whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, if he had left us there without any description of that state, we should have been bewildered rather than instructed. But he proceeds in the two closing chapters of his vision to illustrate that state, when man will enjoy the fruition of the glory which will be his inheritance as an heir of God and joint heir with Christ.

CHAPTER XXI.

THE HOLY CITY, OR HEAVENLY JERUSALEM.

1. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no

more sea.

2. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

6. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end: I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

7. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

8. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

The first delineation the prophet gives of the scenes which we are now entering upon are physical, relating to the heaven, the earth, and the sea. He had said in the preceding chapter, in his description of the appearance of the great white throne, from the face of himself that sat upon it, the heaven and the earth fled away, and there was no place found for them.

The present act in the great prophetic drama opens with a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, reäffirming what he had said on that subject in the preceding chapter. The new heaven and new earth now spoken of is, probably, something far beyond that change referred to by St. Peter, where he says: Nevertheless, we look for new heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. This simple fact, that righteousness will be predominant, seems to be the chief distinction in St. Peter's new heaven and new earth. In the kingdom referred to by St. Peter, Christ sat upon the throne and reigned a thousand years. But when that state ends, and Christ delivers up the kingdom to God, even the Father, then the heaven and the earth fled away, and all things were made new by him that sat upon the great white throne.

There is a remarkable gradation in the divine government, showing three distinct stages. There is first, the government under the gospel dispensation, by the ministration of the Holy Spirit; secondly, the reign of Christ in the thousand years; and thirdly, the great white throne, when the kingdom will be delivered up to God the Father.

In these sublime visions of the prophet, we may well suppose that he would employ symbolical language on many subjects, for there are many of his visions which he could not adapt to our feeble apprehension without such language.

I have already said, that the expression, from whose face the heaven and the earth fled away, implied no more than that a great change had taken place in the constitution and laws of the material universe, rendering them so much more glori

ous than their former state was, that the preceding heaven and earth would be quite forgotten. But still the earth exists, and will continue to exist and be the theater of man's glorious existence, even in the highest state of his perfection, as far as it is revealed to us in the volume of inspiration.

There is no annihilation of this earth, either by water or by fire. There are great changes through which the earth and its immediate heavens will pass, we must suppose from the repeated declarations of scripture; but all these changes will tend to purify it, and increase and perfect its beauty and grandeur.

In the new earth, of which the prophet is now speaking, there was no more sea. Some writers have regarded this as a figurative expression, simply designed to convey the idea that all discord and commotion will cease in that world, as the sea is emblematical of turmoil and confusion.

But the prophet certainly means a literal heaven and earth; and as he speaks of the sea in connection with these, I am constrained to receive what he says of the sea as literal also.

Those mighty oceans which now produce the great geographical distinctions of the earth, and keep nations estranged from each other, and acting as barriers against the practical exercise of those sympathies of man's nature, which seem designed by the Creator to bind the whole earth in one close and common brotherhood of affection, will no longer exist. The elements which in their chemical combination now compose these great seas, will become dissolved, and, under new combinations, will enter into different formations, more congenial with that state of man's existence.

The next object in the vision is announced by the prophet with remarkable emphasis: And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. This represents the church when the spirits of all the just are made perfect in the thou

sand years' reign of Christ, and the kingdom is prepared to be delivered up to God the Father.

The description of this city is not entered upon immediately, but is deferred until he gets through with his general description of what he saw and heard of the state of the blessed in that new earth.

He heard a great voice out of heaven—that is, one universal expression of peace and joy proclaimed that the tabernacle of God is with men ; and he dwells with them in such familiar and intimate intercourse, that the consciousness of their own being is not stronger than the consciousness that God dwells with them and is their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.

It is impossible for mortal man fully to conceive of such a state of existence as these expressions imply. A man counts himself happy in this life if one day passes without the occurrence of some event that wrings his heart with anguish, or draws the tear of sorrow from his eyes. But these days of sorrow belong to the present times-to flesh and blood. They will all pass away, the great voice said, for the former things are passed away. Not a vestige of the grief and sorrow

known to the former earth will be known in this.

And he that sat upon the throne said: Behold I make all all things new-suitable to the perfection and glory of that state to which man's nature will then be raised. The prophet, amazed at the grandeur and magnificence of everything he beheld, was, probably, too much lost in wonder and astonishment, to think about writing down what he saw. But he is commanded to write them. Let the whole church hear them! Spread them out before the eyes of the surviving people of God, who are struggling against the powers of darkness, and the corruptions of earth; that they may be inspired with a sacred ardor, and emboldened with a holy courage, while they look upon the blissful result of their contest. Write!