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to mark out that period. "The last perse.
"cution of the Church," says he, "which
"will be inflicted by ANTICHRIST, JESUS
"himself will extinguish by HIS PRESENCE."

"When the thousand years are ended,
"Satan shall be loosed from his prison, and
"shall go forth to deceive the nations
"which are within the four corners of the
"land, GOGUE and MAGOGUE;- this will
"be the last persecution that the Church
"shall suffer in the whole world; the
"last judgment being then impending *."
And again; "this last persecution will proceed
"from ANTICHRIST." And very little con-
sideration was needed to discover, that the
personalities of the two in prophecy, were
also one and the same in fact: "GOGUS est
"ANTICHRISTUS-GOGUE IS ANTICHRIST;"
observed an elaborate commentator of a for-
mer age. For though some persons errone-
ously imagined that GOGUE was the name of
a people, (from not having compared the

* See page 10.
+"De Civit. Dei," lib. xx. c. 13.
POLE," Synopsis." Ezek. xxxviii.

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prophecy of St. John with that of Ezekiel,) yet the ablest interpreters have long since recognised their error, and have pointed it out. "Nec regionis aut populi nomen, ut vulgo putatur, sed regis aut SUMMI IMPE"" RATORIS terræ Magog *.- It is neither "the name of a country or of a people," says Michaelis, "but that of the king or EMPEROR of the land of Magogue.”

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But, if the prophecy of GOGUE is to be considered as now in course of actual fulfilment, and indeed as being in the greater part already fulfilled; what (the Millennarians will demand) is become, of the thousand years, or millennium, which was to precede the fulfilment of that notable prophecy? and of the first resurrection, of the reign of the Saints with Christ during those thousand years, and of all "those blessed promises of "which I deprive the Church+?" lastly, of the binding of Satan, from which event the beginning of those thousand years was to be

*"Supplem. ad Lex. Heb." No.

† See Preface, p. li.

computed? Let the good sense of St. Augustine, in this particular, reply to all these questions; and to the last, first.

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66

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1. "The binding of Satan' not only took

place at the time when the Christian "Church began to extend itself from Judea 66 over the heathen nations, but it also now actually continues; and will continue un"til the end of the Christian age, when he "will again be loosed. For mankind are "now converted from the infidelity in " which Satan had held them; and they "will undoubtedly so continue until that "end. Then he will be again let loose,

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though only for a short time. It is not "said, that Satan shall not deceive any one, "but that he shall not deceive THE NA66 TIONS (that is, without doubt, the 66 NATIONS which compose THE CHRISTIAN "CHURCH,) until the thousand years are

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expired. Hæc autem alligatio diaboli 66 non solum facta est, ex quo cœpit Eccle"sia præter Judæam terram in nationes "alias, aliasque dilatari; sed etiam nunc "fit, et fiet usque ad terminum seculi, quo

"solvendus est; quia et nunc homines ab "infidelitate, in qua eos possidebat conver

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tuntur, et usque in illum finem sine dubio "convertentur*. Tunc autem solvetur, "quando et breve tempus erit +.-Nec "enim dictum est, ut non seduceret ali66 quem, sed ut non seduceret jam GENTES, "in quibus ECCLESIAM procul dubio voluit "intelligi; donec finiantur mille anni." And, that this "binding of Satan," in respect of his power over THE NATIONS brought into THE CHURCH, is to be interpreted of the victory obtained by the ministry of OUR LORD upon earth, HE HIMSELF seemed to intimate when he said: "I beheld SATAN "as lightning fall from heaven!" and when he solemnly gave to His disciples "power "and authority over all devils." Then did that coercion of Satan commence, which terminated in that amazing event, the final extirpation of Paganism in the Roman Empire ; of which event Mr. Gibbon is constrained to remark, that it "is perhaps the only example

"De Civ. Dei,” lib. xx. c. 8. + Ibid. Ibid. c. 7:

"of the total extirpation of an ancient and "popular superstition; and may therefore "deserve to be considered, as a singular ❝event in the history of the human mind *."

2. With respect to the next question which the Millennarians may propose; viz: Where are the thousand years? Let the same authority reply. "This period embraces the "whole compass of time, between the first

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coming of Christ and the end of ages, "when He will come again.-The thou"sand years, are assuredly put to denote all "the ages of this dispensation, and to signify, "by a perfect or round number, the total

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sum or plenitude of time."Totum hoc "tempus quodlibet complectitur, a primo "scilicet adventu Christi usque in seculi "finem, quo erit secundus ejus adventus†.

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·Certe mille annos pro annis omnibus "hujus seculi posuit, ut perfecto numero no"taretur ipsa temporis plenitudo." This number, "a thousand years," appears evidently to denote a very long period of time,

*«Roman Emp," c. 27. + Ibid. c. 8: Ibid. c: 7.

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