Having said so much, we will now enter into the wide expanded field which lies before us, and search out the treasures of wisdom and knowledge which have been shining for ages like a light in a dark place. We will explore regions unknown to many; we will gaze upon the opening glories which present themselves on every side, and feast our souls with knowledge which is calculated in its nature to enlarge the heart, to exalt the mind, and to raise the affections above the little, mean, grovelling things of the world, and to make one wise unto salvation. But, first, for the definite rule of interpretation. For this we will not depend on any man or commentary, for the Holy Ghost has given it by the mouth of Peter: "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation." 2 Peter i, 20. There is one grand division to be kept constantly, in view in the study of prophecy; namely, the distinction between the past and the future. The reader should be careful to ascertain what portion has been fulfilled, and what remains to be fulfilled: always remembering Peter's rule of interpretation will apply to both. Now, if we should find in our researches that every prophecy which has been fulfilled to the present year, has been _literally_ fulfilled, then it follows of necessity that every prophecy which is yet future will not fail of a _literal_ fulfilment. Let us commence with the days of Noah. Gen. vi, 17: "And behold I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die." In the verses which follow the above the Lord commands Noah to enter the Ark, and take with him animals of every kind, etc. And in the 22d verse it is written, "Thus did Noah, according to all that God commanded him, so did he." It was well for Noah that he was not well versed in the spiritualizing systems of modern divinity; for, under their benighted influence, he would never have believed that so marvelous a prophecy would have had a literal meaning and accomplishment. No, he would have been told that the flood meant a spiritual flood, and the Ark a spiritual Ark, and, the moment he thought otherwise, he would have been set down for a fanatic, knave, or fool; but it was so, that he was just simple enough to believe the prophecy literally. Here then is a fair sample of _foreknowledge_; for all the world, who did not possess it, perished by the flood.