Among the blessings of this happy period, shall be that of a universal and everlasting peace. There shall be no more contention and bloodshed upon earth. “Nation shall no more lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” The arsenals shall empty their contents into the foundries and blacksmith-shops, and the weapons of war shall be converted into scythes and plowshares. O, glorious day! when heaven shall be seen upon earth, and earth itself shall seem like heaven! Behold the ferocious wolf dwelling with the gentle lamb; the furious leopard lying down with the innocent kid; the cow and the bear feeding in the same pasture; the infant leading the lion by the mane, and playing upon the den of the adder and the asp; and no disposition to hurt or destroy. These are the scriptural emblems of that blessed peace. Holiness and happiness, more united than David and Jonathan, more inseparable than Ruth and Naomi, hand in hand, two heavenly twins, shall go singing over the world. All envy and jealousy and hostility, whether of nations, of churches, or of individuals, shall perish before Messiah’s kingdom, as perished the image in the vision before that wondrous stone. _Thirdly_. The duration of the kingdom. This is the crowning circumstance of its glory. It “shall not be destroyed, nor left to other people.” Its enemies, however numerous and mighty, cannot overthrow it; and it “shall stand for ever.” Where now are the illustrious empires of Babylon, and Persia, and Greece, and Rome? Where are the Pharaohs, the Ptolemies, the Alexanders, the Cæsars, the Napoleons, whose voice terrified nations, and whose tread shook the world? Where—with all their power and splendor, their iron sceptres and golden crowns? Gone; mouldering in the dust; and their magnificence nourishes the worm. They are utterly demolished, and shall rise no more. But the King of Zion liveth through all time, and is himself “the Father of Eternity,” “the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last.” “His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and of his dominion there shall be no end.” III. Let us consider the nearness of its approach. The language of prophecy, viewed in connection with the signs of the times, will lead us to the conclusion that it is nigh at hand, even at the door.