1

and the effect is, forgiveness of sin, union to the Divine person, and to the household of faith."

"ART. X. I believe all those for whom Christ intercedes, who are united to God by a living faith, and have received the forgiveness of sin through the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, can never perish; but are kept by the mighty power of God through faith unto salvation."

"ART. XI. I believe that all the promises of God are and will be accomplished in Christ Jesus; and that none of the human family are or can be entitled to the promises of grace, but those who are born of the Spirit in Christ Jesus, any more than the antediluvians could have been saved from the deluge without entering the ark."

"ART. XII. I believe that Jesus Christ will eventually take away the sin of the world, and cleanse the earth from all pollution, so that this earth will become the abode of the saints forever, by means which he has appointed; all believers being regenerated, sanctified, justified and glorified."

"ART. XIII. I believe that all final impenitents will be destroyed from the earth, and sent away into a place prepared for the Devil and his angels."

"ART. XIV. I believe Jesus Christ will come again in his glory and person to our earth, where he will accomplish his Divine purposes in the saving of his people, destroying the wicked from the earth, and taking away the sin of the world."

"ART. XV. I believe that the second coming of Jesus Christ is near, even at the door, even within twenty-one years, on or before 1843."

"ART. XVI. I believe that before Christ comes in his glory, all sectarian principles will be shaken, and the votaries of the several sects scattered to the four winds; and that none will be able to stand but those who are built on the word of God."

"ART. XVII. I believe in the resurrection, both of the just and of the unjust, -the just, or believers, at Christ's second coming, and the unjust one thousand years afterwards, — when the judgment of each will take place in their order, at their several resurrections; when the just will receive everlasting life, and the unjust eternal condemnation."

"ART. XVIII. I believe in the doctrine of election, founded on the will, purpose and fore-knowledge of God; and that all the elect will be saved in the kingdom of God, through the sanctification of the Spirit and the belief of the truth."

"ART. XIX. I believe in the ordinance of baptism by immersion, as a representation of Christ's burial and resurrection, also of our death to sin and life to holiness."

“ART. XX. I believe in the ordinance of the Lord's supper, to be "

The last article was left thus incomplete, and the series of articles was not extended, as it was evidently designed to have been, so as to give an expression of his faith on subjects not included in the foregoing. It is not known that his views, as above expressed, ever underwent any change,excepting as his belief in the date of the second advent was afterwards shown, by the passing of the time, to be incorrect.

DRYX — DIALOGUE WITH A PHYSICIAN, ETC.

FROM the time that Mr. Miller became established in his religious faith, till he commenced his public labors, a period of twelve or fourteen years, there were few prominent incidents in his life to distinguish him from other men. He was a good citizen, a kind neighbor, an affectionate husband and parent, and a devoted Christian; good to the poor, and benevolent, as objects of charity were presented; in the Sunday-school was teacher and superintendent; in the church he performed important service as a reader an exhorter, and, in the support of religious worship, no other member, perhaps, did as much as he. He was very exemplary in his life and conversation, endeavored at all times to perform the duties, whether public or private, which devolved on him, and whatever he did was done cheerfully, as for the glory of God. His leisure hours were devoted to reading and meditation; he kept himself well informed respecting

the current events of the time; occasionally communicated his thoughts through the press, and often, for his own private amusement, or for the entertainment of friends, indulged in various poetical effusions, which, for unstudied productions, are possessed of some merit; but his principal enjoyment was derived from the study of the Bible. His state of mind at this time can be better given in his own language.

"With the solemn conviction," writes Mr. Miller, "that such momentous events were predicted in the Scriptures, to be fulfilled in so short a space of time, the question came home to me with mighty power regarding my duty to the world, in view of the evidence that had affected my own mind. If the end was so near, it was important that the world should know it. I supposed that it would call forth the opposition of the ungodly; but it never came into my mind that any Christian would oppose it. I supposed that all such would be so rejoiced, in view of the glorious prospect, that it would only be necessary to present it, for them to receive it. My great fear was, that, in their joy at the hope of a glorious inheritance so soon to be revealed, they would receive the doctrine without sufficiently examining the Scriptures in demonstration of its truth. I therefore feared to present it, lest, by some possibility, I should be in error, and be the means of misleading any.

"Various difficulties and objections would arise in my mind, from time to time; certain texts would occur to me, which seemed to weigh against my conclusions; and I would not present a view to others, while any difficulty appeared to militate against it. I therefore continued the study of the Bible, to see if I could sustain any of these objections. My object was not merely to remove them, but I wished to see if they were valid.

"Sometimes, when at work, a text would arise like this: Of that day and hour knoweth no man,' &c.; and how, then, could the Bible reveal the time of the advent? I would then immediately examine the context in which it was found, and I saw at once that, in the same connection, we are informed how we may know when it is nigh, even at the doors; consequently, that text could not teach that we could know nothing of the time of that event. Other texts, which are advanced in support of the doctrine of a temporal mil

lennium, would arise; but, on examining their context, I invariably found that they were applicable only to the eternal state, or were so illustrative of the spread of the gospel here, as to be entirely irrelevant to the position they were adduced to support.

"Thus all those passages that speak of the will of God being done on earth as in heaven, of the earth being full of the knowledge of the glory of God, &c., could not be applicable to a time when the Man of Sin was prevailing against the saints, or when the righteous and wicked were dwelling together, which is to be the case until the end of the world. Those which speak of the gospel being preached in all the world, teach that, as soon as it should be thus preached, the end was to come; so that it could not be delayed a thousand years from that time, nor long enough for the world's conversion after the preaching of the gospel as a witness.

"The question of the resurrection and judgment was, for a time, an obstacle in the way. Being instructed that all the dead would be raised at the same time, I supposed it must be so taught in the Bible; but I soon saw it was one of the traditions of the elders.

"So, also, with the return of the Jews. That question I saw could only be sustained by denying the positive declarations of the New Testament, which assert: 'There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek;' that The promise that he shall be the heir of the world was not to Abraham and his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith;' that 'There is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female;' but that If ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.' I was, therefore, obliged to discard an objection which asserts there is a difference between the Jew and Greek; that the children of the flesh are accounted for the seed, &c.

"In this way I was occupied for five years, from 1818 to 1823, in weighing the various objections which were being presented to my mind. During that time, more objections arose in my mind than have been advanced by my opponents since; and I know of no objection that has been since advanced which did not then occur to me. But, however strong they at first appeared, after examining them in

the light of the Divine Word, I could only compare them to straws, laid down singly as obstacles, on a well-beaten road : the car of truth rolled over them, unimpeded in its prog

ress.

"I was then fully settled in the conclusions which seven years previously had begun to bear with such impressive force upon my mind; and the duty of presenting the evidence of the nearness of the advent to others, which I had managed to evade while I could find the shadow of an objection remaining against its truth, again came home to me with great force. I had, previously, only thrown out occasional hints of my views. I then began to speak more clearly my opinions to my neighbors, to ministers, and others. To my astonishment, I found very few who listened with any interest. Occasionally, one would see the force of the evidence; but the great majority passed it by as an idle tale. I was, therefore, disappointed in finding any who would declare this doctrine, as I felt it should be, for the comfort of saints, and as a warning to sinners."

His correspondence during this period shows ardent longings for the salvation of his relatives and friends.

In a letter to a sister, dated June 25, 1825, after writing on various subjects of family interest, he says:

"DEAR BROTHER AND SISTER: - All the news that we had to tell having been told above, I will now add a few lines; and O! may they be directed by Infinite Wisdom! What are your prospects for eternity? Is there a land of eternal rest, beyond the confines of this world, in prospect? Do you believe that the blood of the everlasting covenant can and will cleanse you from all sin? Are you satisfied with your present evidence of an interest in that blood? That we shall die is certain; and due preparation for a better world is wisdom; and we ought, as rational beings, to make ourselves familiar with the road and acquainted with the inhabitants of said country. O, my soul! go thou to the mansions of the dead, and learn there the end of all living. That we ought to be cleansed from all sin, in order to be happy, is certain; for sin constitutes all misery; and a person living in the enjoyment (falsely so called) of sin cannot enter into rest. How necessary, then, is the work