till 1358, and in Portugal till 1415, indicates an error in the Christian era. It is proper that the attempt be made to ascertain the extent of error that is in the Christian era, by every method that our bountiful Creator has or shall put into the

power of man; otherwise the fulfilment of the future prophetical numbers of the Bible cannot be accurately ascertained. For this purpose, the author of this work challenges thyself and the learned world to produce such a proof of the rectitude of the Christian era, as will equal the proof that has now been adduced, that it is wrong to the extent of fifteen or sixteen years too much.

Some Christians may be surprised to learn that Dionysius miscalculated so far wrong the Christian era; but if they would consider the difficulties that Dionysius had to contend with when he designed the Christian era, about 517 years after Christ, it would not surprise them that he went so far wrong.

The conclusion, or one of the conclusions, thou hast arrived at, by means of the Jubilean periods and streams of time, is that thou expectest the personal appearance of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, about this present time. I think I have demonstrated clearly that there is an error of about 25 years too much in the computation of time before the coming of Christ, at the commencement of the Grecian empire; and also another error in the computation of the Christian era, of about 15 years too much, making in all an error in time of 40 years too much, which, along with the wrong arrangement of time, during the reign of Augustus Cæsar, when Christ was born, will overthrow the present arrangement of chronologies, whe

ther they be calculated by the chronology of the Hebrew text, or by that of the Septuagint. The praiseworthy object of all expositors of prophecies, and calculators on the prophetic numbers, has been, or at least ought to be, to ascertain about the time when the kingdom of God will advance an earth with greater power. This has been the anxious enquiry with saints in all generations; and since Christ first came in the flesh, some, like thyself, believe that the Saviour of mankind will again make a personal appearance on earth; others, like myself, believe that according to his promise, Christ has already appeared the second time to all who waited on Him, or looked for him, and that He will appear yet more manifest in spirit to future generations at the time appointed, when the seven times madness of our world have passed by, or when the number of the Beasts will be near coming to an end-when He by his Spirit will destroy the power of the Beast, and will remove the mark of the Beast from the right hand or forehead of the future generation of mankind, and that this will be accomplished, according as it is written, "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts," and that it is a spiritual coming of Christ that is to be looked for.

I respectfully submit to thy consideration the following passages of Scripture, Heb. ix. 28, "Unto them that look for Him shall he appear the second time, without sin unto salvation." "Know ye not that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost."

"Christ in you the hope of glory."

"Know ye not

your own selves that Christ is in you, except ye be

you

reprobates." John vi. 63: "It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing." John xvi. 7: "I tell the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you: and when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."

This language of Christ and the Apostles is an argument against his personal appearance on earth, if by personal appearance is meant the appearance of Christ to mankind in general—to both good and bad— again in the same body as he appeared about 1800 years ago. Christ's language plainly bespeaks that of a spiritual appearance, and the Comforter who was to come was no other than himself, such as in Matthew, x. 23: Verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come." Luke, xviii. 8: "Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" Matthew, xxiv. 2: "Jesus said unto them, See ye not these things? (looking at the temple.) Verily I say shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Christ makes a distinct reply to his disciples concerning the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem, and also concerning his coming, and finishes his information by this marked expression,

S

unto you,

there

say unto

34th verse: "Verily I you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Christ uttered these predictions from 42 to 37 years before the destruction of Jerusalem, and to which destruction he referred, and said, that it would be the greatest tribulation that would happen in the world; and he also. said, among other things that would happen regarding himself," Matthew, xxiv. 27, "As the lightning cometh out of the East, and shineth even unto the West, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." Now, Christ distinctly states that this would happen before the passing away of the generation of men then in the world; and from the other expressions of Christ concerning his coming, it appears that all the elect from the one end of heaven to the other, would be gathered together, when Christ would appear with power, and great glory, to witness the end of the Jewish dispensation, and the utter destruction the Jews brought upon themselves by their wickedness, and by a disregard to his warnings, and to his most affectionate solicitude, expressed for them. Matthew, xxiii. 37: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." According to the prediction of Christ, the unbelieving Jews-those of them who have followed the Mosaic ordinances have continued in a desolate condition till this day; but when the Jews come into the blessed

state of spirit here spoken of by Christ, so as to hail those as the blessed who come to them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is then they will see Christ according to his promise, and witness in themselves Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption. I. Cor. i. 24.

After Christ had finished his observations both concerning his coming, and also concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, he proceeds, as in the 35th verse of the 24th chapter of Matthew, to give information concerning the dissolution or passing away of the Heaven and the earth in these words: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away; but of that day and hour (when the Heaven and earth shall pass away) knoweth no man; no, not the angels of Heaven, but my Father only."

Christ said to his disciples, Acts i. 7, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power; but ye shall receive after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you."

power

In confirmation of the fulfilment of the promise of Christ, Peter takes the words spoken by Christ concerning the passing away of heaven and earth, and says II. Peter, iii. 10, "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burnt up" and the Apostle John says, in Rev. xx. 2, " And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the