In agreement with this are the words heard by John; "There were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms _of this world_ are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and He shall reign for _ever and ever_." Rev. xi. 15. And over what is He thus to reign? Most certainly over the kingdoms which He is here said to have obtained--the kingdoms of _this world_; and over these He is to reign "for ever and ever." But how is He to reign for ever over the kingdoms of the world, if the world and its kingdoms are to be destroyed? Whenever the earth is dissolved, the kingdoms of the world will be no more; and he cannot reign over that which has no existence! If, then, the world and its kingdoms are to be destroyed, He can never reign _for ever_ over them: or if He will thus reign for ever over the kingdoms of the world, then those kingdoms must exist for ever; and if the _kingdoms_ exist for ever, _the world_ on which they are founded must exist for ever with them. And exactly in accordance with this assertion are the words of the Psalmist: "He (the Lord) built his sanctuary in high places, like _the earth_ which He hath established _for ever_." And those of Solomon:--"One generation passeth away, and another cometh, _but the earth abideth for ever_." The same is declared of the heavens: "His name shall endure _for ever_; His name shall be continued _as long as the sun_." Psalm lxxii. 17. "His seed shall endure _for ever_, and his throne _as the sun_ before me; it shall be _established for ever as the moon_, and as a faithful witness in heaven." lxxxix. 36. Nothing can be more directly opposed to the common opinion than these explicit declarations of the Bible. It is certain that these passages refer to the visible earth and to the material heaven; and these it is expressly declared are to continue not for a limited time, but for ever: while in the passages adduced to prove the opposite, we are left to struggle among difficulties, without any certainty that the visible earth is at all intended, since even those commentators who believe the tenet are compelled, in most instances, to abandon the proofs of it. I have now established, as far as is necessary, my second proposition. I have shown that the literal sense of the passages brought forward to confirm the doctrine of the earth's destruction, are inconsistent with each other, as well as with other parts of the Sacred Volume; and therefore, that such literal meaning cannot be the true one. I have shown that the words of Jehovah assert that the world shall not be smitten any more. I have further shown that the duration of the kingdom of God, runs parallel with that of the visible world, and that therefore both must endure for ever. And lastly, that the sacred writers declare in explicit language the endless duration both of the earth and the heavens.