that glory which was purchased by murdered millions. Blow, mighty angel, blow! How long shall the children of God sleep in “the dark and the narrow house?" When shall they arise from their loathsome bed? When shall they be invested with their glorious immortal bodies?

It is usually supposed, that the words, "the dead in Christ shall rise first," import that the bodies of dead believers will be raised before those of the wicked, or before the living will be changed. "But the dead in Christ," says Mr. Scott, "shall rise first, and be rendered incorruptible, even before their brethren be changed that never died." "In this passage," says Doctor M'Knight, "the apostle teaches that the dead in Christ shall be raised before the living are changed." As appears to me, there is no such thing taught here. "The dead in Christ shall rise first," does not mean that the dead will be raised before the living will be changed; but that the dead will be raised before the living will be taken away to meet the Lord. The living saints will not prevent or anticipate the dead; that is, they will not be taken to heaven before them. Nor shall the dead a moment anticipate the living. In the same instant, the one will be changed, and the other raised. It is evident that the apostle is not speaking about the priority of the time of raising the dead with respect to the change of the living, but with respect to the ascent of the living. Immediately after the word first, he adds, "then we who are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." Besides, this notion is directly contrary to 1 Cor. xv. 52, in which we are taught, that both the change of the living and the raising of the dead will take place at the sounding of the trumpet, even in a moment, or the twinkling of an eye. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: (for the trumpet shall sound) and [or, both] the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Here then it is evident, that the dead saints will be raised, and the living changed, precisely at the same time; and that time is to be at the sound of the trumpet, and its duration no more than the

twinkling of an eye. The resurrection then will take place before Christ descends, even as soon as the trumpet begins to sound. Thus every eye of the human race will see him as he comes. There is no reason, with Doctor M'Knight, to make the trumpet of God the same as the voice of Christ, spoken of, John v. 25. The trumpet being sounded by Christ's command, does not make it the voice of Christ. The real voice of Christ will be heard as distinctly when he calls the dead to life, as when he called Lazarus from the grave. Doctor M'Knight supposes also, that the trumpet will sound a second time, for the changing of the living, after the raising of the dead; in which account the second sounding is called the last trumpet. But it is called the last trumpet, not with respect to different soundings of the same trumpet, but with reference to the time of its sounding at the last day. A second sounding would not be a second trumpet. Besides, his scheme would need a third sounding for raising the wicked. But he has strangely overlooked the circumstance, that the dead are raised, as well as the living are changed, after this last trumpet, even according to his own translation. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for it shall sound; and then the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Here both the raising of the dead, and changing of the living, are represented as following the last trumpet. The same writer observes, that the expression, "The dead in Christ shall rise first," demonstrates, that the wicked are not to be raised at the same time with the righteous. This is very lame demonstration. The import and reference of this expression I have shown already. If the apostle is not speaking of a priority of raising the dead saints, with respect to the change of the living, much less with respect to the resurrection of the wicked. He is not speaking at all of unbelievers; and this writer makes the same assertion. He strenuously contends, that this passage does not respect the resurrection of the wicked, lest it should mar a favourite theory of his, that the bodies of unbelievers are not to be raised immortal or imperishable, but that they will be totally burned up in the fire that

consumes the world. I shall at present take no notice of this theory, as it does not respect my subject.

That the wicked will not be raised at the same time with the righteous, he endeavours also to prove from 1 Cor. xv. 23. Every man is to be raised in his proper band. But it is evident that this expression, let it be translated as it will, refers not to the righteous and the wicked. It respects Christ and his people : "Christ the first fruits, afterwards they that are Christ's at his coming." The wicked are not in any of these bands or divisions. This writer, however, is not to be considered as holding the opinion, that the resurrection of the righteous will any considerable time precede that of the wicked. He seems to make it merely a matter of form. "Between the resurrection of the righteous," says he, "and their being caught up, the living are to be changed; as is implied in their not anticipating them who are asleep. Also, the wicked are to be raised after the change has passed on the living." But there is no foundation for this opinion in those passages, and it is positively contradicted by others. In John v. 28, both

the righteous and the wicked are represented as hearing the voice of Jesus, and coming both together out of the graves. The parable of the virgins also supposes, that both the foolish and the wise hear the cry, "Go ye out to meet him," at the same instant. Therefore, the dead, whether righteous or wicked, are to be raised, and the living saints are to be changed at the same moment.

The instantaneous resurrection of the dead, and changing of the living, give us a noble idea of Almighty power. How confounding is the thought of innumerable millions of rotten carcases all rising to life, and standing on the earth in the twinkling of an eye! How glorious the change from corruption to heavenly brilliancy!

When the dead saints are raised, and the living changed, they will both be taken up together on clouds to meet the Lord in the air. "Then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we be ever with the Lord." Some have supposed, that the saints shall ascend to meet their Lord, by the

activity of their new spiritual bodies. I think there is no reason to question, that the glorified bodies of the saints will possess locomotive powers, of which we have now no conception. Nevertheless, the phraseology of the passage evidently implies, that the saints will be snatched up from the earth, to meet the Lord, by some external force. What this will be, is clear from Mat. xxiv. 31: "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." After such declarations, it is worse than foolish to speculate. As the saints are to meet the Lord in his descent, the last quoted passage imports, that some of the angels that accompany him, will be sent before, to assemble and bring forward his people. The instrumentality of the angels is also to be employed in bringing forward the wicked to judgment. "The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. The angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from the just." Mat. xiii. 41-49. These passages prove also, that the resurrection of the wicked will take place at the same time with that of the righteous. The wicked are to be severed at the resurrection from among the just, and before the gathering of the elect. Mat. xxiv. 29, 30. All the tribes of the earth are represented as mourning, when they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. No speculations can be permitted to contradict this distinct and repeated testimony. Doctor M'Knight is of opinion, that the event referred to, 1 Thess. iv. 17, is subsequent to the judgment. It appears clear to me, that it is previous to it. The phraseology is suitable to the meeting of the Lord only. What the common version renders meet, he translates join, but without authority, without propriety. It imports strictly to meet from opposite directions, as travellers on the highway, and is so used in the New Testament. Even his own translations forbid his interpretation. To join the Lord, cannot be applied to those who have been with

him all the time of the judgment. The things that are said to be joined, must have been previously separated.

"From this verse it appears," says the same writer, "that at the judgment, Christ will fix his seat in the air." I perceive no foundation for this observation, whether the passage is understood to apply to the meeting of the Lord before the judgment, or the accompanying of him after it. I draw a different inference from the mention of the place of meeting. When they are said to meet or join in the air, it imports, that previously they were not in the air. That Christ will descend to the earth, I think is implied in the general phraseology of Scripture that speaks of his coming again; but whether his throne of judgment will be fixed in the air or on the earth, I find no materials upon which to found an opinion. Some have gone so far as to point out the particular spot of earth on which his tribunal will be fixed. This is the worst species of novel writing. It teaches Christians to indulge opinions, founded not on his word, but on the vain conjectures of human wisdom. Such theories are like those of the philosophers, with respect to the seat of the soul and the formation of ideas.

On the throne in clouds, Doctor M'Knight thus observes: "In Scripture, multitudes of angels are called clouds, Mat. xxiv. 30, wherefore, caught up in clouds, may signify, caught up by the ministry of angels." Angels can never be called clouds. In the passage

Nor

referred to, the term clouds has its proper meaning. The Lord will indeed come with his angels, but he will also descend upon the clouds. "Clouds, likewise," says the author, "signify great multitudes of people. -Heb. xii. 1. According to this sense, the meaning will be, caught up in great numbers at once." does the term clouds, signify great multitudes of people. The author confounds the signification and the figurative application of words. A cloud may, metaphorically, signify a multitude of any kind. A cloud of witnesses, is a multitude of witnesses; but cloud, without any words to show its figurative application, has always its proper meaning. According to the author's mode of criticising, the phraseology ought not to be a