probation, or education, of this present age is for a kingly crown; that of the next age (the millennium) is only for the rights of citizenship. Many will, no doubt, attain to the dignity of "kings of the earth," but this is a position far below that of the glorified saints. In the sense, therefore, of losing the great reward, it is true that those who here fail to make their calling and election sure, lose what they can never (in the full sense of the word) regain; but they may nevertheless attain to the second place.

It is truly remarkable how very little is said in this chapter of the Revelation relative to the millennial period. We are merely told of the fact of the existence of such a period, and that during that time the saints bear rule; whether visibly on earth, or invisibly, we are not told; but the probability seems to be that they reign visibly, inasmuch as afterwards the nations compass the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; which almost implies that such city was visible, unless indeed we take it in a symbolical sense. We know, moreover, that during the thousand years Satan is bound, and therefore everything is greatly ameliorated. Yet, in spite of this, it is clear that men are very far from being righteous, or from having learned the lesson that they ought to have learned; for no sooner is Satan released, than they seem at once to return to their evil ways, and are led astray. The great lesson the millennium seems designed to teach is, therefore, that apart from external temptation, and even under the enlightening guidance of righteous government, men are prone to go astray. It would seem needful, therefore, that a further lesson should be taught them; and this appears to be one design, at all events, of the existence of a millennial period. The human race thus is made to learn that it is utterly and completely dependent upon God for everything, and that it is from His hand that all our blessings, all our pleasures, and all our happiness must be received, and from that alone. Men are prone to think that they sin only because they are tempted; and often justify themselves to themselves by the thought that they are powerless to resist. Now, however, they can have no such excuse; and thus all ground of boasting will be taken away, and "all the world will be found guilty before God," in order that they may learn that by deeds of law they cannot save themselves, but must be saved only by a loving trust in, and obedience to, God. For this, in my opinion, is what Faith means; it is no intellectual assent; it is a true and loving trust in Christ, who saves the believer.

"The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." This implies probably that after the expiration of the thousand years the general resurrection would take place. Christ, by His resurrection, opens the graves of the dead.

Satan, when loosed from prison, seems to have no great difficulty in deceiving the nations- perhaps the long absence of external trial made his success the easier; at all events they are seduced, and apparently are made to believe that the then rulers of the world (the saints) must be put down, and they use all their efforts to effect this result, but are themselves destroyed by fire from heaven; and the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire, where the beast and the false prophet are, or were; for there is no verb in the original, and

the sense seems to be merely that he was cast into the same lake of fire as that into which the false prophet was cast. The beast and the false prophet seem most distinctly not to be persons, but systems or principles; and the fact of their being cast into the lake of fire, implies that all external power and all spiritual despotism are to be at an end, and that thenceforth Christ and His saints alone will possess power. In the case of Satan, however, it would seem to be different; for, undoubtedly, Scripture speaks of Satan as a personal being, and thus his total destruction is asserted.

The general judgment now approaches. Whether it occupies a long or short period, we are not told. Many think it will be a long process, and may extend over a long period; but of this nothing can be known for certain. In all probability, though Christ is the appointed Judge, His elect will be assessors with Him; and we may be certain that this judgment will be according to righteousness and truth.

"The book of life was opened." Obviously this is only symbolical; and is, therefore, a proof to us that there need not necessarily be anything corresponding to earthly trials at courts of justice. All that is implied is, that God will assign to each and all the place He appoints for them.

I have a very strong hope that those who will then be cast into the lake of fire will be the few; for the words, "Whoever was not found written in the book of life," are in the original, "If any one was not found written in the book of life," which seems to me to hold out a hope that the great majority were written in that book. However that may be, it is perfectly clear that some, at least, of those who are thus judged are not cast into the lake of fire; and further, that those who are judged, are distinctly not the elect. Why orthodox writers should take upon themselves to say that this general judgment is to condemnation, I know not, and think it utterly untenable and unfounded. Any one reading the above account, without theological prejudice, would unquestionably come to the conclusion that some, if not many, of those thus judged, were written in the book of life. T. W.

A

BARBICAN MISSION TO THE Jews, E.C.

NOTHER remarkable conversion of a son of Abraham, which I here briefly record to the praise of God, came about in the following

manner:

Mr. W- of a Rabbinical family in Germany, and of great Talmudical attainments, was wont to visit Jewish Mission Halls, and our own among the rest, from Saturday to Saturday. His delight was not only to refute, as he thought, the teaching of the New Testament, but also to indulge in blasphemous phraseology, of which art he was perfect master. With him, as indeed with a great many of his class, the coming of Messiah," and "the shedding of blood, without which there is no remission," were mere metaphors, meaning anything or nothing. He argued that everybody could be his own Messiah and his own sinbearer. And if only some of the obsolete rites of the synagogue were dispensed

.6

with, and some objectionable passages to be found in the Jewish prayerbook expunged, Judaism would flourish like a palm-tree.

I remember how I used to admonish, warn, and entreat the Rabbinic sophist, taking him "to the law and to the testimony;" and proving therefrom that all things which were written of old concerning Messiah, had their fulfilment in Jesus (making a distinction, of course, between fulfilled and unfulfilled prophecy); but apparently all to no purpose. "You will never make me believe," he used to say, "that Jesus of Nazareth was our promised Messiah."

As all Jews raise an objection to the doctrine of the Trinity, though plainly taught in the Old Testament, and in all their Cabbalistic books, notably in their famous book Zohar, Jewish missionaries have, from time to time, to touch upon that sublime subject; though they are conscious enough that the Holy Spirit alone can teach the deep things of God.

One Saturday afternoon I happened to give a discourse on Isa. xlviii. 16: "Come ye near unto Me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I; and now the Lord God and His Spirit hath sent me (or, as the Hebrew

admits, "the Lord God hath sent me and His Spirit ").

Weeks elapsed, and I saw nothing of our friend after that, until one Saturday afternoon he turned up again; then no longer cavilling, but most attentively and reverently listening to all I had to say in the course of my address, about the natural state of man before God, about “sin, righteousness, and judgment." Whereupon I explained the Scriptural plan of salvation. I could plainly see a change in his countenance, in his behaviour, and in his conversation. The light, I judged, had begun to dawn upon his mind; but he had not the moral courage to confess the error of his way." He intimated, however, after the meeting, that he would write to me.

Accordingly Mr. W., some days afterwards, sent me a letter, written in Hebrew; a short extract of which I here reproduce, translated into English: "My Rabbi and my teacher, what I have long wished to express to you, but have not been able to do so for obvious reasons, I now make known to you with a feeling of sorrow and of joy; of sorrow, that I should so long and so persistently have remained satisfied (though conscious of my sinful state) with the superstition of the Talmud, while you so perseveringly held out to me the torch of Biblical truth; and of joy-ah! joy indeed-though I fully know what is in store for me to mar this joy-why, persecution from all sides. But I cannot, will not withhold it, cost what it may. To be brief, your words the other day about 'sin, righteousness, and judgment,' &c., quite pierced my stubborn heart. And, need I say, that the only refuge a poor sinner has before God, is— not the blood of calves and bullocks, for which, alas! there is at the present day no lawful altar; not the merit of fasting and penance, if there be merit in such; nor indeed even the Day of Atonement itself: for, of what use is the Day without the Atonement, i.e., without the atoning Sacrifice? No; nothing. Nothing else is meritorious, save the blood of Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, David's Son and David's Lord,' the Redeemer of the world. I long to see you and to embrace you, and to ask your kind forgiveness for the unbecoming, yea,

the blasphemous language I made use of in your presence, and in the presence of our Jewish brethren at your Hall.

Ever yours, in the truth of Messiah.

The Lord our Righteousness.'

On the following day our brother came to our house. Tears of repentance and of joy sparkled in his eyes. "Can I be forgiven?" was almost the first sentence he uttered. "Forgiven! Yes. Forgiven also by Him who alone can forgive sins.". Full confession was then made before the Throne of grace in the Name which is above every name. And our dear brother was soon after initiated into the Church of Christ by the sacred rite of baptism; a well-known evangelical minister of Stoke Newington performing the impressive service in the presence of a large congregation; and we all rejoiced on the solemn and blessed occasion long to be remembered.

Our dear brother prophesied rightly. Persecution soon followed upon his baptism. His Jewish employer (in the fur business) soon turned his back upon him. His best friends became his worst enemies. But we succeeded to get suitable employment for him elsewhere; and he now adorns the doctrine of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And Mr. W., notwithstanding that he has to work hard for a living, is never ashamed of the Gospel. And those who once heard him blaspheme, see in him a changed man! I have never seen a more humble follower of Christ since I myself, by the grace of God, have been a disciple of the Lord Jesus. And such cases in the Jewish Mission are by no means "rare and far between." To God be all the praise!

In my next paper I hope to give a short account of the recent conversion of a young British Jewess, who is in our house at the present moment, and whom my wife is training as a Bible-woman, to work among her and our Jewish sisters, who know comparatively little of Bible truth. The only knowledge of religion they have is, that they are Jewesses, and that they have to perform certain rites, as imposed upon them by the ever active Rabbis!

Is there not cause enough for awakened interest and sympathy in the hearts of the Lord's stewards on behalf of our nation, especially now, when they flock to our shores from the different lands of their persecution? Seeing the urgent necessity there exists at present for extended missionary effort, we have removed from our former quarter to our present address, as below; where there is better accommodation for holding prayer-meetings and giving Bible readings. And, having incurred great expense in connection with these indispensable alterations, &c., some practical sympathy on behalf of the cause would, at this juncture, be especially cheering.

All contributions towards the Mission will be gratefully acknowledged; when a printed receipt and an Annual Report will be forwarded. PAUL WARSCHAWSKI.

6, Farleigh Road,

Stoke Newington, London, N.

A

THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE.

VERY defective weapon may do astonishing work, provided the arm which wields it be nerved with fire. But it were vain for the non-commissioned champion to seize the historical jawbone or the oxgoad of another illustrious warrior, and exclaim, "Surely the weapon with which Samson slew his thousand must be irresistible. Armed with the same instrument I will go forth and in like manner decimate the camp of the Philistines."

Nay, nay, my friend; you will be chased from the field with ignominy. Furthermore, it would be an equally arrogant enterprise if you were to take the field, armed in panoply, if the panoply be the thing in which you trust.

To give this maxim a practical turn, let the word panoply stand for a logical and faultless apprehension of Bible truth, supposing such an attainment possible to finite man; and thus furnished, let the evangelical crusader go to work, strong in the conviction (a very true and lawful one) that unsophisticated truth is an infinitely more serviceable weapon than diluted truth. And what will be the result of his campaigning? We cannot say. No man may say. But the crusader must not be surprised if he should chance to discover that his own results are immeasurably eclipsed by those of other workers, whose weapons and tactics he would scorn to adopt. Illustrations of this state of things are, at the present day, lying around us in all directions. Our fellow-believers in the doctrines of Life in Christ cannot desert their distinctive colours, yet how glad they would be to share the proselyting spoils of William Haslam or Dwight Moody, and, with them, to enjoy the ratification of true credentials.

Where then lies the hindrance? Do we doubt the inherent force of our principles? No, not for a moment. Is it then that our mode of presenting them is complicated, or encumbered with side-issues? or is the great want that of evangelists fired, not with less love for truth, but with more sympathy for "the common people?" or does the apparently slow growth of Pauline Theology arise from the soil of the popular conscience being poisoned through the false teaching of centuries? or are "the common people" less likely to be charmed with the message of life now than they were in the days of the Son of man, when we are assured they heard Him gladly? Something, no doubt, is to be gathered from all the above considerations; and none of them ought to paralyze our action, or make us stand in doubt of ultimate triumph. We happen to know that the intellectual appetite of the manufacturing classes who come within the range of Mr. Edward White's influence in Camden Town is visibly on the increase; similar messages reach us from Mr. Brown, of New Zealand; and many other centres at home and abroad could, no doubt, furnish equally sunshiny details. So that what we have to do just now is to be thankful for the weapons which the Great Captain has put into our hands, to be far more lavish in the distribution of pure doctrinal literature, to keep to the central idea in all public discourses, and not allow the attention of the listeners to be distracted or amused by side-issues. This latter point was forcibly insisted upon at our recent Conference in the City of Salisbury.