{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_44941/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_44941","id":"gutenberg_44941","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44941","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Latter Day Saint churches -- Controversial literature","Latter Day Saint churches -- Doctrines","Latter Day Saints","Latter Day Saints -- Controversial literature","Latter Day Saints -- Doctrines"],"text":"The Government of God.\n======================\n\nBy John Taylor,\n\nOne of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day\nSaints.\n\n    \"O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge\n    the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.\"--Psalm\n    lxvii. 4.\n\nLiverpool: Published by S. W. Richards, 15, Wilton Street.\n\nLondon: Sold at the Latter-Day Saints' Book Depot, 35, Jewin Street;\nand by all booksellers.\n\nMDCCCLII.\n\nLondon: Printed by W. Bowden 5, Bedford Street, Holborn.\n\n\nContents.\n------------------\n\nPreface\n\nChapter I. The Wisdom, Order, and Harmony of the Government of God.\n\nChapter II. The Government of Man.\n\nChapter III. On the Incompetency of the Means Made Use of by Man to\nRegenerate the World.\n\nChapter IV. What Is Man? What Is His Destiny and Relationship to God?\n\nChapter V. The Object of Man's Existence on the Earth; and His\nRelationship Thereto.\n\nChapter VI. Man's Accountability to God.\n\nChapter VII. The Lord's Course in the Moral Government of the World.\n\nChapter VIII. Whose Right Is It to Govern the World? Who Has Governed\nIt?\n\nChapter IX. Will Man Always Be Permitted to Usurp Authority Over Men,\nand Over the Works of God? Will the World Remain for ever Under a\nCurse, and God's Designs Be Frustrated?\n\nChapter X. Will God's Kingdom Be a Literal or a Spiritual Kingdom?\n\nChapter XI. The Establishment of the Kingdom of God upon the Earth\n\nChapter XII. The Effects of the Establishment of Christ's Kingdom, or\nthe Reign of God upon the Earth.\n\n\n\nPreface\n------------------\n\nIt was Elder Taylor's intention to superintend the publishing of _The\nGovernment of God_ in person, previous to his departure for Great Salt\nLake City last spring; but the numerous cares attending the French and\nGerman Missions, of which he was President; the translation of the Book\nof Mormon into the French and German languages; the establishment of\n_L'Etoile du Deseret_ at Paris, and _Zions Panier_ at Hamburg; together\nwith a multitude of other business connected with the welfare of the\nKingdom of God, rendered it impossible.\n\nThe manuscript was therefore handed to me by Elder Taylor, with a\nrequest to superintend the printing of the work, which I have done to\nthe best of my ability.\n\nConsidering the disadvantages arising from the Author's absence during\nthe reading of the proofs, I believe it is as correctly rendered, as\nwas possible from a manuscript copy.\n\nThe Work is now before the Public, and from one portion at least it\nwill meet with a cordial reception, treating as it does upon the theme\nmost dear to their hearts--the Reign of Righteousness and Peace.\n\nFrom other portions it will meet with varied reception, but will\nnevertheless lead the minds of all to contemplate the glory of that\ntime when the Messiah, even Jesus, shall come with all his holy angels,\nand sit upon the throne of his glory, and govern all nations upon earth.\n\nJames Linforth.\nLiverpool,\nAugust, 1852.\n\n\n\nChapter I.\n------------------\n\nThe Wisdom, Order, and Harmony of the Government of God.\n\nThe Kingdom of God is the government of God, on the earth, or in the\nheavens. The earth, and all the planetary systems, are governed by\nthe Lord; they are upheld by his power, and are sustained, directed,\nand controlled by his will. We are told, that \"by him were all things\ncreated that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and\ninvisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or\npowers; all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before\nall things, and by him all things consist.\"[A] Collos. i. 16, 17. If all\nthings, visible and invisible, are made by and for him, he governs and\nsustains all worlds to us known, together with the earth on which we\nlive. If he governs them, they are under his dominion, subject to his\nlaws, and controlled by his will and power.\n\n[Footnote A: I wish here to be understood, that at present I am writing\nto believers in the Bible. I may hereafter give my reasons for this\nfaith; at the present I refer to the Scriptures without this.]\n\nIf the planets move beautifully, and harmoniously in their several\nspheres, that beauty and harmony are the result of the intelligence and\nwisdom that exist in his mind. If on this earth we have day and night,\nsummer and winter, seed time and harvest, with the various changes\nof the seasons; this regularity, beauty, order, and harmony, are the\neffects of the wisdom of God.\n\nThere are two kinds of rule on the earth; one with which man has\nnothing directly to do, another in which he is intimately concerned.\nThe first of these applies to the works of God alone, and His\ngovernment and control of those works; the second, to the moral\ngovernment, wherein man is made an agent. There is a very striking\ndifference between the two, and the comparison is certainly not\ncreditable to man; and however he may feel disposed to vaunt himself of\nhis intelligence, when he reflects he will feel like Job did when he\nsaid, (xlii. 6.) \"I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.\"\n\nIn God's government there is perfect order, harmony, beauty,\nmagnificence, and grandeur; in the government of man, confusion,\ndisorder, instability, misery, discord, and death. In the first,\nthe most consummate wisdom and power are manifested; in the second,\nignorance, imbecility, and weakness. The first displays the\ncomprehension, light, glory, beneficence, and intelligence of God; the\nsecond, the folly, littleness, darkness, and incompetency of man. The\ncontemplation of the first elevates the mind, expands the capacity,\nproduces grateful reflections, and fills the mind with wonder,\nadmiration, and enlivening hopes; the contemplation of the second\nproduces doubt, distrust, and uncertainty, and fills the mind with\ngloomy apprehensions. In a word, the one is the work of God, and the\nother that of man.\n\nIn order to present the subject in a clear light, I shall briefly point\nout some of the leading features of the two governments.\n\nThe first, then, is that over which God has the sole control, such as\nthe heavens and the earth, for \"He governs in the heavens above, and\nin the earth beneath.\" It may be well here to say a few words on His\nmoral government, in the heavens. All we can learn of that is very\nimperfectly set forth in the Scriptures. It would seem, however, that\nall was perfect order, for \"He spake, and said, Let there be light,\nand there was light; and He divided the light from the darkness.\"\n\"He spake, and the waters were gathered together, and the dry land\nappeared.\" And in the creation of the fish, the fowls, the beasts, the\ncreeping things, and man, it was done in the councils of God. The word\nwas, Let us do this, and it was done. It would seem, then, that that\ngovernment is perfect in its operations, for all the mandates of God\nare carried out with the greatest exactitude and perfection. God spake,\nchaos heard, and the world was formed.\n\nWe find also that transgression is punished; when Satan rebelled he was\ncast out of heaven, and with him those who sinned.\n\nHere, then, in these things consummate wisdom was manifested, and power\nto carry it out.\n\nThe plan of redemption was also made thousands of years ago. Jesus is\nspoken of by the prophets as being \"The Lamb slain from before the\ncreation of the world.\" The future destiny of this earth is also spoken\nof by prophecy; the binding of Satan; the destruction, and redemption\nof the world; its celestial destiny; its becoming as a sea of glass;\nthe descent of the new Jerusalem from heaven; the destruction of\niniquity by a power exercised in the heavens, associated with one on\nthe earth; and a time is spoken of where John says--\"Every creature\nwhich is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as\nare in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and\nhonor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne,\nand unto the Lamb for ever and ever.\" Rev. v. 13. But I shall let this\npass for the present, and content myself with saying on this subject,\nthat in the councils of God, in the eternal world, all these things\nwere understood: for if He gave prophets wisdom to testify of these\nthings, they obtained their knowledge from Him, and He could not impart\nwhat He did not know; but \"known unto God are all his works, from the\nbeginning of the world.\" Acts xv. 18. God, then, has a moral government\nin the heavens, and it is the development of that government that is\nmanifested in the works of creation; as Paul says, \"The invisible\nthings of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being\nunderstood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and\nGodhead.\" Romans i. 20.\n\nBut when we speak of the heavens, we mean also the planetary system;\nfor the world, and other worlds are governed by principles independent\nof man. The power that causes this earth to roll on its axis, and\nregulates the planets in their diurnal and annual motions, is beyond\nman's control. Their revolutions and spheres are fixed by nature's\nGod, and they are so beautifully arranged, and nicely balanced, that\nan astronomer can calculate the return of a planet scores of years\nbeforehand, with the greatest precision and accuracy. And who can\ncontemplate, without admiration, those stupendous worlds, rolling\nthrough the immensity of space at such an amazing velocity, moving\nregularly in their given spheres without coming into collision, and\nreflect that they have done so for thousands of years. Our earth has\nits day and night, summer and winter, and seed time and harvest. Well\nmay the poet say that they--\n\n    \"Proclaim for ever, as they shine,\n    The hand that made us is divine.\"\n\nAnd here let me remark how different is this to the works of man.\nWe see, then, the power of God manifested in their preservation\nand guidance; but when we reflect a little further, that while our\nplanetary system rolls in perfect order round the sun, there are other\nsystems which perform their revolutions round their suns; and the whole\nof these, our system with its centre, and other systems with their\ncentres, roll round another grand centre: and the whole of those, and\ninnumerable others, equally as great, stupendous, and magnificent, roll\nround another more great, glorious, and resplendent, till numbers,\nmagnificence, and glory, drown the thought, we are led to exclaim\nwith the prophet, \"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and\nknowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgements, and His ways\npast finding out!\" Romans xi. 33. Without referring again to the\nmotions of our earth, and the beautiful regularity and precision of the\nwhole of this elegant machinery, we will turn our attention a little to\nthe works of creation as found on the earth. The make, construction,\nand adaptation of each for its proper sphere, are the work of God; and\nthey are all controlled by His wisdom and power, independent of man. In\nthe conformation of the birds, the beasts, the fishes, the reptiles,\nthe grains, herbs, plants, and trees, we see a striking exemplification\nof this fact. No matter which way we turn our attention, the same\norder and intelligence are displayed. The fish in their organization\nare peculiarly adapted to their proper element; the birds and beasts\nto theirs; the amphibious animals to theirs. The nicely organized\nmachinery of their bodies; their bones, muscles, skins, feathers,\nscales, or hair; the formation of their bodies, their manner of living,\ntogether with the nature of their food, and their particular adaptation\nto the various elements and climates which they occupy, are all so many\nmarked evidences of skill, forethought, intelligence and power. We will\nhere notice a few examples. Plunge bird, beast, or man, into the water,\nand let them remain there, and they will soon die; take a fish out of\nthe water, and death ensues; yet all are happy, and move with perfect\nenjoyment in their proper spheres. Elevate a man, beast, or fish, into\nthe air, and let them fall, and they will be bruised to death; but the\nbird, with its wings, light bones, and fragile body, is peculiarly\nadapted to the aerial element in which it moves, and is perfectly at\nhome; while the brute creation and men feel as much so on the earth.\nAgain, their habits, food, coatings, or coverings, digestive powers,\nand the organization of their systems, are all peculiarly adapted to\ntheir several situations. The same principle is developed in their\narrangement and position on the earth. Those that inhabit a southern\nclimate are peculiarly adapted to that situation; while those that\ninhabit a northern are equally fitted for theirs.\n\nTake the reindeer and polar bear to the torrid zone, and they would\nbe out of their proper latitude, and would probably die. Remove the\nelephant, lion, or tiger, to Iceland or Greenland, and leave them to\ntheir own resources, and they would inevitably perish.\n\nWe will notice for a moment the construction of their systems. Each\none is possessed with muscular strength, or agility, according to\nits position, wants, or dangers, and there is a beauty, a symmetry,\nand a perfection about all God's works, which baffle and defy human\nintelligence to copy. An artist is considered talented if he can make,\nafter years of toil, a striking likeness of any of those things,\neither on canvas, or in marble. But when he has done, it is only a\ndead outline; remove a little paint, or tear the canvas, and its\nbeauty is destroyed; break the arm of a statue, and we see nothing\nbut a mutilated stone. But take a man, for example, and remove the\nskin, there is still order and beauty; remove the flesh, there is\nstill workmanship and skill, and the bones, the flesh, the muscles,\nthe arteries and veins, and the nerves, and the lungs, not to forget\nthe exquisite fineness of the sensitive organs, manifesting a skill, a\nforethought, a wisdom, and a power, as much above that of man as the\nheavens are above the earth.\n\nWe see the power, wisdom, and government of God, displayed in the\namazing strength of some of the largest of the brute creation; as\nalso in the fineness and delicacy, of the arrangement of the smaller.\nAnd while we admire the stupendous power of the elephant, we are\nequally struck with the fineness, delicacy, and beauty of some of the\nsmaller insects. The prescience, and intelligence of God, are as much\nmanifested in arranging the bones, muscles, arteries, and digestive\norgans of the smallest animaculae, as in the construction of the horse,\nrhinoceros, elephant, or whale. I might touch upon the organization of\nplants, herbs, trees, and fruits; their various compositions, modes\nof nourishment, manner of propagating their kind, &c.; but enough\nhas already been said upon this subject. It is one that no one will\ndispute upon; Jew and Gentile, black and white, Christian and Heathen,\nphilosopher and fool, all have one faith on this subject.\n\nI have briefly touched upon it for the purpose of presenting in a\nclear light the imbecility and weakness of man; for wherever we turn\nour attention, we see power, wisdom, prescience, order, forethought,\nbeauty, grandeur and magnificence.\n\nThese are the works of God, and shew His skill, workmanship, glory, and\nintelligence. They reflect His divine power, and shew in unmistakeable\ncharacters the wisdom of his government, and the order that prevails in\nthat part of creation over which He has the sole and unlimited control.\n\nWe can perceive very clearly that what God has done, is rightly done.\nIt is not governed by instability and disorder, but continues from\neternity to eternity to bear the impress of Jehovah.\n\n\n\nChapter II.\n------------------\n\nThe Government of Man.\n\nWe will now turn our attention a little to the government of man, and\nsee how that will compare with the foregoing, for man stands at the\nhead of this beautiful creation; he is endued with intelligence and\ncapacity for improvement; he is placed as a moral agent, and has the\nmaterials put into his hands to work with, the works of his Father\nas a pattern, the conduct of many of the inferior creation as an\nexample--and might make the earth a garden, a paradise, a place of\nuninterrupted happiness and felicity, a heaven below. And if God had\nnot delegated this moral agency and power to man, and thus given him\nthe privilege, in part, of being the arbiter of his own destiny, such\nit would have been to this day, like the Eden from which he was ejected\nbecause of his transgression. For he had everything placed within his\npower, and was made lord of the creation. The beasts, birds, fish,\nand fowl, were placed under his control; the earth yielded plenty for\nhis wants, and abounded in fruits, grain, herbs, flowers and trees,\nboth to satisfy his hunger, and to please the sight, taste, and smell.\nThe fields waved with plenty, and produced a perennial harvest. The\nfruits teemed forth in all their luscious varieties to satisfy his\nmost capacious desires. The flowers, in all their gaiety, beauty,\nand richness, delighted the eye; while their rich fragrance filled\nthe air with odoriferous perfumes. The feathered tribes, with all\ntheir gorgeous plumage and variety of song, both pleased the eye, and\nenchanted and charmed the ear. The horse, the cow, and other animals,\nwere there to promote his happiness, supply his wants, and make him\ncomfortable and happy. All were under his control, to contribute to his\nhappiness and comfort, supply his most extended desires, and to add to\nhis enjoyment; but with all these privileges what is his situation?\n\nWith celestial blessings within his reach, he has plunged down to the\nvery verge of hell, and is found in a state of poverty, confusion, and\ndistress. He found the earth an Eden--a paradise; he has filled it with\nmisery and woe, and has made it comparatively a howling wilderness. And\nlet us not blame Adam alone for this state of things; for after his\nejection from Paradise, the earth was sufficiently fertile to satisfy\nall the desires of man with moderate industry, and is at the present\nday, if it were not for the confusion that exists, and if men were\nproperly situated, and its resources developd. But more of this anon.\n\nAt present we will examine some of these evils, and then point out\ntheir cause, and the remedy.\n\nWe find the world split up and divided into different nations, having\ndifferent interests, and different objects; with their religious and\npolitical views as dissimilar as light and darkness, all the time\njealous of each other, and watching each other as so many thieves;\nand that man at the present day (and it has been the case for ages),\nis considered the greatest statesman, who, with legislation or\ndiplomacy, can make the most advantageous arrangement with, or coerce\nby circumstances, other nations into measures that would be for the\nbenefit of the nation with which he is associated. No matter how\ninjurious it might be to the nation or nations concerned, the measure\nthat would yield his nation an advantage, might plunge another in\nirremediable misery, while there is no one to act as father and parent\nof the whole, and God is lost sight of. What is it that the private\nambition of man has not done to satisfy his craving desires for the\nacquisition of territory and wealth, and what is falsely called _honor_\nand _fame_?\n\nThose private, jarring interests have kept the world in one continual\nferment and commotion from the commencement until the present time;\nand the history of the world is a history of the rise and fall of\nnations--of wars, commotions, and bloodshed--of nations depopulated,\nand cities laid waste. Carnage, destruction, and death, have stalked\nthrough the earth, exhibiting their horrible forms in all their\ncadaverous shapes, as though they were the only rightful possessors.\nDeadly jealousy, fiendish hate, mortal combat, and dying groans, have\nfilled the earth, and our bulwarks, our chronicles, our histories,\nall bear testimony to this; and even our most splendid paintings,\nengravings, and statuary, are living memorials of bloodshed, carnage,\nand destruction. Instead of men being honoured who have sought to\npromote the happiness, peace, and wellbeing of the human family, and\ngreatness concentrating in that, those have been generally esteemed\nthe most who produced the most misery and distress, and were wholesale\nrobbers, ravagers, and murderers.\n\nAnd from whence come these things? Let the apostle James answer: \"From\nwhence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even\nof your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not--ye\nkill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye\nhave not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask\namiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.\" James iv. 1-3. Here is\nevidently a lack of that consummate wisdom, that moral and physical\ncontrol, that parental power which balances the universe, and directs\nthe various planets. For let the same recklessness, selfishness,\nindividuality, and nationality there be manifested, and we should see\nthe wildest confusion.\n\nMan has come in contact with man, morally, physically, religiously,\nand nationally, from the foundation of the earth. If God's works had\ndone so, what tumult and ruin there would have been in the immensity\nof space! Instead of the order that now prevails, man would have\nbeen sometimes frozen to death, and at other times burned up; one\nor two seasons of irregularity, even in climate, would depopulate\nthe earth. But what if the planets, irrespective of the power by\nwhich they are controlled, were to rush wildly through space, and,\nwith their mighty impetus dash against each other? \"What fearful\nconsequences would ensue.\" There would be \"system on system wrecked,\nand world on world.\" What terrible destruction and ruin! We have read\nof earthquakes destroying countries, of wars depopulating nations--of\nvolcanoes overwhelming cities, and of empires in ruin; but what would\nthe yawning earthquake, the bellowing volcano, the clang of arms, or\na nation's distress, be in comparison to a scene like this? System\nwould be shattered with system; planet madly rush on planet; worlds,\nwith their inhabitants, would be destroyed, and creations crumble into\nruins. There would be truly a war of planets, \"a wreck of matter and\na crash of worlds.\" These, indeed, would be fearful results, and shew\nplainly the distinction between the beautiful order of God's work,\nand the confusion and disorder of man's. God's work is perfect--man's\nimperfect. The one is the government of God, and the other that of man.\n\nWe notice the same mismanagement in the arrangement of cities and\nnations. We have large cities containing immense numbers of human\nbeings, pent up, as it were in one great prison-house, inhaling a\nfoetid, unwholesome atmosphere, impregnated with a thousand deadly\npoisons; millions of whom, in damp cellars, lonely garrets, and pent up\ncorners, drag out a miserable existence, and their wan faces, haggard\ncountenances, and looks tell but too plainly the tale of their misery\nand wretchedness. A degenerate, sickly, puny race tread in their steps,\ninheriting their fathers' misery and distress.\n\nIf we notice the situation of the nations of Europe at the present\ntime, we see the land burthened with an overplus population, and\ngroaning beneath its inhabitants, while the greatest industry,\nperseverance, economy, and care, do not suffice to provide for the\ncraving wants of nature. And so fearfully does this prevail in many\nparts, that parents are afraid to fulfil the first great law of\nGod, \"Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth;\" and by\ndesperate circumstances are almost forced to the unnatural wish of\nnot propagating their species; while, corrupted with a correspondent\ndepravity with that which reigns among nations, they are found using\nsuicidal measures to prevent an otherwise numerous progeny from\nincreasing their father's misery, and inheriting his misfortunes. And\nyet, while this is the case, there are immense districts of rich soil,\ncovering millions of square miles, inhabited only by a few untutored\nsavages, or the wild beast of the forest; and such is the infatuation\nof man that in many districts of country, which were once the seats\nof the most powerful empires, and where flourished the mightiest\nnations, there is nothing but desolation and wildness. Such are Nineveh\nand Babylon, on the Asiatic Continent; and Otolum, and many others\ndiscovered by Stephens and Catherwood, in Central America; and recently\ndiscovered ruins--unequalled in the old world--a little above the head\nof the California Gulf. Not only their cities, but their lands are\ndesolate, deserted, and forsaken, and the same evils that once existed\nthere are transferred to another soil, all bespeaking plainly that we\nwant a great, governing, ruling principle to regulate the affairs of\nthe world, and assist poor, feeble, erring humanity.\n\nAgain, if we examine some of the details of these evils, we shall\nsee more clearly the importance and necessity of a change. Nearly\none-third, speaking in general terms, of the inhabitants of the earth\nare engaged in a calling that would be entirely useless if the world\nwere set right.\n\nIf men and nations, instead of being governed by their unruly passions,\ncovetous desires, and ambitious motives, were governed by the pure\nprinciples of philanthropy, virtue, purity, justice, and honor, and\nwere under the guidance of a fatherly and intelligent head, directed\nby that wisdom which governs the universe, and regulates the motions\nof the planetary systems, there would be no need of so many armies,\nnavies, and police regulations, which are now necessary for the\nprotection of those several nations from the aggressions of each other,\nand internal factions. Let any one examine the position of Europe\nalone, and he will find this statement abundantly verified. Look at the\narmies and navies of France and England; and the confusion of Germany,\nalso of Austria, Turkey, Russia and Spain, not to mention many of the\nsmaller nations, and let their armies, their navies, and police be\ngathered together, and what an abundant host of persons there would\nbe. They would be sufficient to make one of the largest nations in\nthe world! And what are they doing? To use the mildest term, watching\neach other, as a person would watch a thief for fear of being imposed\nupon, and robbed, or killed; but generally strolling around as the\nworld's banditti, robbing, plundering, and committing aggressions upon\neach other; and if they have peace, acquiring it by the sword; and if\nprevented from aggression and war, it is generally, not that they are\ngoverned by just, or virtuous principles, but because they are afraid\nthat aggression might lead to combinations against them which would\nresult in their overthrow and ruin.\n\nIn the city of Paris alone, at the present time, and its immediate\nenvirons, there are one hundred thousand soldiers, besides police to\na very great number, not to mention the vast number of custom-house\nofficers and others. Suppose we add to these their families, where\nthey have any, and where they have not, notice the vast amount of\nprostitution, misery, degradation, and infamy, that such an unnatural\nstate of things produces. I give the above as an example of the whole,\nbut here the navies are not included. I say again, What are these all\ndoing? They do not raise corn to supply the wants of men, nor are they\noccupied in any useful avocation; but they _must_ live, and their\nwants must be supplied by the products of the labour of others. There\nhas to be an immense amount of legislation for the accomplishment of\nthis thing, and instead of having one government of righteousness and\nthe world obeying, we have scores of governments, all having to be\nsustained in regal pomp, to be equal to their neighbouring nations;\nand all this magnificence and national pride having to be supported\nby the labour of the people. Again, all these legislatures have to\nprovide immense hosts of men, in the shape of custom-house, excise, and\npolice officers, to carry out their designs, all of whom, and their\nfamilies, help to increase the burden, till it becomes insupportable.\nThat, together with the unnatural state of society, before referred\nto, in regard to the situation of the inhabitants of cities and the\nnations, plunges millions of the human family into a state of hopeless\ndestitution, misery, and ruin, for they are groaning under all these\nhopeless burdens without having sufficient land to till to meet their\ndemands, and as natural means fail they are obliged to have recourse\nto those that are unnatural. Hence, in England a great majority of\nthe inhabitants are made slaves of, virtually to supply the wants of\nthe greatest part of the world, and are forced to be their labourers.\nThousands of them are immured in immense factories, little less than\nprisons, groaning under a wearisome, sickening, unhealthy labour;\ndeprived of free, wholesome air; weak and emaciated, not having a\nsufficiency of the necessaries of life. Thousands more from morning\ntill night are immured in pits, shut out from the light of day,\nthe carol of the birds, and the beauty of nature, sickly and weak,\nin many instances for want of food; and yet, in the midst of their\nwretchedness, gloom, and misery, you will sometimes hear them trying to\nsing in their dungeons and prison-houses, in broken, dying accents,\n\n\"Britons never shall be slaves.\"\n\nI will here give, as one example, an iron works that I visited lately\nin Wales. One of the proprietors informed me that they employed fifteen\nthousand persons, and paid them L5,000 per week. Most of these people\nlaboured under ground, in the pits, digging for iron ore and coal; the\nremainder were employed principally about the furnaces, in rolling\nthe iron, &c., at heavy, laborious, fatiguing work. And who were they\ntoiling for? Principally for the Americans and Russians, at that\ntime, to furnish them with railroad iron. And what did they get for\ntheir labour? The riches of those countries? No. L5,000 a week among\nabout fifteen thousand persons. I suppose, however, a number of these\nwere boys and girls. The average wages of men was from ten to twelve\nshillings per week. And this is their pay for that labour; and yet the\nmasters are not to be blamed, that I can learn, for they are forced by\ncompetition to this state of things, and by the unnatural, artificial\nstate of society. If they did not do this their workmen must be out\nof employ, and ten times worse off, if that were possible, than they\nare now. In the State of Pennsylvania, in America, where the railroads\nrun through coal and iron mines both, they leave them untouched, and\ncome to England for iron to make the rails of, that they cannot afford\nto make at home, because of higher wages, and an _outlet_ to society,\nwhich prevents them from being coerced into bondage. If the world was\nright, the labour would be done there, and not here, and the labour of\ncarriage saved.\n\nThe situation of the peasantry and workmen in France, Germany, Prussia,\nAustria, and Russia, and in fact I may say of Europe generally, is\nworse even than that of the same class in England; and wherever we\nturn our attention, we see nothing but poverty, distress, misery, and\nconfusion; for if men do not copy after the good and virtuous, they\ngenerally do after the evil. When nations and rulers set the pattern,\nthey generally find plenty to follow their example; hence covetousness,\nfraud, rapine, bloodshed, and murder, prevail to an alarming extent.\nIf a nation is covetous, an individual thinks he may be also; if a\nnation commits a fraud, it sanctions his acts in a small way; and if\na nation engages in wholesale robbery, an individual does not see\nthe impropriety of doing it in retail; if a strong nation oppresses\na weak one, he does not see why he may not have the same privilege;\ncorruption follows corruption, and fraud treads on the heels of fraud,\nand all those noble, honourable, virtuous, principles that ought to\ngovern men are lost sight of, and chicanery and deception ride rampant\nthrough the world. The welfare, happiness, exaltation, and glory of\nman, are sacrificed at the shrine of ambition, pride, covetousness\nand lasciviousness. By these means nations are overthrown, kingdoms\ndestroyed, communities broken up, families rendered miserable, and\nindividuals ruined. I might enter into a detail of the crimes,\nabominations, lusts, and corruptions that exist in many of our large\ncities, but I shall leave this subject, and conclude with the remarks\nof the prophet Isaiah, who gazed in prophetic vision on this scene:\n\"Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste,\nand turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants\nthereof... The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof,\nbecause they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, and\nbroken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the\nearth, and they that dwell therein are desolate.\" Isaiah xxiv. 1, 5 and\n6.\n\nIniquity of every description goes hand in hand; vice, in all its\nsickening and disgusting forms, revels in the palace, in the city,\nin the cottage; depravity, corruption, debauchery, and abominations\nabound, and man, that once stood proudly erect in the image of his\nMaker, pure, virtuous, holy, and noble, is vitiated, weak, immoral,\nand degraded; and the earth, which was once a garden, not only brings\nforth briars and thorns, but is actually \"defiled under the inhabitants\nthereof.\"\n\nThose great national evils of which I have spoken are things which at\npresent seem to be out of the reach of human agency, legislation, or\ncontrol. They are diseases that have been generating for centuries;\nthat have entered into the vitals of all institutions, religious and\npolitical; that have prostrated the powers and energies of all bodies\npolitic, and left the world to groan under them, for they are evils\nthat exist in church and state, at home and abroad; among Jew and\nGentile, Christian, Pagan, and Mahomedan; king, prince, courtier, and\npeasant; like the deadly simoon, they have paralyzed the energies,\nbroken the spirits, damped the enterprize, corrupted the morals, and\ncrushed the hopes of the world.\n\nThousands of men would desire to do good, if they only knew how;\nbut they see not the foundation and extent of the evil, and\nlong-established opinions, customs and doctrines, blind their eyes,\nand damp their energies. And if a few should see the evil, and try a\nremedy, what are a few in opposition to the views, power, influence,\nand corruption of the world?\n\nNo power on this side of heaven can correct the evil. It is a world\nthat is degenerated, and it requires a God to put it right.\n\n\n\nChapter III.\n------------------\n\nOn the Incompetency of the Means Made Use of by Man to Regenerate the\nWorld.\n\nI purpose in this Chapter to shew the incompetency of the means made\nuse of by man for the accomplishment of the purposes of God--the\nestablishment of His Kingdom, or Millennial reign.\n\nNow, if it is the kingdom of God, that is to be established, it must be\nintroduced by God. He must not only be the originator of it, but the\ncontroller also, and any means short of these must fail of the object\ndesigned.\n\nThe great evils that now exist in the world are the consequences of\nman's departure from God. This has introduced this degeneracy and\nimbecility, and nothing but a retracing of his steps, and a return to\nGod can bring about a restitution.\n\nGod gave to man a moral agency, as head of the world, under himself.\nMan has usurped the sole authority, and taken upon himself to reign\nand rule without God. The natural consequence is, that we have\ninherited all the evils of which I have spoken, and nothing but\nthe wisdom, goodness, power, and compassion of God, can deliver us\ntherefrom, restore the earth to its pristine excellence, and put man\nagain in possession of those blessings which he has forfeited by\nhis transgression. Emperors, kings, princes, potentates, statesmen,\nphilosophers, and churches, have tried for ages to bring this state of\nthings about; but they have all signally failed, not having derived\ntheir wisdom from the proper source. And all human means made use of at\nthe present time to ameliorate the condition of the world must fail, as\nall human means have always done.\n\nThere are some who suppose that the influence of Christianity, as it is\nnow preached and administered, will bring about a Millennial reign of\npeace. We will briefly examine the subject.\n\nFirst, we will take the Greek and Catholic Churches as they have\nexisted for ages--without an examination of their doctrines, whether\nright or wrong--for they form two of the largest branches of the\nChristian Church. They have, more or less, governed a great portion of\nEurope at different times; and what is the situation of the people and\nnations where they have held sway? We have noticed the effects, and\nalready briefly touched upon the evils that prevail in those countries;\nand if Greece and Russia, or any other country where the Greek Church\nhas held sway, be a fair specimen of the influence of that church, we\nhave very little prospect, if that religion were more widely diffused\nor extended, that the results would be more beneficial, for if it\nhas failed in a few nations to ameliorate their condition, it would\nnecessarily fail to benefit the earth if extended over it. Nor do we\nturn with any better prospect to the Catholic religion. Of what benefit\nhas it been to nations where it has prevailed the most? Has there been\nless war, less animosity, less butchery, less evil of any kind under\nits empire? It cannot be said that it has been crippled in its progress\nor its operations. It has held full sway in Spain, Rome, and a great\nportion of Italy, in France and Mexico for generations, not to mention\nmany smaller states. Has it augmented the happiness of those nations\nof the world? I need not here refer to the history of the Waldenses,\nand Albigenses, and Huguenots, to that of the Crusades, wherein so many\nChristian kings engaged; nor to the unhappy differences, the wars and\ncommotions, the bloodshed and carnage, that have existed among these\npeople, for their history is well known. And the present position\nof both the Greek and Roman churches, presents a spectacle that is\nanything but encouraging to lead us to hope, that if the world were\nunder their influence, a Millennial reign of peace and righteousness\nwould ensue.\n\nAnd let not any one say that these churches have not had a fair\nopportunity to develop themselves, for their religion prevailed and was\ncherished in those nations. They have held universal sway, at different\ntimes, for generations. The kings, councils and legislatures, have\nbeen Catholic or Greek. In Rome, the Pope has ruled supreme, and also\nfor some time in Lombardy, Ravenna, and other States. In Greece, the\nPatriarch of Constantinople, and in Russia, the Emperor, is head of the\nchurch.\n\nBut, methinks I hear the Protestants say, we fully accord with you thus\nfar, but we have placed Christianity on another footing. Let us examine\nthis subject for a moment.\n\nThe question would naturally follow, What have the reformations of\nCalvin, Luther, and other reformers, done for the world? We may notice\nthat Denmark, Sweden, Prussia, with a great part of Germany, Holland,\nand Switzerland, as also England and the United States, are Protestant.\nWhat can we say of them? That they are a part of the disorganized\nworld, and have manifested the same unhappy dispositions as other\nportions. Reform has not altered their dispositions or circumstances.\nWe see among them the same ambitious, grasping, reckless disposition\nmanifested, and consequently the same wars, bloodshed, poverty, misery,\nand distress; and millions of human beings have been sacrificed to\ntheir pride, ambition, and avarice, and thirst for national fame and\nglory.\n\nThe Reformation of the Church of England is anything but creditable to\nthat church. I refer to Henry VIII., and the vacillating course taken\nby some of its early reformers; and its persecution of those who were\nopposed to it in religious faith.\n\nI might here refer to the religious intolerance of Calvin of Geneva,\nand Knox of Scotland, and other reformers; but, as these are mere\nindividual affairs, I pass over them. If we look at Christian nations\nas a whole, we see a picture that is truly lamentable, a miserable\nportrait of poor, degenerated, fallen humanity. We see Christian\nnations arrayed against Christian nations in battle, with the Christian\nministers of each Christian nation calling upon the Christian's God\nto give them each the victory over their enemies! Christians! and\nworshippers of the same God!!\n\nHence, Christian England has been arrayed against Christian France;\nChristian Russia against Christian Prussia; Christian Spain against\nChristian Holland; Christian Austria against Christian Hungary;\nChristian England against Christian United States; and Christian\nUnited States against Christian Mexico. Not to mention the innumerable\naggressions and conquests of some of the larger nations, not only upon\ntheir Christian brethren, but against other nations of the earth.\n\nBefore those several nations have engaged in their wars, their\nministers have presented their several prayers before the same God; and\nif He had been as infatuated as they, and listened to their prayers,\nthey would long ago have been destroyed, and the Christian world\ndepopulated. After their prayers they have met in deadly strife; foe\nhas rushed against foe with mortal energy, and the clarion of war,\nthe clang of arms, and the cannon's roar have been followed by dying\ngroans, shattered limbs, carnage, blood, and death; and unutterable\nmisery and distress, desolate hearths, lonely widows, and fatherless\nchildren. And yet these are all Christian nations, Christian brethren,\nworshippers of the same God. Christianity has prevailed more or less\nfor eighteen hundred years. If it should still continue and overspread\nthe world in its present form, what would it accomplish? The world's\nredemption and regeneration? No, verily. Its most staunch supporters,\nand most strenuous advocates would say, _No_. For like causes always\nproduce like effects: and if it has failed to regenerate the nations\nwhere it has had full sway for generations, it must necessarily fail\nto regenerate the world. If it has failed in a small thing, how can it\naccomplish a large one?\n\nThere are some of the Evangelical Churches, and modern reformers who\nwill tell me that the above is not Christianity; only a form, not\nthe spirit and life. But it is national Christianity; and it is the\nnations--the world and its redemption--that we are speaking of. But,\nlest they should think me unfair in making this application, I will\nbriefly examine their position. Which of the sects or parties is it\nthat is good, evangelical, and pure? The Church of England, Methodists,\nPresbyterians, Independents, Baptists, Universalists, or which of the\nhundreds of sects that flood Christendom? For they do not agree; there\nexists as much unhappy difference among them as there does among the\nnations. They have not power, of course, to act nationally; but, as\nindividual sects, there is as much virulence, discord, division, and\nstrife among them as among any other people. There is sect against\nsect; party against party; polemical essay against polemical essay;\ndiscussion after discussion; and hard words, bitter feelings, angry\ndisputes, wrangling, hatred, and malice, prevail to an alarming extent:\nand it is enough, in many instances, for a member even of a family to\nbe of a different religious persuasion, no matter how honest, to cause\nhis expulsion from the family.\n\nIn fact, if we look at Christianity, as exhibited among the evangelical\nsocieties of England, and the United States, where Protestantism\nbears rule unchecked, what do we see? Nothing but a game at hazard,\nwhere a thousand opinions distract the people, each clamoring for his\nown peculiar form of worship, and, like the Athenians, clinging with\ntenacity to their own favorite god, no matter how absurd or ridiculous\nhis pretensions. I would remark, however, both to Catholic and\nProtestant, that there is much good associated with both their systems,\nin the teaching of morality, virtue, faith in God, and our Lord Jesus\nChrist; that there are thousands of sincere, honest, good, and virtuous\npeople among them, as also among the nations; that these evils have\nbeen the growth of ages. \"The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the\nchildren's teeth have been set on edge.\"\n\nIt is unnecessary here to say anything of missionary societies, tract\nsocieties, and evangelical societies; for if the fountain is impure,\nthe stream must be impure; if the tree is bad, the fruit will be bad\nalso. It is certainly a praiseworthy object to spread the Bible, and\nall useful information, and to do good as far as we can; but to talk of\nthis evangelizing the world, is folly.\n\nWe will now turn our attention for a short time to another society,\nwhich has been formed lately in Europe, called a \"Peace Society,\"\nand which has lately held several congresses in London, Berlin, and\nelsewhere, with representatives from many of the European nations, and\nthe United States. Their object is, to ameliorate the condition of the\nworld, and bring about universal peace; but, with all deference to\ntheir feelings, and fervent desires that such a happy event might be\nconsummated, I must beg leave to differ from them in their views. Peace\nis a desirable thing; it is the gift of God, and the greatest gift\nthat God can bestow upon mortals. What is more desirable than peace?\nPeace in nations, peace in cities, peace in families. Like the soft\nmurmuring zephyr, its soothing influence calms the brow of care, dries\nthe eye of sorrow, and chases trouble from the bosom; and let it be\nuniversally experienced, and it would drive sorrow from the world, and\nmake this earth a paradise. But peace is the gift of God. Jesus said to\nhis disciples, \"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you, not\nas the world giveth give I unto you.\" John xiv. 27. Moral suasion is\nalways good, and the most happy that man can employ; but without the\ninterposition of God, it will be useless.\n\nThe nations of the world have corrupted themselves before God, and\nwe are not in a position to be governed by those principles without\nregeneration. If they were pure, and living in the fear of God, it\nwould be another thing; but the world at the present time is not made\nof the proper materials to submit to a congressional interposition,\nof a kind similar to the one now established. The materials will not\ncombine, and no power, short of the power of God, can accomplish it. We\nhave got into the feet and toes of Daniel's national image; they are\ncomposed of iron and clay, which will not mix; there is no chemical\naffinity between the bodies. As it has been in generations past, the\nstrong nations feel independent, and capable of taking care of their\nown affairs; and if the weak unite, it is to protect themselves against\nthe strong. The principles of aggression and protection still rule as\nstrong in the human bosom as ever they did. The world is as belligerent\nnow as it ever was, and as full of commotion and uncertainty.\n\nThe dispositions of the nations, of kings, rulers, and people, are\nthe same. The late revolutions in Europe, and present uncertain state\nof political affairs, are an evident proof of this. The political\natmosphere of the European nations is full of combustion, and only\nneeds igniting to set the whole in one common blaze. Talk of peace!\nthere is war in the councils and cabinets, uncertainty and distrust\nwith emperors, kings, presidents, and princes; war in the churches,\nclubs, cabals, and parties that now distract the world. It is whispered\nin the midnight caucus, and proclaimed in open day. The same spirit\nenters into the social circle, and breaks up families: father is\narrayed against son, and son against father; mother against daughter,\nand daughter against mother; and brother against brother: it presides\ntriumphant at the assemblies of the \"Peace Society,\" and spreads\nconfusion, discord, and division there. A moral, deadly, evil has\ninfused itself throughout the world, and it needs a more powerful\nrestorative than the one proposed to ameliorate its condition. If the\nroot of the evil be not eradicated, in vain we regulate the branches;\nif the fountain be impure, in vain we strive to purify the streams. The\nmeans used are not adequate to the end designed, and in spite of all\nthose weak, puny efforts, the world will continue in its present sickly\nstate, unless a more powerful antidote be applied.\n\nAnother principle has many advocates on the Continent of Europe at the\npresent time; a principle of Socialism. Like everything else, it is\npossessed of different phases, and has been advocated in its various\nbranches by Fourier, Robert Owen, Cabet, Pierre Leroux, and Proudhon,\nin Europe, and Fanny Wright in America. The leading object of many of\nthese people is to have a community of goods and property. Some of them\ndiscard Christianity altogether, and others leave every one to do as\nthey please; others attach a little importance to it. I would briefly\nremark on the first of those, that if scepticism is to be the basis\nof the happiness of man, we shall be in a poor situation to improve\nthe world. It is practical infidelity that has placed the world in its\npresent position; how far the unblushing profession of it will lead\nto restoration and happiness, I must leave my readers to judge. It is\nour departure from God, that has brought upon us all our misery. It\nis not a very reasonable way to alleviate it by confirming mankind in\nscepticism. I am aware that there is much in the world to induce doubt,\nand uncertainty on religious affairs, and religious professors have\nmuch to answer for; but there is a very material difference between\nthe religion of God, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and that of those who\nprofess His name.\n\nAs regards Communism, in the abstract, or on the voluntary principle,\nwe will examine that briefly. Pick out a number of men in Paris,\nLondon, Berlin, or any other city, associated with all the evils and\ncorruptions of those cities, and organize them into a community. Will\nthe mere removal of them from one place to another make them better?\nCertainly not. If they were corrupt before, they will be after their\nremoval; and if they were unhappy before, they will be after. This\ntemporary change will not make a difference; for men in possession\nof different religious, and political, and moral views, never can\nbe united in harmony. The difficulties that exist in the world on a\nlarge scale, would exist there in miniature; and though prudence,\nforbearance, and policy, in smaller circles, might operate for a time,\nthe evils would still exist; and though they might smoulder and be pent\nup, like a volcano, they would only rage with greater fury when they\ndid burst out.\n\nI have conversed with some who seem to think that all that is necessary\nto promote the happiness of man, is, that he have sufficient to eat and\ndrink, and that through this means it would be obtained. I grant that\nthe comforts and happiness of men are in a great measure augmented by\nthese things; but to place them as the root and foundation, is wrong.\nIn the present situation of Europe, where so much squalid poverty,\nwretchedness, and distress abound, it is not to be wondered at that\nsuch feelings should obtain. But, if we cast our eyes abroad in the\nworld, we shall find that unhappiness is not always associated with\nthe poor: it revels in the church and state; among kings, potentates,\nprinces, and rulers: it follows the haunts of the libertine and\nprofligate, and gnaws in many instances the conscience of the minister:\nit rides with lords and ladies in their carriages and chariots, and\nrevels in splendid saloons and in banquet halls. Many a pleasant\ncountenance covers an aching heart, and many a gorgeous costume hides\nthe deadly worm; jealousy, disappointed ambition, blasted hopes, cold\nneglect, and conjugal infidelity, produce many a miserable heart; and\nrage, envy, malice, and murder, lurk in many instances under the cover\nof pomp, splendor, competency, or magnificence; not to mention the\ncare, anxiety, and trouble of officers of state in these troublous\ntimes. If the poor knew the situation of many of those in different\ncircumstances, they would not envy their situations.\n\nAgain, if we notice the position of some of the southern and western\nStates of America. They have abundance to eat and to drink, their lands\nbring forth bountifully. But does this make them happy? Verily, no. The\nsame false state of society exists there; men are awfully under the\ninfluence of their depraved passions; men are frequently put to death\nby what is called \"Lynch law,\" without judge or jury. The pistol, the\nbowie knife, the rifle, and the dirk, are in frequent requisition, and\nmisery and unhappiness prevail.\n\nIn Mexico, where they possess one of the richest countries in the\nworld, a salubrious climate, a rich soil, abounding also with the most\nvaluable mineral resources, yet the people are unhappy. Guerillas\nplunder the traveller, their streets are crowded with beggars; its men\nare without courage or energy, and the country is left a prey to any\nnation, who has covetousness or power to oppress it. The Scriptures\nsay, that \"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that\nproceedeth from the mouth of God;\" and as they do not exist in this\nway, another Scripture tells the story in plain terms, for it says,\n\"Where there is no vision the people perish.\" Proverbs xxix. 18.\n\nThere is also another political party, who desire, through the\ninfluence of legislation and coercion, to level the world. To say the\nleast, it is a species of robbery; to some it may appear an honorable\none, but, nevertheless, it is robbery. What right has any private man\nto take by force the property of another? The laws of all nations would\npunish such a man as a thief. Would thousands of men engaged in the\nsame business make it more honorable? Certainly not. And if a nation\nwere to do it, would a nation's act sanctify a wrong deed? No; the\nAlgerine pirates, or Arabian hordes, were never considered honorable,\non account of their numbers; and a nation, or nations, engaging in\nthis would only augment the banditti, but could never sanctify the\ndeed. I shall not, here, enter into the various manners of obtaining\nwealth; but would merely state, that any unjust acquisition of it\nought to be punished by law. Wealth is generally the representation of\nlabour, industry, and talent. If one man is industrious, enterprising,\ndiligent, careful, and saves property, and his children follow in his\nsteps, and accumulate wealth; and another man is careless, prodigal,\nand lazy, and his children inherit his poverty, I cannot conceive upon\nwhat principles of justice, the children of the idle and profligate\nhave a right to put their hands into the pockets of those who are\ndiligent and careful, and rob them of their purse. Let this principle\nexist, and all energy and enterprise would be crushed. Men would\nbe afraid of again accumulating, lest they should again be robbed.\nIndustry and talent would have no stimulant, and confusion and ruin\nwould inevitably follow. Again, if you took men's property without\ntheir consent, the natural consequence would be that they would seek to\nretake it the first opportunity; and this state of things would only\ndeluge the world in blood. So that let any of these measures be carried\nout, even according to the most sanguine hopes of the parties, they\nwould not only bring distress upon others, but also upon themselves;\ncertainly they would not bring about the peace of the world.\n\nOne thing more upon this subject, and I have done. In Europe, there\nhas been of late years a great mania for revolutions--a strong desire\nto establish republican governments; but let me remark here, that the\nform of government will not materially affect the position of the\npeople, nor add to the resources of a country. If a country is rich and\nprosperous under a monarchy, it will be so under a republic, and _vice\nversa_. If poor under one, it will be under another. If nations think\nproper to change their form of government, they of course have a right\nto do so; but to think that this will ameliorate their condition, and\nproduce happiness, is altogether a mistake. Happiness and peace are\nthe gifts of God, and come from Him. Every kind of government has its\ngood and evil properties. Rome was unhappy under a kingly government,\nand also under a republican form. Carthage as a republic was no more\nhappy than many of its monarchial contemporaries; nor was Corinth,\nHolland, or Venice; and republican Genoa has not manifested anything\nvery much in favor of these principles. France was unhappy under her\nemperor, she was unhappy under her kings, and is unhappy as a republic.\nAmerica is perhaps some little exception to this; but the difference\nlies not so much in her government, as in the extent of her country,\nthe richness of her soil, and abundance of her resources; for, as I\nhave already mentioned, \"Lynch law\" prevails to an alarming extent in\nthe south and west. In the state of New York, in the east, there are\nmobs painted as Indians resisting the officers of the law, and doing it\nwith impunity; and it is a matter of doubt whether persons having paid\nfor property, shall own it, or be dispossessed by their tenants, not in\nlaw, for the constitution and laws are good, but in practice defective,\nthrough popular clamor and violence. I refer to the estates of Van\nRanseller and others; and, in the west, to Joseph and Hyrum Smith, who\nwere murdered in Carthage jail, without any redress, although their\nmurderers were known to the officers of state; and to the inhabitants\nof a city, ten thousand in number, together with twenty thousand\nothers, principally farmers, labourers, and mechanics, occupying a\ncountry about ten miles wide, and thirty long, most of which was\nwell cultivated and owned by the occupants,--who were all forced by\ncontinual harassing by lawless mobs, to leave a country in which they\ncould not be protected, and seek an asylum in a far off desert home,\nthere being no power in the government to give redress.\n\nIt is altogether an infatuation to think that a change in government\nwill mend the circumstances, or increase the resources, when the whole\nworld is groaning under corruption. If there are twenty men who have\ntwenty pounds of bread to divide amongst them, it matters but little\nwhether it is divided by three, ten, or the whole, it will not increase\nthe amount. I grant, however, that there are flagrant abuses, of which\nwe have mentioned some, associated with all kinds of governments,\nand many things to be complained of justly; but they arise from the\nwickedness of man, and the corrupt and artificial state of society. Do\naway with one set of rulers, and you have only the same materials to\nmake another of; and if ever so honestly disposed, they are surrounded\nwith such a train of circumstances, over which they have no control,\nthat they cannot mend them.\n\nThere is frequently much excitement on this subject; and many people\nignorant of these things, are led to suppose that their resources will\nbe increased, and their circumstances bettered; but when they find,\nafter much contention, struggling, and bloodshed, that it does not rain\nbread, cheese, and clothing; that it is only a change of men, papers,\nand parchment, chagrin and disappointment naturally follow. There is\nmuch that is good, and much that is bad in all governments; and I am\nnot seeking here to portray a perfect government, but to show some of\nthe evils associated with them, and the utter incompetency of all the\nplans of men to restore a perfect government; and as all their plans\nhave failed, so they will fail, for it is the work of God, and not of\nman. The moral agency of man without God, has had its full development;\nhis weakness, wickedness, and corruption, have placed the world where\nit is: he can see as in a glass his incompetency, and folly, and\nnothing but the power of God can restore it.\n\nIt is not to be wondered at, that those various plans should exist, for\nthe world is in a horrible situation. Jesus prophesied of it, and said,\nthere should be upon the earth \"distress of nations, perplexity, men's\nhearts failing them, for fear, and for looking after those things which\nare coming upon the earth,\" Luke xxi. 25, 26. Men see these things,\nand their hearts fear; confusion, disorder, misery, blood, and ruin,\nseem to stare them in the face; and in the absence of something great,\nnoble, and magnificent, suited to the exigency of the case, they try\nthe foregoing remedies, as a sailor, in the absence of a boat, would\ncling with tenacity to any floating piece of wreck, to save him from a\nwatery grave.\n\nNeither can men be blamed for trying to do good; it is certainly a\nlaudable object; and with all the selfishness, ambition, and pride,\nassociated with the foregoing, it must be admitted that there is much\nuprightness, sincerity, and honest zeal.\n\nThere are very many philanthropists who would gladly ameliorate the\ncondition of men, and of the world, if they knew how. But the means\nemployed are not commensurate with the end; every grade of society is\nvitiated and corrupt. \"The whole head is sick, and the whole heart\nfaint.\" Our systems, our policy, our legislation, our education, and\nphilosophy, are all wrong, neither can we be particularly blamed, for\nthese evils have been the growth of ages. Our fathers have left God,\nhis guidance, control, and support, and we have been left to ourselves;\nand our present position is a manifest proof of our incompetency to\ngovern; and our past failures make it evident, that any future effort,\nwith the same means, would be as useless. The world is diseased, and it\nrequires a world's remedy.\n\n\n\nChapter IV.\n------------------\n\nWhat Is Man? What Is His Destiny and Relationship to God?\n\nHaving shewn in the foregoing chapters, that the rule of God is perfect\nwhere he governs alone, that the rule of man is imperfect, and has\nintroduced confusion and misery, and that the plans of men are not\ncompetent to restore the world to happiness, and the fulfilment of the\nobject for which it was created; it now devolves upon us to investigate\nthe way that this thing can, and will be accomplished; for there is\na time spoken of in the Scriptures, when there will be a reign of\nrighteousness.\n\nFirst, then, we will enquire who and what is man? and what is his\ndestiny, and what his relationship to God? For before we can define\ngovernment correctly, it will be necessary to find out the nature of\nthe being that has to be governed.\n\nWhat, then, is man? Is he a being temporal and earthly alone, and\nwhen he dies, does he sink into forgetfulness? Is he annihilated? or\nhas he a spirit as well as a body? If the first be the case, he alone\nhas a right to regulate his own affairs, to frame his own government,\nand to pursue that course which to him seems good; if not, the case\nis different. I do not here wish to enter into a philosophical\ndisquisition on the subject, but, as I am writing at present to\nbelievers in the Bible, I shall confine myself more to that. I will\nstate, that man is an eternal being, composed of body and spirit: his\nspirit existed before he came here; his body exists with the spirit\nin time, and after death the spirit exists without the body. In the\nresurrection, both body and spirit will finally be reunited; and it\nrequires both body and spirit to make a perfect man, whether in time,\nor eternity.\n\nI know there are those who suppose that the spirit of man comes into\nexistence with his body, and that intelligence and spirit are organized\nwith the body; but we read, that when God made man, he made him of the\ndust of the earth; he made him in his own likeness. Man was then a\nlifeless body; He afterwards \"breathed into him the breath of life, and\nman became a living soul.\"\n\nBefore that spirit was given, he was dead, lifeless; and when that\nspirit is taken away, he is again lifeless; and let not any one say\nthat the body is perfect without the spirit; for the moment the spirit\nleaves the body, no matter how perfect its organization may be, the man\nis inanimate, and destitute of intelligence and feeling: \"it is the\nspirit that gives life.\" Hence we find that when Jarius's daughter was\ndead, his servant came and told him, saying, \"Thy daughter is dead,\ntrouble not the master;\" but when she was restored, it is said \"her\nspirit _came again_, and she arose straightway.\" Luke viii. 55. When\nher spirit was absent, the body was dead; when it returned, the body\nlived. \"Moses spake unto the Lord, and said, let the Lord, the God of\n_the spirits of all flesh_, set a man over the congregation.\" Num.\nxxvii. 16. Again, the Lord in speaking to Jeremiah, said, \"Before I\nformed thee in the belly, I knew thee,\" i. 5. I would ask, What part\nof Jeremiah did he know? It could not be his body, for it was not\nin existence; but he knew his spirit, for \"he was the father of his\nspirit.\" The Lord speaks to Job and says, \"Where wast thou when I laid\nthe foundations of the earth? declare if thou hast understanding, who\nhath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched\nthe line upon it. Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened?\nor who laid the corner stone thereof? when the morning stars sung\ntogether, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?\" xxxviii. 4, 6.\nAgain, John says, \"They that dwell on the earth, shall wonder, whose\nnames were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the\nworld.\" Rev. xvii. 8.\n\nThis spirit proceeds forth from God, and is eternal; hence Solomon\nsays, in speaking of death, \"Then shall the dust return to the earth as\nit was, and the spirit unto God who gave it.\" Eccles. xii. 7. That the\nspirit is eternal, is very evident, from the Scriptures; Jesus prayed\nto his father, and said, \"O Father, glorify thou me, with thine own\nself, with the glory which I had with thee _before the world was_.\"\nJohn xvii. 5. Here Jesus speaks of an existence before he came here,\nof a glory he had with his Father before the world was. Christ, then,\nexisted before he came here and took a body. Again Jesus says, \"I have\nmanifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world:\nthine they were, and thou gavest them me.\" John xvii. 6.\n\nLet us see what the Apostle Paul says on the subject: \"Blessed be the\nGod and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all\nspiritual blessings, in heavenly places, in Christ; according as he\nhath chosen us in him, before the foundation of the world.\" Ephes. i,\n3, 4. Christ, then, existed with his Father before the world was, and\nthe Saints existed in, or with him. What part? their bodies? no, their\nspirits. Again, man exists after he leaves here. It is unnecessary to\nsay anything about the life of the spirit, after the death of the body,\nor of the resurrection, as the subjects are so generally known and\nbelieved. Paul says, \"If in this life only, we have hope in Christ, we\nare of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead,\nand become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came\ndeath, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. ... The trumpet\nshall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall\nbe changed; for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this\nmortal must put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the\nsaying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.\" 1 Cor. xv.\n19-21, 52-54.\n\nIf man, then, is an eternal being, came from God, exists here for a\nshort time, and will return, it is necessary that he know something\nabout God, and his government. For he has to do with him not only in\ntime, but in eternity, and whatever man may be disposed to do, or\nhowever he may vaunt himself of his own abilities, there are some\nthings he has no control over. He came into the world without his\nagency, he will have to leave it, whether he desires it or not; and\nhe will also have to appear in another world. He is destined, if he\nimproves his opportunities, to higher and greater blessings and glory\nthan are associated with this earth in its present state: and hence\nthe necessity of the guidance of a superior power, and intelligence,\nthat he may not act the part of a fool here, and jeopardize his\neternal interests; but that his intelligence may be commensurate\nwith his position; that his actions here may have a bearing upon his\nfuture destiny; that he may not sink into the slough of iniquity and\ndegradation, and contaminate himself with corruption; that he may\nstand pure, virtuous, intelligent, and honourable, as a son of God,\nand seek for, and be guided and governed by his Father's counsels.\nHaving said so much on this subject, we will continue our investigation\nstill further, and enquire next, What is our relationship to God? In\nanswering this, I would briefly remark, that the position that we stand\nin to him, is that of a son. Adam is the father of our bodies, and God\nis the father of our spirits. I know that some are in the habit of\nlooking upon God, as a monster only to be dreaded, known only in the\nearthquake, the tempest, the thunder, and the storm, and that there\nis something gloomy and dismal attached to his service. If there is,\nit is the appendage of man, and not of God. Is there anything gloomy\nin the works that God has made? Turn where we will, we see harmony,\nloveliness, cheerfulness, and beauty.\n\nThe blessings of providence were made for man, and his enjoyment;\nhe is placed as head of creation. For him the earth teems with the\nrichest profusion; the golden grain, the luscious fruit, the choicest\nvines; for him, the herbs, and flowers, bedeck the earth, shed their\nodoriferous perfumes, and display their gorgeous beauty; for him, the\nproud horse yields his back, the cow gives her milk, and the bee its\nhoney; for him, the sheep yields its fleece, the cotton-tree its down,\nand the worm its silk. For him, the shrub and vine bloom and blossom,\nand nature clothes herself in her richest attire; the rippling stream,\nthe pure fountain, the crystal river flow for him, all nature spreads\nher richest charms, and invites him to partake of her joyousness,\nbeauty, and innocence, and to worship her God.\n\nTalk about melancholy, in the fear of God, and in his service! It\nis the corruption of the world, that has made men unhappy; and the\ncorruption of religion that has made it gloomy: these are the miseries\nentailed by men, not the blessings of God. Talk about gloom! is there\ngloom in the warbling of the birds, in the prancing of the horse, in\nthe playfulness of the lamb, or kid; in the beauty of flowers, in any\nof Nature's gifts, or rich attire, or in God, that made them, or in his\nservice?\n\nThere are others, again, who would place the Lord at an immense\ndistance, and render our approach to him almost impossible; but this\nis a superstitious idea, for our Father listens to the cries of his\nchildren, numbers the hairs of their heads; and the Scriptures say,\n\"a sparrow cannot fall to the ground, without his notice.\" He speaks\nto his elect, and says, \"He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of\nhis eye.\" Zech. ii. 8. He is our Father; and hence the Scriptures tell\nus to pray, \"Our Father, who art in heaven.\" Paul says, \"We have had\nfathers of our flesh, which corrected us, and we gave them reverence;\nshall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits,\nand live?\" Heb. xii. 9. We have, then, both a temporal and a spiritual\nFather; and hence his solicitude for our welfare, and his desire for\nour happiness. Says Jesus, \"If a son ask bread, will he for bread give\nhim a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent. If ye,\nthen, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how\nmuch more shall your Father which is in heaven, give good things to\nthem that ask him.\"\n\nWhat a delightful reflection for his servants, to draw nigh to their\nFather, as to an endearing parent, and ask for blessings, as a son\nwould ask for bread, and be confident of receiving. Hence the faithful\nin the Apostles' days received a spirit, whereby they could say, \"Abba,\nFather,\" or Father, Father. What an endearing relationship! and if the\nworld could comprehend, how gladly would they throw themselves upon\nhis guardianship, seek his wisdom and government, and claim a father's\nbenediction; but Satan has blinded the eyes of the world, and they know\nnot the things which make for their peace.\n\n\n\nChapter V.\n------------------\n\nThe Object of Man's Existence on the Earth; and His Relationship\nThereto.\n\nWe next enquire, What is the object and design of man's existence\non the earth; and what is his relationship thereto? for all this\nmagnificent world, with its creation, life, beauty, symmetry, order,\nand grandeur, could not be without design; and as God existed before\nman, there must have been some object in man's creation, and in his\nappearance on the earth. As I have before stated, man existed before\nhe came here, in a spiritual substance, but had not a body; when I\nspeak of a body, I mean an earthly one, for I consider the spirit is\nsubstance, but more elastic, subtle, and refined than the fleshy body;\nthat in the union of the spirit and flesh, there is more perfection\nthan in the spirit alone. The body is not perfect without the spirit,\nnor the spirit without the body; it takes the two to make a perfect\nman, for the spirit requires a tabernacle, to give it power to develop\nitself and to exalt it in the scale of intelligence, both in time\nand eternity. One of the greatest curses inflicted on Satan and his\nfollowers, when they were cast out of heaven, was, that they should\nhave no body. Hence, when he appeared before the Lord, and was asked\nfrom whence he came, he answered, \"From going to and fro in the\nearth, and from walking up and down in it.\" Job i. 7, and ii. 2. For\nthis reason he is denominated \"The Prince of the power of the air,\nthe Spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.\" Ephes.\nii. 2. Hence he exerts an invisible agency over the spirits of men,\ndarkens their minds, and uses his infernal power to confound, corrupt,\ndestroy and envelope the world in confusion, misery, and distress;\nand, although deprived personally of operating with a body, he uses\nhis influence over the spirits of those who have bodies, to resist\ngoodness, virtue, purity, intelligence, and the fear of God; and\nconsequently, the happiness of man; and poor erring humanity is made\nthe dupe of his wiles. The Apostle says, \"The God of this world hath\nblinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the\nglorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God, should shine unto\nthem.\" 2 Cor. iv. 4. But not content with the ravages he has made, the\nspoliation, misery, and distress, not having a tabernacle of his own,\nhe has frequently sought to occupy that of man, in order that he might\nyet possess greater power, and more fully accomplish the devastation.\nWe read, that in our Saviour's days, there were persons possessed\nwith devils, who were tormented by them; and Jesus and his disciples\ncast them out. Mary Magdalene was dispossessed of seven. A legion had\nentered one man, and when commanded to leave, rather than have no\nbodies, they desired permission to enter those of swine, which they\ndid, and the swine were destroyed. Man's body to him, then, is of great\nimportance, and if he only knew and appreciated his privileges, he\nmight live above the temptation of Satan, the influence of corruption,\nsubdue his lusts, overcome the world, and triumph, and enjoy the\nblessings of God, in time and in eternity.\n\nThe object of man's taking a body is, that through the redemption of\nJesus Christ, both soul and body may be exalted in the eternal world,\nwhen the earth shall be celestial, and to obtain a higher exaltation\nthan he would be capable of doing without a body. For when man was\nfirst made, he was made \"a little lower than the angels,\" Heb. ii.\n7; but through the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ, he\nis placed in a position to obtain an exaltation higher than that of\nangels. Says the Apostle, \"Know ye not that we shall judge angels?\" 1\nCor. vi. 3. \"Jesus descended below all things, that he might be raised\nabove all things.\" He took upon him a body, that he might die as a man,\nand \"that through death, he might destroy him that had the power of\ndeath, that is, the Devil.\" Heb. ii. 14. Having conquered Death, then,\nin his own dominions, burst the barriers of the tomb, and ascended with\nhis body triumphant to the right hand of God, he has accomplished a\npurpose which God had decreed from before the foundation of the world,\n\"and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.\" Hence man, through\nobedience to the Gospel, is placed in a position to be an adopted son\nof God, and have a legitimate right to his Father's blessings, and to\npossess the gift of the Holy Ghost. And the Apostle says, that \"If\nthe spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell in you,\nhe that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal\nbodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.\" Rom. viii. 11. Thus, as\nJesus vanquished death, so may we; as he overcame, so may we; and, if\nfaithful, sit with him upon his throne, as he has overcome, and sat\ndown upon his Father's throne. Rev. iii. 21. Thus, man will not only\nbe raised from degradation, but will also be exalted to a seat among\nthe intelligences which surround the throne of God. This is one great\nobject of our coming here and taking bodies.\n\nAnother object that we came here for, and took bodies, was to propagate\nour species. For if it is for our benefit to come here, it is also for\nthe benefit of others. Hence the first commandment given to man was,\n\"Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.\"\nGen. i. 28. And as man is an eternal being, and all his actions have a\nrelevancy to eternity, it is necessary that he understand his position\nwell, and thus fulfil the measure of his creation. For as he, and his\noffspring are destined to live eternally, he is not only responsible\nfor his own acts, but in a great measure for those of his children, in\nframing their minds, regulating their morals, setting them a correct\nexample, and teaching them correct principles; but more especially\nin preserving the _purity_ of his own body. And why? Because, if he\nabuses his body, and corrupts himself, he not only injures himself, but\nhis partner and associates, and entails misery incalculable upon his\nposterity, who are doomed to inherit the father's misery; and this is\nnot only associated with time, but with eternity. Hence the Lord has\ngiven laws regulating marriage and chastity of the strictest kind, and\nentailed the severest punishment upon those, who, in different ages\nhave abused this sacred ordinance. For example, the curse of Sodom and\nGomorrah: and the terrible judgements pronounced against those who\nshould corrupt and defile their bodies, let any one read Deut. xxii.\n13-30. And Paul says, \"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and\nthat the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple\nof God, him shall God destroy.\" 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17. Whoremongers and\nadulterers shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 1 Cor. vi. 9,\n10; and Heb. xiii. 4. And why? Because man being made a free agent over\nhis own body, that he might exalt himself and posterity, both in time\nand in eternity, if he abuses that power, he not only affects himself,\nbut unborn bodies and spirits, corrupting the world, and opening the\nflood gates of vice, immorality, and estrangement from God. Hence the\nchildren of Israel were told not to marry with the surrounding nations,\nlest their seed should be corrupted, and the people turned to idolatry,\nwhich would lead to the forgetfulness of God, to an ignorance of his\npurposes and designs, and cause them to lose sight of the object of\ntheir creation, and corrupt themselves; and to the introduction of\nevery other evil, as a natural consequence. But where the order of God\nis carried out, it places things in a lovely position.\n\nWhat is more amiable and pleasant than those pure, innocent, endearing\naffections which God has placed in the hearts of the man and woman, who\nare united together in lawful matrimony? With a love and confidence\npure as the love of God, because it springs from him, and is his gift;\nwith bodies chaste, and virtuous; and an offspring, lovely, healthy,\ninnocent, and uncontaminated; confiding in each other, they live\ntogether in the fear of God, enjoying nature's gifts uncorrupted and\nundefiled as the driven snow, or the crystal stream. But how would this\nenjoyment be enhanced, if they understood their destiny; could unravel\nthe designs of God, and contemplate an eternal union, in another state\nof existence; a connexion with their offspring, commenced here to\nendure for ever, and all their ties, relationships, and affections\nstrengthened! A mother feels great delight in beholding her child,\nand gazing on its lovely infant form. How would her bosom swell with\necstacy at the contemplation of that child being with her for ever!\nAnd if we only understood our position, this was the object for which\nwe came into the world. And the object of the kingdom of God is, to\nre-establish all those holy principles.\n\nChastity and purity are things of the greatest importance to the\nworld. Hence the Prophet says, \"Because the Lord hath been witness\nbetween thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt\ntreacherously; yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.\nAnd did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the Spirit. And\nwherefore one? that he might _seek a godly seed_. Therefore take heed\nto your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his\nyouth.\" Mal. ii. 14, 15. Here, then, the object of purity is pointed\nout clearly; and what is it? that God might preserve a godly seed. St.\nPaul says, \"What? know ye not that he who is joined to an harlot is\none body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.... Flee fornication.\nEvery sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth\nfornication, sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your\nbody is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have\nof God, and ye are not your own.\" 1 Cor. vi. 16-20. And in the next\nchapter he speaks of the same things which Malachi does concerning a\npure seed. \"For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife,\nand the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband, else were your\nchildren unclean; _but now are they holy_.\"\n\nThe legislators of all civilized nations have seen the necessity of\nsustaining these things, and consequently have passed, generally,\nvery rigid laws for the protection of female virtue, and the support\nof the marriage contract. Hence Acts have been passed and enforced,\ndisinheriting those who were not born in wedlock. This, in some\ninstances, has produced a salutary effect. Ministers of the various\nchurches have also used their influence, in a great measure, in support\nof virtuous principles. These have had their effect in assisting to\nstem the torrent of iniquity. But as the nations themselves have\nforsaken God, how can they expect to stop this crying evil; for the\nvery legislators who pass these laws are in many instances guilty\nthemselves; and when kings, princes, and rulers, corrupt themselves,\nhow can they expect the people to be pure? for no matter how rigid\nlaw may be, corrupt persons will always find means to evade it. And,\nindeed, so far have these abominations gone, that it seems to be an\nadmitted fact, that these things cannot be controlled; and, although\nthere are laws relative to matrimonial alliances, yet there are some\nnations, called Christian, who actually give licence for prostitution,\nand all the degradation and misery associated with it. Nor are these\nthings connected with the lower ranks of life only; wantonness and\nvoluptuousness go hand in hand, and revel unchecked in courts, among\nthe nobles and kings of the earth. The statesman, the politician,\nand the merchant, the mechanic and the labourer, have all corrupted\nthemselves. The world is full of adultery, intrigues, fornication,\nand abominations. Let any one go to the masked balls in the principal\ntheatres in Paris, and he will see thousands of people of both sexes,\nimpudently, shamelessly, and unblushingly, manifesting their lewd\ndispositions. Indeed, debauch and wantonness bear full sway, not\nto speak of the dens of abomination that exist elsewhere. London\nabounds with unfortunate beings, led on by example, seduction, and\nmisery, to their fallen, degraded condition. The same thing exists\nthroughout England, France, the United States, and all nations. Hence\nmillions of youth corrupt themselves, engender the most loathsome\ndiseases, and curse their posterity with their sin, who, in their\nturn, rise up and tread in the corrupt steps of their fathers. Not\nto say anything of the thousands of lovely beings whom God designed\nfor companions of man in time and in eternity, and for raising up\na pure offspring, who are corrupted, degraded, polluted, fallen,\npoor, miserable wretches; outcasts of society, insulted, oppressed,\ndespised, and abused; dragging out a miserable existence; led on from\none degree of degradation to another, till death, as a friend, closes\ntheir wretched career, and yet without hope. Thus, man that was made\npure, in the image of his Maker, that could stand proudly erect as the\nrepresentative of God, pure, and uncontaminated, is debased, fallen,\ncorrupt, diseased, and sunk below the brute creation; a creature of\nlust and passion, and a slave to his unbridled appetites. I write\nplainly on this subject; and I do it because it is a curse to the\nworld, and God will have a reckoning with the nations for these\nthings. In vain, then, men legislate on these matters: the nations\nhave corrupted themselves, and these things are beyond their control.\nMen must be governed by higher, and purer motives than merely human\nenactments. If the world understood its true position, and the eternal\nconsequences to them and their seed, they would feel different. They\nwould feel that they were eternal beings; that they were responsible\nto God, both for their bodies and spirits. Nothing but a knowledge of\nman's fall and true position, and the development of the kingdom of\nGod, can restore him to his proper state, restore the order and economy\nof God, and place man again in his natural position on the earth.\n\nHaving spoken of man as an eternal being, we will now examine what\nrelation he has to this earth; for it is the government of God that we\nwish to keep our minds upon. This earth is man's eternal inheritance,\nwhere he will exist after the resurrection, for it is destined to be\npurified and become celestial. I know that this position is considered\nstrange by many, because it is generally supposed that we are going to\nheaven; that heaven is the final destination of the righteous; and that\nwhen we leave this world, we never return. Hence Wesley says--\n\n    \"Beyond the bounds of time and space,\n    Look forward to that heavenly place,\n    The Saints' secure abode;\"\n\nand this is an opinion generally believed by the Christian world.\n\nWe shall therefore commence by enquiring, Where is heaven? Can any one\npoint out its location? I would remark, that it is a word of almost\nunlimited signification; nevertheless we will investigate the matter\na little. We read, that in the beginning \"God created the heavens and\nthe earth;\" and furthermore, that he called the \"firmament heaven.\"\nFrom the above we learn, that the heavens were created by the Lord,\nand that the heavens were created at, or about the same time as the\nearth, and that the firmament is called heaven. We are further told\nconcerning the firmament, that \"God separated the waters that were\nbelow the firmament, from those that were above the firmament.\" Hence,\nwhen God destroyed the world with a flood, \"He opened the windows of\nheaven;\" when the rain ceased, he \"shut the windows of heaven.\" Now,\na word on this firmament; Where is it? \"And God said, Let the waters\nbring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl\nthat may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.\" We find\nout, then, from the foregoing, that the firmament is called heaven,\nviz., the heaven associated with this earth; and that the firmament is\nthe place where the birds fly, and the rain falls from heaven; and the\nscriptures say, that Jesus will come in the clouds of heaven. Matt.\nxxiv. 30. Mark xiii. 26. But there are other heavens: for God created\nthis heaven, and this earth; and his throne existed before this world\nrolled into existence, or the morning stars sang together for joy; for\n\"Heaven is God's throne, and the earth is his footstool.\" Solomon says,\n\"The heaven of heavens cannot contain thee.\" This heaven is veiled from\nmortal vision; spirits abound, but we cannot see them; and angels hover\nthere, but to us are invisible, and can only be known or seen by the\nrevelation of God. Hence Paul says, he \"was caught up into the _third_\nheaven.\" Stephen \"saw the heavens opened, and Jesus sitting on the\nright hand of God.\" Where this revelation exists, there exists without\nthe removal of the body a perfect knowledge of things as they are known\nto God, so far as they are revealed. Thus, when John was on the Isle\nof Patmos, he says, \"I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and heard\nbehind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega,\nthe first and the last, and What thou seest write in a book.\" Rev.\ni. 10, 11. Then commenced the revelation. It was the same also with\nStephen. From this we gather, that there is a veil that obscures the\nheavens from our sight; but when that veil is removed, and our vision\nis enlightened by the spirit of God, then we can gaze upon the glories\nof the eternal world, and heaven is opened for our view.\n\nWhen persons are taken from the earth, and hid from our view, it is\nsaid they are gone to heaven. Hence it is said, that Elijah went by a\nwhirlwind into heaven, 2 Kings ii. 11. And it is also said of Jesus\nthat \"while he blessed them he was parted from them, and carried up\ninto heaven.\" Luke xxiv. 51. But it is the destination of the Saints\nthat we have to do with; and on this I would remark, that there are\nmany glories, and man will be judged according to his deeds. \"There is\none glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory\nof the stars; for as one star differeth from another star in glory, so\nalso is the resurrection.\" 2 Cor. xv. 41, 42.\n\nIt would not comport with my object at the present time to enter into\nthe whole of the details of this subject. I would briefly remark,\nhowever, inasmuch as I am now talking of man's body, that there is a\nplace called \"Paradise,\" to which the spirits of the dead go, awaiting\nthe resurrection, and their reunion with the body. This was an old\ndoctrine of the Jews. Paul, too, \"was caught up into paradise and heard\nunspeakable words.\" 2 Cor. xii. 4. John says, \"to him that overcometh\nwill I grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the\nparadise of God.\" Rev. ii. 7. This Paradise, however, is not the place\nfor resurrected bodies, but for departed spirits: for Jesus said to the\nthief on the cross, \"To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.\" Luke\nxxiii. 43. Two days after this, and after the resurrection of his body,\nMary was looking for the Lord, and he appeared to her: he said to her\n\"Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my\nbrethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father;\nand to my God, and your God.\" John xx. 17. We learn here, then, that\nJesus went to Paradise, with the thief on the cross, in spirit; but\nthat he had not been with his body to his Father.\n\nWe will now speak of heaven, as a place of reward for the righteous.\nDaniel, in speaking of the resurrection, says, \"Many of them that sleep\nin the dust of the earth shall awake; some to everlasting life, and\nsome to shame and everlasting contempt.\" Dan. xii. 2. Jesus says, those\nwho have forsaken all and followed him, \"shall inherit everlasting\nlife\" Matt. xix. 29.\n\nThere is also a Book of Life spoken of. Paul speaks of some whose\nnames were written therein. Phil. iv. 3. John also refers to the same\nthings: he says \"He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white\nraiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life.\"\nRev. iii. 5. Again, John, in speaking of the New Jerusalem, says, There\nshall not enter into it anything that worketh abomination, or maketh a\nlie; but they which are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Rev. xxi.\n27. From this it would appear, that those who obey all the commandments\nof God, and have their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life, shall\nfinally enter into the New Jerusalem. Jesus again says, \"To him that\novercometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also\novercame, and am sat down with my Father in his throne.\" Rev. iii. 21.\nThis, then, is the heaven, as far as I can conceive, that people expect\nto go to.\n\nWe will now try to find out its location. Above we have noticed that\nthe saints are to have everlasting life, that they are to be with\nJesus, and also in the New Jerusalem. We have now to enquire, Where\nJesus's kingdom will be, and Where will be the place of the New\nJerusalem. Daniel says, \"I saw in the night visions, and behold one\nlike the son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the\nAncient of Days, and they brought him near before him. And there was\ngiven him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations,\nand languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting\ndominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall\nnot be destroyed.\" Dan. vii. 13, 14. Here, then, we find Jesus coming\nto establish a kingdom. Where is that kingdom? The Scriptures say, that\nall nations, languages, and tongues shall serve and obey him. Where\ndo those nations, languages, and tongues exist? The answer is, on the\nearth. We will next enquire, Where the saints will be. Daniel says,\nin the 27th verse, \"And the kingdom, and dominion, and the greatness\nof the kingdom under the _whole heaven_ shall be given to the people\nof the saints of the Most High.\" Here, then, we find Jesus reigning\nunder the whole heaven with his saints, and all nations, dominions, and\npowers, serving him. I noticed above, that those who overcame would be\nwith Jesus, and with him have everlasting life. Zechariah speaks of a\ntime when there will be a great assemblage of people against Jerusalem;\nafter God's ancient people, the Jews, shall have been gathered there,\nand the Lord himself shall come forth to their defence. He says, \"Then\nshall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he\nfought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon\nthe Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the\nMount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof, toward the east and\ntoward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of\nthe mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the\nsouth. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley\nof the mountains shall reach unto Azal; yea, ye shall flee, like as ye\nfled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah:\nand the Lord my God shall come and all the saints with thee. And the\nLord shall be king _over all the earth_: in that day there shall be one\nLord, and his name one.\" xiv. 3, 4, 5, 9. Here we find that Jesus is to\ncome, and _all his saints_ are to come with him. And that the Lord is\nto be King over _all the earth_. The question again arises, Where will\nJesus reign with his saints? the answer is, _upon the earth_. Again,\nwe will refer to the revelations of John. He says, \"I saw the souls of\nthem that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of\nGod .... and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years,\" Rev.\nxx. 4. And if we wish to know Where they will reign, we will again let\nJohn speak: \"For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy\nblood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. And\nhast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign _on\nthe earth_.\" Rev. v. 9, 10. It is not necessary to quote more on this\nsubject; it is so plain that he that runs may read. I know that there\nare those who will tell us that this is not the final destination of\nthe saints. I would here remark, that a great many events will take\nplace in regard to the renovation of the earth, which it would be\nforeign to my subject at the present time to detail. I would state,\nhowever, that when the earth shall have become pure, if people suppose\nthat they will then inhabit a heaven, not on the earth, they are\nmistaken; for if we have the good fortune to have our names written in\nthe Lamb's Book of Life, and to enter into the New Jerusalem, we shall\nin that very New Jerusalem have to descend to the earth. Methinks I\nhear persons saying, What! shall we not, then, stay in heaven? Yes--in\nheaven; but that heaven will be on the earth; for John says, \"And I saw\na new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth\nwere past away (purified by fire and become celestial), and there was\nno more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down\nfrom God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.\nAnd I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold the tabernacle\nof God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his\npeople, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God\nshall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more\ndeath, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more\npain; for the former things are passed away.\" Rev. xxi. 1-4. Here,\nthen, we find man's final dwelling place is the earth; and for this\npurpose it was first created, and it never will fulfil the measure of\nits creation until this shall take place. Nor will man ever attain to\nthe end for which he was created, till his spirit and his body are\npurified, and he takes his proper position on the earth.\n\nThe prophets of God, in every age, have looked forward to this time;\nand while many considered them to be fools, they were laying for\nthemselves an eternal foundation: they looked with scorn upon the gaudy\nbaubles that fascinated foolish and corrupt man: they could not yield\nto his chicanery and deception; but with the fear of God before their\neyes, and a knowledge of the future, they stood proudly erect, in a\nconsciousness of their innocence and integrity; despised alike the\npraise and powers of men, endured afflictions, privations, and death;\nwandered in sheep skins and goat skins, destitute, tormented, and\nafflicted, for \"they looked for a city which hath foundations, whose\nbuilder and maker is God.\" Heb. xi. 10. Hence Job says, \"I know that\nmy Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day _upon\nthe earth_; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in\nmy flesh shall I see God.\" xix, 25, 26. Man naturally clings to this\nearth; there seems to be something inherent in his nature that draws\nand binds his affections to the earth; hence he strives all that lays\nin his power to possess as much land as he can reasonably obtain; and\nnot always honestly, but wars have been waged for the acquisition of\nterritory, and the possessions of the earth. But what avails it all\nwithout God! So far from benefiting man, it is an injury, if obtained\nby fraud; for he has got to pass that test which none can avoid. And\nif circumstances here give him the power over his brother, when he\nleaves this world and appears before God, he goes to be judged for that\nvery act of oppression; and the thing that he so anxiously desired to\nobtain in this world is his curse in the next. An honourable desire for\nproperty is not wrong; but no man can have a lasting claim unless it is\ngiven him of God. Lands, properties, possessions, and the blessings of\nthis life, are of use only as they are sanctified, and have a bearing\non the world to come. There have been hereditary laws established in\nEngland, and I believe in other countries, securing landed possessions\nto the eldest son, or heir. This has originated from the above feeling;\nand partly from the customs of the ancient Israelites, as recorded in\nthe Scriptures; and families through this means seek to perpetuate\ntheir names. They may do this for a season; but if man rightly\nunderstood his true position, he would have a brighter object in view.\nThe Scriptures tell us, \"that every good and perfect gift comes from\nGod;\" that a man can receive nothing but what is given him from above.\nMen have conquered, and taken, bought and sold, the earth without God.\nBut their possessions will perish with them; they may perpetuate them\nby law for a season to their descendants, but the Saints of God will\nfinally inherit the earth for ever, in time, and in eternity. Abraham\nheld his possessions on a very different footing from the above. The\nLord appeared unto him, and made a covenant with him, and said, \"And\nI will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein\nthou art a stranger. All the land of Canaan for an _everlasting\npossession_.\" Gen. xvii. 8. This covenant was an eternal one; yet\nAbraham did not possess the land, for Stephen says, \"he gave him none\ninheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on.\" Acts vii.\n5. And Paul says, \"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into\na place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and\nhe went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the\nland of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with\nIsaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he looked\nfor a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.\"\nHeb. xi. 8-10. Here, then, we find land given to Abraham by promise,\na land that he did not possess; but he will do so, \"for he looked for\na city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.\" He\nlooked forward to the redemption of his seed, the establishment of the\nkingdom of God, and the inheritance of those blessings eternally. If\nany one doubts this, let them read the xxxi. chapter of Jeremiah, and\nthe xxxvi. to xxxix. chapters of Ezekiel; wherein it is stated that\nIsrael is to be gathered to their own land, that it is to become as\nthe Garden of Eden, and to be no more desolate. Ezekiel speaks of the\nresurrection of the dead, and the coming together of the bones, flesh,\nsinews, and skin, of a living army; of the uniting of the nations of\nJudah, and Israel, in one; and in consequence of the great development\nof the powers of God, the heathen would be filled with astonishment;\nand finally, that God's tabernacle should be planted in their midst\nfor evermore. Then let them read from the xlvii. to the last chapter\nof Ezekiel; and they will find an account, not only of the restoration\nof the Jews, and ten tribes, but that the land is actually divided\nto them by inheritance, in their different tribes, according to the\npromise made thousands of years before to Abraham. In the 13th and 14th\nverses of the xlvii. chapter, he refers to this, and says, \"Thus saith\nthe Lord God, This shall be the border whereby ye shall inherit the\nland according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two\nportions. And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another; concerning\nthe which _I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers_; and\nthis land shall fall unto you for an inheritance.\" Thus we find that\nthe promise unto Abraham concerning territory will be literally\nfulfilled. Again, I would refer my readers to the fourteenth chapter\nof Zechariah. I would then turn their attention to the sealing of the\ntwelve tribes mentioned in the seventh chapter of Revelations, where\nthere are twelve thousand out of every tribe sealed; and then ask,\nWhere are these to reign? The answer is, _on the earth_; together with\nthose who have \"washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of\nthe Lamb, out of every nation, and kindred, and people, and tongue.\"\nJesus says, \"Abraham saw my day and was glad.\" What! was he glad to\nsee his people scattered, dispersed, and peeled; Jerusalem trodden\nunder foot, the Jewish nation, temple, and polity destroyed, and his\nseed cursed upon the face of the earth; or was it the second coming\nof Jesus, when they would be restored, Satan bound, the promises made\nto him, and to his seed fulfilled, and misery and sorrow done away;\nfor according to the testimony of Paul, \"all Israel shall be saved.\"\nAbraham's views concerning land and possessions were not the same as\nthose entertained by men in our day; they were not only temporal, but\neternal; and if the world was under the guidance of the same God as\nAbraham, they would be governed by the same principle; and anything\nshort of this is transient, temporary, short lived, and does not\naccomplish the purpose of man's creation.\n\nI cannot conclude this subject better than by giving a quotation from\nP. P. Pratt's \"Voice of Warning.\" \"By this time we begin to understand\nthe words of the Saviour, 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit\nthe earth.' And also the song which John heard in heaven, which ended\nthus: 'We shall reign on the Earth.' Reader, do not be startled:\nsuppose you were to be caught up into heaven, there to stand with the\nredeemed of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, and join them\nin singing, and to your astonishment, all heaven is filled with joy,\nwhile they tune the immortal lyre, in joyful anticipation of one day\nreigning on the earth; a planet now under the dominion of Satan, the\nabode of wretchedness and misery, from which your glad spirit had taken\nits flight, and as you supposed, an everlasting farewell. You might\nperhaps be startled for a moment, and enquire within yourself, Why\nhave I never heard this theme sung among the churches on earth? Well,\nmy friend, the answer would be, because you lived in a day when people\ndid not understand the Scriptures. Abraham would tell you--you should\nhave read the promise of God to him, Gen. xvii. 8, where God not only\npromised the land of Canaan to his seed for an everlasting possession,\nbut also to him. Then you should have read the testimony of Stephen,\nActs vii. 5, by which you would have ascertained that Abraham never had\ninherited the things promised, but was still expecting to rise from\nthe dead, and be brought into the land of Canaan to inherit them. Yes,\nsays Ezekiel, if you had read the xxxvii. chapter of my Prophecies,\nyou would have found a positive promise that God would open the graves\nof the whole house of Israel, who were dead, and gather up their dry\nbones, and put them together, each to its own proper place, and even\nclothe them again with flesh, sinews, and skin, and put his spirit in\nthem, and they should live; and then, instead of being caught up to\nheaven, they should be brought into the land of Canaan, which the Lord\ngave them, and they should inherit it. But, still astonished, you might\nturn to Job; and he, surprised to find one unacquainted with so plain\na subject, would exclaim, did you never read my xix. chapter, from the\n23rd to the 27th verses, where I declare, I wish my words were printed\nin a book, saying, that my Redeemer would stand on the earth in the\nlatter day, and that I should see him in the flesh, for myself, and not\nanother; though worms should destroy this body! Even David, the sweet\nsinger of Israel, would call to your mind his xxxvii. Psalm, where he\nrepeatedly declares that the meek shall inherit the earth for ever,\nafter the wicked are cut off from the face thereof. And last of all, to\nset the matter for ever at rest, the voice of the Saviour would mildly\nfall upon your ear in his Sermon on the Mount, declaring emphatically,\n'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.' To these\nthings you would answer, I have read these passages, to be sure; but\nwas always taught to believe that they did not mean so, therefore I\nnever understood them until now. Let me go and tell the people what\nwonders have opened to my view, since my arrival in heaven, merely\nfrom having heard one short song. It is true, I have heard much of the\nglories of heaven described, while on earth, but never once thought of\ntheir rejoicing in anticipation of returning to the earth. Says the\nSaviour, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; if they will not believe\nthem, neither would they believe, although one should rise from the\ndead.'\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Pp. 48-50. Seventh Edition; Liverpool: F. D. Richards.\nThis is an excellent work, and well worthy of any one's perusal.--J. T.]\n\n\n\nChapter VI.\n------------------\n\nMan's Accountability to God.\n\nThis is a subject which it may be necessary for us to inquire into, in\norder that we may find out how far man is responsible. For if man be\nnot a moral agent, he cannot be responsible for the present position of\nthe world; and it would be unjust in God to punish him for acts that\nwere not his, and for circumstances over which he had no control.\n\nBy a careful examination of the Scriptures, we shall find that man has\nhad certain powers vested in his hands, which he holds subject to the\ncontrol and guidance of the Lord; and that if he has acted without\nthe counsel, guidance, or instruction of God, he has gone beyond the\nlimits assigned him by the Lord, and is as much culpable as a minister\nplenipotentiary of any nation would be who should exceed the limits of\nhis instructions; or a man holding a farm, or vineyard, by a certain\nlease, if he should disregard the conditions of that lease, and destroy\nthe farm, or vineyard; for the earth is the Lord's, and man was put\non it by the Lord. It is not man's possession, only as he holds it\nfrom God. Man's body was given him by God, and also his spirit, for\nthe purpose heretofore mentioned. God had his object in view in the\ncreation of the world and of man (which it is not necessary here to\ninvestigate); and if man is placed as an agent to act for the Lord, and\nalso for himself, and then should neglect the Lord, he would certainly\nbe held responsible to his Creator. That God had an object in view in\nregard to the creation of the world, is evident. Or, why was there a\nconsultation in heaven about it? Why the beautiful regulation of sun,\nmoon, and stars? Why the provision made for the redemption of man\nbefore he came here? For Christ was \"the Lamb slain from before the\nfoundation of the world.\" Why the arrangement of the resurrection?\nthe New Jerusalem, and the reign of Jesus on the earth? Will any one\nsay that all these things were done, and all nature organized in its\npresent beauty, and order, without a design? It would be preposterous.\nIf God has a design in those things, and man by his wilfulness,\nwickedness, corruption, and rebellion, should thwart the design of God,\nand yield himself to another influence, even that of Satan, will he not\nbe held responsible? And whether God has a particular design or not,\ndoes not affect the question particularly; for the earth is the Lord's,\nand man also, and God has a perfect right to dictate what laws he\npleases. That the Lord looks upon the world in this manner is evident\nfrom the words of our Saviour. \"There was a certain householder which\nplanted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a wine-press\nin it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into\na far country. And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his\nservants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.\nAnd the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another,\nand stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first;\nand they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his\nson, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw\nthe son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us\nkill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and\ncast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the Lord, therefore,\nof the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say\nunto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out\nhis vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits\nin their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the\nScriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become\nthe head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous\nin our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be\ntaken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits\nthereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but\non whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.\" Matt. xxi.\n33-44. Here, then, the thing is clearly developd: man's agency; the\nabuse of that agency; the punishment inflicted for that abuse, together\nwith the awful consequences of resistance to the proper authority. \"On\nwhomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder.\" God never\ngave man unlimited control of the affairs of this world; but always\nspeaks of man as being under his guidance, inhabiting his territory,\nand responsible to him for his acts. The world is His vineyard, and\nman is the agent. Hence, when God made man, \"God blessed him, and God\nsaid unto him, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and\nsubdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the\nfowl of the air, and every living thing that moveth upon the earth.\"\nThis, then, was man's dominion, _given him by the Lord_. And the word\ncontinues: \"_And God gave them_ every herb bearing seed, and every tree\nin which is the fruit of a tree.\" These things were given by God; but\nto show his power, and his right to be obeyed, and in order to test\nman, he forbid his eating of a certain tree; and when he did eat of it,\nand thus broke the commandment of God, he thrust him out of the garden,\nand decreed that he \"should eat his bread by the sweat of his brow.\"\n\nAgain, God demanded worship and sacrifices, and when Cain and Abel\noffered them, he received one and rejected the other; and further, when\nCain was wroth on account of his sacrifice not being accepted, the Lord\nsaid to him, \"Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?\nIf thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not\nwell, sin lieth at the door.\" Gen. iv. 5-7. After the destruction of\nthe world, which was in consequence of the people sinning against God,\nhe blessed Noah, and spake to him, and gave him the same dominion\nwhich had been given before to Adam; and Noah offered sacrifices to\nhim. The same recognition of the Almighty's power and authority was\nmanifested by Abraham, Moses, the Children of Israel, and the Prophets;\nby Jesus also, and the primitive Christians. Man was left as a free\nagent with power to act, and vested with certain powers by his Father,\nand responsible to him for his acts, as a son, servant, or agent\nwould be to his father, master, or employer. Perhaps it would be more\ncorrectly conveyed thus:--a man lets or rents a vineyard or farm, the\nman occupying it has a certain agency and discretionary power vested\nin his hands, but always subject to certain conditions imposed by the\nowner of the property. Hence God made a covenant with Noah, Abraham,\nthe Children of Israel, and the primitive saints. The making of a\ncovenant naturally implies two parties: in such cases, God is one,\nthe people the other. If the people fulfil their covenant, the Lord\nis bound to fulfil his; but if man transgresses then the Lord is not\nbound to fulfil his engagement. For instance, in speaking to ancient\nIsrael, he said, \"And it shall come to pass if thou shalt hearken\ndiligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all\nthe commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God\nwill set thee on high above all nations of the earth.\" Deut. xxviii.\n1. He then describes what those blessings are; and further states,\nthat if they do not observe his statutes they shall be cursed. The\nLord set before them blessings and cursings; blessings if they obeyed,\nbut cursings if they disobeyed. Man, then, acts as a moral agent, to\nimprove upon the blessings which God puts within his power, or not, as\nhe pleases; and it is the abuse of this moral agency, which has filled\nthe world with misery and distress.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: This part of the subject is fully explained in the remarks\non the Government of Man, chap. ii.]\n\nMan has lost sight of the object of his creation, and his future\ndestiny; and losing sight of his origin, his relationship to God,\nand his future destiny, he has fallen into the mazes of ignorance,\nsuperstition, and iniquity, and is groping in the dark, and knows\nnot how to conduct himself in this world, or how to prepare for the\nworld to come. For, instead of being governed by the Spirit, Wisdom,\nand Revelations of God, he is governed by the spirit of the Evil One,\n\"the god of this world, who rules in the hearts of the children of\ndisobedience.\" They have left God, and submitted themselves to his evil\nsway, and used that agency which God has given to them, not only in\nrejecting God, but in obeying Satan; and furthering his designs, which\nare in opposition to those of God, the happiness of mankind, and the\nsalvation of the world. I know there are many who will ridicule this\nidea but it is a thing which is plain in the Scriptures. The Apostle\nPaul says, \"The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which\nbelieve not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is\nthe image of God, should shine unto them.\" 2 Cor. iv. 4. And if any man\nthinks he is wise, he has his moral agency and the world before him;\nand if he can improve the situation of the world without God, he has\nample opportunity to display his intelligence.\n\nI would remark, further, that so far from Satan not exercising this\npower over man, he exercises it to such an extent, and he possesses\nsuch an unbounded influence over the human family, that God's purposes\nrelative to man, and the earth, never can be carried out until Satan\nis bound, and cast into the bottomless pit. John says, \"And I saw an\nangel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and\na great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the Dragon, that old\nserpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,\nand cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal\nupon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand\nyears should be fulfilled.\" Rev. xx. 1-3. Here, then, he is described\nas _deceiving the nations_, and his power is curtailed for a season,\nthat he shall not possess it. It is a difficult thing to persuade men\nthat they are deceived; because that very power that deceives them,\ninflates the mind with self-sufficiency and assurance: but who, that\nlooks abroad in the world, and sees the confusion, distress, and misery\nthat abound, will say that man has acted wisely?\n\nMan, then, is a moral agent, possessing the power to do good or to do\nevil; if he does well, he fulfils the measure of his creation, and\nsecures his happiness in time and in eternity. If he does not well,\nand is involved in difficulties and misery, it is his own fault, and\nhe may blame himself. There are many circumstances over which man\nindividually has no control; but I am speaking more particularly of\nnations and the world, and man's moral agency associated with them:\nconcerning individuals, the Lord will make his own arrangements.\nThe Jews are cursed nationally, on account of their fathers'\ntransgression, and cannot remove that curse, as a nation, until the\ntime come. As individuals they can receive the Gospel as well as\nothers. Their fathers committed grievous national offences against\nGod for some length of time, and finally filled up the measure of\ntheir iniquity, in rejecting, and crucifying the Son of God. If\nthey killed the prophets, and stoned those whom God sent, how could\nhe treat with them? He could act no other way consistently than to\n\"destroy those husbandmen, and give the vineyard to others.\" For if\nGod be the proprietor of the vineyard, and has a right to confer\nnational blessings for obedience, he has also a right to visit them\nwith national curses for disobedience. A nation rejecting God and\nhis ordinances, and killing his prophets, and still professing to\nbe his people, act hypocritically, and impose a great curse upon\nposterity. And if men will not acknowledge God, how can they expect\nhim to acknowledge and bless them? Again. There are heathen nations\nenveloped in idolatry; and if millions of people came into the world\nin those places surrounded with idolatry and superstition, it would\nbe unjust for them to be punished for what they did not know. Hence,\nif they have no law, they will be judged without law; and God in his\nown wisdom will regulate their affairs, for it is their misfortune,\nnot their individual offence, that has placed them in their present\nposition. If, however, we could trace their history, we should find,\nas with the Israelites, so with them. Their present darkness and\nmisery originated in a departure from God; and as their fathers did\nnot desire to retain God in their knowledge, he gave them up to their\npresent darkness, confusion, and wretchedness. See Paul's remarks on\nthis subject, Rom. i. 21-25, 28. For nationally, the conduct of fathers\nhas a great influence over their children, as well as in a family\ncapacity. Hence the Jews will be blessed as a nation, in consequence\nof the promises made to Abraham, for as I have said before, these\nare eternal principles; man is an eternal being, and all his actions\nhave a relevancy to eternity. The actions of fathers have a bearing\nand influence on their children, both as families and nations, in\ntime and in eternity. And those great principles that God has his eye\nupon in relation to the nations, and to the world, will certainly be\naccomplished. Hence the stimulus to excite men to tread in the steps\nof Abraham, that like him they may obtain blessings for themselves\nand their posterity. And hence the choice of Abraham by the Lord.\nThe Lord said, \"I know him that he will command his children and his\nhousehold after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord.\" Gen.\nxviii. 19. And why did the Lord feel anxious about this? Because of\nhis own purposes in relation to the earth, and because of his parental\ncare of the bodies and spirits of man. For there are matters of great\nimportance associated with these things, as before referred to; and the\nLord has felt very anxious, for the perpetuation of correct principles.\nSo strong were his feelings in relation to this matter, that he gave\nthe following law to the children of Israel: \"If thy brother, the son\nof thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom,\nor thy friend which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying,\nLet us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor\nthy fathers; namely, of the gods of the people which are round about\nyou, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee; from the one end of the\nearth even unto the other end of the earth; thou shalt not consent unto\nhim, nor hearken unto him; neither shalt thine eye pity him, neither\nshalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him; but thou shalt surely\nkill him; thine hand shall be first upon him, to put him to death, and\nafterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with\nstones, that he die, because he hath sought to thrust thee away from\nthe Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from\nthe house of bondage.\" Deut. xiii. 6-10. Here, then, it is stated,\nthat if brother, son, wife, or any one, wish to lead thee from God,\nthou shalt destroy them; and why? Because in forsaking God, they lose\nsight of their eternal existence, corrupt themselves, and entail misery\non their posterity. Hence it was better to destroy a few individuals,\nthan to entail misery on many. And hence the inhabitants of the old\nworld and of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, because\nit was better for them to die, and thus be deprived of their agency,\nwhich they abused, than entail so much misery on their posterity, and\nbring ruin upon millions of unborn persons. And having thus deprived\nthem of their agency to act upon the earth, and punished them for their\ntransgressions, Jesus went \"and preached unto the spirits in prison;\nwhich sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God\nwaited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing.\" 1 Peter\niii. 19, 20.\n\nIt is upon this principle that the world will be punished in the last\ndays for their transgressions, because they have abused their agency,\nand broken the covenant that God made with them. They have yielded to\nthe influence of Satan, perverted the designs of Jehovah, and brought\nupon themselves and posterity a curse, misery, and ruin. If any thing\nfurther is desired upon this subject, Isaiah has described it plainly,\nand has shewn the awful effects of an abuse of this moral agency and\ndeparture from God, and the breaking of this covenant. To him I refer\nthe reader as a conclusion on this subject. \"Behold, the Lord maketh\nthe earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and\nscattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the\npeople, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master;\nas with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the\nseller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of\nusury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly\nemptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word. The\nearth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away,\nthe haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled\nunder the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws,\nchanged the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath\nthe curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate:\ntherefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.\"\nxxiv. 1-6.\n\n\n\nChapter VII.\n------------------\n\nThe Lord's Course in the Moral Government of the World.\n\nWe will now enquire, What part the Lord has ever taken in the moral\ngovernment of the world. In the last chapter I shewed that man has a\nmoral agency; acting under the Lord, and is, consequently, responsible\nto him for his acts, as a moral agent. But does he leave him alone and\nunassisted to carry out his designs? No. Looking upon man as his son,\nhe has from time to time offered his services and instructions, as a\nfather. He has given revelations, instructing and warning his people.\nHe has given promises to the obedient, and threatened the disobedient.\nHe has instructed kings, rulers, and prophets. He has also protected\nthe righteous, and punished, by judgments, the wicked. He has promised\nto Abraham and others lands and possessions. He has held out promises\nof eternal life to the faithful; but has never coerced or forced the\nhuman mind. He destroyed the inhabitants of the old world because they\nhad corrupted themselves. He did not govern their minds; they might\nforget God, \"and every thought of their hearts be only evil, and that\ncontinually;\" but the earth was the Lord's, and he was the Father of\nour spirits; and although man had an agency to propagate his species,\nit was given him by God; and if he was so blind as to corrupt himself,\nand entail misery upon millions of unborn beings, the God of the\nuniverse, \"the Father of Spirits,\" had a right to prevent him. And if\nhe was prostituting the use of those faculties given him by God, to\nthe service of Satan, and abusing the liberty which his Creator had so\nliberally given, although the Lord could not control the free action\nof his will, he could destroy his body, and thus prevent him from\ncursing posterity. Hence, if a man transgresses the laws of the land,\nhe is considered a bad member of society, and is punished accordingly;\nsometimes imprisoned; sometimes banished; and sometimes put to death.\nLegislators assign as a reason for these things, that such persons are\ninjurious to society; that if crime was not punished, the virtuous and\ngood would be abused; the wicked would triumph; character, life, and\nproperty would be insecure; and anarchy, confusion, and desolation\nwould inevitably ensue.\n\nI would here ask, If man acts upon this principle, has not God a right\nto do so with the affairs of his government? Or should we arrogate\nto ourselves privileges that we will not allow the Lord to possess?\nUpon this principle the Devil and his angels were cast out of heaven.\nThe devil having his agency, as well as man, came here, and sought\nto destroy the works of God; and succeeded so far as to obtain an\ninfluence over man's spirit, and bring his body into subjection to\nhis agency; and if man was so ungrateful and corrupt as to yield to\nhis influence, and obey his agency, God had as much right to punish\nhim as he had the Devil; and as he cast the Devil and his angels out\nof heaven, he also cut man off from the earth, and thus punished\nthe \"spirits that were disobedient in the days of Noah.\" Satan, in\nheaven, had no power over those spirits; but when they came to earth,\nhe gained an ascendency over them, and not having a body himself,\nmade use of their bodies to corrupt the world, and thus thwart the\ndesigns of Jehovah; they must therefore bear the consequences of\ntheir disobedience. And if I am asked by a sceptic why God destroyed\nso many human beings, I answer, this was God's government, they had\ntransgressed his laws, were traitors to him, and he had a right to\npunish them, as I before stated, to prevent them from bringing ruin\nupon others, and perpetuating this misery of the human family, in time,\nand in eternity.\n\nThe Lord has given laws, and although he has not forced man to keep\nthem, nor coerced his will, yet he has punished him for disobedience,\nas a father would a son. A father of a child can teach that child\ncorrect principles; but unless he controls or confines the body,\nhe cannot force that child to observe them; he can punish him for\ndisobedience, however, and thus exert a moral or physical influence\nover him. Our Father does the same. He punished the inhabitants of\nSodom and Gomorrah, Babylon, Ninevah, Jerusalem, and many other cities,\nand will punish the world on the same principle.\n\nAgain: he has offered rewards, and given them to the faithful, such as\nNoah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; he protected the Children of Israel,\nand blessed them with temporal and national prosperity, when they\nserved him, and punished their enemies; and he would have extended his\nblessings to the world, if they would have been obedient to him. The\nLord has used these influences; but never coerced the will. Hence Jesus\nsaid to the Jews, \"How often _would I_ have gathered you together as a\nhen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and _ye would_ not.\" God\nwould have benefitted them, but they would not be benefited. Again,\nthe Prophet says, \"Because _I have called_, and ye _refused_, I have\nstretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought\nall my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your\ncalamity; I will mock when your fear cometh.\" Prov. i. 24-26. These\nthings clearly prove that man is a free, moral agent, and that God\nnever has controlled the human mind, and that, consequently, if man is\nfound in a state of wretchedness, degradation, and ruin, he has himself\nto blame for it, and not the Lord. The Lord would have given him his\ncounsel if he had sought it; for he _did_ instruct men of God formerly,\nand gave them laws, and ordinances; and he told his people that if\nthey called upon him \"in the day of trouble, he would hear them;\" and\nJames says, \"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth\nto all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.\"\ni. 5. When the Children of Israel served God and obeyed him, they\nacknowledged his authority, and said, \"The Lord is our judge; the Lord\nis our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us.\" Isaiah xxxiii.\n22. If the Children of Israel had been obedient, and this principle\nhad extended over the earth, we should have had the Kingdom of God\nestablished on the earth, and universal peace and happiness would have\nprevailed. But man's corruption and degeneracy have destroyed the\nworld, and nothing but the wisdom, power, and blessings of God can\nrestore it.\n\n\n\nChapter VIII.\n------------------\n\nWhose Right Is It to Govern the World? Who Has Governed It?\n\nHaving traced out in the preceding chapters the nature of man, his\ndestiny and parentage, spiritual and temporal; what his object is in\nbeing here; what his relation to this earth is; his moral agency; and\nshown that God has never controlled his actions; we will next enquire\na little about the earth; whose right it is to govern it; and who has\ngoverned it.\n\nIt will not be necessary to say a great deal here about the earth,\nand its organization, for we have touched on this subject before, and\nit is one about which there should be no dispute among believers in\nthe Bible. I will briefly state, that Paul says, \"For by him were all\nthings created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and\ninvisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or\npowers: all things were created by him and for him.\" Colos. i. 16. This\nbeing the case, without further investigation, we will examine whose\nright it is to govern it. If the world be the Lord's, he certainly\nhas a right to govern it; for we have already stated that man has\nno authority, except that which is delegated to him. He possesses a\nmoral power to govern his actions, subject at all times to the law of\nGod; but never is authorized to act independent of God; much less is\nhe authorised to rule on the earth without the call and direction of\nthe Lord; therefore, any rule or dominion over the earth, which is\nnot given by the Lord, is surreptitiously obtained, and never will be\nsanctioned by him. I am aware that kings and queens are anointed and\nset apart by their different ministers, according to the different\nforms and creeds of the several countries over which they reign. There\nare two things necessary, however, to make their authority legal, and\nto authorize them to act as God's representatives on the earth. The\nfirst is, that they should be called of God; and the second, that\nthe persons by whom they are anointed are duly authorised to anoint\nthem. First, then, it may be necessary to observe, that, if kings\nand queens are of God's selection, and are his representatives, they\nmust themselves be appointed by him; for if not so, how can they be\nconsidered his representatives? The prophet Hosea complains, that \"they\nhave set up kings, but not by me; they have made princes, and I knew\nit not.\" viii. 4. If they are sent by him, they must understand their\noffice and calling, and the designs of the Lord concerning the people\nwhom they govern, the same as a governor of a province, or a minister\nplenipotentiary, receives his credentials from the prince or court\nwhom he serves. If, then, we examine the position of kings, and their\nrelationship to their divine Sovereign, we shall find that there are\nonly two ways for this calling to be legal. It must have been given,\neither by God, through revelation to the ancestors of the reigning\nkings, and handed down in an unbroken descent to the present time;\nor, otherwise, given by direct revelation, and they set apart by a\nprophet of the Lord God. But no nation, kingdom, or king in existence\nwill acknowledge either of these ways. All the kingdoms that are now\nin existence were founded by the sword, without any respect to God. In\nrelation to their anointing, the question would naturally arise, Who\nauthorised the ministers to anoint those kings and queens? For if the\npersons officiating have not the authority thus to anoint, and set them\napart, to execute God's law and reign over the nations, their anointing\nwill avail them little: it will be merely the anointing of man without\nthe direction and sanction of God.\n\nAuthority to anoint kings and queens, in order that they may be the\nanointed of the Lord, must be given in one of three ways. It must\nfirst, have been given by revelation to the primitive Christian Church,\nauthorising them to administer in this ordinance, and empowering their\nsuccessors to do it; secondly, by direct revelation; or, otherwise,\nit must have been transmitted from the ancient Jews, through a lineal\ndescent. In regard to the first, we find no such record in the New\nTestament; neither Jesus, nor his Apostles, nor any of the seventies,\nnor elders, ever administered in this ordinance, or spoke of it as\nbeing associated with the powers of their ministry. Consequently, no\npower can come from there.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: I am aware that the Roman Catholic ministry will tell\nus, that they have traditionary authority to anoint kings, and to\nperform many ordinances that are not contained in the Scriptures.\nWithout, however, arguing the point of their authority here, I would\nbriefly remark, that in order for the administration to be legal, it is\nnecessary that the kings themselves be called of God; that this call is\nrequisite, as well as the anointing; and that, if they possessed all\nthe power they claim, they have no more right to anoint a man to be\nking, who is not called by God, in one of the two mentioned ways, than\nany officer of state would be authorised to confer an office of trust\nor honor on any individual, the gift of which was vested in the king\nalone, if the king had never appointed the individual. All intelligent\npersons must see that either appointment is illegal, and consequently\nnull and void. The following from a French History, is interesting, and\nneeds no comment: it shows clearly the design of its usage first in\nFrance:--\n\n\"La ceremonie du sacre etait-elle connue en France avant l'inauguration\nde Pepin?\n\n\"R. Non; elle n'avait jamais ete employee: mais Pepin se servit de\ncette ceremonie empruntee des Juifs, inconnue jusqu' alors, pour\nimprimer a la royaute un caractere plus auguste; cette coutume s'est\nperpetuee depuis pour tous les Rois de France. II commenca a regner,\n752, A.D.\n\n_Nouvelle Histoire de France, par Louis Ardent, p. 47. Paris: chez\nCorbet, Libraire Quai des Augustins._]\n\nIn regard to the second position, all Christendom deny present\nrevelation; and thus from their own confession they have not obtained\ntheir authority from that source; and in regard to the third, if\nthere was authority associated with the Jews to ordain kings, the\nChristians certainly could not claim a Jewish rite; for the Jewish\nnation and authority were all destroyed: \"they were broken off because\nof unbelief.\" Rom. xi. 17, 19, 20. The Christians obtained all their\nauthority to officiate from Jesus Christ, and not from the Jews.\nWhichever way you look at it, there is no foundation for any such\nauthority, and consequently the anointing is all a farce, for it does\nnot originate with God.\n\nBut here let us enquire a little further, Does God set up Christian\nkings to fight against Christian kings? and Christian subjects to\ndestroy Christian subjects? I know they call upon God; but what to\ndo? In their wars they ask him to destroy one another. This patchwork\ndominion, and mongrel Christianity, although they may be quite feasible\nin the dark, yet they present a curious spectacle when brought into the\nlight of Truth.\n\nIt may be asked, Has not the Lord given authority to kings to reign?\nYes; he has, to two kinds: to one, to accomplish certain purposes that\nhe had in view relative to the nations; to the other, to rule over his\npeople--these were legally called and anointed by him. Of the first\nkind, was Nebuchadnezzar; he had a kingdom and dominion given to him,\nso say the Scriptures, but certainly not to govern God's people, for\nhe made, and caused to be worshipped, a large golden Image; and put\nShadrach, Meschach, and Abednego into a furnace for not doing so. What,\nthen, was his calling? First, it was to govern a wicked and idolatrous\npeople; and secondly, to fulfil the will of God, in the punishment\nof his people. As the people over whom he ruled had given themselves\nup to idolatry, they had an idolatrous king given to them for their\nruler, for the Lord, never having given up his right to govern the\nworld, gives the people kings according to their deserts; and although\nhe may not give them _legal authority as His representatives_, yet\nby his overruling Providence, he places wicked men in a position\nthat they may have power over a wicked nation, both to trouble that\nnation and themselves. Such was the case with Pharaoh, king of Egypt;\nand also with Salmanaser, king of Assyria, when he defied the God of\nIsrael. Such was the case with some of the kings of Israel, in the\nrebellions of that people; and with Belshazzar, king of Babylon, who\nwas eating and drinking with his wives and concubines in the palace\nat Babylon, when the handwriting was seen on the walls, \"God hath\nnumbered thy kingdom, and finished it. Thou art weighed in the balances\nand art found wanting.\" Dan. v. 26, 27. Babylon was destroyed; and\nso fully have the purposes of God been accomplished in relation to\nthat magnificent city, that the place where it then stood is now a\ndesert. And such also will be the case with the nations and kings of\nthe earth, in the last day, as spoken of by Zechariah. \"Behold, the\nday of the Lord cometh . . . . . For I will gather all nations against\nJerusalem to battle . . . . . then shall the Lord go forth and fight\nagainst those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.\" xiv.\n1-3: also read the 39th chapter of Ezekiel. Here, then, is a slaughter\nthe most terrible that could be conceived: the armies actually cover\nthe land, and so dreadful is the slaughter, that they cannot bury the\ndead, so that their stench shall stop the noses of the passers by. The\nfowls of the air are commanded also to assemble, that they may eat the\nflesh of kings, captains, and mighty men; and yet those kings, princes,\nand rulers will, by the providence of God, be given to the people as a\nchastisement, that the Lord may punish both kings and people on account\nof their iniquities. Daniel clearly exemplifies this subject in the\nfollowing words, in speaking of the judgements that should come upon\nNebuchadnezzar. He states, that these judgements were \"to the intent\nthat the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of\nmen, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the\nbasest of men.\" iv. 17. Another duty that wicked kings have to perform\non the earth is, that of being used by the Almighty as a scourge or\nrod to punish nations that are corrupt. Hence when Israel had sinned\nagainst God, and the Lord determined to chastise them, he told them,\nthrough his prophets, that he would punish them by Nebuchadnezzar, King\nof Babylon. Accordingly, Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem, and\ntook the Children of Israel captive to Babylon, with the vessels of\nsilver and gold belonging to the Temple. And God afterwards punished\nBabylon for its transgressions; Cyrus, king of Persia was raised up by\nthe Lord to chastise it.\n\nBut did either of these kings govern God's people? or were they\nordained by the Lord? No, only as his sword to execute his judgements\non the nations. Such, also, were Alexander, Caesar, and others; and\nhence Paul tells the Christians in his day to submit themselves to\nkings and rulers. And why? These men were ordained for a certain\npurpose, and it was not for the Christians to set in order the affairs\nof God's kingdom, nor to regulate the world. The Lord would do that\nin his own time and way; it was for them to wait for the time \"of the\nrestitution of all things.\"\n\nAnother order of kings were those that were anointed to reign over\nGod's people, the children of Israel. Such was Saul, who was anointed\nby Samuel; such also were David and Solomon, and many of the kings\nof Israel. Those kings that were anointed and acknowledged of the\nLord were not only kings but priests. Hence, Saul, when he had sinned\nagainst God, and the Spirit of the Lord was withdrawn, \"enquired of the\nLord, and the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim,\nnor by prophets.\" 1 Sam. xxviii. 6. David also acted as a priest, and\ncould obtain knowledge or revelation from God also, for when Saul was\nrejected, and sought David's life, David called for the ephod, used\nby the priests: see Exodus xxviii. \"And David said to Abiathar the\npriest, bring hither the ephod. Then said David, O Lord God of Israel,\nthy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah\nto destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me up\ninto his hand? Will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard, O Lord\nGod of Israel? I beseech thee tell thy servant. And the Lord said, He\nwill come down. Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and\nmy men up into the hand of Saul? And the Lord said, They will deliver\nthee up.\" 1 Sam. xxiii. 9-12. Here we find David actually enquiring of\nGod for direction, and obtaining information. The Lord had forsaken\nSaul, and would not answer him; but he would and did answer David: see\nalso the xxiii. 2; and xxx. 8; and 2 Sam. ii. 1; v. 19-25; xxi. 1; 1\nChron. xiv. 10-14. From the whole of the above we learn, that David\ntook no step without enquiring of the Lord. Solomon also, acted as a\npriest as well as a king; and it is said of him, that Solomon loved\nthe Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father. And the Lord\ngave him wisdom, and instructed him in the affairs of his kingdom. When\nhe prayed unto the Lord, and asked of him wisdom, God granted him the\ndesire of his heart, and gave him with wisdom, riches and honor. \"And\nJudah and Israel dwelt in safety, every man under his vine and fig\ntree, from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon;\" and when he had\nfinished the temple, he offered his sacrifices, and acknowledged the\nGod of Israel; and he prayed for the nation over which he ruled, not by\nproxy, but himself. \"And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in\nthe presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his\nhands towards heaven;\" and then he uttered a prayer for himself, his\npeople, and nation: see 1 Kings viii. 22. And we read that afterwards\nthe Lord appeared to him, and said unto him, \"I have heard thy prayer\nand thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed\nthis house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and\nmine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. And if thou wilt\nwalk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and\nin uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and\nwilt keep my statutes and my judgements: then I will establish the\nthrone of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David\nthy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne\nof Israel. But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your\nchildren, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I\nhave set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:\nthen will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them;\nand this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of\nmy sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:\nand at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be\nastonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done\nthus unto this land, and to this house? And they shall answer, Because\nthey forsook the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out\nof the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have\nworshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon\nthem all this evil.\" 1 Kings ix. 3-9.\n\nThus, then, these men, delegated and appointed of God, acted as his\nrepresentatives on the earth. They received their kingdoms from him.\nThey were anointed by prophets of God, who received the word of the\nLord concerning them, as in the case of Saul and David; and if they\ndeparted from God, he chastised, or removed them, as in the case of\nSaul and David, and of which the history of the Kings of Israel is a\nstriking example, and faithful commentary. Those that were faithful\namong them sought to know the mind of God, and to carry out his\ndesigns. The greatest, most powerful, and prosperous rule that ever\nexisted among them, as a nation, was that of Solomon, who asked, and\nobtained wisdom from God; and that wisdom as a necessary consequence\nbrought honour, happiness, security, riches, magnificence, and power.\nThus those kings that were righteous, who received their kingdoms from\nthe Lord, went to war, or proclaimed peace by his directions; they\nwere his representatives on the earth, and governed his people as the\nLord's anointed. Yet even the monarchy of the House of Israel was\nnot in strict accordance with the will of God; but originated in the\nrebellion and pride of the children of Israel, who, wishing to be like\nthe nations around them, being dissatisfied with their judges, desired\nof the Lord a king. The following are their words, and the Lord's\nanswer: \"Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together,\nand came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold thou art old,\nand thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like\nall the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give\nus a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord\nsaid unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that\nthey say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have\nrejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the\nworks which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of\nEgypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served\nother gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their\nvoice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner\nof the king that shall reign over them. And Samuel told all the words\nof the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said,\nthis will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will\ntake your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to\nbe his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will\nappoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and\nwill set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make\nhis instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will\ntake your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be\nbakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your\noliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And\nhe will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to\nhis officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants,\nand your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses,\nand put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep; and\nye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of\nyour king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear\nyou in that day. Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of\nSamuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; that we\nalso may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and\ngo out before us, and fight our battles. And Samuel heard all the words\nof the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord. And the\nLord said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king.\nAnd Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.\"\n1 Sam. viii. 4-22.\n\nWe find that this thing was displeasing to the Lord; they resisted the\ncounsel of God; but as they were the Lord's people, he listened to\ntheir requests, and gave according to their desires; he felt bound to\nfulfil his engagements, and, if they would not walk fully by the rule\nthat he required, to give a government of their own asking, which, if\nnot so good as the one he proposed, was nevertheless sanctioned by him;\nand that order once established, those kings set apart, and anointed by\nhim, had a perfect right to look to him for his guidance, which they\ndid, and inasmuch as they performed his will, as his representatives,\nwere blessed of him. For kings could not be blamed for the order that\nexisted, they did not originate the government; it was the people, all\nthey could do was to rule according to the direction of the Lord. But\nthis was not a perfect government. The Lord had his eye on something\nyet more glorious, something in which the salvation, and happiness of\nthe world were concerned; a rule of righteousness, when, not only one\nnation, but the kingdoms and dominions of the whole earth, should be\ngiven to the Son of God; and when all nations, kindreds, people, and\ntongues should serve and obey him; and as the earth belonged to him,\nand the people also, that he should govern them. Such will be the case\nas we shall hereafter show, and a system be introduced that will not\nonly benefit one nation, but that will govern all nations, bless the\nwhole of the human family, and exalt and happify the world. All these\nthings that have existed, are merely temporary arrangements, adapted\nto the weakness, ignorance, and wickedness of the human family, in\nthe times of darkness, and power of Satan. If the above is the case,\nin regard to the best of these governments, even that of the House of\nIsrael, what is the situation of those who are governing, without even\nany pretensions to have received their government and authority from\nGod! It may be asked, What is to be done in this state of things? how\nare they to be regulated? This is worthy of our attention, but as we\nshall devote some time to this hereafter, we will content ourselves\nwith saying, this is God's work, and not man's. He has these things in\nhis hands, and he must arrange them; confusion, revolt, rebellion, is\nnot the way to bring these things about; for if the world is already\nevil, this will only make it worse. Besides, the kings and rulers of\nthe present day are no more responsible than others; they did not make\nthe nations as they are, they found them so; neither are they appointed\nto govern the world, nor do any of them profess it. According to their\nmost extended calculation, their power would be confined to their own\nnations. Some of the kings and queens of the earth seem to be actuated\nby a desire to promote the happiness of the nations with which they\nare associated, and over which they rule. The Queen of England is\nalmost universally beloved by her subjects, and that deservedly; she\nhas been mild and pacific in her course, and her rule and dominion\nhave been as near right as it is possible for a government to be under\nexisting circumstances. If there are evils, she did not originate\nthem, she found them so. She has kept her covenant that she made with\nthe nation, and sought the welfare of her subjects, and they owe her\nfealty, and ought to render to her obedience. And as she, nor no\nmonarch, is set to build up the kingdom of God, or establish universal\nrule, as a monarchy without authority from God, it is perhaps as good\na form as could exist. The Emperor of Russia, with all his faults of\ngovernment, nevertheless possesses many good traits; at any rate he\nseems to reverence the Lord. Some time ago, when the cholera broke out\nin St. Petersburgh, the inhabitants supposed that their wells had been\npoisoned; a large number of people assembled for the purpose, as they\nthought, of finding out, and punishing the aggressors. The excitement\nwas very great. The Emperor, hearing of the tumult, rushed into their\nmidst and said, \"My children, you are mistaken in supposing that the\nwells have been poisoned, and this is the cause of our affliction, this\nis a judgement that has come from God, let us fall down before him,\nand ask him to remove his scourge from our midst;\" whereupon he fell\nupon his knees in the midst of the people, and prayed to the Lord to\nremove the plague from among them. He has a strong impression that God\nhas a work for him to do on the earth; and in this he may be right.\nAlthough he is not delegated to establish the kingdom of God, he may\nnevertheless be appointed as Caesar, Nebuchadnezzar, and others, as a\nscourge to the nations, and so fulfil his destiny, for as we are on\nthe eve of great events, and a fearful doom awaits the nations, some\npowerful means must be made use of, in this as well as in other ages,\nto bring these things about.\n\nSome may remark on the foregoing, Does not Paul say, that \"the powers\nthat be, are ordained of God?\" Yes, and so say I; but all powers\nthat are ordained of God, do not rule for his glory, nor are they\nall associated with his government and kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar and\nBelshazzar were ordained of God, but they were both idolaters. Cyrus\nwas ordained of God; but he was an heathen. God regulates his own\naffairs; and while the world is in a state of idolatry, apostacy, and\nrebellion, he, by his providence, overrules the affairs of the nation,\nas Daniel says, \"to the intent that the living may know that the Most\nHigh ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will,\nand setteth up over it the basest of men.\" Dan. iv. 17. But others will\nsay that Paul tells us \"to be subject to the powers that be.\" So say I.\nGod will establish his own government: the cavillings, rebellions, and\ncontentions of men will not do it; and it is proper for well disposed\npersons to wait the Lord's time, to be peaceable and quiet, and to pray\nfor kings, governors, and authorities. This was what Jeremiah taught\nthe children of Israel to do, \"And seek the peace of the city wherein I\nhave caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for\nit, for in the peace thereof shall you have peace.\" xxix. 7. It is very\nevident, from what has been shown, that there is no proper government\nnor rule upon the face of the earth; that there are no kings who are\nanointed, or legally appointed of God; and that, however much disposed\nany of them may feel to benefit the world, it is out of their power, it\nexceeds the limits of their jurisdiction, it requires a power, spirit,\nand intelligence, which they do not possess. We see, moreover, that\ntumults, commotions, rebellions, and resistance are not the way to do\nit. It requires more wisdom than that which emperors, kings, princes,\nor the wisest of men possess, to bring out of the wild chaos, the\nmisery, and desolation that have overspread the world, that beautiful\norder, peace, and happiness portrayed by the prophets as the reign of\nthe kingdom of God.\n\n\n\nChapter IX.\n------------------\n\nWill Man Always Be Permitted to Usurp Authority Over Men, and Over the\nWorks of God? Will the World Remain for ever Under a Curse, and God's\nDesigns Be Frustrated?\n\nThe above are grave questions, and will necessarily require\nexamination, for they concern the earth and its inhabitants. Their true\nsolution will affect man in time and in eternity. The world cannot\nremain as it is, for the following reasons:--\n\nFirst. It would be unreasonable.\n\nSecondly. It would be unjust.\n\nThirdly. It would be unscriptural.\n\nFourthly. It would frustrate the designs of God, in regard to the\nspirits of the righteous; the dead; the progression of the world, and\nits final exaltation; and also the exaltation of man.\n\nFirst.--It would be unreasonable for man to continue his usurped\nauthority. If God is interested in the welfare of his creatures, he\ncertainly never would permit, without some just cause, the destruction\nof his works, and the misery of his creatures; and we have fully\ndemonstrated, that the world is full of abominations, and evils, and\nthat those evils can only be removed by the interposition of the Lord;\nthat the assumed authority of men, and the Devil, can only be checked\nby a superior power. God holds that power in his hands; he holds the\nlife of the human family in his hands; and the world, notwithstanding\nits rebellion and iniquity, has to be sustained by him from day to\nday. Let him but withdraw his governing and controlling power from the\nearth, and it would wander wildly through space, unblest by the genial\ninfluences of the sun, or clash against some other system, involving\nall creation in ruin: let some slight variation take place in its\ndiurnal motion, and the sea would leave its proper bounds, overflow the\nearth, and millions of the human family would perish. Let even some\nslight variation take place in the atmosphere, and the Lord withdraw\nthe sanitory influences that preserve the earth in its present healthy\nstate, and the murky atmosphere would contain contagion, and disease;\nthe pestiferous air would spread desolation, and death; plague and\npestilence would fill the earth; and millions of foetid loathsome\nbeings would be living, and dying examples, of man's impotency and\nweakness. Even a small insect sent to destroy the grain, accompanied\nwith the blight of the potatoes, such as has already been witnessed,\nwould produce incalculable evil; let these things become more\nuniversal, and the death of the human family must ensue. Even so slight\na thing as too much, or too little rain would produce uncalculated\nmisery.\n\nWhen we contemplate man as he is, a poor worm dependent upon God for\nhis daily bread, and upon how many slight contingencies the brittle\nthread of life is continued, and that the least variation in the\neconomy of God might, in numberless ways, involve the human family in\nruin, and then notice his arrogance, pride, conceit, and rebellion; it\nseems to us mysterious that the mercy of God should be so long extended\nto him; and we can only account for it upon this principle, that God is\ntoo great, wise, powerful, and magnanimous to be moved to anger by the\nimpotent ravings, the empty pride, the little meanness, the swelling\npusillanimity, and the utter helplessness, of the erratic, puerile,\ninsignificant creature, man. He lets him wallow in his corruptions,\ngloat in his misery, and permits him to become a prey to Satan, for\na season, that he may feel the greatness of his fall, the extent of\nhis degeneracy, and the utter ruin that his own course, instigated\nby the powers of the adversary, has brought upon him; that he may\nafterwards learn to appreciate the mercies of God, see and understand\nthe delusion, and be enabled eternally to appreciate the mercies and\ngovernment of God, after having first atoned for his own acts and\ntransgressions. For like a wayward and disobedient child, he will be\nglad to return to his father's house and friendship; and when the\nvision of his mind shall be opened, which, if not done in this world,\nwill be in the world to come, he will be thoroughly disgusted with\nhimself and his acts, and will be glad on any conditions to find an\nasylum with his Father.\n\nThis state of things, then, is merely permitted for a season, to\ndevelop the designs and influences of Satan, and their effects; to\ndevelop the weakness of man, and his incompetency to rule and govern\nhimself without God; to manifest the mercy of God, in bearing with\nman, in the midst of his rebellion; to show man his ingratitude, and\nthe depth of his depravity, in order that he may appreciate more fully\nthe mercy and long-suffering of God, and the purity and holiness\nthat reign in the eternal world. Man has tasted the misery of sin\nand rebellion, and drunk of the cup of sorrow, in order that he may\nappreciate more fully the joy and happiness that spring from obedience\nto God, and his laws. But to think for a moment that man here will\nalways be permitted to subvert the designs of God, and the world be\nfor ever under the dominion of Satan, is the height of folly, and\nonly develops more fully the pride, littleness, and emptiness of man.\nFor notwithstanding man is a weak creature, in comparison to God, yet\nhe has within him the germs of greatness and immortality. God is his\nFather, and though now wandering in darkness, sunk, degraded, and\nfallen, he is destined, in the purposes of God, to be great, dignified,\nand exalted; to occupy a glorious position in the eternal world, and\nto fulfil the object of his creation. Will this design be frustrated\nby the powers of darkness, or the influence of wicked and ungodly men?\nVerily, no. To suppose such a thing, manifests the greatest absurdity,\nwhich can only be equalled by the weakness and ignorance from whence\nit springs. What! God, the author of the universe, and of all created\ngood, suffer his plans to be frustrated by the powers of the Devil?\nShall this beautiful world, and all its inhabitants, become a prey to\nSatan and his influences, and those celestial, pure, principles that\nexist in the eternal world, be for ever banished? Shall the earth still\nbe defiled under the inhabitants thereof, when God is our Father? Shall\niniquity, corruption, and depravity always spread their contaminating\ninfluences, and this earth, that ought to have been a paradise, be a\ndesolate miserable wreck? Shall tyranny, oppression, and iniquity for\never rule? Shall the neck of the righteous always be under the feet of\nthe ungodly? No, says every principle of reason, for the Almighty God\nis its maker. No, echoes the voice of all the prophets, there shall\nbe a restitution of all things. No, say the Scriptures of all truth,\n\"The earth shall become as the Garden of Eden,\" the wicked shall be\nrooted out of it; the time shall come when the Saints shall possess\nthe kingdom, and the earth shall become as the garden of the Lord.\nNo, responds the voice of all the dead Saints, we died in the hope of\nbetter things, etc. No! say our later revelations--\n\n\"The Lord hath brought again Zion;\n\n\"The Lord hath redeemed his people, Israel,\n\n\"According to the election of grace,\n\n\"Which was brought to pass by the faith\n\n\"And covenants of their Fathers.\n\n\"The Lord hath redeemed his people,\n\n\"And Satan is bound, and time is no longer:\n\n\"The Lord hath gathered all things in one;\n\n\"The Lord hath brought down Zion from above;\n\n\"The Lord hath brought up Zion from beneath;\n\n\"The Earth hath travailed and brought forth her strength;\n\n\"And truth is established in her bowels:\n\n\"And the heavens have smiled upon her;\n\n\"And she is clothed with the glory of her God;\n\n\"For he stands in the midst of his people,\n\n\"Glory, and honor, and power, and might,\n\n\"Be ascribed to our God, for he is full of mercy,\n\n\"Justice, grace, and truth, and peace,\n\n\"For ever, and ever. Amen.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, Section 84: 99-102.]\n\nIt is therefore contrary to every principle of reason and intelligence\nto suppose such a thing.\n\nSecondly.--It would be unjust: and \"shall not the Judge of all the\nearth do right?\" But what right would there be in thus permitting\nSatan to usurp the dominion for ever? It would be giving in the first\nplace to Satan that which belongs to God. This earth is not Satan's\ninheritance; it is the Lord Jesus Christ's, he is the rightful owner\nand proprietor. If Satan be indeed the God of this world, and rules in\nthe hearts of the children of disobedience, he is only an usurper. It\nis not his rightful dominion, for all things were created by Christ,\nand for Christ, whether they be principalities, or powers, or thrones,\nor dominions, all these were created by him, and for him, and he only\nhas a right to rule; but Satan has subverted the ways of God, deceived\nthe human family, introduced misery, and confusion, and blighted\nthis beautiful creation with his contaminating curse. As an usurper,\nit would be unjust to permit him to rule; it would be unjust to the\ngovernment of God, for, if God has a right to rule, no other power can\nhave that right, unless it is delegated, and if delegated, still the\nright is vested in the power that delegates.\n\nIt is therefore derogatory to God, for the world to be yielding\nobedience to another power. For while God, not the Devil, provides\nfor, feeds, sustains, and beautifies the Universe, and nourishes the\nmillions of people who inhabit the earth, with his beneficent hand and\nfatherly care;--for him to be neglected and despised, or forgotten, is\nthe height of injustice, and the very climax of perverse ingratitude.\nBut again, it would be unjust to the good and virtuous; this earth is\nproperly the dwelling place, and rightful inheritance of the Saints.\nInasmuch as it belongs to Jesus Christ, it also belongs to his servants\nand followers, for we are told, \"The earth is the Lord's and the\nfulness thereof,\" and that, when things are in their proper place,\n\"the Saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the\nkingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall\nbe given to the saints of the Most High.\" Dan. vii. 18 and 27. It is\ntherefore their righful inheritance, and the usurpation before referred\nto, while it is unjust to God, is also as unjust to his Saints. Who\ncan contemplate the position of the world, as it has existed, without\nbeing struck with this fact, Where has God ever had a people but they\nhave been persecuted? The testimony of God has always been rejected,\nand his people trodden under foot. Paul tells us that they \"were\ntempted, tried, sawn asunder, that they wandered about in sheep skins,\nand goat skins, being destitute, afflicted, and tormented.\" Heb. xi.\n37. And to such an extent had this prevailed among the ancient Jews,\nthat Stephen gravely asks the question, \"Which of the prophets have\nnot your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them, which shewed\nbefore, of the coming of the Just One, of whom ye have been now the\nbetrayers and murderers.\" Acts vii. 52. What did they do with Jesus!\nand what with his followers! We may here ask, Is it right, is it\nproper, is it just, for this state of things to continue? It is true\nthat the saints have had a hope of joys to come, and this state of\ntrial has been permitted for their ultimate good; but although this\nis the case, it does not make the thing the more just. \"It must needs\nbe,\" says Jesus, \"that offences come, but woe to that man by whom the\noffence cometh. It were better for him that a millstone were hanged\nabout his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea,\" than\nthat he should offend one of those little ones. Matt, xviii. \"They\nthat touch you, touch the apple of mine eye.\" He has cried all along,\n\"Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.\" The saints\nhave suffered and endured, but they have done it in the hopes of a\nbetter resurrection; and as they have always looked upon this earth as\ntheir inheritance, to deprive them of this, would be to falsify the\npromises of God unto them, disappoint all their hopes, render inutile\ntheir sufferings and fidelity on the earth; and be to them an act,\nnot only of temporary, but also of eternal injustice. For men of God\nin former days were just as much actuated by the prospect of a reward\nas a merchant, a warrior, a statesman, or any other person in search\nof wealth, honor, or fame. The only difference is, the one sought it\nin this life, the other in the life to come; the one looked for his\nreward here, the other expected it hereafter; the one had no hope\nconcerning the future, the other had; the one was blinded by the God of\nthis world, and knew not his position, or possessed not a nobility of\nsoul sufficient to make him brook the world, and the scorn of men, in\nsearch of a better inheritance; the other understood by revelation his\nrelationship to God, the position of the world, and his high calling,\nand glorious hope; he sought the nearest way to eternal life, scorned\nto be captivated by the world's tinsel show, despised the short-lived\npleasures offered by the god of this world, and possessed magnanimity\nof soul sufficient to lead him to acknowledge the God of the Universe,\nand to brook the scorn of empty fools, and ephemeral philosophers.\nIf persecution's deadly shafts, and superstition's craven hate, were\nlevelled against him, he dared to brook death in all its horrid forms,\nand live and die an honourable man, a true philosopher, a servant of\nGod, and endure as seeing him who is invisible, in the hopes of a\nbetter resurrection. Deprive him of this hope, and you rob the just of\nhis reward, dishonour God, and perpetuate misery and corruption in the\nworld.\n\nThirdly.--As it would be unjust, so also it would be unscriptural. The\nScriptures are full and clear on this subject; they represent Christ as\nbeing the rightful heir, and inheritor of this world; they represent\nhim as having come once to atone for the sins of the world; but that\nhe will afterwards come as its ruler, judge, and king; they represent\nhim as the \"Lord of the vineyard, the rightful heir\" to the earth, and\nas having hitherto been dispossessed; but they again represent him\nas coming to claim his rights, to dispossess the usurpers; to take\nthe authority, to rule, and reign, and to possess his own dominions.\nThey represent the earth as labouring under a curse; but speak also\nof its deliverance therefrom; of its being blighted because of the\ntransgression of man; but that it shall again yield its increase and\nbecome as the Garden of Eden. They represent the whole creation as\ngroaning and travailing in pain, but that the creature also shall be\ndelivered. That the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon all flesh; that\nthe wolf shall lie down with the lamb, the lion eat straw with the ox,\nand finally, every creature that is in the heavens, on the earth, or\nunder the earth, shall be heard to say, glory and honor, and power,\netc. That the law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord\nfrom Jerusalem. That Jerusalem shall become the throne of the Lord,\nand that the dead saints shall live, and reign with Christ, no longer\ndeprived of their rightful inheritance; but as Jesus said when here,\n\"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.\"\n\nIf, then, the Scriptures are not idle phantoms, if their visions, and\nprophecies were not mere phantasies, and written to deceive, we have as\nmuch right to look for these things as we have to believe in any event\nthat has taken place; but lest any of my readers should be ignorant of\nthe Scriptures relative to these subjects, I will give a few passages\nwhich are in themselves as clear and pointed, as any other portion of\nthe word of God.\n\nConcerning Christ being the rightful heir, it is written, \"All things\nwere created by him, and for him, and without him was not anything made\nthat is made.\" He is the \"Mighty God, the everlasting Father,\" &c. \"For\nof him, and from him, and to him are all things.\" \"Thou sayest that I\nam a king, for this end was I born, etc.\" \"Then the Lord shall be king\nover all the earth.\"\n\nThe Jews made a great mistake concerning the coming of Christ before;\nthe Gentiles have made as great a mistake in regard to his second\ncoming. The Jews expected him to come as a temporal deliverer alone,\nand overlooked his sufferings, trials, persecution, and death; the\nGentiles having believed in his sufferings, have lost sight of his\nsecond coming; the promises of God made to the fathers; the redemption\nof the earth, and the kingdom of God. Both are wrong; both believed in\npart; neither in the whole. The Jews, in consequence of their unbelief,\nwere cut off; but when Christ comes again, he will come in the way that\ntheir fathers looked for him, as a King, with power, and authority.\nThe Gentiles having fallen into darkness, have lost sight of the great\npurposes of God, in regard to the redemption of man, and of the world;\nthe restitution of all things, and the coming of Christ to reign. They\nhave so far forgotten themselves, that they are actually fulfilling\nthe prophecy of Peter: \"There shall come in the last days scoffers,\nwalking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his\ncoming?\" 2 iii. 4. But to return: the Scriptures represent Christ as\nthe lord of the vineyard, as the \"heir\" that was killed; as the \"sower\nof the seed\" in the world; as the \"destroyer of the wicked husbandmen;\"\nas coming to \"rule the nations with a rod of iron,\" etc.; and to take\npossession of the kingdom. Daniel says, \"I saw in the night visions,\nand behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven,\nand came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before\nhim. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that\nall people, nations, and languages, should serve him; his dominion is\nan everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom\nthat which shall not be destroyed.\" Dan. vii. 13, 14. Zechariah says,\n\"And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which\nis before Jerusalem on the East; and the Mount of Olives shall cleave\nin the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there\nshall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove\ntoward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee\nto the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall\nreach unto Azal; yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the\nearthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah: and the Lord my God\nshall come, and all the saints with thee.\" . . . . \"And the Lord shall\nbe king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and\nhis name one.\" xiv. 4, 5, 9. These and many other things must be\nfulfilled if the Scriptures be true. These designs of God, which were\nthe hope of the ancient Saints, and of which poets sung, and prophets\nwrote, were the consolation of all the faithful Saints, Prophets, and\nPatriarchs,--Jews and Christians. Take these away, and the world, to\nthe Saints, is a miserable blank; the hope of the righteous futile, and\nthe Word of God a farce.\n\nFourthly.--It would frustrate the designs of God, in regard to the\nspirits of the righteous, the dead, the progression of the world, and\nits final exaltation; and also the exaltation of man.\n\nWhen the Lord created this world, as we have already stated, he had\nan object in view, not only in regard to the world, and its future\ndestiny, but also as it regards the spirits which were then in\nexistence. Those great and eternal purposes which our heavenly Father,\nin his consummate wisdom, had in view, when he issued his Divine\nMandate, and this world was created, cannot be frustrated unless he\ncease to be God. And those enlivening hopes which cheered his sons;\nthose spirits that lived with him, when they saw this beautiful orb\nfashioned, this earth made as the place for their habitation, as\ntheir possession, as the place where they should take bodies, where\nthey should live, rule, and reign, not only in time, but in eternity,\nmust not, cannot be destroyed. And yet what avails it all to them, if\nSatan triumph, the wicked rule, and God's kingdom be not established!\nThey could not \"have shouted for joy\" at the prospect of this world\ncontinuing under the dominion of Satan; at the blight, degradation,\nmisery, and ruin that have overspread it. But if we trace the matter\nstill further, and look at the righteous dead, their position would\nbe any thing but enviable under those circumstances. It was the\nhopes of the resurrection that made them endure, and it was God that\nimplanted them in their bosoms; but if they are not raised, and if\nChrist's kingdom is not established, and they do not reign with him,\ntheir hopes are vain, their sufferings useless, and the purposes of\nGod are frustrated. In vain did they bear a faithful testimony in\nopposition to a depraved world; in vain they endured, as seeing him\nthat is invisible; in vain they wandered about in sheep skins, and in\ngoat skins; in vain they looked for a city which hath foundations, as\na recompense of reward; and false and deceptive are the testimonies of\nall the prophets who have testified of the restitution of all things,\nfrom the foundation of the world. Take away this, and our highest, and\nmost exalted hopes are blighted; we live like fools, and die like dogs.\nIf the world is always suffered to continue as it is, then is the hope\nof the righteous vain, the promises of God fail, Satan triumphs, and\nGod's purposes are frustrated.\n\nAll the designs of God concerning this world and the work of creation,\nwere perfected in his mind before this world rolled into existence, or\n\"e'er the morning stars sang together for joy.\" When this world was\nformed, God intended it as the final dwelling place of those bodies\nwhich should inhabit it. And when \"the sons of God shouted for joy,\"\nit was at the prospect of that exaltation, that they would be capable\nof obtaining, in consequence of this creation, which they then saw\ncome into existence. And if, as Jesus, they had to descend below all\nthings, in order that they might be raised above all things; still\nthis was the medium, or channel, through which they were to obtain\ntheir ultimate exaltation, and glorification. It was by the union\nof their spirits, which came forth from the Father as the \"Father\nof Spirits,\" with earthly bodies, that perfect beings were formed,\ncapable of continued increase and eternal exaltation; that the spirit,\nquick, subtle, refined, lively, animate, energetic, and eternal, might\nhave a body through which to operate, that might be compared to the\nsteam, to an engine; the electric fluid to the telegraphic wire; for,\nnotwithstanding that spirit, steam, or electricity are the powerful,\nquickening, energetic principles, employed; yet without the engine,\nthe telegraphic wire, or the matter, they would be comparatively\nuseless; these elements might wander in empty space; spend their force\nat random, or remain dormant, or useless, without those more tangible,\nmaterial objects, through which to exercise their force. When steam\nwas first applied to practical purposes; when the operation of the\nmagnetic needle, and the mode of communication through the electric\ntelegraph, were discovered; when railroads and steam boats were first\ninvented, something of importance was discovered, and of great value to\nthe human family. The men who made these discoveries and applications\nare deservedly looked upon at the present time as men of great genius,\nand as the benefactors of the world; but what was it they did? They\ndid not create the elements, those already existed: steam, magnetism,\nelectricity, iron, coals, water, existed before, and had existed from\nthe beginning of creation. What was it these geniuses discovered? It\nwas simply a method of organizing this matter, the making use of gross\ninanimate materials to confine the more subtle, refined, elastic,\nenergetic, and powerful, that their combined power and energy might\nbe brought into effect; and that through the union of two powerful\nagencies, which had lain dormant, their forces might be united, and be\nbrought into active and powerful operation. Thus, then, was the body\nformed as an agent for the spirit. It was made of grosser materials\nthan the spirit, which proceeded from God, but was necessary as an\nhabitation for it that, it might be clothed with a body, perfect in\nits organization, beautiful in its structure, symmetrical in its\nproportions, and in every way fit for an eternal intelligent being;\nthat through it, it might speak, act, enjoy, and develop its power,\nits intelligence, and perpetuate its species. Hence as the discoveries\nof those geniuses already referred to, were hailed with pleasure by\nthe inhabitants of the world, on account of the benefits conferred\nupon men, so when God created this earth, and organized men upon it,\n\"the morning stars sung together for joy;\" they looked upon it as God\nlooked upon it, as a work perfect, magnificent, and glorious, through\nwhich they saw their way to exaltation, glory, thrones, principalities,\npowers, dominions, and eternal felicity. They had the intelligence\nbefore, but now they saw a way through which to develop it. Through the\nworld's great Architect, their Father, they discovered a plan fraught\nwith intelligence and wisdom, reaching from eternity to eternity,\npointing out a means whereby, through obedience to celestial laws, they\nmight obtain the same power that he had. And if, in fallen humanity,\nthey might have to suffer for a while, they saw a way back to God, to\neternal exaltations, and to the multiplied, and eternally increasing\nhappiness of innumerable millions of beings. And if, as Jesus, they had\nto descend below all things, it was that they might be raised above all\nthings, and take their position as sons of God, in the eternal world;\nthat overcoming the world they might sit down with Christ upon his\nthrone, as he overcame and sat down upon the Father's throne. Rev. iii.\n21.\n\nBut again; this creation is unlike the works of man, which, however\nexcellent, and useful, all bear the marks of humanity, all are more\nor less imperfect in their structure, and liable to a thousand\ncontingences, are more or less clumsy, cumbrous, and unwieldy, and must\nbe governed by numerous very limited laws; as for instance, you can\nconvey intelligence, but it must be exactly on the line of the electric\nwire, you cannot go beyond its limits; you can make an engine work,\nbut it must be stationary; or if moving, must be confined to rails,\ndepth of water, and a thousand other contingences. None of these things\npossess intelligence, nor the principles of life within themselves,\nneither can they impart, nor perpetuate it to others, they are merely\nmachines, to be acted upon by man, and without man they cease to exist;\nwhen one is worn out, or broken, another must be made at the same\ntoil and labour; possessing not the principles of life, they cannot\nimpart their likeness; whereas man, beasts, fish, fowl, and all the\nanimate works of God can. Man's works in comparison with God's, are\nlike comparing a child's wooden horse to the beautiful creature God has\nmade, or rather his penny whistle to the music of heaven, or the larger\nboy's billiards to the motions of the planetary system. They possess no\nintelligence, no powers, no reflection, no agency. The works of man are\nmerely made to be acted upon; are short lived, temporary, perishable\nthings. Man, however, bears the impress of Jehovah, is made after his\nimage, in his likeness, and possesses the principles of intelligence\nwithin himself, and the medium of conveying it to others. He possesses\nalso, power to perpetuate his species, as also to communicate his\nthoughts, his intelligence, genius, and power to others, that are\nformed like him. He received his intelligence, his spirit, from God, he\nis a part of himself,\n\n    A spark of Deity\n    Struck from the fire of his eternal blaze;\n\nhe came from God as his son, he bears the impress of Jehovah, even\nin his fallen degenerate corrupted state. His powerful intellect,\nhis stately genius, his grasping ambition, his soaring, and in many\ninstances, exalted hopes, display, though he be fallen, the mark of\ngreatness; he bears the impress of Deity and shows that he is of divine\norigin.\n\nUnlike the works of man, the work of God in relation to this earth was\ndestined to be eternal, not subject to be controlled by any little\ncontingences; nor was it dependent upon fluctuation, or change. Man's\nworks might fluctuate, change, or be destroyed, but not so with God's,\nthey were, and are eternal; eternal mind, and eternal matter; organized\nand created according to the unsearchable intelligence of that eternal\nunfathomable mind; that fountain of intelligence, forethought, wisdom,\nand energy, that dwells with God. And this earth, and man in their\ndestination, and all the works of this creation, are as unchangeable\nas the sun, moon, or stars, and as unalterable as the throne of God.\nSatan may deceive men, for a season; their minds may be blinded by the\ngod of this world, but God's purposes will be unchanged. Who is Satan?\nA being powerful, energetic, deceptive, insinuating; and yet necessary\nto develop the evil, as there are bitters, to make us appreciate the\nsweet; darkness, to make us appreciate light; evil and its sorrows,\nthat we may appreciate the good; error that we may be enabled to\nappreciate truth; misery, in order that we may appreciate happiness.\nAnd as there are in the works of creation opposing, mineralogical\nsubstances which in chemical processes are necessary to develop certain\nproperties of matter, and produce certain effects; as fire is necessary\nto purify silver, gold, and the precious metals, so it is necessary to\ninstruct, and prepare man for his ultimate destiny--to test his virtue,\ndevelop his folly, exhibit his weakness and prove his incompetency\nwithout God to rule himself or the earth; or to make himself happy or\nexalt himself in time, or in eternity. But again, who is Satan? He is a\nbeing of God's own make, under his control, subject to his will, cast\nout of Heaven for rebellion; and when his services can be dispensed\nwith, an angel will cast him into the bottomless pit. Can he fight\nagainst and overcome God? Verily, No! Can he alter the designs of God?\nVerily, No! Satan may rage; but the Lord can confine him within proper\nlimits. He may instigate rebellion against God, but the Lord can bind\nhim in chains.\n\nShall the purposes of the Lord be frustrated? Verily, No! The nations\nof the earth may be drunken, and rush against each other like\ninebriates; but the Lord's purposes are unchanged. Thrones may be cast\ndown, kingdoms depopulated; and blood, sword, and famine may prevail,\nyet the Lord lives, and will accomplish his own designs. Man may\nforget God, but God does not forget man: man may be ignorant of his\ncalling, but not so with God. Man may not reflect upon the designs of\nGod, in relation to this earth, but God must and does; and if in man's\nmadness, his infidelity, his hypocrisy, or his ignorance, he cannot\nfind time here to reflect upon these things, he will find ample leisure\nhereafter, and the purposes of God will roll on; and perhaps when he\nshall be preached to, as the rebellious Antediluvians, after receiving\nthe punishment of his deeds, he may know something more of the power,\njustice, and purposes of God, and be glad to hear the Gospel in prison\nwhich he rejected on this earth. But to suppose that the purposes of\nGod will be frustrated in relation to his designs in the formation of\nthis earth, is altogether folly. They will roll on as steadily as the\nsun or moon in their courses. And as surely as we look in the east for\nthe rising of the sun in the morning to display his gorgeous glory,\nlight up the beauties of creation, and waken sleepy man; so surely\nwill \"the sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings,\" so\nsurely will the sleeping dead burst from their tombs, and the glorified\nbodies with their spirits re-unite, so surely will a reign of justice,\ntruth, equity, and happiness--the reign of God, supersede the barbarous\noppression, and corrupt governments of this world, so surely will that\nlong night of darkness, ignorance, crime, and error be superseded\nby the glorious day of righteousness; and so surely will this earth\nbecome as the Garden of the Lord, the kingdom and reign of God be\nestablished, and the Saints of the Most High take the kingdom and\npossess it for ever and ever. The time of the restitution of all things\nwill be ushered in; the earth resume its paradisiacal glory, and the\ndead and the living Saints possess the full fruition of those things\nfor which they lived, and suffered, and died. These are the hopes that\nthe ancient Saints enjoyed; they possessed hopes that bloomed with\nimmortality and eternal life; hopes planted there by the Spirit of\nGod, and conferred by the ministering of Angels, the visions of the\nAlmighty, the opening of the Heavens, and the promises of God. They\nlived and died in hopes of a better resurrection. How different to the\nnarrow, conceited, grovelling views of would-be philosophers, of sickly\nreligionists, and dreaming philanthropists!\n\nTherefore, as we have said, anything short of this would render inutile\nthe hopes of the Saints; would fail to accomplish the expectation of\nmillions of spirits; and cause Satan to triumph, and frustrate the\ndesigns of God. This earth, after wading through all the corruptions\nof men, being cursed for his sake, and not permitted to shed forth\nits full lustre and glory, must yet take its proper place in God's\ncreations; be purified from that corruption under which it has groaned\nfor ages, and become a fit place for redeemed men, angels, and God to\ndwell upon. The Lord Jesus will come and dispossess the usurper; take\npossession of his own kingdom; introduce a rule of righteousness; and\nreign there with his Saints, who, together with him, are the rightful\nproprietors.\n\n\n\nChapter X.\n------------------\n\nWill God's Kingdom Be a Literal or a Spiritual Kingdom?\n\nIt would be almost unnecessary to answer such a question as the\nabove, were it not for the opinions that are entertained in the world\nconcerning a purely spiritual kingdom, particularly as in a preceding\nchapter I have clearly pointed out a literal kingdom, rule, and reign.\nBut I have introduced this merely to meet some questions that exist\nin the minds of many, relative to a spiritual kingdom, arising from\ncertain remarks of our Saviour's, where he says, \"My kingdom is not of\nthis world;\" and again, the \"kingdom of heaven is not meat and drink,\nbut righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost;\" and again,\n\"the kingdom of God is within (or among) you.\"\n\nThe kingdom of God, as I have already stated, is the government of\nGod, whether in the heavens, or on the earth. Hence Jesus taught his\ndisciples to pray, \"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as\nit is done in heaven.\" And when the kingdom of God is established on\nthe earth, and prevails universally, then will the will of God be done\non earth, and not till then; then will the reign of God exist on the\nearth, as it now does in heaven. It is this reign we are speaking of,\na reign of righteousness. But whenever God's laws are established,\nor his kingdom is organized, and officers selected, and men yield\nobedience to the laws of the kingdom of God; to such an extent does\nGod's kingdom prevail. John preached the kingdom of God, or, heaven\nnigh at hand. Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven is within you. Jesus\ncompared the kingdom of heaven to a husbandman who sowed wheat, and\nwhen he went to his field, he found tares also. Matt. xiii. Now what\nwas this field? The field was the world, or in other words, God's\nrightful possession, where he ought to govern; the good seed are the\nchildren of the kingdom, or those who receive and obey the laws of the\nkingdom of heaven. The tares are the children of the wicked one; or\nthose who rebel against God and his laws. The tares are to be gathered\nout of his kingdom, and burned; and then are the righteous to shine as\nthe sun in the kingdom of their Father. Again, the kingdom of Heaven\nis likened unto a treasure that a man found in a field, and sold all\nhis possessions, in order that he might possess himself of that field\nand treasure; and a pearl of great price, for which a man did likewise;\nthus Abraham, Noah, Lot, Moses, and many of the Prophets purchased this\ntreasure at the sacrifice of all things. And why? They discovered the\npearl, the treasure, and had respect unto the recompense of reward;\nenduring as seeing him who is invisible. And what was it all for? For\nthe purpose of obtaining present blessings, earthly enjoyments, the\npleasures of sense? No! they all died in faith _not having_ received\nthe promises; but having seen them afar off; they knew of the treasure,\nand sold all for it; they \"looked for a city which hath foundations,\nwhose builder and maker is God.\" Wherefore it is said, God is not\nashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city.\nThey looked for a reign of righteousness--the government of God--they\nwere inspired with the same hope as that of all the Prophets who had\nprophesied since the world begun, viz., the hope of the restitution\nof all things. John the Baptist, and Jesus would have introduced the\nkingdom; but the people would not have it; still, as the apostle John\nsays, to as many as did believe, \"to them gave he power to become the\nSons of God, even to them that believe on his name.\" John i. 12. They\nbecame sons of God. Yes, say some spiritually, and I say literally\ntoo. They made a literal covenant with God to keep his laws; they were\nadministered to literally by officers of the kingdom of God; they\nbelieved literally; were baptised literally, and received the gift of\nthe Holy Ghost literally; and became literally the servants or sons of\nGod. But what was their hope? Was it in this world? Yes, but not at the\npresent. They expected the promise of Jesus to be fulfilled to them:\n\"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.\" And they\nlooked, with Peter, and all the ancient Saints, for a new Heaven and a\nnew Earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. They looked with Paul, and\nthe Saints to whom he wrote, for a kingdom, not ariel or visionary, but\none \"which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.\"\n\nThe world, as we have before stated, although it belongs to God, has\nnever been under his control. His vineyard has brought forth briars\nand thorns; tares have been sown in his field; but there has been some\nwheat, and that wheat represents the children of the kingdom, who\nhave kept his laws and observed his ordinances; and wheresoever the\nlaws of his kingdom have been observed, in the same proportion has\nhis kingdom prevailed. Christ, therefore, organized his kingdom with\nApostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists, etc.; officers and\nadministrators of his laws, which laws were given by the Lord; they\nbaptized for the remission of sins, laid on hands for the gift of the\nHoly Ghost, and introduced members into the kingdom of God on earth,\nand as they were empowered to bind on earth, and in heaven, to seal on\nearth, and in heaven, these persons, not only became members of the\nChurch here, but also of the kingdom of heaven, and participators in\nall its blessings here and hereafter. They were now Sons of God; but\nit did not fully appear yet what they should be, only they should be\nlike him. If he conquered death, so should they; if he overcame, so\nshould they; if he sat down upon his Father's throne, he would give to\nthem that overcame, power to sit down upon his throne, as he overcame\nand sat down upon his Father's throne. And if Jesus comes to reign on\nthe earth, he will also bring his Saints with him, and they shall live\nand reign with him. These things are spiritual, but they are literal;\nthey are temporal, but they are also spiritual and eternal. Hence with\nGod all things are temporal; all things are spiritual; and all things\nare eternal. These are only our phrases to specify certain ideas,\nwhich ideas in themselves are very often incorrect: we have bodies and\nspirits, but it takes both to be a perfect man. We talk about time and\neternity,--what is time? A portion of eternity; eternity was, before\ntime was, and will continue to exist when time shall be no more.\nSpiritual and temporal things are only so, as we form ideas of them.\nWhat is our body?--temporal, material? Yes, matter; but the matter of\nwhich it is made is eternal, and it will yet be spiritual like unto\nChrist's glorious body. What is our spirit?--material, spiritual and\neternal also? But more subtle and elastic than our corporeal bodies.\n\nHaving said so much on this subject, we now come to some of our\nquestions. \"The kingdom of Heaven is not meat and drink, but\nrighteousness, and peace, and joy, in the Holy Ghost.\" What are\nwe to understand by this? that righteousness composes a kingdom?\nRighteousness is an attribute, a principle, a state of being, not a\ngovernment; peace and joy are the result of this attribute. God is\nrighteous, and consequently righteousness flows from him. There may\nbe also a righteous man; but we do not say that God is a kingdom,\nor that a righteous man is a kingdom, but that the kingdom of God\nis a righteous kingdom. You can say a righteous kingdom, a kingdom\nof righteousness; but you cannot say righteousness is a kingdom. A\nkingdom may be governed by righteous laws; its laws may be righteous,\nits administrators righteous, its people righteous; but to say\nrighteousness is a kingdom, is nonsense. The kingdom of God is a\nrighteous kingdom; it is made up of higher enjoyments than eating\nand drinking; it is more refined and elevated; it is a kingdom of\nholiness, virtue, purity; of \"righteousness, and peace, and joy in the\nHoly Ghost,\"--principles that exist in part now, as far as the kingdom\nextends. When the kingdom of God is universal, it will, like the\nkingdom in the heavens, be all \"righteousness, peace, and joy in the\nHoly Ghost;\" yet, it will have its laws, officers, and administrators,\nand will be a literal, tangible thing. The Spirit of the Lord shall be\npoured upon all flesh; the will of God will be done on earth as it is\nin heaven, and the joy and peace which result from righteousness, will\nbe experienced by all the world. What did Jesus mean, then, when he\nsaid, \"The kingdom of Heaven is within you,\" or \"among you\" (marginal\nreading.) Luke xvii. 20, 21. There certainly must be some mistake\nhere, for Jesus was speaking to Pharisees, whom he had denounced as\ncorrupt men, hypocrites, whited walls, painted sepulchres, etc. Now,\nwho will say they had the kingdom of God within them? The kingdom of\nGod was among them. And it did not come with observation, nor with\nostentation or pomp; they might have seen it, but their eyes were\nblinded, that they could not see; their ears were stopped that they\ncould not hear. Many of us suppose that if we had lived in their day,\nwe should have recognized it among the miracles, signs, and powers that\nwere manifested by him. But Jesus said, \"My sheep hear my voice, and\nknow me, and follow me, but others do not.\" If any man do his will,\nsays Jesus, \"he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God, or\nwhether I speak of myself.\" John vii. 17. But if they do not, what\nthen? They have eyes, but see not; ears, but hear not. The God of this\nworld blinds their eyes, lest the light of the gospel should shine in\nupon them. Jesus says, \"Except a man be born again; he cannot see the\nkingdom of God.\" And \"except he is born of water and the spirit, he\ncannot enter into it.\" John iii. 3 and 5. It therefore cometh not with\nobservation; the Scriptures are clear on the point, and show to the\nlast that when God's kingdom shall be more fully established on the\nearth, the inhabitants of the earth will be as ignorant of it as the\nJews were, that Jesus was the Messiah; for the nations of the earth,\nwith their kings, will yet be gathered together against the people of\nthe Lord, to battle, when the Lord himself will go and fight against\nthem, and there will be one of the most terrible slaughters that ever\ntook place on the earth. It cometh _not with observation_. It is a\nrighteous kingdom, and righteous men can see it, and appreciate it, and\nthose only.\n\nI have demonstrated, in a preceding chapter, to which I refer my\nreaders, more fully on this subject, that the kingdom of God would be\nliterally established on the earth; it will not be an ariel phantom,\naccording to some visionaries, but a substantial reality. It will be\nestablished, as before said, on a literal earth, and will be composed\nof literal men, women, and children; of living saints who keep the\ncommandments of God, and of resurrected bodies who shall actually come\nout of their graves, and live on the earth. The Lord will be king over\nall the earth, and all mankind literally under his sovereignty, and\nevery nation under the heavens will have to acknowledge his authority,\nand bow to his sceptre. Those who serve him in righteousness will have\ncommunications with God, and with Jesus; will have the ministering of\nAngels, and will know the past, the present, and the future; and other\npeople, who may not yield full obedience to his laws, nor be fully\ninstructed in his covenants, will, nevertheless, have to yield full\nobedience to his government. For it will be the reign of God upon the\nearth, and he will enforce his laws, and command that obedience from\nthe nations of the world which is legitimately his right. Satan will\nnot then be permitted to control its inhabitants, for the Lord God\nwill be king over all the earth, and the kingdom and greatness of the\nkingdom under the whole heaven will be given to the saints. This may\nproperly be called the day of reckoning, the time when the world's\naccounts will be settled; when things that have been going wrong for\nages, will be put right; when injustice and misrule will no more be\npermitted; when the usurper shall be cast out; when the rightful heir\nshall possess the kingdom; when unrighteousness will be banished, and\njustice and judgement bear sway; when the wicked shall be rooted out\nof the earth, and the saints possess it; when God's designs shall be\naccomplished on the earth, and men resume their proper position. It\nis the fulfilment of the promises of the Lord to his people, or in\nscriptural words, \"The dispensation of the fulness of times, when God\nwill gather together all things in one.\" Satan has had his dominion,\nand has deceived, corrupted, and cursed the human family; but then his\ndominion will be destroyed, and he will be cast into the bottomless\npit; men will no longer be under the influence of his spirit, be\ndecoyed by his wiles, or imposed upon by his deceptions. Religion, and\nthe fear of God, will no longer be painted in dismal colours, or be\ndressed in the sable drapery of sanctimonious priests, or sacerdotal\ngloom; nor yet in the forbidding costumes of hermits, monks, and\nnuns. But, stript of all this religious masquerade, and superstitious\nmummery, the fear of God, and the observance of his laws, will be\nlooked upon in their proper light. God will be seen, feared, and\nworshipped as our Father, Friend, and Benefactor; his laws will be kept\nas being those framed by infinite wisdom, and the most conducive to\nthe happiness of the human family. Virtue, truth, and righteousness,\nwill appear in their native loveliness, beauty, simplicity, glory, and\nmagnificence, for God alone will be exalted in that day.\n\n\n\nChapter XI.\n------------------\n\nThe Establishment of the Kingdom of God upon the Earth.\n\nHow will the kingdom of God be established? We have already shown\nvery clearly, that none of the means which are now used among men are\ncommensurate with the object designed, and that all the combined wisdom\nof man must, and will fail, in the accomplishment of this object; that\nthe present forms of political and religious rule cannot effect it;\nthat philosophy is quite as impotent; and that as these have all failed\nfor ages, as a natural consequence they must continue to fail. We have\nportrayed the world broken, corrupted, fallen, degraded and ruined; and\nshown that nothing but a world's God can put it right.\n\nThe question is, what course will God take for the accomplishment of\nthis thing? and as this is a matter that requires more than human\nreason, and as we are left entirely to Revelation, either past,\npresent, or to come, it is to this only that we can apply. We will\nenquire, therefore, what the Scriptures say on this subject. It is\ncalled the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven. If, therefore, it\nis the kingdom of heaven, it must receive its _laws, organization,_\nand _government,_ from heaven; for if they were earthly, then would\nthey be like those on the earth. The kingdom of heaven must therefore\nbe the government, and laws of heaven, on the earth. If the government\nand laws of heaven are known and observed on the earth, they must be\ncommunicated, or revealed from the heavens to the earth. These things\nare plain and evident, if we are to have any kingdom of heaven, for\nit is very clear, that if it is not God's rule, it cannot be his\n_government,_ and it is as evident that if it is not revealed from\nheaven it cannot be the _kingdom of heaven_. That such a kingdom will\nbe set up is evident from the following, \"And in the days of these\nkings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be\ndestroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people.\" Dan. ii.\n44; and again, \"I saw in the night visions, and behold one like the Son\nof man came with the clouds of Heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days;\nand they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion,\nand glory, and a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages,\nshould serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall\nnot pass away; and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.\"\nDan. vii 13, 14. From the above we learn two things: First--that God\nwill set up a kingdom which shall be universal; and, that that kingdom\nshall not be given into the hands of other people; and secondly--that\nthe Saints of God shall take possession of that kingdom. The Angel\nwhich announced to Mary the birth of Jesus said, \"He shall be great,\nand shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give\nunto him the throne of his Father David; and he shall reign over the\nhouse of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.\"\nLuke i. 32, 33.\n\nIt may not be improper here to notice an opinion that has very\ngenerally prevailed throughout the Christian world, that Christ's\nkingdom was a spiritual kingdom; that it was set up at the time our\nSaviour was upon the earth; and that Christianity as it now exists,\nis that kingdom. After what I have already written on the subject of\na literal reign and kingdom, this would seem superfluous; but as this\nopinion is almost universal in the Christian world, my readers must\nexcuse me, if, in this instance, I digress a little. Several writers in\nthe Catholic church, as well as the Rev. David Simpson, M. A., Bishop\nBurnett, the Rev. John Wesley, and many others among the Protestants,\nhave advocated the above opinion. The substance of their ideas is as\nfollows: that Daniel, by the figure of an image of gold, silver, brass,\niron, clay, in chap. ii.--and by the figures of the four beasts, in\nchap, vii., represented a spiritual kingdom; that this kingdom was set\nup in the days of the Saviour, and his disciples; that Christianity, as\nit now exists, is that kingdom, and that it will become universal over\nall the earth. They state that the four great empires, the Babylonian,\nPersian, Grecian, and Roman, are represented by the head, breast,\nbelly, and legs of the Image, and by the four Beasts, in chapter vii;\nand that the kingdom of God was to be set up under the dominion of the\nfourth, which, as they correctly state, was the Roman. They state,\nmoreover, that the declaration and prophecy of the Angel to Mary,\nabove quoted, were also fulfilled in the first coming of the Messiah;\nin his preaching, in his gospel, and in the organizing of the church,\netc. Many other passages are made to bear the same signification,\nwhich it would be foreign from my present purpose to notice. I have\nreferred to the above, as some of the most prominent. Now, with all\ndeference to the gentlemen who have written on this subject (and\neducation, respectability, and talent, entitle their opinions to some\nrespect) I must beg leave to differ from them, and consider, that in\ntrying to support a favorite dogma, they have been led into error;\nfor it seems to me that nothing can be more foreign to the meaning\nof these scriptures than the above interpretation. Now concerning\nthe four great monarchies being represented as above, I consider it\nis perfectly correct; but to state that the kingdom was to be set up\nunder the fourth monarchy, or under the dominion of the fourth beast,\nis stretching the thing too far; and putting a construction upon it\nwhich it evidently will not bear. The text reads, \"in the days of those\nkings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom.\" The question is, What\nkings? I am answered, during the reign of one of the four; and that\nas Christ came during the reign, and dominion of the Roman empire, it\nevidently refers to that. But let me again ask a question, Under the\nreign of what kings was this kingdom to be set up? Under the reign of\nthe fourth? Verily, No. Let Daniel speak for himself. After describing\nthe fourth kingdom, which was the Roman, which is compared to iron,\nand which in the Image was represented by the legs, he then refers to\nother kingdoms and powers, as being compared to iron and clay. There\nwere also feet and toes, as well as a _body_, which were compared to\npowers or kings. This is clearly exemplified in the seventh chapter of\nDaniel, for after speaking of the four kings, he describes ten horns,\nof which the ten toes in the Image above referred to, are typical.\nThose ten horns, he says, are ten kings. It was, then, in the days of\nthose kings, or while those kingdoms should be in existence, that the\nGod of Heaven should set up a kingdom; and not during the power of the\nfourth kingdom; to which, with any degree of truthfulness, the figure\ncould not apply in either case. But again, it could not apply to the\nfirst coming of our Saviour for the following reasons:--\n\nFirst.--The stone hewn out of the mountain without hands was to smite\nthe Image on the toes; whereas, according to the interpretation of the\ndivines before referred to, the toes were not yet in existence, for\nthey state that this kingdom was set up during the fourth monarchy,\nwhich was the Roman, and which is represented in the legs of the Image.\nNow, as the powers composing the feet and toes were not yet formed,\nhow could the little stone smite that which was not in existence? For\nit will be observed that after the whole Image was made, the stone was\nhewn out of the mountains without hands which smote it.\n\nSecondly.--When this kingdom is set up, it is stated \"it _shall not be\nleft to other people;_\" but we are told in Dan. vii. chap., that after\nthe fourth monarchy which was the time, according to the aforesaid\ninterpretation, for the setting up of the kingdom of God, a certain\n\"horn,\" or king, should make war with the Saints, and prevail against\nthem; and that \"he should think to change times and laws--and that\nthey should be _given into his hand_.\" Nothing can be more obvious than\nthis; for this power, after the first coming of the Messiah, not only\nthinks to change times and laws, but \"they\" are actually \"given into\nhis hand,\" which will not be the case, when the kingdom above referred\nto is set up.\n\nThirdly.--When the kingdom of God was to be set up, it was to be\n\"given to the Saints of the Most High;\" and all nations, kindreds,\npeople, and tongues, were to obey the Lord, which has not taken place,\nand never can under the present state of things.\n\nFourthly.--There is no more similarity between Christianity, as it now\nexists, with all its superstitions, corruptions, jargons, contentions,\ndivisions, weakness, and imbecility, and this KINGDOM OF GOD, as spoken\nof in the Scriptures, than there is between light and darkness; and it\nwould no more compare with things to come, than an orange would compare\nwith the earth, or a taper with the glorious luminary of day.\n\nFifthly.--The kingdom of God, as spoken of by Daniel, was to become\nuniversal, which Christianity has not, and cannot, as it now exists.\n\nSixthly.--The Angel's testimony to Mary has not yet been fulfilled. It\nis stated, that \"The Lord shall give unto him the throne of his father\nDavid, and he shall reign over the House of Jacob for ever, and of his\nkingdom there shall be no end;\" whereas he did not sit upon David's\nthrone, nor does he now; he did not reign over the house of Jacob, nor\ndoes he now, for the ten tribes are yet outcasts; \"the house of Judah\nis scattered and without a king,\" and Jesus himself, when asked to\ndivide an inheritance, demanded, \"Who made me a ruler or king.\" He,\nindeed was a king; \"but in his humiliation his judgement was taken\naway.\"\n\nFrom the whole of the above it is very evident that the kingdom, of\nwhich these divines speak, was not, and could not be the one referred\nto by Daniel, or by the angel to Mary; as we have before stated, it was\na literal kingdom, and not a spiritual one only. I would further remark\nhere, that a certain power was to \"make war with the Saints, and to\nprevail against them until the Ancient of Days came;\" and then, and not\ntill then, was \"judgement given to the Saints of the Most High.\"\n\nWe will now return from our digression, and after stating that the\nkingdom of God is a literal kingdom; that it will be great, powerful,\nglorious, and universal, and that it will extend from sea to sea, and\nfrom the rivers unto the ends of the earth; that all kingdoms will\nbe in subjection to it, and all powers obey it, we will proceed to\nexamine how it will be established. It is compared to a small stone\n\"hewn out of the mountain without hands,\" and yet the God of Heaven\nis to set up this kingdom. Isaiah, in his eleventh chapter, to which\nI refer my readers, in speaking of the establishment of this kingdom,\nsays, \"In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand\nfor an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek, and his\nrest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the\nLord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant\nof his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and\nfrom Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from\nHamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign\nfor the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather\ntogether the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.\"\n10-12. From the above it would seem, that an ensign or standard is to\nbe raised to the nations; that the Gentiles shall seek to it; and that\nthe ten tribes return, as well as the Jews to their land; that the\ndispersed of Judah, and the outcasts of Israel are to return. Now, a\nstandard, or ensign, is a nation's colours, flag, or rallying point;\nit is one of those appendages to a kingdom that is always respected by\nits inhabitants. It is used in a variety of ways, and for different\npurposes; sometimes by the emperor, king, governor, or general, to\nsignify his presence; sometimes by vessels to specify their nation;\nand sometimes by estates, cities, corporations, or clubs: and always\nby armies and navies, to represent whom they belong to. If a king had\na proclamation to make, and wished to rally his subjects, or try their\nfidelity, he might send a flag, or standard, and all that rallied to it\nwould be considered his liege subjects.\n\nBut here the God of Heaven sets up a standard. The world, as we have\nbefore stated, is his; it is his right to possess it. Satan has held\nthe dominion for some time, and the Lord now comes to dispossess\nhim, to take possession of his rightful inheritance, and to rule\nhis own kingdom. In order to do this, he issues his mandate, makes\na proclamation, lifts up a standard, and invites all to join it.\nThose who do may be considered as his servants, as the citizens of\nhis kingdom; those who do not, as being in opposition to him, his\ngovernment, and laws. As the Father of the human family, as the prince\nand king, he lifts up an ensign, and calls the world's attention. Now\nthe only rational way for the Lord to accomplish this, is to form a\ncommunication with man, and to make him acquainted with his laws. We\ncannot conceive of him thundering from the heavens and terrifying the\ninhabitants of the earth, nor yet sending angels with flaming swords\nto coerce obedience. This would be using physical power to control the\nmind; but as man is a free agent, he uses other means to act upon his\nmind, his judgement, and his will; and by the beauty and loveliness\nof virtue, purity, holiness, and the fear of God, to captivate his\nfeelings, control his judgement, and influence him to render that\nobedience to God which is justly his due; not until these means fail,\nwill others be exercised.\n\nAs the world are ignorant of God and his laws, not having had any\ncommunication with him for eighteen hundred years; and as all those\ngreat and important events must transpire, and as the Lord says he\nwill \"do nothing but what he reveals to his servants the Prophets,\"\nit follows, that there must be revelations made from God; and if\nso, as a necessary consequence, there must be prophets to reveal\nthem to. How did God ever reveal his will, and purposes to Enoch,\nNoah, Abraham, Moses, the Prophets, Jesus, and his Disciples, and\nthey to the people? God's messengers made known his will, and the\npeople obeyed, or rejected it. If they were punished by floods, fire,\nplagues, pestilence, dispersions, death, etc., it was in consequence\nof their disobedience. As God has dealt in former times, so will he\nin the latter, with this difference, that he will accomplish his\npurposes in the last days; he will set up his kingdom; he will protect\nthe righteous, _destroy_ Satan, and his works, purge the earth from\nwickedness, and bring in the restitution of all things. The above,\nwhile it is the only rational way, is evidently the only just, and\nscriptural way. Some people talk about the world being burned up, about\nplagues, pestilence, famine, sword, and ruin, and all these things\nbeing instantaneous. Now it would not be just for the Lord to punish\nthe inhabitants of the earth without warning. For if the world are\nignorant of God, they cannot altogether be blamed for it; if they are\nmade the dupes of false systems, and false principles, they cannot\nhelp it; many of them are doing as well as they can while, as we have\nbefore stated, it would be unjust for the world to continue as it is.\nIt would at the same time be as unjust to punish the inhabitants of\nthe world for things that they are ignorant of, or for things over\nwhich they have no control. Before the Lord destroyed the inhabitants\nof the old world, he sent Enoch and Noah to warn them. Before the Lord\ndestroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, he sent Lot into their midst. Before\nthe Children of Israel were carried captive to Babylon, they were\nwarned of it by the Prophets; and before Jerusalem was destroyed,\nthe inhabitants had the testimony of our Lord, and his Disciples.\nAnd so will it be in the last days; and as it is the world that is\nconcerned, the world will have to be warned. We will therefore proceed\nto examine the scriptural testimony on this subject. John says in the\nRevelations, \"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of Heaven,\nhaving the everlasting gospel to preach unto them, that dwell on the\nearth; and to every nation, and kindred, tongue, and people, saying\nwith a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of\nhis judgement is come, and worship him that made heaven and earth, the\nsea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel,\nsaying, Bahylon the great is fallen.\" xiv. 6-8. Here, then, a light\nbursts forth from the heavens; a celestial messenger is deputed to\nconvey to men tidings of salvation; the everlasting gospel is again\nto be proclaimed to the children of men; The proclamation is to be\nmade to \"every nation, kindred, people, and tongue.\" Associated with\nthis, was to be another declaration, \"Fear God, and give glory to him,\nfor the hour of his judgement is come.\" Thus, all were to have a fair\nwarning, and afterwards Babylon falls--not before. From the above it is\nevident, that the everlasting gospel will be restored, accompanied with\na warning to the world. Now, if the everlasting gospel is restored,\nthere must be the same principles, laws, officers, or administrators,\nand ordinances. If, before, they had Apostles, they will again have\nthem; the same laws and ordinances will be introduced, and the same\nmethod for receiving members into the kingdom. They will also have\nProphets, Pastors, Teachers, and Evangelists. If they baptised by\nimmersion for the remission of sins, and laid on hands for the gift of\nthe Holy Ghost, they will again do the same things. If the gift of the\nHoly Ghost formerly brought things past to the saints' remembrance, led\nthem into all truth, and showed them things to come, it will do the\nsame again, for it is the everlasting gospel. If formerly it caused\nmen to dream dreams, and to see visions, it will do the same again; if\nto one was given the gift of tongues, to another the gift of healing,\nto another power to work miracles, to another the gift of wisdom, the\nsame will exist in latter days, for it is the everlasting gospel which\nis to be restored. If it put men in possession of a knowledge of God,\nand of his purposes, and brought life and immortality to light in\nformer days, it will do the same again. If it dispelled the clouds of\ndarkness, unveiled the heavens, put men in possession of certainty, and\ngave them a hope that bloomed with immortality and eternal life, it\nwill do the same again. If it caused men to know the object of their\ncreation, their relationship to God, their position on the earth, and\ntheir final exaltation and glory, it will do the same again, for it\nis the everlasting Gospel. In short, it is the will of God to man,\nthe government of God among men, and a portion of that light, glory\nand intelligence, which exist with God and angels, communicated to\nmortals, and obtained through obedience to his laws and ordinances. If\nthe Gospel formerly was to be proclaimed to all nations, so it is now,\nwith this difference associated with it, there is to be a cry, \"Fear\nGod, and give glory to him, for the hour of His judgement is come.\"\nFrom this, then, we may expect a proclamation to be made to all people;\nmessengers to go forth to every nation, and the same principles which\nonce existed to be again restored in all their fulness, power, glory,\nand blessings. The above is the way pointed out in the Scriptures, and\nis the only just and rational way to deal with rational, intelligent\nbeings; for intelligence must be appealed to by intelligence, and it\nwould be unjust to punish the world indiscriminately, without first\nappealing to their reason, judgement, and intelligence. But not only\nwill the everlasting Gospel be again restored, and be preached in\nits fulness as formerly, and go as a messenger to all the world; not\nonly will there be a spiritual kingdom and organization; but there\nwill also be a literal kingdom, a nation, or nations, a Zion, and the\npeople will gather to that. We will here insert a prophecy of David\non this subject: \"But thou, O Lord, shalt endure for ever; and thy\nremembrance unto all generations. Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon\nZion: for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come. For thy\nservants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof. So\nthe heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the\nearth thy glory. When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in\nhis glory. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise\ntheir prayer. This shall be written for the generation to come: and\nthe people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. For he hath\nlooked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord\nbehold the earth; to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those\nthat are appointed to death; to declare the name of the Lord in Zion,\nand his praise in Jerusalem; when the people are gathered together, and\nthe kingdoms to serve the Lord.\" Psalm cii. 12-22. Here we find, First,\nthat a literal Zion is to be built up; Secondly, that when that Zion\nis built up, the Lord will come--will appear in his glory; Thirdly,\nthat it is something which concerns the nations of the earth, and the\nwhole world, for there shall the people be gathered together, and the\nkingdoms to serve the Lord.\n\nIt may be proper here to remark, that there will be two places of\ngathering, or Zions; the one in Jerusalem, the other in another place;\nthe one is a place where the Jews will gather to, and the other a mixed\nmultitude of all nations. Concerning the house of Israel, Jeremiah\nsays, \"Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall\nno more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of\nIsrael out of the land of Egypt; but, the Lord liveth, that brought up\nthe children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the\nlands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into\ntheir land that I gave unto their fathers,\" xvi. 14, 15. According to\nthis passage, and many others, there will evidently be a great display\nof the power of God manifested towards the house of Israel in their\nrestitution to their former habitations. Another Scripture says, that\n\"Jerusalem shall be inhabited in her own place, even in Jerusalem.\"\nHere I would remark, that there was a Zion formerly in Jerusalem;\nbut there is also another spoken of in the Scriptures. Hence, in\nthe passage which we quoted from the Psalms, the Kingdoms are to be\ngathered together in Zion, and the people to serve the Lord; and not\nonly the Jews, but the Heathens are to fear the name of the Lord, and\nall the kings of the earth his glory. The law is to issue from Zion,\nand the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Again--\"The Lord God that\ngathereth the outcasts of Israel, says, yet will I gather others unto\nme besides these.\" It is very evident from these passages that there\nare two places of gathering, as well as from many others that might\nbe quoted. For example, Joel, in speaking of the troubles of the last\ndays, says, There shall in the last days be deliverance in Mount Zion,\nand in Jerusalem. Now, he never could say with propriety in Mount Zion,\nand in Jerusalem, if these were not two places. The ancient Zion was\nin Jerusalem. It would not be proper to say in London, and in London;\nbut you could say in London and in Edinburgh, in New York and in\nPhiladelphia, in Frankfort and in Brussels; and so you can say in Zion\nand in Jerusalem. But again, the Jews are to be gathered to Jerusalem\nin unbelief, as spoken of in Zechariah; and when the Messiah appears\namong them, being ignorant of Jesus, they shall ask, \"What are these\nwounds in thy hands?\" Then he shall answer, \"Those with which I was\nwounded in the house of my friends.\" xiii. 6. And then a fountain shall\nbe opened for the house of David, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and\nthey will enter into the covenant by baptism, xiii. 1. But the people\nof Zion the Lord will take them one of a city, and two of a family,\nand bring them there, and give them pastors after his own heart, that\nshall feed them with knowledge and understanding. Jer. iii. 14, 15.\nThe people there are to be all righteous. It is the last Zion that we\nwish more particularly to speak of at present, as associated with the\nkingdom of God; and, as we are now searching out the manner in which\nthe kingdom of God will be established, it is to us a matter of great\nimportance. There are very great judgements spoken of in the last days,\nas the consequence of man's departure from God; these we have already\nreferred to in part; but as we have mentioned, the Gospel must again\nbe preached as a warning unto all nations, and accompanied with it is\nto be a proclamation, \"Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour\nof his judgement is come.\" Rev. xiv. 7. But the people would very\nreasonably be heard to enquire, what can we do? What hope have we?\nIf war comes, we cannot either prevent or avoid it. If plague stalks\nthrough the earth, what guarantee have we of deliverance. You say you\nhave come as messengers of mercy to us, and as the messengers of the\nnations. What shall we do? Let Isaiah answer: he has told the tale of\nwar, and defined the remedy. This shall be the answer of the messenger\nof the nations, that \"the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his\npeople shall trust in it.\" xiv. 32. Yes, says Joel, when this great and\nterrible day of the Lord comes, there shall be deliverance in Mount\nZion, and in Jerusalem, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom\nthe Lord shall call. ii. 32. Yes, says Jeremiah, He will take them\none of a city, and two of a family, and bring them to Zion, and give\nthem pastors after his own heart, that shall feed them with knowledge\nand understanding, iii. 14, 15. The proclamation to the world will be\nthe means of establishing this Zion, by gathering together multitudes\nof people from among all nations. For there are multitudes among all\nnations who are sincerely desirous to do the will of God, when they\nare made acquainted with it; but having been cajoled with priestcraft\nand abominations so long, they know not which course to steer, and are\njealous of almost everything. As it was formerly, so will it be in the\nlatter times. Jesus said, \"My sheep hear my voice, and know me, and\nfollow me, and a stranger they will not follow, for they know not the\nvoice of strangers.\" Those who love truth, and desire to be governed by\nit, will embrace it, and enter into the covenant which the Lord will\nmake with his people in the last days, and be gathered with them; they\nwill be taught of the Lord in Zion, will form his kingdom on the earth,\nand will be prepared for the Lord when he comes to take possession of\nhis kingdom. For \"when the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear\nin his glory,\" and not before. But if Zion is never built up, the Lord\nnever will come, for he must have a people, and a place to come to. The\nprophets hailed this day with pleasure, as the ushering in of those\nglorious times, which were to follow. Micah says, \"But in the last days\nit shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall\nbe established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted\nabove the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall\ncome, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and\nto the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and\nwe will walk in his paths; for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the\nword of the Lord from Jerusalem.\" iv. 1, 2. Isaiah with rapture gazed\nupon the scene, and in ecstacy cried out, \"Who are these that fly as a\ncloud, and as the doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait\nfor me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from afar,\ntheir silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy\nGod, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. And\nthe sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall\nminister unto thee.\" lx. 8-10. You will find by reading the 14th verse,\nthat this place is to be called \"The City of the Lord; the Zion of the\nHoly One of Israel.\" Here then we find, that the Lord will have a house\nbuilt; that it shall be upon the tops of the mountains, and be exalted\nabove the hills; that many nations shall go there, to learn the will of\nthe Lord, and that the law shall go forth from Zion. That the people\nshall come as clouds to it; that they shall take their silver and gold\nwith them. That God's worship will be known, and the religion of the\nLord will lose its forbidding aspect. And God, and his religion, be\npopular among the nations of the earth.\n\nThis brings us to another means that will be made use of, for the\nestablishment of the kingdom of God; for, before this, he will rebuke\nstrong nations that are _afar off. And before they \"beat their swords\ninto ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, and nations\nshall have war no more._\"[A] there will be a time of terrible trouble,\nand distress, of war and calamity, such as never has been before on\nthe earth. Having noticed in the above that a standard will be raised\nto the nations, that the Gospel will be preached again to all people\nand a proclamation be made to all nations; that a literal Zion will be\nbuilt; that the righteous will flock to that Zion, and be taught of\nthe Lord, and be prepared for his coming; that great multitudes will\nflow to Zion, and the blessing of God dwell there; we now come to point\nout another way that the kingdom of God will be established, viz.,\nby judgements, that the nations may be purified and prepared for an\nuniversal reign.\n\n[Footnote A: If any one wish further information on this subject, I\nrefer them to O. Pratt's \"New Jerusalem.\"--Liverpool: S. W. Richards.]\n\nBefore the Lord destroyed the old world, he directed Noah to prepare an\nark; before the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, he told\nLot to \"flee to the mountains;\" before Jerusalem was destroyed, Jesus\ngave his disciples warning, and told them to \"flee out of it;\" and\nbefore the destruction of the world, a message is sent; after this, the\nnations will be judged, for God is now preparing his own kingdom for\nhis own reign, and will not be thwarted by any conflicting influence,\nor opposing power. The testimony of God is first to be made known, the\nstandard is to be raised; the Gospel of the kingdom is to be preached\nto all nations, the world is to be warned, and then come the troubles.\nThe whole world is in confusion, morally, politically, and religiously;\nbut a voice was to be heard, \"Come out of her, my people, that you\npartake not of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.\" John\nsaw an angel having the everlasting Gospel to preach to every nation,\nkindred, people, and tongue. And afterwards there was another cried,\n\"Babylon is fallen.\" Isaiah, after describing some of the most terrible\ncalamities that should overtake that people, says, \"The noise of a\nmultitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous\nnoise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts\nmustereth the host of the battle .... Pangs shall take hold of them,\nand they shall be in pain, as a woman that travaileth.\" That \"the day\nof the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the\nland desolate, and shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it; for the\nstars of heaven, and the constellations thereof, shall not give their\nlight: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth; and the moon shall\nnot cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their\nevil, and the wicked for their iniquity, and I will cause the arrogancy\nof the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the\nterrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold.\" xiii. 4-12.\nAfter enumerating many other things concerning Babylon and Assyria,\nas types of things to come, he says, \"This is the purpose that is\npurposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched\nout upon all the nations.\" xiv. 26. He says again, \"Behold the Lord\nmaketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside\ndown, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be,\nas with the people so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his\nmaster.... The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for\nthe Lord hath spoken this word... The earth also is defiled under the\ninhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the laws, changed\nthe ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.\" xxiv. 1-5. From the\nabove, it would seem that terrible judgements await the inhabitants of\nthe world; that there will be a general destruction; the world will be\nfull of war, and confusion, the nations of the earth will be convulsed,\nand the wicked hurled out of it. Jesus said, when on the earth, \"For\nnation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and\nthere shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in divers\nplaces; men's hearts shall fail them for fear of those things that are\ncoming on the earth.\" Jesus came first as the babe of Bethlehem; he\nwill come again, \"and rule nations with a rod of iron, and dash them in\npieces like a potter's vessel.\" Isaiah says, \"There shall come forth\na rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his\nroots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of\nwisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit\nof knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make him of quick\nunderstanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the\nsight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears; but\nwith righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for\nthe meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his\nmouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked, and\nrighteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the\ngirdle of his reins.\" xi. 1-5. The first of this was fulfilled when our\nSaviour came on this earth before; the second will be when he comes\nagain, \"he will smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the\nbreath of his lips will he slay the wicked.\" The spirit of the Lord\nwill be withdrawn from the nations, and after rejecting the truth, they\nwill be left in darkness, to grope their way, and being full of the\nspirit of wickedness, they will rage and war against each other, and\nfinally, after dreadful struggles, plagues, pestilence, famine, etc.,\ninstigated by the powers of darkness, there will be a great gathering\nof the nations against Jerusalem, for they will be infuriated against\nits inhabitants, and mighty hosts will assemble, so that they will be\nlike a cloud to cover the land, and the Lord will appear himself to the\ndeliverance of his people and the destruction of the wicked. Zech xiv.\nLet any one compare this chapter with Ezekiel xxxviii. and xxxix., and\nhe will find one of the most terrible destructions described, that is\npossible to conceive of; and then turn to the second Psalm, where David\ndescribes the kings of the earth taking counsel against the Lord, and\nagainst his anointed. He says, He that sitteth in the heavens shall\nlaugh; the Lord shall have them in derision.... That he will set his\nking upon his holy hill in Zion, that he will give him the heathen\nfor his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his\npossession.... That he will break them with a rod of iron, and dash\nthem in pieces like a potter's vessel; and then he concludes by saying,\nBe wise, therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth,\nserve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling; kiss the son,\nlest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled\nbut a little.\n\nIn making a brief summary of what we have said before in relation to\nthe means to be employed for the establishment of the Kingdom of God,\nwe find the following:--\n\n1st.--That it will be not only a spiritual kingdom, but a temporal and\nliteral one also.\n\n2nd.--That if it is the Kingdom of Heaven, it must be revealed from the\nheavens.\n\n3rd.--That a standard is to be lifted up, by the Lord, to the nations.\n\n4th.--That an Angel is to come with the everlasting Gospel, which is\nto be proclaimed to every nation, kindred, people, and tongue; that\nit is to be the same as the ancient one, and that the same powers and\nblessings will attend it.\n\n5th.--That not only will the Ancient Gospel be preached, but there will\naccompany it a declaration of judgement to the nations.\n\n6th.--That there will be a literal Zion, or gathering of the Saints to\nZion, as well as a gathering of the Jews to Jerusalem.\n\n7th.--That when this has taken place, the Spirit of God will be\nwithdrawn from the nations, and they will war with and destroy each\nother.\n\n8th.--That judgements will also overtake them, from the Lord, plague,\npestilence, famine, etc.\n\n9th.--That the nations, having lost the Spirit of God, will assemble\nto fight against the Lord's people, being full of the spirit of\nunrighteousness, and opposed to the rule and government of God.\n\n10th.--That when they do, the Lord will come and fight against them\nhimself; overthrow their armies, assert his own right, rule the\nnations with a rod of iron, root the wicked out of the earth, and take\npossession of his own kingdom. I might here further state, that when\nthe Lord does come to exercise judgement upon the ungodly, to make an\nend of sin, and bring in everlasting righteousness, he will establish\nhis own laws, demand universal obedience, and cause wickedness and\nmisrule to cease. He will issue his commands, and they must be obeyed;\nand if the nations of the earth observe not his laws, \"they will have\nno rain.\" And they will be taught by more forcible means than moral\nsuasion, that they are dependant upon God; for the Lord will demand\nobedience, and the Scriptures say, time and again, that the wicked\nshall be rooted out of the land, and the righteous and the meek shall\ninherit the earth. The Lord, after trying man's rule for thousands of\nyears, now takes the reins of government into his own hands, and makes\nuse of the only possible means of asserting his rights. For if the\nwicked never were cut off, the righteous never could rule; and if the\nDevil was still suffered to bear rule, God could not, at the same time;\nconsequently after long delay, he whose right it is, takes possession\nof the kingdom; and the kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under\nthe whole heavens, shall be given to the Saints of the Most High God;\nand the world will assume that position for which it was made. A King\nshall rule in righteousness, and Princes shall decree judgement. The\nknowledge of the Lord will spread, and extend under the auspices of\nthis government. Guided by his counsels, and under his direction, all\nthose, purposes designed of Him, from the commencement, in relation to\nboth living and dead, will be in a fair way for their accomplishment.\n\n\n\nChapter XII.\n------------------\n\nThe Effects of the Establishment of Christ's Kingdom, or the Reign of\nGod upon the Earth.\n\nHaving said so much pertaining to the Kingdom, we come to our last\nproposition, and enquire, What will be the effects of the establishment\nof Christ's kingdom, or the reign of God on the earth?\n\nThis is, indeed, a grand and important question, and requires our\nmost serious and calm deliberation. If, after all this distress,\ntribulation, war, bloodshed, and sacrifice of human life, the condition\nof the world is no better, man is certainly in a most unhappy, hopeless\nsituation. If it is nothing more than some of the changes contemplated\nby man, from one species of government to another, and we must still\nhave war, bloodshed, and disorder, and be subject to the caprices of\ntyrants, or the anarchy of mobs, our prospects are indeed gloomy, and\nour hopes vain; we may as well \"eat and drink, for tomorrow we die;\"\nfor, as we have already proven, under the most improved state of human\ngovernments we should still be subject to all the ills which flesh\nis heir to, without any redeeming hope. But this is not a transient,\nshort-lived change; it is something decreed by God in relation to\nthe earth and man, from before the commencement of the world; even\nthe dispossessing of Satan, the destruction of the ungodly, and the\nreign of God; or in other words, putting the moral world in the same\nposition in which the physical world is--under the direction of the\nAlmighty. It is the doing away with war, bloodshed, misery, disease,\nand sin, and the ushering in of a kingdom of peace, righteousness,\njustice, happiness, and prosperity. It is the restoration of the earth\nand man to their primeval glory, and pristine excellence; in fact, the\n\"restitution of all things spoken of by all the prophets since the\nworld began.\"\n\nNow, restoration signifies a bringing back, and must refer to something\nwhich existed before; for if it did not exist before, it could not\nbe restored. I cannot describe this better than Parley P. Pratt has\ndone in his \"Voice of Warning,\" and shall therefore make the following\nextract:--\n\n\"This is one of the most important subjects upon which the human mind\ncan contemplate; and one perhaps as little understood, in the present\nage, as any other now lying over the face of prophecy. But however\nneglected at the present time, it was once the ground-work of the\nfaith, hope, and joy of the Saints. It was a correct understanding\nof this subject, and firm belief in it, that influenced all their\nmovements. Their minds once fastening upon it, they could not be shaken\nfrom their purposes; their faith was firm, their joy constant, and\ntheir hope like an anchor to the soul, both sure and stedfast, reaching\nto that within the veil. It was this that enabled them to rejoice in\nthe midst of tribulation, persecution, sword, and flame; and in view\nof this, they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, and gladly\nwandered as strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they sought a\ncountry, a city, and an inheritance, that none but a Saint ever thought\nof, understood, or even hoped for.\n\n\"Now, we can never understand precisely what is meant by restoration,\nunless we understand what is lost or taken away; for instance, when we\noffer to restore any thing to a man, it is as much as to say he once\npossessed it, but had lost it, and we propose to replace or put him\nin possession of that which he once had; therefore, when a prophet\nspeaks of the restoration of all things, he means that all things have\nundergone a change, and are to be again restored to their primitive\norder, even as they first existed.\n\n\"First, then, it becomes necessary for us to take a view of creation,\nas it rolled in purity from the hand of its Creator; and if we can\ndiscover the true state in which it then existed, and understand\nthe changes that have taken place since, then we shall be able to\nunderstand what is to be restored; and thus our minds being prepared,\nwe shall be looking for the very things which will come, and shall\nbe in no danger of lifting our puny arm, in ignorance, to oppose the\nthings of God.\n\n\"First, then, we will take a view of the earth, as to its surface,\nlocal situation, and productions.\n\n\"When God had created the heavens and the earth, and separated the\nlight from the darkness, his next great command was to the waters,\nGen. i. 9,--'And God said, let the waters under the heaven be gathered\ntogether into _one place_, and let the dry land appear: and it was\nso.' From this we learn a marvellous fact, which very few have ever\nrealized or believed in this benighted age; we learn that the waters,\nwhich are now divided into oceans, seas, and lakes, were then all\ngathered together, into _one_ vast ocean; and, consequently, that\nthe land, which is now torn asunder, and divided into continents and\nislands, almost innumerable, was then _one_ vast continent or body, not\nseparated as it is now.\n\n\"Second, we hear the Lord God pronounce the earth, as well as every\nthing else, very good. From this we learn that there were neither\ndeserts, barren places, stagnant swamps, rough, broken, rugged hills,\nnor vast mountains covered with eternal snow; and no part of it was\nlocated in the frigid zone, so as to render its climate dreary and\nunproductive, subject to eternal frost, or everlasting chains of ice,--\n\n    Where no sweet flowers the dreary landscape cheer,\n    Nor plenteous harvests crown the passing year;\n\nbut the whole earth was probably one vast plain, or interspersed\nwith gently rising hills, and sloping vales, well calculated for\ncultivation; while its climate was delightfully varied, with the\nmoderate changes of heat and cold, of wet and dry, which only tended\nto crown the varied year, with the greater variety of productions,\nall for the good of man, animal, fowl, or creeping thing; while from\nthe flowery plain, or spicy grove, sweet odours were wafted on every\nbreeze; and all the vast creation of animated being breathed nought but\nhealth, and peace, and joy.\n\n\"Next, we learn from Gen. i. 29, 30,--'And God said, Behold, I have\ngiven you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the\nearth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree, yielding seed;\nto you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to\nevery fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth,\nwherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it\nwas so.' From these verses we learn, that the earth yielded neither\nnauseous weeds nor poisonous plants, nor useless thorns and thistles;\nindeed, every thing that grew was just calculated for the food of man,\nbeast, fowl, and creeping thing; and their food was all vegetable;\nflesh and blood were never sacrificed to glut their souls, or gratify\ntheir appetites; the beasts of the earth were all in perfect harmony\nwith each other; the lion ate straw like the ox--the wolf dwelt with\nthe lamb--the leopard lay down with the kid--the cow and bear fed\ntogether, in the same pasture, while their young ones reposed, in\nperfect security, under the shade of the same trees; all was peace and\nharmony, and nothing to hurt nor disturb, in all the holy mountain.\n\n\"And to crown the whole, we behold man created in the image of God,\nand exalted in dignity and power, having dominion over all the vast\ncreation of animated beings, which swarmed through the earth, while,\nat the same time, he inhabits a beautiful and well-watered garden, in\nthe midst of which stood the tree of life, to which he had free access;\nwhile he stood in the presence of his Maker, conversed with him face\nto face, and gazed upon his glory, without a dimming veil between. O\nreader, contemplate, for a moment, this beautiful creation, clothed\nwith peace and plenty; the earth teeming, with harmless animals,\nrejoicing over all the plain; the air swarming with delightful birds,\nwhose never ceasing notes filled the air with varied melody; and all in\nsubjection to their rightful sovereign who rejoiced over them; while,\nin a delightful garden--the capitol of creation,--man was seated on the\nthrone of his vast empire, swaying his sceptre over all the earth, with\nundisputed right; while legions of angels encamped round about him, and\njoined their glad voices, in grateful songs of praise, and shouts of\njoy; neither a sigh nor groan was heard, throughout the vast expanse;\nneither was there sorrow, tears, pain, weeping, sickness, nor death;\nneither contentions, wars, nor bloodshed; but peace crowned the seasons\nas they rolled, and life, joy, and love, reigned over all his works.\nBut, O! how changed the scene.\n\n\"It now becomes my painful duty, to trace some of the important\nchanges, which have taken place, and the causes which have conspired to\nreduce the earth and its inhabitants to their present state.\n\n\"First, man fell from his standing before God, by giving heed to\ntemptation; and this fall affected the whole creation, as well as\nman, and caused various changes to take place; he was banished from\nthe presence of his Creator, and a veil was drawn between them, and\nhe was driven from the garden of Eden, to till the earth, which was\nthen cursed for man's sake, and should begin to bring forth thorns and\nthistles: and with the sweat of his face he should earn his bread, and\nin sorrow eat of it, all the days of his life, and finally return to\ndust. But as to Eve, her curse was a great multiplicity of sorrow and\nconception; and between her seed, and the seed of the serpent, there\nwas to be a constant enmity; it should bruise the serpent's head, and\nthe serpent should bruise his heel.\n\n\"Now, reader, contemplate the change. This scene, which was so\nbeautiful a little before, had now become the abode of sorrow and\ntoil, of death and mourning: the earth groaning with its production\nof accursed thorns and thistles; man and beast at enmity; the serpent\nslily creeping away, fearing lest his head should got the deadly\nbruise; and man startling amid the thorny path, in fear, lest the\nserpent's fangs should pierce his heel; while the lamb yields his blood\nupon the smoking altar. Soon man begins to persecute, hate, and murder\nhis fellow; until at length the earth is filled with violence; all\nflesh becomes corrupt, the powers of darkness prevail; and it repented\nNoah that God had made man, and it grieved him at his heart, because\nthe Lord should come out in vengeance, and cleanse the earth by water.\n\n\"How far the flood may have contributed, to produce the various\nchanges, as to the division of the earth into broken fragments, islands\nand continents, mountains and valleys, we have not been informed; the\nchange must have been considerable. But after the flood, in the days of\nPeleg, the earth was divided.--See Gen. x. 25,--a short history, to be\nsure, of so great an event; but still it will account for the mighty\nrevolution, which rolled the sea from its own place in the north, and\nbrought it to interpose between different portions of the earth, which\nwere thus parted asunder, and moved into something near their present\nform; this, together with the earthquakes, revolutions, and commotions\nwhich have since taken place, have all contributed to reduce the face\nof the earth to its present state; while the great curses which have\nfallen upon different portions, because of the wickedness of men, will\naccount for the stagnant swamps, the sunken lakes, the dead seas, and\ngreat deserts.\n\n\"Witness, for instance, the denunciations of the prophets upon\nBabylon, how it was to become perpetual desolations, a den of wild\nbeasts, a dwelling of unclean and hateful birds, a place for owls; and\nshould never be inhabited, but should lie desolate from generation\nto generation. Witness also the plains of Sodom, filled with towns,\ncities, and flourishing gardens, well watered: but O, how changed! a\nvast sea of stagnant water alone marks the place. Witness the land\nof Palestine; in the days of Solomon it was capable of sustaining\nmillions of people, besides a surplus of wheat, and other productions,\nwhich were exchanged with the neighbouring nations; whereas, now it is\ndesolate, and hardly capable of sustaining a few miserable inhabitants.\nAnd when I cast mine eyes over our own land, and see the numerous\nswamps, lakes, and ponds of stagnant waters, together with the vast\nmountains and innumerable rough places; rocks having been rent, and\ntorn asunder, from centre to circumference; I exclaim, Whence all this?\n\n\"When I read the Book of Mormon, it informs me, that while Christ was\ncrucified among the Jews, this whole American continent was shaken\nto its foundation, that many cities were sunk, and waters came up in\ntheir places; that the rocks were all rent in twain; that mountains\nwere thrown up to an exceeding height; and other mountains became\nvallies: the level roads spoiled; and the whole face of the land\nchanged.--I then exclaim, These things are no longer a mystery; I have\nnow learned to account for the many wonders, which I everywhere behold,\nthroughout our whole country; when I am passing a ledge of rocks, and\nsee they have all been rent and torn asunder, while some huge fragments\nare found deeply imbedded in the earth, some rods from whence they\nwere torn, I exclaim, with astonishment, These were the groans! the\nconvulsive throes of agonizing nature! while the Son of God suffered\nupon the cross!\n\n\"But men have degenerated, and greatly changed, as well as the earth.\nThe sins, the abominations, and the many evil habits of the latter\nages, have added to the miseries, toils, and sufferings of human life.\nThe idleness, extravagance, pride, covetousness, drunkenness, and other\nabominations, which are characteristics of the latter times, have\nall combined to sink mankind to the lowest state of wretchedness and\ndegradation; while priestcraft and false doctrines, have greatly tended\nto lull mankind to sleep, and caused them to rest, infinitely short of\nthe powers and attainments which the ancients did enjoy, and which are\nalone calculated to exalt the intellectual powers of the human mind,\nto establish noble and generous sentiments, to enlarge the heart, and\nto expand the soul to the utmost extent of its capacity. Witness the\nancients, conversing with the Great Jehovah, learning lessons from\nthe angels, and receiving instruction by the Holy Ghost, in dreams by\nnight, and visions by day, until at length the veil is taken off, and\nthey permitted to gaze, with wonder and admiration, upon all things\npast and future; yea, even to soar aloft amid unnumbered worlds;\nwhile the vast expanse of eternity stands open before them, and they\ncontemplate the mighty works of the Great I AM, until they know as they\nare known, and see as they are seen.\n\n\"Compare this intelligence, with the low smatterings of education\nand worldly wisdom, which seem to satisfy the narrow mind of man in\nour generation; yea, behold the narrow-minded, calculating, trading,\noverreaching, penurious sycophant, of the nineteenth century, who\ndreams of nothing here, but how to increase his goods, or take\nadvantage of his neighbour; and whose only religious exercises or\nduties consist of going to meeting, paying the priest his hire,\nor praying to his God, without expecting to be heard or answered,\nsupposing that God has been deaf and dumb for many centuries, or\naltogether stupid and indifferent like himself. And having seen the two\ncontrasted, you will be able to form some idea of the vast elevation\nfrom which man has fallen; you will also learn, how infinitely beneath\nhis former glory and dignity, he is now living, and your heart will\nmourn, and be exceedingly sorrowful, when you contemplate him in his\nlow estate--and then think he is your brother; and you will be ready\nto exclaim, with wonder and astonishment, O man! how art thou fallen!\nonce thou wast the favourite of Heaven; thy Maker delighted to converse\nwith thee, and angels and the spirits of just men made perfect were\nthy companions; but now thou art degraded, and brought down on a level\nwith the beasts; yea, far beneath them, for they look with horror and\naffright at your vain amusements, your sports and your drunkenness,\nand thus often set an example worthy of your imitation. Well did the\napostle Peter say of you, that you know nothing, only what you know\nnaturally as brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed. And thus you\nperish, from generation to generation. While all creation groans under\nits pollution; and sorrow and death, mourning and weeping, fill up the\nmeasure of the days of man. But O my soul, dwell no longer on this\nawful scene: let it suffice, to have discovered in some degree, what is\nlost. Let us turn our attention to what the Prophets have said should\nbe restored.\n\n\"The Apostle Peter, while preaching to the Jews, says, 'And he shall\nsend Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom the\nheavens must receive, until the times of restitution (restoration)\nof all things which God hath spoken, by the mouth of all the holy\nprophets, since the world began.' It appears from the above, that all\nthe holy prophets from Adam, and those that follow after, have had\ntheir eyes upon a certain time, when all things should be restored to\ntheir primitive beauty and excellence. We also learn, that the time of\nrestitution was to be at or near the time of Christ's second coming;\nfor the heavens are to receive him, until the times of restitution, and\nthen the Father shall send him again to the earth.\n\n\"We will now proceed to notice Isaiah xl. 1-5. 'Comfort ye, comfort\nye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and\ncry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is\npardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand, double for all her\nsins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the\nway of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.\nEvery valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be\nmade low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places\nplain: and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall\nsee it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.'\n\n\"From these verses we learn, first, that the voice of one shall be\nheard in the wilderness, to prepare the way of the Lord, just at the\ntime when Jerusalem has been trodden down of the Gentiles long enough\nto have received, at the Lord's hand, double for all her sins, yea,\nwhen the warfare of Jerusalem is accomplished, and her iniquities\npardoned; then shall this proclamation be made as it was before by\nJohn, yea, a second proclamation, to prepare the way of the Lord, for\nhis second coming; and about that time every valley shall be exalted,\nand every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be\nmade straight, and rough places plain, and then the glory of the Lord\nshall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth\nof the Lord hath spoken it.\n\n\"Thus you see, every mountain being laid low, and every valley exalted,\nand the rough places being made plain, and the crooked places straight,\nthat these mighty revolutions will begin to restore the face of the\nearth to its former beauty. But all this done, we have not yet gone\nthrough our restoration; there are many more great things to be done,\nin order to restore all things.\n\n\"Our next is Isaiah 35th chapter, where we again read of the Lord's\nsecond coming, and of the mighty works which attend it. The barren\ndesert should abound with pools and springs of living water, and should\nproduce grass, with flowers blooming and blossoming as the rose, and\nthat, too, about the time of the coming of their God, with vengeance\nand recompense, which must allude to his second coming; and Israel is\nto come at the same time to Zion, with songs of everlasting joy, and\nsorrow and sighing shall flee away. Here, then, we have the curse taken\noff from the deserts, and they become a fruitful, well-watered country.\n\n\"We will now inquire whether the islands return again to the\ncontinents, from which they were once separated. For this subject\nwe refer you to Revelation vi. 14,--'And every mountain and island\nwere moved out of their places.' From this we learn that they moved\nsomewhere; and as it is the time of restoring what had been lost, they\naccordingly return and join themselves to the land whence they came.\n\n\"Our next is Isaiah xiii. 13, 14, where 'The earth shall move out of\nher place, and be like a chased roe which no man taketh up.' Also,\nIsaiah lxii. 4, 'Thou shalt no more be termed forsaken; neither\nshall thy land any more be termed desolate; but thou shalt be called\nHephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and\nthy land shall be married.'\n\n\"In the first instance, we have the earth on a move like a chased roe;\nand in the second place, we have it married. And from the whole, and\nvarious Scriptures, we learn, that the continents and islands shall be\nunited in one, as they were on the morn of creation, and the sea shall\nretire and assemble in its own place, where it was before; and all\nthese scenes shall take place during the mighty convulsion of nature,\nabout the time of the coming of the Lord.\n\n    \"Behold! the Mount of Olives rend in twain;\n    While on its top he sets his feet again,\n    The islands at his word, obedient, flee;\n    While to the north, he rolls the mighty sea;\n    Restores the earth in one, as at the first,\n    With all its blessings, and removes the curse.\n\n\"Having restored the earth to the same glorious state in which it first\nexisted; levelling the mountains, exalting the valleys, smoothing\nthe rough places, making the deserts fruitful, and bringing all\nthe continents and islands together, causing the curse to be taken\noff, that it shall no longer produce noxious weeds, and thorns, and\nthistles; the next thing is to regulate and restore the brute creation\nto their former state of peace and glory, causing all enmity to cease\nfrom off the earth. But this will never be done until there is a\ngeneral destruction poured out upon man, which will entirely cleanse\nthe earth, and sweep all wickedness from its face. This will be done\nby the rod of his mouth, and by the breath of his lips; or, in other\nwords, by fire as universal as the flood. Isaiah xi. 4, 6-9, 'But with\nrighteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for\nthe meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of\nhis mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.\nThe wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie\ndown with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling\ntogether; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the\nbear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the\nlion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play\non the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on\nthe cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy\nmountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as\nthe waters cover the sea.'\n\n\"Thus, having cleansed the earth, and glorified it with the knowledge\nof God, as the waters cover the sea, and having poured out his Spirit\nupon all flesh, both man and beast becoming perfectly harmless, as\nthey were in the beginning, and feeding on vegetable food only, while\nnothing is left to hurt or destroy in all the vast creation, the\nprophets then proceed to give us many glorious descriptions of the\nenjoyments of its inhabitants. 'They shall build houses and inhabit\nthem; they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine of them; they\nshall plant gardens and eat the fruit of them; they shall not build\nand another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for as the\ndays of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long\nenjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring\nforth in trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and\ntheir offspring with them; and it shall come to pass, that before they\ncall I will answer, and while they are yet speaking I will hear.' In\nthis happy state of existence it seems that all people will live to the\nfull age of a tree, and this too without pain or sorrow, and whatsoever\nthey ask will be immediately answered, and even all their wants will be\nanticipated. Of course, then, none of them will sleep in the dust, for\nthey will prefer to be translated; that is, changed in the twinkling\nof an eye, from mortal to immortal; after which they will continue to\nreign with Jesus on the earth.\" Pp. 110-122.\n\nA great council will then be held to adjust the affairs of the world,\nfrom the commencement, over which Father Adam will preside as head\nand representative of the human family. There have been, in different\nages of the world, communications opened between the heavens and the\nearth. Those powers have been separated, and have acted in different\nspheres, until the present. The kingdom of God on the earth has been\nsmall, weak, unpopular, trampled under foot of men, and none but men\nof noble minds, firm hopes, and daring resolution, have advocated its\nprinciples. These men, being possessed of intelligence from the heavens\nby the ministering of angels, the communications of the spirits of the\njust, and the manifestation of eternal things, knew of the approaching\nday of glory, the reign of God on the earth; they understood their\ndestiny, and lived, and died, in the hopes of inheriting these things.\nThose communications from the heavens developd the purposes of God to\nthem; and in all their moves, they were regulated by the prospect of\nthe future. In the Mosaic Dispensation they had to make earthly things\naccording to the pattern of heavenly. Hence it was said to Moses, \"See\nthat thou make all things according to the pattern shewn thee in the\nMount.\" The ark was made, therefore, after a heavenly pattern, and so\nwas the Temple of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was a figure of the heavenly.\nThe sacrifices of the Aaronic Priesthood referred to the expiation of\nChrist, who appears as the earthly High Priest of the Jews, and as our\neternal High Priest and Intercessor in the heavens. His Priesthood\nwas an eternal one, and is after the order of Melchisedek, and\nMelchisedek's was after his order, and they both were after the order\nthat exists in the heavens. This priesthood with the Gospel, brought\nlife and immortality to light, put men in possession of certainty, and\nunveiled the future; they knew the divine laws and ordinances, and\nacted with a reference to them; and being commissioned of God, they had\npower to bind and loose, etc.\n\nThen they will assemble to regulate all these affairs, and all that\nheld keys of authority to administer, will then represent their earthly\ncourse. And, as this authority has been handed down from one to another\nin different ages, and in different dispensations, a full reckoning\nwill have to be made by all. All who have held keys of Priesthood,\nwill then have to give an account to those from whom they received\nthem. Those that were in the heavens, have been assisting those that\nwere upon the earth; but then, they will unite together in a general\ncouncil to give an account of their stewardships, and as in the\nvarious ages men have received their power to administer, from those\nwho had previously held the keys thereof, there will be a general\naccount. Those, under the authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ\nof Latter-day Saints, have to give an account of their transactions\nto those who direct them in the Priesthood; hence the Elders give an\naccount to Presidents of Conferences; and Presidents of Conferences\nto Presidents of Nations. Those Presidents and the Seventies give an\naccount to the Twelve Apostles; the Twelve to the First Presidency;\nand they to Joseph, from whom they, and the Twelve, received\ntheir Priesthood. This will include the arrangements of the last\ndispensation. Joseph delivers his authority to Peter, who held the keys\nbefore him, and delivered them to him; and Peter to Moses and Elias,\nwho endued him with this authority on the Mount; and they to those from\nwhom they received them. And thus the world's affairs will be regulated\nand put right, the restitution of all things be accomplished, and the\nKingdom of God be ushered in. The earth will be delivered from under\nthe curse, resume its paradisiacal glory, and all things pertaining to\nits restoration be fulfilled.\n\nNot only will the earth be restored, but also man; and those promises\nwhich, long ago, were the hope of the saints, will be realised. The\nfaithful servants of God who have lived in every age, will then come\nforth and experience the full fruition of that joy, for which they\nlived, and hoped, and suffered, and died. The tombs will deliver up\ntheir captives, and re-united with the spirits which once animated,\nvivified, cheered, and sustained them while in this vale of tears,\nthese bodies will be like unto Christ's glorious body. They will then\nrejoice in that resurrection for which they lived, while they sojourned\nbelow. Adam, Seth, Enoch, and the faithful who lived before the flood,\nwill possess their proper inheritance. Noah and Melchisedek will stand\nin their proper places. Abraham, with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him\nof the same promise, will come forward at the head of innumerable\nmultitudes, and possess that land which God gave unto them for an\neverlasting inheritance. The faithful, on the continent of America,\nwill also stand in their proper place; but, as this will be the time\nof the restitution of all things, and all things will not be fully\nrestored at once; there will be a distinction between the resurrected\nbodies, and those that have not been resurrected; and as the Scriptures\nsay that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither\ndoth corruption inherit incorruption; and although the world will\nenjoy just laws--an equitable administration, and universal peace and\nhappiness prevail as the result of this righteousness; yet, there will\nbe a peculiar habitation for the resurrected bodies. This habitation\nmay be compared to Paradise, from whence man, in the beginning, was\ndriven.\n\nWhen Adam was driven from the Garden, an angel was placed with a\nnaming sword to guard the way of the tree of life, lest man should\neat of it, and become immortal in his degenerate state, and thus be\nincapable of obtaining that exaltation, which he would be capable of\nenjoying through the redemption of Jesus Christ, and the power of the\nresurrection, with his renewed and glorified body. Having tasted of the\nnature of the fall, and having grappled with sin and misery, knowing\nlike the gods both good and evil, having like Jesus overcome the evil,\nand through the power of the atonement, having conquered death, hell,\nand the grave, he regains that Paradise, from which he was banished,\nnot in the capacity of ignorant man, unacquinted with evil, but like\nunto a god. He can now stretch forth, and partake of the tree of life,\nand eat of its fruits, and live and flourish eternally in possession of\nthat immortality which Jesus long ago promised to the faithful: \"To him\nthat overcomes, will I grant to sit with me in my throne; and eat of\nthe tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.\"\n\n\nProduction Credits\n------------------\n\nThis electronic edition was produced by the Mormon Texts Project.\nVolunteers who helped with this book include: Tanya Ross, Meridith\nCrowder, Tod Robbins, Ben Crowder, Bryce Beattie, Stephen Cranney,\nTyler Thorsted, Eric Heaps, Jason Barron, Jean-Michel Carter, David\nWillde, and Tom Nysetvold. Special thanks to Trevor Nysetvold for his\ncomplete proof of the final version.\n\nIt was produced using scans generously made available by Archive.org.\n\nEmail Tom Nysetvold (tomnysetvold@gmail.com) to report errors or to\nparticipate in proofreading similar early books of The Church of Jesus\nChrist of Latter-Day Saints.","title":"The Government of God","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":49429}