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him we mast attend.The Presbyterians of Nashville were anticipating a visit from this highly popular preacher. The writer was anxious to make his acquaintance for ooe or two reasons. Iu the early part of the present century he had boen employed by the General Assembly as a missionary to the Cherokee Indians on the frontiers of Tennessee. This mission excited a great deal of interest with the Presbyterian public. President Jefferson was far from being indifferent to this mission after the missionary was introduced to him by the Georgetown pastor. At the same time the General Assembly had commenced the publication of a monthly work called the Euan-geHcal Intelligencer, through which Dr. Blackburn communicated both his success and discouragements. His letters were well written. Fac itmUes of what Indian boys had written appeared, andthe writer remembers the interest with which toe pamphlets were read. This periodical extended to four or five volumes ; but ceased its visits for the want of patronage, although it had created an oasis or a spot of greenness in the Presbyterian Church. It contained portraits of Edwards, Witherspoon, John Blair Smith, Exra Stiles, Duffield, and other distinguished Divines. For many years the writer owned these admirable volumes, but in the ups and downs of the world they became dispersed ; but we suppose that Agoew has a copy of them in his Presbyterian library.To some extent we lost sigbc of the Cher okee Missionary. But in March, IS 14, we received a letter dated at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, from Nicholas Patterson, nephew to the Rev. James Patterson of Bound brook, and subsequently of Philadelphia.— The object of the letter was to give an account of a tour performed by Dr. Blackburn in some parts of the North, and of the won-surrection f Post ramonoarians say not.— Then, is it the souls of ’.he martyrs that “ lived,” and is this the first resurrection ? Surely not. Their souls never were literally dead and buried; and the spiritual resurrection of their souls, that is, their regeneration, was experienced before the death of their bodies. Then is it the nartyr spirit that “lived** and reigned rcilh Christ? But is the martyr spirit dead? or is it to die be fore the Millennium? The Word of God teaches us that in every age of the jhurch militant, the martyr spirit will be needed, and must often be exercised in the Christian’s struggles against the world, the fl’sh and the Devil. And the professor of religion who has not the martyr spirit when it is required, is not a true disciple of Christ. (Luke xiv: *26, *27.) 0le of the insuperable difficulties of the Post-millennial theory is that it demands the death of the martyr spirit when it is needed (before their Millennium) and its resurrection when it is not needed, (durirgthe Millennium.) But these “souls'’ seen by the apostle are described after their resurrection as persons. lie speaks of them as reigning with Christ. Principles are not said to reign with Christ. Whatever John saw was resurrected, and whatever was resurrected, reigned with Christ. He did not see the martyr spirit. He did not see persons who will live in unglorified bodies, and possessed of the martyr spirit. He saw the glorified spirits of the redeemed on their thrones. Then he saw them in their resurrected and glorified bodies, reigniog with Christ. But these persons, whoever they are, or principles, whatever they are, that have part in the first resurrection, are farther described as “blessed and holy,” and a3 those on whom “ the second death hath no power.*' The natural inference from this language is that those who do not have partlers oo-*to; way piauu, tuoMagog there spoken of were either the enemies of God by that name, inhabiting the north quarter of Asia, or they represented the enemies of God. The people called by the same name in Revelation, are the enemies of God from “ the four quarters of the earth, among whom are theso people from the north quarter, risen from the dead, if Ezekiel had allusion to any particular people. All the wicked dead are called Gog Magog, probably for the same reason that Isaiah once called Jews the “ people of Gomorrah.” These yamned spirits pouring forth out of heil with their infernal leader, proceed to take possession of their riBen bodies rising in all parts of the earth. The earth is full of them. Their leader makes one more desperate effort to defeat God’s plans of mercy. Whether hopeful himself of success or not, with the wonderful cunning of an arch devil, he instils this wild hope into the breasts of his subjects. Many persons suppose that the deception here spoken of is a deception on the subject of religio?i. But the passage does not even hint at such an idea. We are told in so many words what the point of deception is—viz: to gather them together to battle.” He deceived them with the vain hope of conquering the army of the saints. It is not even said that a battle was actually fought; but “ fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”— What will be the length of the “ little seasonI do not known; nor does any body e’se. I have as good right to suppose that it will be one hour or one day, as others that it will be “ a century or so.”I have not eaid all that I wanted to say on the subject of Christ’s second coming; but I have perhaps said more than ought to have been said in a newspaper. In conclusion, it seems to me that the views I have
Newspaper Details
Central Presbyterian
Richmond, Virginia, US
Wed, May 01, 1878
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USA 22 Jun 2021
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