apostle says, that the Thessalonians should not be " soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by letter, as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceieve you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first." 2 Thes. 2: 2, 3. This epistle also was written about six years before the destruction of Jerusalem, and therefore, if any coming of Christ had been expected by the apostle, when that event took place, it would have been no deception to have preached that the day of Christ was at hand. Had a Universalist been there, he would have contended, as my opponent is about to do, that the day of Christ was at hand. I think 1 am justified in saying this, for even at this day, with the printed language of Paul before him, forbiding it, he now stands ready to contend that the day of Christ was at hand. Paul however commands us, not to let him "deceive us by any means, for," he says, "that day shall not come except the apostacy come first." Now unless my friend can prove that what Paul positively declared "shall not come," did come, he can find no coming of Christ at the destruction of Jerusalum.

I maintain then, that as there was no coming of Christ between the time when Peter uttered the words, "There shall come in the last days scoffers," &c., and the coming of the apostacy, and the restitution or all things, that he could not have referred to the last days of the Jewish polity, but must have referred to the last days of the Christian dispensation. Against this my friend will find there is no rising up.

It is not only a fact that the apostacy was to make its appearance before the coming of Christ, but the coming of Christ was to be the end of it. This is evident from the following: "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." 2 Thes. 2: 8. This man of sin-this mystery of iniquity was not only to come before the coming of Christ, but the coming of Christ was to be the end of it. Now can any man in his senses, believe that the coming of Christ was not at hand when Paul wrote this letter, and at the same time believe that event then to have been only six years off? And can he believe in addition to this, that the man of sin-the apostacy, did come in six years, and fully developed himself, and

was put to an end by the coming of Christ to destroy the Jews? This is certainly too much.

But as I wish to get my proof before my friend as soon as possible, that he may make the best defense his cause admits, 1 hasten to call his attention to another passage, which reads as follows: "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the gentiles until the time of the gentiles be fulfilled." Luke 21: 24. The expression "they shall fall by the edge of the sword," evidently refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, but the expression "they shall be led away captive into all nations," certainly extends a long ways beyond that event. The words also," Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the gentiles until the times of the gentiles shall be fulfilled," extend up to the present time beyond all dispute.

Well, what follows after the Jewish captivity, and the treading down of Jerusalem by the gentiles? The Savior answers: "and there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things that are coming on the earth; for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory." Verses 25, 26, 27..

Now notice the order of these events: 1. The destruction of Jerusalem-"they shall fall by the edge of the sword." 2. The captivity of the Jewish nation. 3. The treading down of Jerusalem by the gentiles. 4. The fufilling of the times of the gentiles. 5. The signs in the heavens. 6. The perplexity of the nations of the earth. 7. The appearing of the Son of man in heaven. My friend will not only try to have the seventh event here mentioned to take place at the same time with the first, but he will try to make it appear that they are precisely the same thing.

To this passage I invite his special attention. And if the captivity of the Jewish nation stands between the destruction of Jerusalem and the coming of Christ, I hope he will show us how he has the two occurrences at the same time.

[Time expired.]

MR. MANFORD'S FIRST REPLY.

MESSRS. MODERATORS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN :

Before examining Mr. Franklin's proof texts, I will notice some of his introductory remarks. He speaks correctly, when he says that man is influenced by hope and fear, and that the Bible informs us, that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." There is a vast difference, however, between the "fear of the Lord," and the fear of an endless hell. The one is filial, reverential fear, and the other is slavish fear; the one purifies the heart and the other corrupts it. The first is the beginning of wisdom, of liberty, of salvation, while the other is the beginning of folly, of slavery, of damnation. "Fear the Lord," is a command of Heaven; "fear an unending hell," is a mandate of creeds. The one should be observed, and all who do regard it, "are accepted of God;" the other should not be heeded, and those who do keep it, receive no praise of God, although they may of men.

If

He says, "it will be my settled purpose to show that our eternal weal or wo, depends on our conduct in this life." he is right, well might Dr. Watts exclaim,

"Great God; on what a slender thread,

Hang everlasting things!"

But if I am not greatly mistaken, it will be Mr. Franklin's "settled purpose to convince us, that man's eternal" condition after death," depends on the state of his mind in the hour of death, and not on his conduct through life. According to his theory, a man may spend almost his entire life in the grossest wickedness without receiving scarcely any punishment, and by repentence and baptism, just before death, go immediately to heaven, and occupy as high a seat in glory, as St. John; and yet he says he believes our eternal weal or wo, depends on our conduct through life!! He believes no such a thing. I will here inform Mr. Franklin, that although I do not assent to the monstrous proposition, that our eternal all depends on our weak and imperfect