Millennium is a latin word, and signifies a thousand years.- -This period is spoken of in Rev. 20.

Commentators are not agreed whether these are common or prophetic years. If they are prophetic years, (which are reckoned a year for a day, Ezek. 5,6,) the millennium will measure 365,000 years. This is probable, because John in Revelation makes all his calculations according to this measure.

About the commencement of this period, or just before its commencement, Babylon, the great whore is judged and destroyed, Rev. 19, 1,3. The spurious church of Christ is called Babylon, because of its pride and confusion; and called the great whore, because she has forsaken the true husband, Christ, and /313/ followed after other lovers. She is not owned as the Lamb's wife, as in 7th verse.

About the commencement of this glorious period, the true church of Christ, or the Lamb's wife, is seen prepared for the marriage, or marriage supper of the Lamb. Happy they, who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb! None but the saints of God have this privilege, Rev. 12, 7, 9.

Immediately after, at the very commencement of this period, the King of Kings comes in his glory, and smites all the wicked nations of the earth, and treads them in wrath, as grapes are trodden in a wine press, and sweeps them all in death. Rev. 19, 11, 21.

At the same time the old Serpent, the Devil or Satan, is bound for a thousand years, during which time he has not one subject alive on earth. Rev. 20, 1, 3.

At the commencement of the 1000 years, the martyrs who were beheaded or slain for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, shall rise from the dead--also the saints who had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands, shall rise, live and reign with Christ 1000 years. This is the first resurrection. Rev.20, 5, 5. Commentators generally, if not universally, limit this privilege to the martyrs only; and think that these only shall rise from the dead at the commencement of the millennium, and reign with Christ during that period. Yet the text by no means limits it to them. The Apostle Paul, speaking of the resurrection, marks the particular order of it. Cor. 5, 23. "But every man (is made alive) in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterwards they that are Christ's at his coming." The plain meaning of which is, that Christ rose from the dead, and afterwards his saints shall rise from the dead at his coming. Thes. 4, 15, 18. We are plainly taught that at the coming of Christ, the saints that shall be alive on the earth, shall fly up to meet the Lord in the air, they having been changed from mortality to immortality in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet. But they shall not enjoy this privilege till the dead saints shall first rise from mortality to immortality, and then shall they all be caught up together to meet the Lord. The Lord shall descend with the trump of God, the trump shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. In all these passages of scripture, not a word is said of the resurrection of the wicked.

In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are equal to the angels. The idea of an increase of men by ordinary generation, is certainly incorrect and untrue.

Some indulge the idea that in the millennium, all the wicked world will be converted; but the truth is, that not one of the wicked will live to see that day. /314/

Some have thought that Christ would not come and reign in person on the earth; that his coming and reign on earth are entirely spiritual. How then differs his reign in the millennium from his present reign? His first coming was in person; so shall his second be. His first coming was to save his people from their sins--his second is to save them from death and HADES, and not from sin. His first coming was not to judge the world, but to save the world--his second coming is not to save, but to judge the world. In his first coming he abode but a few years on earth; in his second he will abide 1000, and not leave the world, till he has adjudicated on it, and assigned to each one his eternal portion in heaven or hell. For at the end of the 1000 years, Satan is loosed, and the wicked are raised from the dead-- this is the 2d resurrection. Satan is permitted to collect his old armies composed of all the wicked now raised from death, and to deceive them once more with the hope of conquering the armies of Jesus. As soon as they are collected together, the judgement is set on them, and they are condemned to suffer the vengeance of eternal fire.

One objection is offered to these views, which is, that the dead, saint and sinner, are to be raised in the same hour.

"The hour is coming when all that are in their graves shall come forth; they that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation." In a few verses above the Lord said, "The hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." John 5, 25, 28. In this last verse, the dead spoken of are such as are dead in sin--such shall hear his voice, and if they hear and believe they shall live the life of faith in the Son of God. This the context shows to be the truth. This hour of hearing the voice of Jesus in the gospel has continued 1800 years, why not the hour spoken of in John v. 28, continue 1000 years? These are humbly submitted to the public.

B. W. STONE, Ed.

"You have published a piece lately on the second coming of Christ, and the day of judgement. Many are astonished that such a piece should drop from the pen of elder Stone. The first particular item is, that there should be no progress of the human family during the 1000 years. Secondly, that Christ and the righteous, during all that period, should be on the earth merely to condemn the wicked, who were already condemned, and not one soul converted to God during the 1000, or 365,090 years, and none to be converted. Thirdly, that Gog and Magog, which Satan would collect, during the little season, were the wicked already dead. A dead man can never take up arms! Do write more particularly on these subjects."

My dear brother.--You say many are astonished at the piece to which you refer. Indeed, had I communicated some of the ideas you have suggested, I should be astonished at myself. In fact I never thought of some of them--they are perfectly new to me, and I think, are new to the world. But to the points on which you desire me to write more particularly.

1st. The second coming of Christ. The every idea of a second coming implies a first coming. As to the time, manner, and purpose of his first coming all agree--the time was in the days of Augustus Caesar--the manner was in flesh, such as the children had, subject to temptations--the purpose was to save sinners. All agree that Christ in his proper person came at that time, in that manner, and for that purpose. His second coming will also be in his proper person. This is the testimony of the two glorified angels to the apostles, while they were gazing at the ascending immortal Jesus. "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." Acts 1, 11. I ask, has Jesus ever come personally from that time to the present, in the manner in which he was taken into heaven?

There is a great difference in the work as well as the manner of the first and second coming of the Lord. His first coming was to save sinners from their sins. His second coming is not to save, but to judge and destroy them. Thes. 1, 7. "When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.--Who shall be punished with everlasting destructed from his presence, and from the glory of his power." 2 Pet. 3, 1, 11. Here we are taught, at the coming of the Lord, shall take place the perdition of ungodly men; and that the very reason the Lord delays /366/ his coming, is because he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. This is the common teaching of the word.

At the second coming of the Lord, I proved in that piece to which you refer, that the saints who should be alive at his coming, should be change from mortality into immortality in a moment, and that all the saints, who sleep in Jesus, or who are dead, shall in the same moment rise from death to immortality, and reign with the Lord on earth 1000 years--this is the first resurrection. The second resurrection is of the wicked, which shall take place after the 1000 years are finished.

From this view, I cannot believe that, in the millennial period, the human family shall increase; for said our Lord, "In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven." Matt. 22, 30. Angels do not procreate their species. But if mankind in the resurrection with spiritual bodies increase their species, their children cannot join the redeemed from sin and death in their worship and songs of praise. How could they praise the Lord or redemption from sin and death, when they had never been under their power? Do we read of any but the redeemed living and reigning with the Lord 1000 years? No.

What, say you, shall Christ and the righteous be all the time of the millennium, judging and condemning the wicked? I answer no; for the wicked were all cut off just before, or at the very commencement of that period--there will not be one alive on earth, during that whole time; and therefore, there will not be one converted, and not one remain on earth to be converted.-- Nothing shall hurt or offend in all God's holy mountain in that happy day. Satan is bound, and the wicked confined in death. The final judgement is not to take place till the 1000 years close, when the wicked shall rise from death, and Satan be loosed from his chains and prison.

As the Lord by his holy angels collected his elect from the four winds of heaven--so Satan collects his risen hosts together from the four corners of the earth; and still retaining his hatred to the Lord and his saints, and still wishing and aiming at their destruction, deceives his old hosts once more, and incites them again to attack the saints, and the beloved city. Then the judgment is set upon them, and their portion assigned them. True; but a living man can. But I said nothing about arms, or taking up arms.-- I know nothing about armory.

How frequently people, from pre-conceived opinions, reject the plainest truth, because it contradicts their traditionary notions. This I am led to think is the cause why so many in your section of the country have been astonished at these ideas. Let us /307/ diligently examine the subjects by the book. Your brother in the Lord.

B. W. STONE, Ed.

Dear Brethren Stone & Johnson--

I have just returned from Baltimore, I found a number of flourishing christian churches both, in going and coming. I found some brethren, who appear to be as much sectarian as any other; and some who appear to strike at the root of all good order in the work of the ministry, or a regular preached gospel. Paul beseeches the brethren, to know them who labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake--I never saw a people do well very long, who paid no regard to Paul's admonition in this case--It is morally impossible for a preacher to study to make himself a workman, who needs not be ashamed, if he has to study a thousand ways, how to get along with regard to his worldly affairs.

Dear Brother Stone--I had the pleasure to see the answer which you wrote in the Messenger to the few lines, which I wrote to you concerning your views of Christ's second coming &c. Dear. Brother, bear with us a little and not think that our views are mere traditionary notions--Tradition is an oral account from age to age--If we have nothing, but that which is delivered by mouth, in support of our opinions respecting Christ's second coming; you do well to reprove us sharply for differing with your views on this subject; as for myself I never can believe any thing except I have both scripture and reason; /141/ God is a God of reason, and he speaks to our reasonable faculties--saying, come, let us reason together. Now then, whilst I show you my reasons, why I dissent from you opinion respecting the second coming of Christ, let not our love be cooled to each other; the best of men have differed on this subject. I have truly received much satisfaction from the Messenger on many subjects, particularly on the doctrine of Christ, and baptism for the remission of sins. The ideas on which we differ with you are your views, 1st, of Christ coming in his bodily presence at the commencement of the 1000 years, or at the commencement of the millennium. 2nd, That the dead saints, or those who sleep in their graves, shall be raised, and the living changed at the commencement of the 1000 years. 3rd, That there shall be no increase of the human family during the millennial period. 4th, That none shall be converted and none shall remain to be converted, during the whole period of the 1000 years.

Dear Broth Stone; I do not wish to enter into any contest with you on these subjects; but merely for information. If you or any other brother will, agreeably to scripture or reason, answer the following objection to the above ideas, it will be taken as a great kindness.

1st. Idea, that Jesus shall come, and reign with his saints on earth 1000 years in his bodily presence.

1st, Objection, If Christ shall come from heaven in his bodily presence, then heaven shall be without him during that 1000 years. 2nd, If Christ shall come in his bodily presence and reigns with the saints 1000 years how can he be in every place at the same time. He has flesh and bones as well as we have; handle me, said he, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. Every body must occupy a certain space; if so, he cannot be at the same time in the four continents, and in the immediate presence of every saint at the same time.

2nd, Item that, at the commencement of the 1000 years, the living saints shall be changed to immortality, and those, who sleep in Jesus, at the same moment be raised to immortality.-- Dear Brother Stone, I think, if you will examine the text or passage all over, you will see that this passage has a reference not to the commencement of the millennium at all, but to the general judgment--1 Thes. 4, 14-18. "For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again, even so them also, which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him; for this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep; for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the /142/ Lord in the air, and so shall we be ever with the Lord. Mark here; "meet the Lord," not on earth, but in the air--on his great white throne Rev. 20, 11--Dear Brother, there is a particular objection in my mind to the idea you take from the main text, on which you build this doctrine, that is, Rev. 20, 4--and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark on their forehead, nor in their hand, and they lived and reigned with Christ a 1000 years. You take this text literally whilst in my humble opinion, it is figurative all through the new testament. When it speaks of the resurrection; it is always of the body, not of the soul, therefore, when John said, that he saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and the word of God &c. They lived and reigned with Christ 1000 years. I think that it rationally may be considered, not the individual persons who suffered for the witness of Jesus; but more particularly their successors in the same spirit of fiery zeal and courage for the simple truth of the gospel, the glory of God, and the salvation of souls. These are the persons in succession, who shall live and reign with Christ, in his spiritual presence, a 1000 years, or till kings shall be thy (the church's) nursing Fathers, and Queens thy nursing Mothers, and the kingdom, be given into the hands of the saints of the Most High, and the earth be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea--It may certainly be spoken of in the style of prophecy, as though they were the same persons. Our saviour himself spoke of John the baptist as if he were Elias; because he came in the spirit and power of Elias. Matt, III, and 17, 12. Luke, 17--The restoration of Israel from their captivity is called their living and standing on their feet and exceeding army, Ezek 37, 10. The two witnesses who, were to prophecy 1260 days or years in sack cloth, must mean a succession of witnesses for the same great cause &c.

3rd, Item of your ideas, that during the millennial period there will be no increase of the human family--you say, that, in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels in heaven. True, thus far we agree exactly- -But you have not proved to my satisfaction by any scripture, or reason that the resurrection of all the righteous will be 1000 years before the resurrection of the wicked--It says, the rest of the dead lived, not again until the 1000 years were finished. It does not say, the dead out of Christ live not, &c. but the dead, righteous, and wicked; John says, I saw the dead small and great stand before God, and the books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written /143/ in the books, according to their works. (Now comes the general resurrection) and the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell, or the grave, gave up the dead which were in them &c. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. This was certainly after the 1000 years, that the dead, small and great stood before God, the books were opened--the book of life presented the righteous and the wicked judged, and those not written in the book of life cast into the lake of fire, Rev. 20,11,--Matthew's testimony says, When the son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another &c. Mat. 25, 31, 32. It appears evident, that, people shall be in a national capacity, marrying wives and giving in marriage, planting, building &c. when the Lord shall come with all his holy angels to judge the world.

Speaking of the latter day glory, Isaiah says: And there shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled up his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old? Here it appears that at that happy time, or day of millennium, that there will be infants, but they shall not die in a few days, but shall die notwithstanding, a 100 years old. Then it speaks of both children, and death, in that period; and at least ten generations; for if the child should die in our day, when an infant, but at that day live a hundred years, there are ten times that much in one thousand years.

The 4th, and last Idea against which we contend, is, that there shall be no sinners converted, and none to convert, during the millennium period--we have proved that nations shall be in a national capacity till the general judgment, planting, building, marrying wives, and given in marriage; that there shall be no death of infants or youth, but at the same time death when old. Then if it is so, that people shall live in a national capacity, having children who shall die when old, they must be born again, or not get to heaven; for human nature is still the same thing, children of wrath, till they are converted. I believe as much as you do, that the people, who will be obstinate till they get down on the scorners chair, God will cut off by some signal judgment before the final commencement of the last 1000 years or millennium, lest their influence should draw away others and be a bad example to youth.

Dear Brother Stone, (I hope I shall not offend you,) your views of the millennium period are exceedingly contracted--I cannot see for my life, how the many prophecies respecting the latter day glory, could be fulfilled agreeable to your views, it is only 166 years from this present year (1834) till the last of his dispensation, or the 2000 years under the gospel. There must be rapid work during that time (166) if all the prophecies are fulfilled respecting the church of Christ--The reign of antichrist is not quite at an end yet; party names and spirits, still rage, the holy city is still trodden down by the Gentiles. There are but few, who have overcome the beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his name; and standing on the sea of glass, mingled with fire, and singing the song of deliverance from Babylonish captivity, or the song of Moses and of the Lamb.- - Solomon says Prov. 8, 30, 31, speaking of the son-ship of Christ, and creation of the world. Then I was by him as one bought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him, rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earth, and my delights were with the sons of men. It is evident from this passage that every part of the earth, that can be inhabited, will be inhabited before the day of judgement; for our Saviour fore- seeing the parts of the habitable earth, rejoiced and his delights were with the sons of men; as if it were actually present. There is a great part of the earth not yet inhabited, that will be inhabited, or else made in vain. But no part of the creation is useless, for after he finished the creation, he looked upon it, found that it answered the purpose for which it was made, and pronounced it good. It certainly must be in that 1000 years of peace, or millennial period, that a little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation--that the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea, that they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, that nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither learn war any more. It must be at this happy time, when the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard lie down with the kid, the calf, the young lion, & the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them, the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all God's holy mountain. Mark it well, that these passages with many more are acknowledged by all to have a reference, in particular, to the time of the millennium; and yet there are little children, suckling children, and weaned children in that period.

But Dear Brother,--your last Item, I had almost forgotten that is, when satan shall be loosed from his prison, you say, that he collects his risen hosts again from the four corners of the earth, deceives his old army once more, &c. But the Book says, when the 1000 years are expired, satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations, which are upon the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them &c. Mark here: they are still in a national capacity--this is the little season, and it appears that satan shall have great success in his old trade of deceiving the nations; for their numbers are as the land of the sea &c.

I hope Dear old brother Stone, that you will write again on this subject. If you do, let the people have both sides--If I am in error, I want to know it. I am in search of truth--It will be satisfying to your readers of the Messenger to have a change of subject.

Farewell; I am your very friend

W. CALDWELL.

TO ELDER WILLIAM CALDWELL

Dear Brother: Yours of March 26th was in due time received. I hasten to reply.--We were glad to hear of the number of flourishing churches visited by you in your tour to and from Baltimore; but were sorry to hear of a sectarian spirit among many of them. This is the bane of christianity, and its disgrace wherever indulged. Against it in word and deed we must protest. You found others, who appeared to be aiming a deadly blow at the very root of good order in the ministry. Your remarks on this subject are in unison with our own.--We dread the results, should such a good course be pursued by brethren; yet the increasing intelligence of the age forbids us to think it can prevail to any great extent, but will disappear, as the dark mists before the risen sun.

From my views of the millennium you dissent; and have in plain and brotherly style stated your objections, and requested my attention to them. This I will cheerfully give in the same style.

1st. You object to the idea that Jesus Christ shall come and reign with his saints on earth a 1000 years, in his bodily presence.

I answer: I have proved what you yourself acknowledge, that Jesus will come at some period, personally, or "in his bodily presence," till the close of the millennium--I think, he will come at the commencement of the millennium, and reign with the saints on earth a thousand years, shall now be considered.

1st: You say, "Christ come from heaven in his bodily presence, then heaven shall be without him during that 1000 years.

What, therefore, will follow? Did he not once come down from heaven, and dwell on earth 33 years? Was not heaven without him during that period, cannot the same heaven do without him for 1000? What are 1000 years to him whose measure of time /146/ is eternity? Will not heaven do without him, on your own principles, when he shall come to judge the world? You may say, the time of his absence will be very short. Remember, one day is with the Lord as a 1000 years, and a 1000 years as one day. Indeed, brother, I cannot see any force in your argument.

2ly. Your second reason; "If Christ come in his bodily, and reign with the saints a 1000 years, how can he be in every place at the same time? He has flesh and bones as we have, and therefore, must occupy a certain space. If so, he cannot be at the same time in four continents, and in the immediate presence of every saint at the same time.

I answer: This objection runs into endless and unprofitable speculation. I would simply ask, How do we know that Jesus in person shall be in the immediate presence of every saint at the same time? Why the necessity of it? As your objection is altogether speculative, I have nothing to do with it. I have long since retired from this useless, and injurious labor.

You also object to my view, that at the commencement of the 1000 years, the living saints shall be changed into immortality, and those who sleep in Jesus, shall, at the same moment, be raised to immortality. You think the texts to which I referred had no allusion to the millennium, but to the day of judgment. Let us re-examine. You admit, nor can any one deny, that at the coming of the Lord, the dead saints shall rise, and the saints, who shall be alive on the earth, shall be changed into immortality. This is plain from 1. Thes.4, 13-18. 1 Cor. 15, 23, 51, 52.--From these texts with the connexion, it is evident the Apostle is speaking of the resurrection of the body. In 1 Cor. 15, 21, 22, he says, since by (en) man came death, by (en) man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as by (en) Adam all die, even so by (en) Christ shall all be made alive. Here we are taught there shall be a general resurrection of all, the just, and the unjust. In the next verse he shews that the resurrection of the just and unjust is not simultaneous; for, says he, But every man (shall be raised, or made alive) in his own order: Christ, the first fruits, afterwards they that are Christ's at his coming. Surely, nothing can be plainer than this, that the righteous shall rise before the wicked, and that the righteous shall rise at the coming of Christ. In 1 Thes. 4. It is equally plain, that the resurrection of the saints only is spoken of; and that this will take place at the coming of the Lord; and it is also plain from both passages, that at the coming of Jesus, at the sound of the last trumpet, the living saints on earth shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. This resurrection of the righteous is called /147/ first resurrection. Rev. 20, 4. "And I saw thrones, and they (the saints) sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and who had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God, and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

This passage confirms those before considered. Here John beheld enthroned the martyrs, and those who had not worshipped the beast, nor received his mark. This includes the whole number of the saints of God.--for all worshipped the beast, except those whose names were in the Lamb's book of life. Rev. 13, 8. These lived again, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished. THE REST OF THE DEAD must mean the wicked--they lived not again, were not raised from death till the 1000 years were finished. I cannot see any other plausible construction of the text--To say, as many do, and you among them, that this resurrection of the martyrs signifies nothing more than that the bold and zealous spirit or temper of the martyrs shall hereafter be revived, is, to say that true religion has been long banished from the earth, and will remain in a state of banishment, till some future period, when it will be revived. I am far from thinking that the spirit of the martyrs has at any time been banished from the church. There are many now, who would lay down their lives in the defence of Christ and his cause. But read the text with your construction, and you will forever abandon your opinion--Thus; the spirit or temper of the martyrs lived, or was revived with Christ 1000 years; but the rest of the dead lived not again--what becomes of the antithesis? This reading would be as illogical as absurd.

As joyful subjects on earth go forth to meet their king on his way to his kingdom; so are the saints represented as flying up in the air to meet their descending King, and welcome him a thousand years, and then forever be with him, wherever he may be.

As to your remark of the resurrection of the soul, you will find it of little weight, when the scriptures so often represent by it, the whole man; as "that soul shall be cut off from his people." &c. /148/

You also object to my view, that during the millennium there will be no increase of the human family. True: I have proved that at the coming of Christ all the saints shall rise to immortality--that the saints living on the earth shall be changed in a moment--that the wicked shall all be cut off, and that in the resurrection there is neither marrying, or giving in marriage. If these be true, my position must be true also, as you acknowledge.

You have indeed taken new grounds--for you have the judgment set--the book is opened and all judged according to their works; and then, after this, the general resurrection takes place. These events, but in the reverse of your order, I grant, will follow the 1000 years. My brother appears confused; and the reason to me is obvious; because he has not relinquished the opinion of his father, that the second coming of Christ will not be till the last day, the day of final judgment--The second coming of Christ is at the commencement of his millennial reign on earth--here on earth he will reign till the 1000 years be finished--nor will he cease to reign on earth till he has raised from death the wicked, and judged them according to their works-- as to the people living in a national capacity, planting, building, marrying &c. We believe this shall be the fact at the coming of the Lord to reign on earth with his saints a 1000 years.

You introduce Isai. 65, foretelling a period where there shall no more be an infant of days. From this you strangely conclude that there shall be infants. Again Isaiah prophecies, that "the child, being a hundred years old shall die." From this you infer that in the millennium there shall be death. How do we know that these prophecies refer to the millennium? It is evident from the whole context that it is a prophecy, of a state into which the Jews are to be brought, and had no particular reference to the millennial reign of Messiah.

You think, that the time between this and the millennium is too short, for so many prophetic events to be accomplished. I have but one answer to this, "The Lord will cut short his work in righteousness."--With regard to the binding and loosing satan, of his collecting his army, and deceiving them again I can advance nothing new; nor has my Brother advanced one argument to disprove what I had said.

Difficulties, it is acknowledged, attach to the doctrine of the millennium; and such that we may not be able to solve. But shall we, therefore, conclude that nothing can be certainly known respecting it? I am very far from being positive in all my positions; but of some I entertain no doubt. The Jews were very wrong in their ideas of Mesiah's first coming; so may we be of his second.--Our wisdom is to be always ready.

B. W. STONE, Editor.