Son of Man to bring in the kingdom of righteousness and peace:

"The revolutionary heavings of the European nations, alike with infidel and democratic agitation, accordantly with Christ's and the apostles' descriptions of the latter days, and their preparation for deadly conflict with new and increased powers of destruction-of which the extraordinary outbreaks of 1848 in half the countries of Western Europe may have been but the prelibation—such, I say, is the combination of signs of the times now visible-signs predicted more or less clearly in Scripture prophecy as signs which were to precede the end; and, considering that they all point to the quickly coming future as the very crisis of consummation, concurrently with the other various evidence that has been detailed before, is it likely that we can be mistaken in so construing them? Does there not seem to be in them before our eyes that budding of the fig-tree which our Lord spoke of; and re

specting which he said that, whosoever might see was to mark them, and know therefrom that summer was nigh at hand" (iv. 243).

"Blessed be God, though the acceptable time remaining be short, it is not ended. Though the Master seems to be on the point of rising, he has not as yet actually risen and shut to the door. At this present closing crisis of the worldalike in the evidence of prophecy, in the signs of the times, in the general agitation of Christendom, and in the increased and increasing expectancy of him by his people-the Saviour's voice seems to be heard, distinct and clear as perhaps never before, 'Surely, I come quickly.' God grant that it may be the privilege, of both reader and writer, whether summoned to meet him by death or by the brightness of his personal advent, to be enabled each one to answer the summons, with the inmost soul's welcome,' Amen! Even so! Come, Lord Jesus!" (iv. 274).

ART. II.-Protestantism Contrasted with Romanism by the Acknowledged and Authentic Teaching of Each Religion. Edited by the Rev. JOHN EDMUND Cox, M.A., F.S.A., Two Vols. London: Longmans. 1852.

THIS work has originated from a conviction very generally felt, and often expressed in the pages of our journal, that the Church of England needs to gird on afresh her ancient armour against the Church of Rome, and to furbish up her weapons which have grown rusty from long disuse, and to provide additional defences where time or change of circumstances have rendered the old ones insufficient. "When the old sophisms are revived it is time to recur to the old methods of detecting and exposing them, and this the writer of the present work has endeavoured to do." But our defences are greatly strengthened by improving upon the old method in one respect, and not allowing tradition or patristic authority to have any place in determining doctrine which every true Protestant must rest on the Scriptures alone as the only rule of faith-the only standard of doctrine. This is the true distinction between Protestantism and Romanism; but it was not clearly apprehended, or was not steadily acted upon, by all our Reformers. Many of them, by the course of their studies, attached too much weight to the opinions of the fathers, who were really so unsettled and often so contradic

tory that their authority may be claimed, or at least plausibly assumed, for many of the worst corruptions of Romanism.

we

It cannot be too strongly impressed upon our minds that the pith and marrow of the distinction between us and the Romanists lies in this difference of the rule of faith: hold to the Scripture alone-they add tradition to the Scripture, the effect of which is to make the truth of Scripture dependent upon tradition, and so to subordinate the divine authority to that which is human, and put man in the place of God; and the error which begins here, in the rule of faith, pervades the whole system: for everywhere Romanism has put man in the place of God, and substituted things of man's invention as articles of faith, instead of the institutions of Christ and his apostles. Departed saints are put in the place of Christ in heaven, to whom prayers are offered as mediators and intercessors, instead of being offered to him alone. The Pope is put in His place on the earth, it being supposed that the Pope has authority to dispense with or alter the commandments of Christ. The priests are put in the place of God to pardon sin or pronounce the eternal doom; and human merits in works of supererogation, or human suffering in the way of penance, are held to be meritorious and expiatory, so as to supersede the cross; and a fresh sacrifice is asserted to be daily offered in the daily

mass.

Dr. Wiseman, in his "Lectures on the Catholic Church," says, "The question is, whether God intended the Scripture to be the only rule of faith? This the Protestant asserts and the Catholic denies. Therefore, when it is pretended to disprove the truth of the Catholic religion by taxing it with additions to God's word, or with restraining the people from its use, it is manifest that this identical question is assumed as certain on one side-namely, that Scripture is the only rule of faith. For, if this be not true, and if tradition is equally a rule of faith, the Catholic Church is not guilty of the alleged corruption. This is the whole kernel of the controversy between the two religions."

Dr. Wiseman's statement is correct in asserting that this is the gist of the controversy; but he is not correct in wishing it to be inferred that the Scriptures are acknowledged by Romanists as being "equally a rule of faith" with tradition. For they not only make the truth of Scripture dependent on tradition and so secondary and inferior-not only make void and contradict Scripture by their traditions--but they actually forbid the use of Scripture, prohibiting it entirely, as