New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-10-30
TIE NLLLENNIEN.

The religious convection which opens it,
session IN this city to-day differs from
any either which hos ever been held in this
country, in the fact that il Includes members
OF almost all the leading Protestant dcnoml-
M ions, ard also in The doctrine, belief IN
which hrng~ them together. Tins doctrine j.,
a. we understand it, not an essential part OF
the creed of any church here represented, but
Is embraced with most deYout faith by inhi
yldnnl members of all. The men who now
publicly acknowledge their belief IN It are
rccl,oncd among the foremost IN learning and
picty in the sects which they represent. Yet
this doctrine il probably less understood, both
~ 10 its sisniIcation aud its proofs, by the
secular world than any other Christian dogma.
Hence the present convention. By the time
il, session shall hive closed We shall all have
an opportunity to form at least an intelligent
opinion on the qu, stlon OF the personal reign
of Chti-t on earth
1t is a singular fact that this belief, in some
shape or other, las been found vaguely bound
up with every sort of religious crced-Pagau.
Jewish or Christian. Even the fre-wor-hip-
per believed that there would come a time
when Ormuzd, the spirit of light and purity
would conquer Ahriman (Or darkness and
vice., and reign triumphant in the world. In
every heather faith there is the same cropping
trust in Il Golden Are on earth To come, in a
visible Avatar of the good God. The Israel
ties, hoping for their Messiah, have defined
this trust most practically. The Talmud de
carcs not only that the jews VIII rcpoSseSs
Jerusalem, but that every ono of them shall
give birth to as many as were driven out OF
Egypt-GO,0OO.
The early Christians naturally turned eagerly
from the oppression and martyrdom which
were their earthly lot. to the sec
ond coming of Christ They looked for it
from year to year. In day or an hour he
might appear, and the earth, as by magic,
would become heaven. All cyil-sin, poverty,
even frost, storms, diSeasc-w0uld vanish
There would bc no more winters, no
more nights; the rivers would run filled
with actual honey, milk and wine. The
Millennium, TO these poor, starved, pcisc-
culcd believers, took on. much too SEN
sual aspect. II was not until the fifth century
that the more spiritual doctors of the church
stcrnly Tcpresael this material view of an
earthly heaven. Since them the doctrine that
the Saviour would himself return TO earth to
right all wrongs ana conquer all evil, has
arisen 10 fresh life among Christians invarI-
ably during times Of great persecution. The
defeated crusaders believed in it; 80 did the
smaller oppressed Sects in the religious wars of
The seventeenth century. Cromwell aud his
men vowed the Millennium had begun and they
were the saints of the Lord. Swcdcnborg
taught the same idea his disciples forming the
Church of the New Jerusalem.
q'bn suifs tlutirI difference brfyppn +he
doctriac taught by the thcOogans now
meeting here and the bulk of the
Christian Church, our readers will re-
member. il that while all believe the
world will some day be converted to the true
faith and practice Of Christianity. the mil
lennjal disciples trust that Christ will himself
return and govern il for space of thou
sand years. Many of these believers dis
courage all attempts to discover the time
when He shall appear. But such attempts
have been frequent, and supported by pro-
phetical Interpretation have moved the relig-
ous world to It's foundations. The year 1000
4. ID. was long held rs the dale: 1886 for
two or three generations was to be the APP
pointed time, according tO BurLeTs ntCrpre-
tahon Of prophecy. Miller fixed the date at
1915, and later. Cumming ut 1867. An at
tempt we believe. is made by the Rev. Joseph
A. SelsS, a Lutheran clergyman, who takes
leading part IN the present conference, to de-
termine the time approximately, through an
interprctation of an inscription found in the
Great Pyramid. DR.. Sess, however will
speak for himself on this matter We be-
speak the serious attention of thinking people