ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the President as four years, and four years as one day." Now, I ask, who would not understand me? The smallest intellect would understand me to mean that General Harrison would be elected the second time, and have two periods, of four years each, to rule over these United States. Why, then, not understand Peter, whose language is as simple and plain? Ah! many would if it were not for wise-heads and wiseacres, who draw our attention from Peter, take the words out of his mouth, put in some ambiguous words of their own, clothe the scripture in sackcloth, multiply words without knowledge, confuse and confound our thoughts, so that we hardly know what to think, till, in our confusion, we throw down our Bibles in disgust, become almost sceptics, and lose the whole force of truth and relish for the Bible.

He

Peter, in this chapter, is talking about the judgment day, and the perdition of ungodly men. then tells us how long that day shall be, charges us not to be ignorant that it is a thousand years, gives a plain reason why a day of the Lord is a thousand years long-because he is long-suffering towards men, not willing that any should perish, but rather they would come to repentance. Peter next informs us that the day of the Lord, which he has just told us is as a thousand years, will come upon us-and how? As a thief in the night: the heavens shall pass away with a great noise; the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also and the works therein shall be burnt up. Then, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Who, let me now inquire, can believe that this great work will be performed in the holy sabbath of eternal cest? How can Christ do all his work in six days, and yet perform all this in or after the seventh? What is the seventh day? It is a holy day. Peter says, "wherein dwelleth righteousness." It is the day of the Lord, and the day of God. And Peter says, "looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God."

Therefore, it is evident that Peter means to be understood, that the destruction of ungodly men, the burning of the works of men, the passing away of the heavens melting of the elements, and making the new heavens and new earth, are all performed before this holy sabbath, rather than afterwards, as our modern millenarians hold. If, then, Jesus Christ does his work in six days, and rests from all his labors on the seventh, when may we expect this great event to take place? I answer-if a thousand years is one day with the Lord, as I think I have proved, then six thousand years from the first creation the new one must be formed: "For in six days God made the heavens and the earth, and rested on the seventh." Mason Good, in his "Book of Nature,' supposes that the earth was six thousand years in forming: if so, then here would be another proof that I am right concerning a thousand years being a day with the Lord. And, moreover, if Christ worked after the example of his Father, and rested, as God rested from his labors, then the seventh thousand years would be a sabbath of rest for Christ and his people.

To arrive at a nearer conclusion of the whole matter, we shall now consult the age of the world. It is a well-known fact that chronological writers disagree much as to the present age. The Chinese make it about 25,000 years; the Hindoos about 14,000; the Romans about 6550. The Pentateuch, or Samaritan copy of the five books of Moses, makes it about 5649. The Septuagint copy of the Old Testament makes it 6254. The Hebrew Bible, from which ours is principally taken, makes the age of the world, as calculated by Usher, 5844. Some others have varied from Usher's calculation. The reader will find, accompanying this volume,* a chronology, made, as it is believed, from the Bible, having very clear evidence of every period of time given from the creation to Christ, which makes our present year, from the

* Dissertation on Prophetic Chronology, page 40.

creation of Adam, 5997. If this should be the true era of the world, then we live within three or four years of the great sabbath of rest. You are under obligation to examine for yourselves. Whether any one of the above calculations concerning the age of the world is right, no man can, in my opinion, possibly determine with entire certainty. But I have never seen any chronology with so few difficulties to my mind as the one here presented. Compare, and read, and labor to enter into that rest which remains for the people of God. Every sabbath we enjoy here ought to remind us of the great sabbath to which we shall shortly come. Every trial we have here to endure should remind us that the days of our labor will soon be past, and our work finished and sealed up for eternity. Strive, then, to enter into that rest; and know, O man! that this is the time to prepare to meet God and our Savior in rest. AMEN.

PART THIRD.

REVIEWS AND LETTERS.

A REVIEW OF ETHAN SMITH'S AND DAVID CAMBELL'S EXPOSITION OF THE "LITTLE HORN," AND RETURN OF THE JEWS.

DANIEL viii. 9.

And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.

1. WE might inquire what power this "little horn" represents. I answer, the Romans, or Daniel's fourth kingdom, as explained by the heavenly messenger, Dan. vii. 23-26: "Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them, and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time, times, and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end."

Messrs. Smith and Cambell say that it is Maho

met.

What right they have for giving a different construction, without any intimation from God, the angel, or Daniel, I cannot conceive; but when men have false theories to support, they must explain to suit their convenience.

The text says, "out of one of them," meaning one of the four kingdoms into which Alexander's was divided," came forth a little horn." Rollin says

"that these four kingdoms all became Roman provinces between the years 148 and 30 B. C." Of course, they ceased to be kingdoms. And, as this little horn 66 I came out of one of them," it must have arisen before Christ, instead of 622 years after Christ, when Mahomet arose. (See Rollin, vol. iv. pp. 210, 246, 264, 377.)