will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light," Ezek. xxxii. 7. Again; "I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts," Haggai ii. 7.

light of the sun is the

But accepting it in its moral as well as in its material significance, we can see how it will be fulfilled in that sense also. The sun is the constant symbol of the Saviour, the truth of the gospel; the moon that reflects the sun's light upon the earth, and is a servant to the sun, is the representative in Scripture of the Church. I need not refer to passages to prove that stars are the ministers of the Church. Christ holds the seven stars in his right hand. All three are used figuratively by Joseph, where he saw the sun, the moon, and the stars, that is, persons in rank and authority, bow down to him, and do him homage. If this be the meaning of the text, we may expect that the light of the sun, that is, Christianity, will be darkened; that there will grow up on all sides portentous and frightful heresies. In one part of America these are at this moment rank and rife enough; and I need not tell you what is taking place in the Church of England at this moment, where the light of the sun, that is, Christianity, is undergoing, from some who are in it, but not of it, a fearful eclipse; and instead of the light brightening towards the Millennial morn, nearly two hundred of her ministers have receded into medieval

darkness, and perhaps if two thousand more were to go to the same place they would not be acting against their own feelings and convictions, and would oblige the rest. What have we here, then? An obscuration of faith in some of the most prominent preachers of the gospel.

Then, the moon was not to give her light, that is, churches would lose the distinctness of their character, the purity of their doctrines, the holiness of their relationship, and become unfaithful. Whether the obscuration that has begun, and to which I have alluded, may go further, I cannot say; but this we do know, "that in the latter times some," -and that means a great number,-"shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of damoviwv," that is, separate spirits; "speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving." 1 Tim. iv. 1-3.

The stars were not to give their light. I have already shown in the obscuration of some, that these stars have ceased to be reflectors of the pure light of the sun, and are radiating darkness, not light, upon the world.

Then the powers of heaven are to be shaken. These, I believe, denote angels. They are not sun, nor moon, nor stars. Αἱ δυνάμεις are the words. Angels have a deep interest in the progress of Christianity; and when they see the last obscura

tion of the light, the sun, moon, and stars changed from their original functions, they will be moved, and make ready to go forth and separate the tares from the wheat, and gather the elect of God into their everlasting home.

It is added, that when Christ comes "all the tribes of the earth shall mourn." Here, no doubt, is the Jewish people. The language is so peculiar, that I think it cannot be applied to the Gentiles. It is the usual Greek word applied to the Jews, Tãσai ai quλai. Now, if we refer to ancient prophecy, we shall see how distinctly this is alluded to. For instance, in Zechariah xii. 9-10, "And it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look upon me," that is, Christ, "whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born." We have an allusion to the very same thing in Revelations i. 7, where we read, "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him," that is, the Jews: "and all kindreds of the earth (rãdai ai quλai) shall wail," or mourn, "because of him." But that wailing or mourning of the Jewish people is not a mourning of despair, but of genuine repentance. The Holy Spirit shall be poured out upon them all. They shall see

Christ, whom their fathers crucified, and shall mourn over the sins of their nation, and grieve over their own unfaithfulness to duty, to Christ, and to his gospel; and through his blood shall be pardoned, absolved, and sanctified, and become the metropolitan people among the nations of the earth.

"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven." It has puzzled many to decide what is the meaning of this. Alford, a sober and competent critic, thinks it will be a picture of the Cross of Christ emblazoned upon the concave of the skies with unearthly brilliancy and splendour; that the nations shall see it, and some shall blaspheme while others shall rejoice in it. He seems to have come to this conclusion from the fact that Constantine, the Roman emperor, when the Roman empire was dissolved, and the Christian dispensation took its place, saw in the mid skies a brilliant Cross, and read the words 'Ev Tourw vixa, "In this conquer." Eusebius says that it was not a dream or fancy, but a real vision. Well, Alford, guided by this historical fact, thinks that "the sign of the Son of man" will be what all Christendom has recognised as the peculiar sign of Christianity glorying in the Cross-Christ and him crucifiedthat this Cross shall appear in the skies revealed in unearthly splendour, and shall strike the first deep presentiment into the hearts of men, that the Lord of glory, to whom it belongs, is just at our doors.

Others seem to think that it will be a brilliant meteor, something like that which guided the magi to the manger, which is called in our translation "a star," but which was not a literal orb, but some peculiar meteoric splendour, some celestial phenomenon, unprecedented, and not entered in the charts of ancient astronomy, so peculiar and striking as to be significant in their minds that One was born who was to be King of the Jews.

Others again think that by "the sign of the Son of man" is meant the advent of Elijah. I have not the least doubt that Elijah the prophet will literally come, and herald in Christ's second advent, just as John the Baptist literally came and heralded in Christ's first advent. To some this may seem strange, but I can come to no other conclusion, if it be believed that the writers of the sacred volume meant what they said. And if Elijah comes, his voice sounding in the streets of Europe, the mysterious appearance of one who comes from the realms of glory, clothed with its beauty, and spotless as its holiest tenantry, warning the nations in a voice such as was never heard before, and with an eloquence such as men never uttered before, will be a phenomenon so startling and striking, that God's people will hail him as the precursor of the advent of Jesus, while the world will probably treat him as Herod treated John the Baptist listen to him for a moment, and then turn round, and attempt to destroy him. At all events, we gather that there will be some great sign that is ta