character and attributes of the moral Governor of the universe. It has been said that Satan can transform himself into an angel of light, but not more strange is his transformation than the manifestation of one who will deceive even the elect and lead men to perdition by reasoning of the universal benevolence and long-suffering of the Creator, but not of His righteousness and unerring justice, which by no means can exculpate the guilty. Thus, like the lying prophet of Israel, he preaches peace where there is no peace, and lulls the souls of men into a deadly lethargy, while he proclaims, as if inspired by divine authority, that there is no future retribution for guilt, no dread of punishment or judgment to come. "God is love," a being too beneficent to visit with eternal condemnation the venial errors of those who follow only the impulses of imperfect nature. He will treat all alike with sublime indifference, and finally grant a universal absolution for all offences committed against His moral code, which is based, not on immutable truth, but on the principles of mere expediency. Nothing can tend more than such teaching to cause that general demoralisation of society which we are led to expect will prevail in the latter age of this world. It is to this age that we believe our Saviour refers in the parable which describes the fearful state of the man possessed by the unclean spirit. There we find that the particular lust, the besetting sin, whether it be intemperance or covetousness, has been driven out for a time; but this change has not been effected by the influence of a love based on faith in the Son of God, but by some less worthy motive, by the fear of shame, the desire to gain an independence, and to be in good repute with our fellow-men. Hence the reform goes no further, the void remains still unfilled, the heart is not preoccupied, and the evil spirit who has been waiting for his opportunity again envelops the victim in his toils.

Take good heed of this parable, ye who would read rightly the signs of the times. Do not sound a premature note of triumph. Do not imagine that the victory is gained when one evil spirit has been expelled. Remember that their name is legion. We may be deceived by the appearance of reform where the reality does not exist. There is with nations as with men a time of satiety, when pleasures begin to pall upon them, and old lusts are abandoned through utter weariness, and old idols are cast away because a rationalistic age will not endure the toys and foolishness of childhood. And the heathen may no longer sacrifice at his demon-shrines, the Brahmin may abjure his caste, the followers of Mahomet, the nations long

devoted to the Papacy, may cast off their allegiance to a creed which has enthralled them during centuries; and yet they may be still far, very far, from the real freedom of Christ's people, and the salvation of the gospel. There are many forms of iniquity; and it is possible that those who, by the force of reason, or through motives of an enlightened self-interest or expediency, have given up their old superstitions, may only be entangled in a worse thraldom when the cold calculating sophistry of a sensual age and the teaching of false prophets have prepared the way for the Antichrist, and inaugurated a controversy which the world has never yet seen, certainly since the days of Noah, between the powers of light and darkness, the sons of God and the children of the evil one. In that contest, which will be carried on, as we have before said, upon this earth, when the time draws near for the fulfilment of God's covenant with the children of Abraham and Israel, the most active opponent and rival of the Messiah will be the Man of Sin, the Antichrist. He will assert, for a time, his dominion over the Jewish people, and having been probably a chief agent in their restoration, he will claim their allegiance, and a right to sit upon the throne of David. The future advent of this adversary of the Lord has been distinctly spoken of in the writings of the prophets of the Old and the apostles of the New Testament. But his history may also be traced out in another page of Holy Writ. We may read it, if we consider the character and the chief circumstances, in the career of those who have been regarded as the especial types of the Antichrist. We shall now briefly review the history of these types, and thus endeavour to gain some idea of the nature and working of him who will exceed them all in the height of his wickedness, the extent of his influence and power, and the fearful circumstances of his end.

Before we enter into a consideration of each individual type, we would remark that, in the history of all those who may be said to be themselves, in one sense, Antichrists, or the opponents of God's Church and people, there are certain circumstances common to all, which serve to illustrate the perfect justice and righteousness of God's dealings with mankind; and these circumstances, we have reason to expect, will be again repeated in the career of the Antichrist.

The types whose history we propose to examine are Pharaoh, Saul, Ahab, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus Epiphanes, and Herod. Of these, we may remark one thing common to all. They were intimately connected, at one period of their lives, and brought into contact with that people whom

God had especially chosen to be the guardians of His sacred oracles. They had blessed opportunities of learning the truth, and some of them, such as Saul, Ahab, and probably Nebuchadnezzar, were instructed in the ordinances of God and the doctrine of the only true visible Church on earth. Therefore they were left without excuse. Let no one arraign the impartiality or justice of the Almighty in this matter. If those men were cast away, it was by their own default. If as vessels of wrath devoted to destruction, they became hardened in their career of wickedness, and brought on themselves swift destruction, it was because they had sinned against light. They chose the evil and refused the good. Therefore, their condemnation was just. Look at Pharaoh, whom some have regarded as scarcely a free agent, as one impelled by a resistless power which left him no choice or alternative, because God has said in His inspired Word, "Even for this purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth." And yet, he did not perish without a cause; Moses, one of the greatest prophets who ever appeared on earth, the chosen leader of God's people, stood before him to admonish, to declare the will of the Almighty, to call down blessings in case of obedience, or terrible judgments as the penalty of guilt.

If the warnings of good men, if the actual experience of the divine omnipotence, if signs and warnings and judgments, are effectual to recall the sinner from the error of his ways, surely Pharaoh should have been, beyond all men, contrite and repentant-a monument and example of divine grace. Yet all the influences for good were of no avail. He became more hardened, until, having defied the Almighty, he brought on himself utter ruin. Thus it was with Saul and Ahab, who were rulers in Israel. We find that opportunities of grace were neglected and the warnings of God's prophets despised. Saul disobeyed the direct commands of God when given by Samuel, and the sentence pronounced against him seems to have confirmed his impenitence and pride. The stern reproof of Elijah and the miracle on Mount Carmel did not restrain Ahab from his course of desperate wickedness; for the Scripture bears witness concerning him, that "there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord." To what purpose, then, were the admonitions of Samuel and the warnings of Elijah? They seem indeed to have availed little in the case of those who were determined to go on in their wickedness. But the justice and long-suffering of God were manifested, although those sinners became

hardened in their guilt. They had wilfully turned from the reproof and rejected the offered grace, and their blood was on their own head. Of Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus Epiphanes, and Herod, it might truly have been said, they had Moses and the prophets, if they chose to hear them. Daniel, one of the greatest of the prophets, was brought up at the Babylonian court, and advanced to high honour by the monarch himself. God vouchsafed to reveal to Nebuchadnezzar, by a dream, the future destinies of the great empires of antiquity. It may be that the monarch of Babylon, in his latter days, became a sincere worshipper of the true God. But we have little warrant from the Scriptures for this belief. Probably, like Ahab, he was struck by the extraordinary manifestations of the power of the Almighty, and for a time repented and went softly, until the impression had passed away, and the world, with its cares, its pomp, and ambition, lured him back to the paths of sin. The late remorse of Antiochus Epiphanes, who confessed on his dying bed that he was justly punished for his tyranny and persecution of the Jewish people, might lead us to suppose that he knew of the peculiar privileges, and the favour shown by God to the children of the covenant. But he wilfully despised the law, set aside the plain ordinances of God, and polluted His sanctuary. Of Herod, it need only be said that he lived in the land of Israel during the time of the preaching of the apostles, and during the first promulgation of the Christian religion. But he rejected the Word, he persecuted the followers of Christ, in order to gratify the popular clamour; and thus he drew down the judgments of God on his own head, and perished miserably.

Another thing we may remark regarding all these types of Antichrist. They had a time given them for repentance. Their career of evil was, as we might suppose, protracted too long for the welfare of those who were subject to their power or influence. But herein, again, was the righteousness manifested of a long-suffering God. He willed not the death of the sinner, until the measure of his guilt had been filled up, and nought remained but a just penalty for unrepented crimes. In the case of such men as Pharaoh, Antiochus, or Herod, it would seem as if they were especially raised up to show how men may become hardened when, by the Divine forbearance, they have been permitted to indulge in a long impunity for their evil deeds. Hence the tyrant and persecutor may be allowed to prosper for a time, and to work wickedness apparently unnoticed and unchecked, until good men begin to doubt the overruling providence of God, and to deny His moral government

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of the world. Thus the Psalmist says, "I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death; but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble like other men." These are the Pharaohs, the Sauls, and Herods of the world. For a season they are permitted to triumph, and even to persecute and injure the people of God. But a time comes at last when their brief tenure of power is taken away, their place knows them no more, and then are the words verified: "Verily, there is a reward for the righteous; verily, He is a God that judgeth in the earth.”

Although it does generally come to pass in the career of evil men, that when their life has been prolonged without any good result, or sign of repentance, God has manifested His displeasure by some signal trial or suffering at the end; yet this is not always the case. If it were so, we might almost be inclined to doubt a future state of rewards and punishments. It is because the guilty are often spared in this life, that those who know the unerring justice of God, and the nature of that law which ordains a sure retribution for crimes, either here or hereafter, do rest assured that a time will come when every jot and tittle of that law must be fulfilled, and expiation exacted for every evil act. But there may be reasons unknown to us for deferring or mitigating the punishment. The sinner may have repented for a season, and cried to God for mercy; and such is the efficacy of prayer, that sometimes even the supplication of an unconverted person has been heard when it is offered up in faith. A remarkable instance of this we may find in the history of Ahab. Having been terrified, for a season at least, by the denunciations of Elijah against his idolatrous house, he endeavoured to deprecate the wrath of God by an act of voluntary submission. He fasted and lay in sackcloth and went softly. And God said, "Because he humbleth himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days; but in his son's days will I bring the evil on his house." The full penalty was however only deferred, not remitted, for we know that afterwards that guilty family were utterly extirpated from Israel.

Here, then, to resume our argument, we remark that the righteousness of God is fully established in His dealings with those who stand forth in the world's history as pre-eminent for their wickedness, and consequently the fitting types of a future man of sin or Antichrist. The record proves them to have been without excuse. They were brought to the light, connected with God's Church and people, warned by His faithful ministers; but they rejected all, they would not come to the light; and though reprieved for a time, they ultimately brought