A history of the work of redemption. Containing the outlines of a body of…

This may suffice as to the prosperous state of the church through the greater part of the period from the destruction of Satan's visible kingdom in the world to Christ's appearing in the clouds of heaven to judgement.

II. I now come to speak of the great apostasy there shall be towards the close of this period, and how imminently the church shall be for a short time threatened by her enemies. This I shall do under three particulars.

II. I now come to speak of the great apostasy there shall be towards the close of this period, and how imminently the church shall be for a short time thre•tened by her enemies. This I shall do under three particulars.

1. A little before the end of the world, there shall be a very great apostasy, wherein great part of the world shall fall away from Christ and his church. It is said in Rev. xx.3. that Satan should be cast into the bottomless pit, and shut up, and have a seal set upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and that after that •e must be loosed out of his prison for a little season. Accordingly we are told, in the 7th and 8th verse•, that when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and should go forth to deceive the nations, which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog. Which seems to show as though the apostasy would be very general The nations of the four quarters of the earth shall be deceived; and the number of those who shall now turn enemies to Christ shall be vastly great, as the army of Gog and Magog is represented in Ezekiel, and as it is said in