An Address to the Public, and Especially the Clergy

and Especially the Clergy,
on the
Near Approach of the
Glorious, Everlasting Kingdom of
God
on Earth,
As Indicated by the Word of God, the History
of the World, and Signs of the
Present Times.

BY REV. J. LITCH,

Author of "Review of Miller," and "Christ's Second Coming about A. D. 1843," etc.

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day-star arise in your hearts." 2 Pet. i. 19.

BOSTON:

PUBLISHED BY JOSHUA V. HIMES,
107 Hanover Street.

1841.

STEREOTYPED BY
GEO. A. & J. CURTIS,
NEW-ENGLAND TYPE AND STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TESTIMONIALS OF THE ADDRESS 1

ADDRESS TO THE PUBLIC 5

ADDRESS TO THE CLERGY 9

SECTION I. THE NATURE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD 19

Prevailing Opinion on the Millennium, 19 - Objections to the theory of a temporal Millennium, 21 - The Nature of the Kingdom of God, as shown the Apostles, 24 - The Kingdom of God to be everlasting, 27 - The Resurrection, Gog and Magog, 30 - Distinction between the Resurrection and Judgment, 37.

SECTION II. THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS 40

The Original Promise, 41 - Promises not made to their literal Descendants, 43 - The Time when these Promises are to be fulfilled, 45 - The Manner in which these Promises are to be fulfilled, 47.

SECTION III. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND 57

A falling away, and Revelation of the Man of Sin, before the day of the Lord, 57 - Daniel's vision of the four great beasts, 59 - The time, times, and dividing of time, of Daniel vii. 25th, 60 - Identity of the Apocalyptic beast, Rev. xiii., with the little horn, 68 - The two-horned beast, and image of the beast, 69 - The number of the beast and number of his name, 72.

SECTION IV. THE SANCTUARY CLEANSED-OR EPOCH OF THE KINGDOM 74

A falling away, and Revelation of the Man of Sin, before the day of the Lord, 57 - Daniel's vision of the four great beasts, 59 - The time, times, and dividing of time, of Daniel vii. 25th, 60 - Identity of the Apocalyptic beast, Rev. xiii., with the little horn, 68 - The two-horned beast, and image of the beast, 69 - The number of the beast and number of his name, 72.

SECTION V. THE TIME OF THE END, AND END ITSELF 88

The Medo-Persian and Macedonian kingdoms, 88 - Roman, Jewish, and Christian History, 91 - The French Revolution, and the reign of Buonaparte, 95 - Great time of trouble, 104 - The words and book closed and sealed, 106.

SECTION VI. THE THREE WOES, AND THE TWO WITNESSES 111

Encouragement for studying the book of Revelation, 111 - The angel of the bottomless pit, Rev ix., 112 - Sounding of the sixth angel, 115 - Accomplishment of the foregoing calculations, 117 - The little book and its contents, Rev. x. and xi. chaps., 125 - The two witnesses prophesy in sackcloth, 126.

TESTIMONIALS OF THE ADDRESS

In presenting this Address to the public in a new form, with corrections and additions, the publisher is happy to have the privilege of giving the, following testimonials of the former edition.

Extract of a Letter of the Rev. S. W. Coggeshall

LITCH'S ADDRESS TO THE CLERGY.

Dear Brethren:-Permit me to call your attention to this work. It is well worthy of a most careful and attentive perusal. It exhibits much vigor of thought, depth of research, and logical acuteness. The work bears most evident marks of not having been hastily gotten up, or of having been sent hastily into the world without due reflection. The author, in general, seems to be well satisfied with the correctness of his own conclusions; and if there is any man who is able to overthrow them, I hope he will read the book and then do it.

The doctrine of a temporal millennium, I think, may be considered as utterly exploded.--As for the restoration of the Jews, for which some are looking, without doubt, it is a notion equally untenable, and as fully exploded.--Remember, brethren, the words of inspiration, "he that judgeth a cause before he heareth it, is a fool;" and how much more true is this of those who proceed still further, even to sneer at those things which they understand not. Therefore, brethren, read brother Litch's book before you presume to pass judgment upon its contents, and especially to esteem it lightly. When I sat down, I did not intend to argue the case, even so far as I have, but merely to call your attention to the book. Read it, brethren, and then judge for yourselves.
S. W. Coggeshall.

Note from Rev. Daniel Wise

Rev. J. Litch,-Dear Brother:-I have read your Address to the Clergy with much pleasure. When I took it up, my mind was deeply prejudiced against the theory it advocates, but when I laid it down those prejudices were greatly softened. Still I am not convinced, but merely set on a train of inquiry into the subject, that I intend shall result in a perfect settlement of my opinion on the questions involved. I consider your address far before Mr. Miller's lectures in perspicuity, consistency and force, and you have my best wishes for its wide circulation. Very respectfully yours,
Daniel Wise.

Extract of a Letter from Rev. John A. Sillick

To Rev. J. Litch.-"Since last year I have been a subscriber to the Literalist, ¹1 which I have read with great interest, and from which I have received much interesting light and information. The idea of the personal appearing and reign of Christ with all his saints upon this earth was new and enrapturing. I was convinced, from a fair investigation of the subject, that my former views had been traditional rather than scriptural. Though I was much pleased with the general views set forth in the Literalist, yet there were many things which I could not subscribe to.

"Your little work gave me a more clear, and, I think, scriptural view of the subject. I think it must strike the mind of every candid reader with the force of the truth. Whether yon are correct in fixing the dates of the prophetic time, will soon be determined, At any rate, if the general theory is correct, the time is near, even at the door; and it becomes us to sound the midnight cry, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh. The more I examine the prophecies and compare these prophetic periods with history, the more I am convinced that you are not far out of the way."

The additions that have been made by the author, particularly relating to the fall of the Turkish empire, cannot fail to make the work still more interesting.
Boston, July 15, 1841. Joshua V. Himes.

ADDRESS TO THE PUBLIC

We have a sure word of prophecy, whereunto we do well that we take heed, as unto a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in our hearts. This word of prophecy relates to things past, present, and future, but all centre in Christ, his sufferings, and the glory which shall follow.

That both these events are the subject of prediction, must be conceded by all who acknowledge the divine authenticity of the Bible. That all which was predicted of Christ's sufferings, both of manner and time, has been fulfilled to the letter, is acknowledged by all Christians: but the manner and times of his sufferings were no more plainly taught than those of the following glory. If so, then it becomes the solemn and imperious duty of all believers in the Bible, to examine the word of God carefully for themselves in reference to these things. True, many at the present day think it useless labor, if not worse than useless, to attempt an investigation; but not so the apostle: "Ye do well that ye take heed."

Although the following pages were originally addressed to the clergy, yet they were not designed exclusively for them, but for the public generally.

The object of the writer in giving this work to the public, was to present, in a condensed and consecutive from, the great and grand subjects of scripture prophecy, and the times of their fulfilment; and to present the whole so briefly and distinctly that everybody, of common capacity and any disposition to inquire for light on the subject, might understand the theory in its various bearings.

There are very many persons who have but small means, and hardly feel themselves able or willing to expend much in the investigation of this subject, who are furnished in this work with a full view for a trifling expense, and are thus left without excuse for their ignorance on the subject.

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The same, also, may be remarked in relation to those who complain of a want of time; the work is so brief, and yet full, that no one who has any disposition to investigate the subject at all, but can find time for going through with the book at least once. But is believed that one careful perusal will not be all that the attentive reader will be disposed to give it; but he will feel that it will amply repay him for a more full and extended investigation of the prophecies.

More than one year has now passed since this work was first given to the public, daring which time the writer has been a diligent and careful observer of the Signs of the Times, and student of the Holy Scriptures. But, on reviewing the work, he finds very few words, except typographical errors, which he wishes to change. But, on the other hand, he has found much to convince him of the correctness of his positions as expressed in this book; especially the affairs of the East, in the departure of the Ottoman supremacy and independence in Constantinople, corresponding so exactly as it does with the calculations made in reference to it in this work. (See Section VI.) To that calculation is now added a history of the accomplishment of the calculation.

That this humble production, with all its imperfections, has been the instrument of good to some, the writer has strong reasons for believing; and therefore the more cheerfully sends forth the second edition, praying that God may make it a blessing to the church and the world.

Reader, lay aside prejudice, examine carefully, weigh candidly, and decide with an enlightened judgment and good conscience, laying to heart, and acting in reference to the truths herein disclosed, that you may meet God in peace, and enter into his glory.

Boston, July, 1841.

ADDRESS TO THE CLERGY

Dearly Beloved Brethren,-Your station and the relation you hold to society, invests you with a power over the minds of men, on all subjects connected with religion, such as no other class of men can possess. If truly called of God to the work in which you are engaged, you are placed as watchmen on the walls of Zion, to hear the word at the mouth of the Lord and warn the people from him. This relation to God and man rolls on you an immense weight of responsibility; to you the community look for warning when danger is near, for correction when they err, and instruction In the way of truth and righteousness.

Hence, whenever any subject comes up for discussion, vitally affecting the spiritual and eternal interests of mankind, they instinctively look to their spiritual guide for counsel, and are disposed to rely on his decisions. But, unless the subject, in all its bearings and aspects, is familiar to him, how can he give them the needful instruction?

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If he attempts to instruct at all, under such circumstances, he will be very likely to darken counsel by words without knowledge. Thus, the blind leading the blind, both will be likely to fall into the ditch. It must, therefore, be the duty of every minister of the gospel to acquaint himself with such subjects, that he may act understandingly in relation to them.

The subject named at the head of this address is of such a character. For, "if it is true, it is tremendously true." It cannot be a matter of indifference whether the kingdom of God is a temporal or eternal kingdom, whether the time is near at hand or far distant. I am aware that it is often said, "it matters not when it comes, if we are only prepared for it? Are even a majority of mankind prepared for it? It is this want of preparation which makes it important that the note of alarm should be sounded. Does it matter when men die, if they are but prepared for death? Certainly not. But where is the true minister of the Lord Jesus, who does not think it important, frequently, to remind his hearers of death; and also to press on them its nearness? Yet the writers of the New Testament have not half as frequently, nor half as earnestly, pressed on us the nearness and certainty of death, as of the judgment.

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The question is now fairly before the Christian community;-"Does the Bible teach the near approach of the glorious, everlasting kingdom of God on earth?" And before the excitement on it can subside, it must be thoroughly investigated.

And why should not every Christian minister come boldly up to the work, and take up the subject in a candid and unprejudiced manner?

Will it be said, "There are some subjects which carry absurdity on their face, so legibly inscribed, as to render it unnecessary to examine them to draw an inference concerning their merits; and that the subject in question is among then number?" Wherein does the absurdity consist? Is it in endeavoring to fix upon the nature of the kingdom of God on earth, as taught in the Bible? Or is it in endeavoring to find the time fixed for the commencement of the prophetic periods of the Bible, the termination of which is to introduce that glorious state? It certainly cannot be in either of these; for each of them has occupied the minds of the greatest and best of men in all ages.

Yet this is all that these pages profess to do; and a true answer to these two questions is all that is sought.

Finally, the question resolves itself into this Is the millennium of the Scriptures to be in a

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temporal, or an eternal state? If in the former, then the theory advocated in these pages must felt. But if in the latter, then the objection as to the time vanishes. For the warmest opponents of this theory admit the prophetic period, by which we arrive at the time, to begin and end at the same time contended for in these sheets. They believe the termination of the 2300 days of Dan. viii. 14, will introduce a temporal millennium and the literal restoration of the Jews; but here it is contended that no such events as these are to be looked for; but that the event is the establishment of a glorious and everlasting kingdom of God on earth, at the resurrection of the just. There can, therefore, be no more absurdity in saying that the glorious kingdom of God will be established at a given time, than there is in saying that the period will terminate at that time, but to another event. For the Scriptures must decide what the event is; and it cannot be absurd to examine them in reference to this interesting and important question. Brethren, look at this subject. But there are some other objections which frequently come up, and exert an influence on the public mind. Some of them shall now be examined.

1. It is asked,-Does not Christ say, Matt. xxiv. 36, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man; no, not the angels of heaven, but my

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Father only?" True, he does. But what has that text to do with the case in hand? I do not-nor have I ever done it-attempt to determine the day or the hour of the Son of Man's coming. Let this point be distinctly understood. I believe the glorious appearing of the Savior will be between the fall of the Ottoman empire, which will probably take place this year, and the termination of 1843; and that by the end of that year all the scenes of judgment and trouble will be passed, and, in the expressive language of inspiration, "the sanctuary will be cleansed." But at what point of time between those periods Christ will make his appearance, whether in 1841-2, or 3, I know not. The signs of the times, as foretold in the Bible, will indicate His near approach, but for the precise time we are commanded to watch.

Let us, then, examine the above text in the light of these remarks. Christ had just uttered a prediction respecting his coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, etc; also, he had related a great variety of signs, which should precede his coming and indicate his near approach. To illustrate his meaning, he related a parable of the fig-tree. "When his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at

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the doors." "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." Who cannot see, in this connection, that the Savior did intend to be understood, that although the precise time should not be known, its near approach, yea, its approach even to the doors, might be known? But how far from us is an event, when it is at the door?

2. It is said, The parting instruction of the Savior, when he was about to ascend to heaven, is decidedly against the idea of knowing anything respecting the time. Acts i. 6, 7. "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom again to Israel? And he said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power."

It is very significantly asked, in view of this text, if we are to expect to know more on this subject than the inspired apostles? I answer, Yes. For they lived in an age when it was not necessary that the times and seasons should be known. And, hence, it was said to them, "it is not for you to know," etc.

After the times and seasons were revealed to Daniel, he was commanded to "close up the words and seal the book even to the time of the end." And again, when he would have known more of the matter, it was said to him, "the words are closed up and sealed even to the time

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of the end." Until the "time of the end," therefore, the times and the seasons were not to be known; but that time had not come in the apostolic age, but it now has come. (See section fifth of this book.)

Once more. Peter informs us, (1 Epistle i. 11, 12,) that the prophets who prophesied of the grace which should come unto us, searched diligently, "what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." But they were told that they ministered not to themselves, but to others.

How striking an illustration is this of the case of Daniel. He desired to understand, he searched and inquired diligently, but was told that the matter was closed and sealed even to the time of the end. If, then, the time of the end has come, (and it has,) we may expect to know more of the times and seasons now, than even the inspired penmen could in former ages They ministered not for themselves, but for us.

These objections are all I have room to examine in this place. But I, as one of the least and most unworthy of the ministers of the Lord Jesus, entreat you, my brethren beloved, whatever may be your peculiar denominational views, to read with candor the following pages, and compare

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the sentiments with the word of God and matter of fact; then make up your judgment. Do not treat the subject lightly; by so doing, you may lull some souls to sleep in their sins, which would otherwise be led to the Lord Jesus Christ for refuge. If there is great responsibility assumed by those who teach the near approach of the kingdom of God, and direct the community to read and search the Scriptures on this subject; how much greater is the responsibility of those who cry, Peace and safety; my Lord delayeth his coming.

For two years this has been the subject of my study, and the result is, that every successive step brings out new truths in favor of the system, and increases my conviction of its immutability, when taken as a whole. That this work, or indeed any other on the subject, is free from error or imperfection, it is not pretended. That it is not only possible, but probable, that the exposition of some texts of Scripture remarked upon in this work is incorrect, and that I may hereafter see differently in relation to them, I freely admit. But that every point, materially and vitally affecting the system, is founded on the rock of truth, I firmly believe.

In conclusion, permit me to say,-It is not a disposition to set myself up as a teacher, or because I feel myself wiser, or better, than my brethren,

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that I send abroad this little work. Far from it. No one can be more sensible of his incompetency for such a work, and of his unworthiness to address his fellow-ambassadors on a subject of such vast moment, than the writer. And most gladly would he sit at the feet of his brethren and receive instruction on the subject, could he see them awake to the work. And nothing but a solemn sense of duty to God and man could have induced this effort. But, with all its imperfections, it is now presented to the public. And if it shall prove instrumental in leading one soul to Christ and the kingdom of heaven, I shall feel myself a thousand times rewarded for all my labor, and the reproach I may bring on myself by the avowal of these sentiments.

I am, dear brethren, your fellow-servant, in the gospel of Jesus Christ, JOSIAH LITCH.

Millennial Grove, May 10, 1840.

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SECTION I. THE NATURE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

PREVAILING OPINION ON THE MILLENNIUM

The God of heaven has made, in the sacred Scriptures, a revelation of the events of futurity. By the mouth of his servant Daniel, he has given to the world a chain of events, commencing with the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, and extending to the establishment of the everlasting kingdom of God over all the earth.

In support of this position the second chapter of Daniel is adduced. God did, in that dream, under the emblem of a great image, the representative of four great monarchies, and a stone cut from the mountain without hands, for the ultimate destruction of those governments, make known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what should be in futurity.

That four such governments as were there represented have existed, and filled up the whole period of time from then to the present, is not a matter of dispute. But that the fifth kingdom is not yet established, is equally evident:-For, 1, The destruction of all the former kingdoms was

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to precede its establishment; which has not taken place. 2. That kingdom is to fill the whole earth; which it now does not. See Daniel ii. 34, 35.

"Thou sawest until that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet, that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." This representation is interpreted in the 44th and 45th verses of the same chapter.

"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

"Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."

If such a kingdom is to be established on earth, it is certainly a matter of some importance to us, who live in these last times, to understand the nature of that kingdom, and also the way in which it is to be established.

The prevailing opinion in the Christian church,

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is, that the kingdom predicted in the above passages is no other than the church of Christ in her militant state:-that this church is ultimately to triumph over all nations, and be permanently established in all the earth.

And the means by which it is thought by many this is to be effected, is the preaching of the gospel for the evangelizing of the nations. In proof of this, we are cited to Psalm, ii. 8: "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession."

The declaration of Christ is also produced as evidence on the same point. "This gospel of the kingdom must be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations; then shall the end come." It is also said, "They shall know the Lord, from the least to the greatest," etc. From these, and some other texts of similar import, it is inferred that the kingdom of Christ is to be established by the means now in operation for the evangelizing of the world. Furthermore; it is believed that when the world is thus evangelized, the state predicted in the 20th chapter of Revelation will be realized. Satan will lose his influence over mankind, and a state of perfect peace and tranquillity will be enjoyed by the world for a thousand years. This is what is termed the millennium.

OBJECTIONS TO THE THEORY OF A TEMPORAL MILLENNIUM

But against this theory there are many objections; some of which I will here present.

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1. The texts above referred to, do not teach the doctrine of the world's conversion. The text in the second Psalm teaches almost anything, rather than such a doctrine, as the following verse shows: "And thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." Instead of the conversion, the destruction of the heathen is there decreed. And yet this is the strongest text in the Bible by which the event is attempted to be proved. We will turn to the promise of Christ, of the universal publication of the gospel. Matt. xxiv. 14. "This gospel of the kingdom must be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations; then shall the end come." Not one word is here said of the conversion of the world. But this promise was given in answer to the question, "What shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?" When, therefore, all nations have heard the gospel, before all have embraced it, the end of the world shall come.

2. The Scriptures do foretell the destruction of the wicked, before, and preparatory to, the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth.

Psalm ii. 9th, as above quoted, is a text in point. So also the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, where the great image is to be broken in pieces and reduced to powder, like the chaff of the summer's threshing-floor, and the wind is to carry it away.

The parable of the wheat and tares is also in point. Matt. xiii. The wheat, or good seed, are there represented to be the children of the kingdom; but the tares, the children of the wicked one. These are both to grow together, until the

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harvest, or end of the world; when the angels shall sever the wicked from among the just, and cast them into a furnace of fire. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father.

There is nothing in all this of the conversion of all the world, the confinement of Satan, and a thousand years of peace and happiness, before the end of the world. On the contrary, wickedness is to continue on earth, and even afflict the righteous, until the final separation, at the coming of Christ. 2 Thess. ii. Paul has also predicted the same thing. "Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy by the brightness of his coming."

Will it be said that that prediction only relates to the papal system, and not to the wicked in general? It is replied, no matter for that: for the strongest advocates of a temporal millennium admit that the papal system must and will be abolished before that happy state begins. But this man of sin, if it means popery, is to be abolished by the brightness of Christ's coming. But when he comes, (see first chapter,) he will not only destroy the papal system, but will take vengeance on all who know not God and obey not the gospel. So there is no room for a thousand years' millennium between the destruction of "that wicked," (popery,) and all the wicked of the earth; for both are to be destroyed at the appearing of the Savior.

THE NATURE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AS SHOWN THE APOSTLES

The Lord Jesus Christ, in one of his discourses with his disciples, gave them the promise, that there were some of them standing with him, that should not taste of death till they saw the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. Matt. xvi. 28.

The kingdom of which he spake was evidently the one he is to establish when he comes to reward every man according to his work. Did the Savior ever fulfil this promise? I am aware it is sometimes said he did, on the day of Pentecost. But I deny it, and ask for the evidence.

No writer, either sacred or profane, has ever testified that Jesus Christ was seen on that occasion. But the text explicitly declares, "they shall see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." But the day of Pentecost was emphatically the dispensation of the Holy Ghost.

Again. If the Pentecost was the fulfilment of the promise, then all who heard him, with the exception of Judas, saw it; for it was a private conversation with the disciples. So that not some, but all, except Judas, saw it. But the promise was literally and truly fulfilled about six or eight days after those sayings, when "Jesus took with him Peter, James and John, and went up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them; and his face shone like the sun, and his raiment was white as the light." In what greater glory can the "Son of Man" ever appear than that in which he did appear on that occasion? But Moses, that faithful servant of

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God, who died and was buried by God's own hand, was there, in his glorified body, assumed for the occasion; for he appeared in the form of a man, as well as Elias, who never tasted death. These both were there; the former, the representative of those who shall be dead and raised when Christ appears in glory; the latter, the representative of those who shall be alive, and be changed from mortality to immortality, at the appearing of the Savior. And while this company of glorified beings communed together, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and a voice out of the cloud said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

But that the transfiguration was an exhibition of the kingdom of Christ, we have yet farther evidence. 1 Peter v. 1. Peter calls himself "an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker (or companion) of the glory which shall be revealed." But he was never (a companion or) a partaker of that glory except at the transfiguration. There he was a partaker or partner of it. Again, 2 Peter, 1st chapter, he dwells largely upon the theme. He first exhorts his brethren to a faithful performance of Christian duties, and assures them that by doing thus an entrance should be ministered to them abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To the end they might keep the kingdom of God in view as the prize for which they run, he tells them he would not be negligent to put them in mind of these things; not because they were at that time either ignorant or unsettled on the subject, but because he was shortly to put off his

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tabernacle, as Christ had showed him, and wished they might be able, after his decease, to have these things always in remembrance. "For we have not," he says, "followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; but were eye-witnesses of his Majesty. For he received from God the Father, honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy mount."

But, notwithstanding Peter was an eye and ear witness of the kingdom and glory of Christ, he assures us we have also a more sure word of prophecy than even his testimony, viz., the testimony of the holy prophets, who wrote of old as moved by the Holy Ghost.

From the foregoing exhibition and testimony, we learn that the kingdom of Christ is to be in a state of glory and immortality; for when the kingdom of God was exhibited to the apostles, they saw as its subjects,-

1. Jesus Christ, in a glorified body, his countenance shining like the sun, and his garments as white as the light.

2. Moses, who had passed the gate of death, but, on that occasion, clothed in a glorious body, was there, as an exhibition of what the saints will be at the resurrection.

3. Elias was there; an example of those who will be alive when the Savior appears, and be caught up to meet him in the air, to be forever with him. Such, then, will be the society of the kingdom of heaven.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO BE EVERLASTING

If there were no other difficulty in the way of establishing the doctrine of a temporal millennium, it would be fatal to it, that wherever the kingdom of God is spoken of by the prophets, it is introduced as an everlasting kingdom.

Dan. ii. 44. "The God of heaven shall set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall stand forever," etc.

Again, Dan. vii. 27. "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom."

Once more; Rev. ii. 15. "And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."

It is acknowledged, even by the advocates of the "temporal millennium," that the prophecies with which the above texts stand connected, must have their fulfilment before the millennium; and, also, it is contended that these very texts predict the millennium itself. But yet language cannot express the eternity of the kingdom more strongly than it is taught above.

But it is said the terms, everlasting, forever and ever, etc., are used in an accommodated sense in the above texts. But where is the evidence of the fact? There is none; the texts neither require nor admit of an accommodated sense of the terms. The plain, literal, grammatical

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meaning is the only one which is required. Dr. A. Clarke, in his notes on Gen. xxi. 33, says, "Olam," the Hebrew, and "aion," the Greek word, rendered "everlasting," "literally signify eternal, or duration without end."

He further says, "the first and best writers, in both Hebrew and Greek, use the terms to express eternal, in the proper sense of that word; and that this is their proper meaning, in both the Old and New Testaments, when applied to God, his attributes, his operations, etc."

But the terms in the above passages are applied to God and his operations; and must, therefore, signify, not 1000 years, nor 360,000 years, but unending duration.

The kingdom of God on earth is not, then, the church, either in its whole duration under its present constitution, nor yet the church during the last thousand years of time; but the redeemed from all nations, inheriting the kingdom prepared for and given to man (who was created in the image of God,) from the foundation of the world. That dominion was lost by transgression; but Jesus Christ, by the price of his own blood, has regained it, as the everlasting kingdom and dwelling-place of his saints. These shall go into life eternal. He is now the nobleman (see Luke xix. 11, 27,) who has gone "into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom and to return." But that return is not until the day of judgment, when his servants will be called to an account, and receive their reward, and his enemies be destroyed.

Indeed, it is difficult to conceive how the idea has so generally obtained, that the kingdom of

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God on earth is the Christian church under the gospel dispensation; and that this kingdom is to become universal by the conversion of the world of mankind to Christ. It is asserted, without fear of successful contradiction, that there is not a single text in the Bible which authorizes us to look for such an event; but there are a multitude of texts which declare the contrary.

I can but regard the doctrine of a temporal millennium as a dangerous error, and as such I feel myself solemnly bound to use my faithful endeavors to drive it away. It is dangerous, not in itself, but in its influence; man may, or may not, believe it, and yet his salvation net be necessarily affected by his opinion. But the direct tendency of the doctrine is, to lull a sinful world to sleep, while they are looking for the universal conversion of the world and the thousand years of the spiritual reign of Christ. And thus the day of the Lord may come on them as a thief. While they are crying "peace and safety;" "the coming of the Lord is far distant;" "the world is yet to be converted, and I shall of course be brought in," etc., sudden destruction may come on them.

I admit, if such a doctrine is taught in the Bible, we are bound to believe it, and also to teach it; and are not responsible for the consequences. But wo to that man who dares to teach it, and thus lull a perishing world to sleep, if that book does not sanction it! But where, I ask, is such a doctrine found in all the word of God? Shall I be told, in the twentieth chapter of Revelation? It is not found there. The doctrine of the resurrection is not more clearly taught in all the Bible,

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than in that chapter; and any argument which would prove that a mystical resurrection, instead of a literal one, is there taught, would prove the same fact respecting every other text in the Bible which relates to the resurrection of the dead. But that portion of the word of God shall now be investigated.

THE RESURRECTION - GOG AND MAGOG

In pursuing the investigation of the twentieth chapter of Revelation, it will be necessary to examine other parts of the Bible where the doctrine of the resurrection is taught, and show the agreement between them and this chapter.

1. The time when the resurrection will take place. Job xix. 25, 27. "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for myself; and mine eyes shall behold, and not another."

From this text we learn-1. That the resurrection will be at "the latter day." 2. That it will be when the "Redeemer stands upon the earth."

Again, Isa. xxvi. 19, 21, we are taught that the resurrection will take place when the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the world for their iniquity. From Daniel xii. 1, 2, we learn that it will be when Michael, the great Prince, stands up for the deliverance of his people; and when the wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn

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many to righteousness, as the stars, forever and ever. 1 Cor. xv. 52. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, the dead shall be raised, incorruptible." From the above texts, we learn that the resurrection of the just, at least, will take place at the end of the world, when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to be glorified in his saints.

2. The order of the resurrection. Daniel xii. 2. "Many of them which sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." In this text a marked distinction is kept up between the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked. 1. The resurrection is not at first general, but "many shall awake." 2. The righteous, or those who come forth to everlasting life, will come forth first. This text, therefore, teaches the doctrine of two distinct resurrections.

The Savior has also taught us, (John v. 28, 29,) that there shall be a "resurrection of life," at which time they that have done good shall come forth from their graves. There shall also be a "resurrection of damnation;" at which time they that have done evil shall come forth. Paul also taught, (Acts xxiv. 15,) that there should "be a resurrection of the just," and a resurrection" of the unjust," (1 Thess. iv. 16.) He taught that the righteous should "rise first." 1 Cor. xv. 22, 24, is also a text in point. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end," etc. In this text, the apostle asserts the resurrection of

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all who died in Adam, and gives two distinct periods at which they will rise, after the resurrection of Christ, the first fruits. 1. The resurrection of all who "are his at his coming;" implying, that all who are not his will not have part in this resurrection. 2. "Then cometh the end," when all his enemies are to be destroyed, and the mediatorial character of Christ cease.

Having thus briefly shown that two distinct resurrections, that of "the just" and "the unjust," are foretold in the holy Scriptures, and that the former is to take place at the second appearing of Christ, and the latter at a subsequent period; the way is open to enter on the examination of the twentieth chapter of Revelation.

1. The first scene which there presents itself, is a mighty angel descending from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. "He laid hold of the devil and bound him, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years are finished." There are two marks by which the angel above named is determined to be Jesus Christ. The first is, he has the key of hell, or the bottomless pit. (See Rev. i. 18.) The second is, he has power to bind the devil, and restrain his influence. This also is the peculiar work of Christ.

2. The next scene is the souls of the martyrs, and finally of all who had not received the mark of the beast, or his image; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. This is said to be "the first resurrection," "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the

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thousand years were finished." It is difficult to conceive how any doctrine can be more distinctly stated, than that of two resurrections is in this passage. But what construction is to be put on the period named-whether it is to be understood literally, or as a prophetic number representing 360,000 years, or yet as an indefinite period, it is difficult to determine. But the probability is, that it denotes an indefinite period. For as "time will be no longer," when the seventh trump sounds, duration will be unmeasured; all will be eternity beyond that event.

But it is still objected, "The Revelator says, 'they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.'" Again, "They shall be priests of God and of Christ; and shall reign with him a thousand years." Hence, it is argued, their eternal state of blessedness could not have commenced with the thousand years, for they were only to be priests to God and Christ, and "reign with him a thousand years." May not the meaning of the above text be, that the righteous shall live and reign with God and Christ, or with Christ in his perfect mediatorial character of God and man, during that period, before the final resurrection and judgment; when he, Christ, shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power, and also have destroyed death, when "the Son himself shall become subject," and God "be all in all?"

To illustrate this point, 1 Cor. xv. 22, 28 may very properly be introduced. We are there taught that after the resurrection of the just, "He must reign until the end," or final resurrection. And after that event, together with the final judgment

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and punishment of his own and his people's enemies, and the final destruction of death, the last enemy which shall be destroyed, he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father. And that, "then shall the Son also himself be subject to him who did put all things under him, that God may be all in all."

From the above, it is evident some change is to be effected in the character of Christ, after the final conquest of all his enemies. That change is to be from supreme authority to a state of subjection to God, even the Father. But if Christ, as the Son of God, is truly divine, and is one with the Father, co-equal and co-eternal, then in what sense can he become subject in which he was not eternally so? But if the human nature of Christ only is the Son of God, and in him dwelt the Logos, or "all the fullness of the Godhead bodily," according to Dr. Clark's opinion, then indeed there is a sense in which the Son may become subject, and God be all and in all. The object of the incarnation was, the destruction of the works of the devil; and when that object is fully accomplished, the union between the human and divine nature of Christ, if he is only the Son of God in his human nature, may cease. But Christ, as the "Son of God," and "the son of David," shall still reign on "the throne of his father David forever," subject himself only to God.

If this view of the subject is correct, then what is meant by the saints' reigning with Christ and God a thousand years, is very plain: that is, during that period, Christ, as perfect God and perfect man, shall reign over the redeemed world.

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And subsequently to the final judgment, Christ shall only reign as the Son of God, and the Son of David. But in the condition of the righteous there shall be no change; for "blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power."

But who, it is asked, are Gog and Magog, if none of the wicked are to be left on earth during the thousand years, and none of the righteous are to apostatize at its expiration? And in reply, I ask, what is the meaning of the following text? "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." What is it but asserting that when the thousand years are ended, the rest, that is, the wicked dead, shall live again? But when Satan finds Gog and Magog in the four quarters of the earth, the thousand years will have ended; for Satan is not to go out until they are. Gog and Magog, then, are all the wicked of the earth, in their resurrection bodies, preparatory to their final punishment.

But at the end of the thousand years, both Satan and his servants will be released from their prison. The devil will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle. They will go up on the breadth of the earth, and compass the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But as they will be gathered by deception, the object for which they will assemble will not be gained. Before any battle ensues, fire is to come down from God, out of heaven, and devour them. The final judgment of God, in the midst of their anticipated battle, will be poured on them, and they be swept away as with the besom of destruction.

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But perhaps the question may arise, "Is it not absurd to suppose that, after the wicked are raised from the dead, with all the knowledge they may be supposed to possess of the character of the devil, and the consequences of believing him, that he will have sufficient influence over them again to deceive them?" By no means! We know that men in this life are hardly ever deterred from an evil course by any consequences they may have brought on themselves by their sinful indulgences: on the contrary, they are overcome more easily by the next temptation, than by the first. And can we suppose they will be any more disposed to resist temptation after all the restraints of grace are taken off, than they are in this life? Certainly not.

We are told, Matt. xxiv. 31, that the Son of Man, at his appearing in glory, "shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Here let it be observed,-1. None but "the elect" of Christ are to be gathered. 2. The angels are the agents employed in this work. So also when, at the voice of the Son of God, the wicked live or come forth, their old master and father is made the agent of gathering them to their final doom. And this he accomplishes, as he did their ruin, by deception.

After the accomplishment of the work for which the devil "must be loosed for a little season," he is again to be "taken and cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever."

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I do not know how the scriptural doctrine of two resurrections, that of the "just and unjust," could be more forcibly illustrated than it is in this chapter. But not one word does it contain about the conversion of the world, or a spiritual reign of Christ for a thousand years. But the souls of all who had not received the mark of the beast or his image were seen, etc., "and they lived."

DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE RESURRECTION AND JUDGMENT

But it may be said, "The latter part of the twentieth chapter is irreconcilable with the above explanation; that in the 11th, 12th, and 13th verses, and not until then, the judgment and resurrection are introduced."

The difficulty arises from confounding the resurrection and judgment, or at least from giving the resurrection the precedence in the order of time; whereas the Scriptures place the judgment first. The case is this: the first part of the chapter is taken up in illustrating the order of the resurrection, and in making perfectly plain what had been before stated without illustration, that there is to be a resurrection of the just and the unjust. There is in the course of that description nothing said of the judgment: that subject was to be introduced and explained subsequently. Accordingly, it is presented in the 11th, 12th, and 13th verses. Verse 11. "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face, the earth and heavens fled away, and there

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was found no place for them." Verse 12. "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of the things written in the books, according to their works."

1. The Revelator saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it.

2. He saw "the dead," small and great, stand before God.

3. The books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. By the testimony of the book of life the condition of mankind is to be decided; and by the testimony of the book of their works, their reward or punishment is to be graduated.

4. "The dead" were judged. Not those who had been dead, but were then alive and before God, but "the dead" stood before God; and "the dead" were judged. After the judgment is passed, verse 13th, the resurrection is presented. "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, (judgment was executed,) every man according to their works."

Nor is this a solitary text which teaches the same doctrine. Heb. ix. 21. "It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment." Also Acts x. 42. "It is he (Christ) which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick (those who are alive when he leaves the throne of grace) and dead," (those who shall have died before that event.) 2 Tim. iv. 1. "I charge thee, therefore, before God, and the Lord Jesus

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Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing," etc. Nor is there a text which presents the judicial scene of judgment after the resurrection. On the contrary, the Scriptures can be harmonized on no other principle than that every man's doom is fixed before his resurrection.

There is not, at least I have never found it, a single text in the Bible which teaches the doctrine that all mankind shall stand before the judgment-seat of Christ in their resurrection bodies. These three verses, or the concluding part of the twentieth chapter of Revelation, then, so far from forming an objection to the explanation given above, of the first part of the chapter, is one of the strongest proofs we can desire of its correctness. And it also presents a key to many other texts of scripture, without which they must be locked up in mystery.

But if the judgment is to precede the resurrection, then we can understand the Savior when he says, "before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them," etc.; and it perfectly harmonizes with another declaration, viz., "that he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and gather together his elect from the four winds." But if the resurrection is to precede the judgment, it is impossible to reconcile them without making all mankind his elect. Again, it explains the apostle's meaning when he says, "The dead in Christ shall rise first;" and also, "they that are his at his coming." But if I am in error on this point, I will sincerely thank any one to show me, either from reason or scripture, wherein.

SECTION II. THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS

Intimately connected with the foregoing, is what is termed the restoration of the Jews.

The substance of the prevailing opinion on this subject is, That the Jews, the literal descendants of Jacob, are to be gathered from their dispersed condition among the nations of the earth, and restored to the land of Palestine, where they are to enjoy an independent, national government and privileges, among the nations of the earth, never to be dispersed again, to the end of time.

If this doctrine can be supported, it must prove fatal to the doctrine maintained in these pages. For if this event is to take place, then there must be time for its accomplishment. And it will be worth the while for any man who would undertake to overthrow the doctrine of the near approach of the glorious, everlasting kingdom of God, to pursue this theme, and establish the above position, if it can be done.

And it must be confessed that there are many passages of Scripture which at first view seem to favor the sentiment; and were there no others to counteract them, or explain their meaning, we

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could arrive at no other conclusion than that the Jews must be restored.

The course which will be pursued in discussing this deeply interesting subject, will be,-1. To examine the original promise made to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the time when, and the manner in which those promises are to be fulfilled. And,-

2. Examine those texts which are supposed to refer to the restoration of the Jews, and show their agreement with the original promise.

THE ORIGINAL PROMISE

The first promise made to Abram and his seed, is recorded Gen. xii. 6, 7. "And Abram passed through the land unto the place Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land."

Again, after Lot and Abram separated, the Lord appeared again to Abram, and said,-Gen. xv. 14, 15, "Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward, and eastward and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever."

After the promise of God to Abram that, he should have a son, and the offering up of a sacrifice, the Lord made a covenant with Abram, Gen. xv. 18, "saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates."

Also at the time the Lord gave to Abram the

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covenant of circumcision, and changed his name from Abram to Abraham, because he should be a father of many nations, he gave him a renewal of the same promise. Gen. xvii. 8. "And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

Once more; after Abraham had offered up Isaac, the Lord appeared and promised, chapter xxii. 18, "And in thy seed shall the nations of the earth be blessed."

On the above promises, it may be proper to remark.

1.That the land was given to Abraham and to his seed. Yet, Stephen said, Acts vii. 5, "He gave him (Abraham) no inheritance in it, (the land of Canaan,) not so much as to set his foot on; yet he promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child." So that the promise to Abraham must either fail; or be fulfilled in futurity, because he has never yet possessed the land of promise.

2. It was given to Abraham and his seed for an everlasting possession. But the promise can only be fulfilled in an eternal state. For the word everlasting is to be taken in its literal, grammatical sense. Nothing would be gained by saying, it is to be understood in an accommodated sense, and only extends to the end of the world. For in that sense, it is not true; neither Abraham nor his seed have possessed it even up to the present time; and Abraham not at all. Yet he is to have it for an everlasting possession.

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It must, therefore, be fulfilled in another state of existence.

But the same promise was renewed to Isaac and Jacob, Gen. xxvi. 3, 4. "Sojourn in this land; and I will be with thee, and will, bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, will I give all these countries; and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father. And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."

We learn from this, as well as the other texts quoted, that the seed to whom the promise was made, was the seed in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed. But who doubts but Christ was that seed? Yet, he never yet possessed so much of that, or any other land, as to lay his head on.

Gen. xxviii. 13, 14. "And behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth; and thou shalt spread abroad to the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and in thee, and in thy seed, shall all the families of the earth be blessed." The same remarks are appropriate here as on the foregoing text.

THESE PROMISES NOT MADE TO THEIR LITERAL DESCENDANTS

In the 4th chapter of Romans, Paul enters fully into the subject of the promise and covenant made

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by God to Abraham and his seed, and proves that the promise was not made to his seed through the law; nor to those only who were of the circumcision; but that the promise was to all who were of faith, though they were uncircumcised. He proves this by showing,-1. That the promise was made to Abraham, not after his circumcision, but before it. 2. That it was made him on the ground of faith, and not of the works of the law; so that he might be the father of all them who believe, though they be not circumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faith, that he might be the father of the circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had, being yet uncircumcised. 3. He shows that the promise to Abraham and his seed, that he should be "heir of the world," (not of the land of Cannon only,) was not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed: not to that only which is of the law, (the Jews,) but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.

The promises to which the apostle refers, are evidently those above quoted. The promise is not, therefore, to the literal descendants of the patriarchs, but to their spiritual seed. And this is yet more clearly illustrated by the same apostle in Galatians iii.

1. He shows, verse 8th, that as God was to justify the heathen through faith, he preached the gospel to Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed. He shows,

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2. That the seed to whom God made the promises, was not to all the literal descendants of Abraham, but to Christ. "As of one," and to thy seed, "which is Christ."

3. That the law and Jewish polity was only ordained because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. So that at the appearance of Christ the distinction between Jew and Gentile was to cease; the Mosaic or Jewish dispensation, and the distinctions formed by it, being only of a temporary character.

4. That Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles, are all the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, known under the gospel as being heirs of the promise of God, "for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

THE TIME WHEN THESE PROMISES ARE TO BE FULFILLED

1. They were not fulfilled to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange land, dwelling in tabernacles. Heb. xi. 9. These also "all died in the faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth:" verse 12.

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2. They were not fulfilled to the Jews under the Mosaic dispensation. For the promise or grant of that inheritance was "for an everlasting possession." But the Jews have not inherited the land of Canaan even one half of the time since they came out of Egypt, and should they again be restored to that land, and retain the possession a thousand, or even 360,000 years, it would not be an "everlasting possession."

3. They have not been fulfilled to Christians under the Christian dispensation. For Canaan has, during most of the Christian dispensation, been in the hands of either heathens or Mohammedans. Those promises have not, therefore, been fulfilled.

4. Those promises relate to an heavenly inheritance, and are to be fulfilled in an eternal state. Heb. xi. 10: "For he (Abraham) looked for a city which had foundation, (the New Jerusalem-see Rev. xxi.) whose builder and maker is God." Also verses 14th, 16th: "For they that say such things, declare plainly that they seek a country. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city."

But these promises can only be fulfilled in an eternal state, because there can be no such thing as an everlasting possession in time. They will be fulfilled, therefore, "when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, (the seed of Abraham to whom the promise was made,) and he shall reign forever and ever."

THE MANNER IN WHICH THOSE PROMISES ARE TO BE FULFILLED

They are to be fulfilled at the resurrection.

1. The promise of the possession of that land was given to Abraham personally, in connection with his seed, for an everlasting possession. But Abraham has never possessed it at all. But when Moses at the bush called the Lord "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob," he taught the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, and especially the fact, that those patriarchs would live again, and enjoy the fulfilment of the promise made them. See Luke xx. 34-38. In that state they die no more, and may enjoy an eternal or everlasting inheritance; neither do they marry or are they given in marriage, but are equal to the angels. Among Abraham's seed there shall be "neither male nor female."

2. Abraham offered up his son, of whom it was said, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called;" "accounting that God was able to raise him from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure." Heb. xi. 17-19. Is it not more than intimated by the above text, that it was only by a resurrection of the dead Abraham expected the covenant of God to be fulfilled to him and his seed?

3. Paul, in his plea before Agrippa, Acts xxvi. 6-8, declares, "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers, unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa,

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I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?" He taught the same thing, Acts xxiv. 21, where he declared it was the hope of the resurrection for which he was called in question. From this text we learn that, in the estimation of the apostle, the promise of God to the fathers was a promise of the resurrection; and, furthermore, that the twelve tribes so understood it, and served God with the hope of gaining that blessed state, not a literal earthly inheritance. Other evidence of the same fact will appear in the subsequent pages.

The second point is, to examine those texts which are supposed to predict the restoration of the Jews to the land of Canaan, and show their agreement with the original promise.

The first text which presents itself on this point, is Isaiah xi. 11, 12: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time, to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."

From this text it is argued,-(1.) "That it promises a restoration of the Jews. (2.) That restoration was not their deliverance from Babylonish captivity, because that deliverance was from Chaldea; this, from the four corners of

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the earth. (3.) That it was to be subsequently to the Mosaic dispensation, when a root of Jesse shall stand for an ensign to the nations, and to it the Gentiles shall seek. But no restoration under the gospel dispensation has yet taken place; therefore it is yet future."

These three points I admit; and will now show that the promise is to be fulfilled in a state of future blessedness and glory.

1. It was to be fulfilled, not when the rod out of the stem of Jesse became the Mediator of the world, but when he became the Judge. Isa. xi. 1-4: "With righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked." But this separation and destruction of the wicked is not to take place until the end of the world. Matt. xiii.

2. It was to be fulfilled when a state of perfect peace and purity existed all over the earth. See from verse 5th to 9th. "They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Such a state we are not to look for until, at the coming of the Son Of Man, the dominion under the whole heaven is given to him. Then will be introduced the "glorious rest" promised verse 10th, and not before. But,

3. The Gentiles as well as Jews are to share in that glory; and for all the nations, as well as for Israel and Judah, the ensign is to be set up. From these considerations, it is evident this text predicts a state of everlasting glory in the kingdom

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of God; and thus perfectly harmonizes with the original promise to the patriarchs.

Passing over, for the sake of brevity, several texts in Jeremiah, the next which will claim attention is the 36th and 37th chapters of Ezekiel. This prophecy is decidedly the clearest and strongest passage in the Bible, bearing on this point. And if the doctrine of a literal and temporal gathering of the Jews to Palestine is taught in the Bible, it is in those two chapters. The following are some of the promises in the above-named chapters.

Ezek. xxxvi. 8, 10: "But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people Israel; for they are at hand to come. For, behold, I am for you, and will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown. And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it. And I will settle you after your old estates."

Again; verses 24 and 28: "For I will take you from among the heathen, and will gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land." "And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave unto your fathers", (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,) and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God."

Once more; chap. xxxvii. 21, 22: "And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and will bring them to their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king to them all," etc.

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As the above texts are the strongest evidence the Bible affords of the return of the Jews to Palestine; so, also, when taken in connection with, their context, are they a conclusive argument that God will fulfil his ancient promise to the patriarchs, in the resurrection state, and in a world of everlasting blessedness.

This fact is very clearly illustrated in the 27th chapter, where the prophet was presented with a vision of a valley full of dry bones, and was asked if those bones could live. He was then commanded to prophesy to them, "and say, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." So he prophesied as he was commanded, first to the bones, on which they came together, and flesh and sinews covered them; then he prophesied to the wind to breathe on them, "and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army."

The vision was then explained, and the prophet was told what those bones and their resurrection represented. The bones represented the whole house of Israel. Their revivification represented, not a mystical, but a literal resurrection of "the whole house of Israel" "from their graves," verses 11, 14. "Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live," etc. I know it is said this is only a strong figure, to denote the utter desolation to which the Jews have been brought; and also to express the magnitude of the work

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of their restoration; that it is as great as it would be to raise them from their graves.

But I deny the right thus to dispose of the subject: there is not a precedent in the Bible for such an interpretation. I admit that the first ten verses are a figurative representation of some future event; but the four succeeding verses give a true and literal exposition of the meaning of those figures. Dan. viii. 20, is an example of the same mode of communicating prophetic knowledge. "The ram which thou sawest, having two horns, are the kings of Media and Persia." The 3rd and 4th verses of Dan. viii. were figurative or symbolical representations of future events; but the twentieth verse is a literal explanation of these symbols. So in the present case; the first ten verses represent, by symbols, what was to come in futurity, and the four succeeding verses explain literally and truly what those symbols mean.

Examples of the same kind might be multiplied to any desirable extent; and among them all we shall not find a single instance, where the explanation does not give the literal meaning of the symbols. "The whole house of Israel" are therefore to be raised "from their graves, and brought into their own land;" "the land which God promised to their fathers," etc. But who are The "Israel" to whom this promise is made? Not all the literal seed of Jacob; "for they are not all Israel, who are of Israel;" that is, the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God. But the children of the promise are accounted for the seed, Rom. ix. 6, 8. "The house of Israel" and "the seed of Abraham" are, therefore, all the children of God, in or by faith

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in Jesus Christ. At the second coming of Christ, then, all that are his shall be raised from the dead; "For if ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. iii. 2, 9.

That the prophecy refers to an eternal state, is clear from such expressions as the following:-

"And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they and their children's children, forever; and my servant David shall be their prince forever." Verse 25.

"Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will place them and multiply them, and I will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore," verse 26. The eternity of that state can be expressed no more fully than in those texts. They cannot have their fulfilment in time, however long the period. And it is equally evident that the prophecy is to have its accomplishment in the heavenly world. Let the following verse, Ezek. xxxvii. 27, "My tabernacle also shall be with them; yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people," be compared with Rev. xxi. 3: "And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of god is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." If this last text introduces us to an eternal state, so also does the former; for the one cannot be fulfilled without accomplishing the other. And it can be shown with equal clearness, that every

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text in the Old Testament, which is generally quoted to sustain the doctrine of the restoration of the Jews, refers to the same glorious event, the everlasting glorification of the righteous. But it will be unnecessary in this place to enter into an examination of them.

There is, however, one text in the New Testament, frequently quoted, which demands a passing notice:-

Rom. xi. 25, 26: "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, (lest ye should be wise in your own conceits,) that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved. As it is written, There shall come out of Zion a deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob."

Remark 1. The time when all Israel shall be saved: When "the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." "Fulness of the Gentiles" signifies the full complement of Gentiles. When, therefore, all the Gentiles who are to be saved, have come in, and not before, "all Israel shall be saved." It cannot take place, therefore, until Christ comes in the clouds of heaven to gather his elect from the four winds. See Luke xxi. 24-27. "And they [the Jews] shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." The Jews cannot, therefore, return and rebuild Jerusalem until the Gentile day is ended. No more Gentiles will be brought in after that. But the Saviour continues, and tells us what shall take place when the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled. "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the

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moon, and in the stars; and upon earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory."

So that the Jews will never be gathered from their dispersion, nor Jerusalem be rebuilt, until Christ comes to gather his elect. And then "all [spiritual] Israel will be saved."

Remark 2. The Jews were cut off or cast away From their exclusive church privileges, for the reconciling of the world. For while they remained the exclusive church, as before Christ they were, the Gentile world could not be brought in and share those privileges and blessings. And that is the only sense in which the Jews have been cut off, or cast away. For they have always had an equal chance with the rest of the world to obtain and enjoy gospel blessings, and a remnant have always been in possession of them. And in this light the apostle, with great propriety and force, inquires, Rom. xi. 15, "If the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead?" As if he had said, If the Gentile world could not be reconciled or brought within the pale of the church, without rejecting or casting off the Jews from exclusive privileges, how can they ever be restored until they rise from the dead, without again cutting off the whole world beside?"

Finally; If the text, "All Israel shall be saved," has any reference to the Jews, as such,

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it asserts the final universal salvation of all the tribes of Israel, and it is impossible to disprove it. But the Lord Jesus Christ did assert, that while the Jews should see some, from the east, west, north, and south, sit down in the kingdom of God with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they themselves should be thrust out. Luke xiii. 28, 29. Paul also testified that there was no respect of persons with God. But to every one who does good he will award eternal life; to the Jew first, then also to the Gentile. But tribulation and anguish to every one that doeth evil, to the Jew first, and then also to the Gentile.

It must therefore be spiritual, not literal Israel, who will "all be saved" when the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. May we all be of that happy number.

I have now done what I proposed, viz., to show that those texts which are supposed to refer to a future and temporal restoration of the Jews, do perfectly harmonize with the original promise made to the patriarchs, of a resurrection from the dead, to possess an eternity of blessedness in the New Jerusalem.

The two most formidable objections having been disposed of, the way is now open to proceed to the evidence of the near approach of the kingdom of God. For if there is to be a temporal millennium, and the Jews are to be restored, such a kingdom as that predicted by the prophets, Jesus Christ, and his apostles, cannot be near. But it has been shown, above, that no such millennium or restoration of the Jews is promised, or to be looked for; therefore we may look "for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."

SECTION III. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND

A FALLING AWAY AND REVELATION OF THE MAN OF SIN, BEFORE THE DAY OF THE LORD

The apostle Paul, in his second epistle to the Thessalonians, and second chapter, instructed his brethren concerning "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him." He warned them not to be deceived by any means, nor to be troubled, as that the day of the Lord was then at hand. He then proceeded to assure them, that that day should not come until after "a falling away," or an apostasy, and the revelation of "that man of sin." "Now ye know," he said, "what preventeth, that he (Christ) might be revealed in his time,"-the time foretold by Daniel, when he predicted the same man of sin, under the emblem of a little horn, chapters 7th and 8th of his prophecy.

Although, in the apostle's days, the mystery of iniquity already worked, yet there were circumstances which stood in the way of his full exaltation, and they would continue to hinder it until taken out of the way. Then, when the

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hinderance should be removed, "that wicked" should be revealed; who should be consumed "with the spirit of his (the Lord's) mouth, (moral influence,) and be destroyed by the brightness of his coming." When, then, it can be shown that what is predicted of "the man of sin" has been accomplished, with the exception of the last circumstance, viz. his destruction by the brightness of Christ's coming, we shall have evidence of the near approach of that event. The apostle only brought forward the prediction of the man of sin to assure the world that that day was not at hand until those predictions were fulfilled; and the only just inference is, that when those predictions are accomplished, the day of the Lord is near.

Allusion has been made, above, to the little horn of Daniel's visions, as being identical with "the man of sin" of 2 Thess. 2nd chapter. That they are so, is evident from the fact, that the same character is ascribed to one which is given to the other.

"That man of sin" was to "exalt himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."

The little horn, also, Dan. vii. 25th, was to "speak great words against the Most High, and wear out the saints of the Most High," etc. Again, Dan. viii. 11th, it is said, "He magnified himself against the prince of the host." Verse 25th: "He shall stand up against the prince of princes," etc.

Having thus identified "that man of sin" with "the little horn" of Daniel's vision, I will now

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show that they are to come to an end by the same means, viz. the coming of Christ.

DANIEL'S VISION OF THE FOUR GREAT BEASTS

The seventh chapter of Daniel, under the emblem of four great beasts, with their various characteristics, predicted a long series of events, extending from his time to the coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven, to possess his glorious, everlasting kingdom. He first saw four great beasts come up from the sea, diverse one from the other. The first was like a lion; and it had eagle's wings. The second was like a bear, and it raised itself up on one side; and it had three ribs in the mouth of it. Another beast appeared like a leopard, with four wings upon the back of it, like a fowl: the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

The fourth beast was "a dreadful and terrible beast, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; and it devoured and brake in pieces and stamped the residue with the feet of it; and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. And there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking very great things. He saw until all these thrones were cast down and the Ancient of Days did sit. The judgment also sat, and the books were opened. He then saw the beast (all his appendages or horns of course included) slain, (destroyed,) and his body given to the burning flame.

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And one like the Son of Man came in the clouds of heaven; and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, and nations, and languages, should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."

The explanation of this vision is given in the 17th verse: "These great beasts, which are four, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth." Verse 18th: "But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever."

That the four kings, or kingdoms, represented by the beasts, were,-1. The Chaldean,-2. The Medo-Persian,-3. The Macedonian,-4. The Roman governments, is so universally acknowledged, that I shall not at all dwell on it. But the fourth of those beasts, which is to continue until then, is to be destroyed or slain and given to the burning flame at the judgment, and when the Son of Man comes to possess his everlasting kingdom. The little horn of the beast must of necessity share the same fate. Thus, "the little horn" and "that man of sin" are to come to their end at the same time and by the same means.

THE TIME, TIMES, AND DIVIDING OF TIME, OF DANIEL VII. 25TH

The fourth beast was of such a peculiar character, that Daniel became deeply interested in it, and wished to know its character, and the meaning of its ten horns. But the little horn which

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came up among them, and before whom three of the first horns were plucked up by the root; the horn which had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things; and which made war on the saints and overcame them, possessed peculiar interest. These points were explained to him thus:-"The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth, etc. The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings which shall arise; and another shall rise after them, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand, until a time, times, and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom, and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; and all dominions shall serve and obey him."

Thus it appears the little horn was to be the last form of the Roman government. And his power was to exist for a time, times, and the dividing of time. Then his dominion was to be taken away, but not to be entirely destroyed. But from its fall it was to consume unto the end, when the everlasting kingdom of God is to be set up.

I shall now demonstrate that the little horn represented the Papal power; and that the time times, and a half, signify three and a half years of 360 days each, the whole being 1260 days;

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and that each day stands for a full year. Also, that those 1260 years of Papal rule have been accomplished, and that his dominion has been taken away.

"A prophecy is demonstrated to be fulfilled when we can show, from unimpeachable authority, that the event has actually taken place precisely according to the manner in which it was foretold."-Horne's Introduction, Compendium, page 147.

In demonstrating the nature and fulfilment of the time, times, and dividing of time, it will be necessary to prove, (1.) That four such kingdoms as predicted by the four beasts have succeeded each other, and filled up all the time from Daniel to the present (2.) That out of the fourth of those kingdoms, ten distinct kingdoms originated. (3.) That three of those ten kingdoms fell or were plucked up. (4.) That the saints were, by a formal act, given over into the hands of a blasphemous, persecuting power, and that the fall of the third of those kingdoms opened the way for carrying into effect that act. (5.) That 1260 years from the point where all the above circumstances concurred, the dominion of that blasphemous, persecuting power was taken away. And, (6.) That from its being thus taken away, although again partially restored, it has been steadily declining up to the present time. These six points sustained, and the above propositions are demonstrated.

1. Four kingdoms have existed, viz., The Chaldean, the Medo-Persian, the Macedonian, and the Roman, and filled up the whole period from Daniel to us. But no other four kingdoms on earth have thus succeeded each other and

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filled up that period. Hence, these four kingdoms answer the description, and no others do; they must, therefore, be the predicted kingdoms which are to be succeeded by the everlasting kingdom of God. But the last, or Roman beast, has not yet been given to the burning flame, therefore the kingdom of God is not established.

2. There have been ten distinct kingdoms within the bounds of the fourth or Roman government. The first ten kingdoms originated within that government, were as follows: (1.) The Huns, in Hungary, established, A. D. 356. (2.) The Ostrogoths, in Mysia, A. D. 377. (3.) The Visgoths, in Pannonia, A. D. 378. (4.) The Franks, in France, A. D. 407. (5.) The Vandals, in Africa, A. D. 407. (6.) The Seuves and Alans, in Gascoyne and Spain, A. D. 407. (7.) The Burgundians, in Burgundy, A. D. 407. (8.) The Heruli, in Italy, A. D. 476. (9.) The Saxons and Angles, in Britain, A. D. 476. (10.) The Lombards on the Danube, in Germany, A. D. 483. This list of kingdoms, as the first ten, is given on the authority of Marchiaval, a historian, and Dr. Hales and Bishop Lloyd, chronologers It may perhaps be objected, "the above are not the only ones which have existed within the old Roman empire." True, they are not; but if they are the first ten established there, they answer the description given by the prophet. For it was three of the first horns which were to be plucked up by the roots. Besides, we are to take the events of the government as they transpired, and when the event predicted is exactly answered, we have done with it on that point. It matters not what other kingdoms have existed subsequently.

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3. Three of those ten kingdoms have been plucked up by the roots before, or to prepare the way for, the establishment of another (little) horn.

The authority for the historical facts on this point, is Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman empire. The first of the ten kingdoms which fell, was the kingdom of the Heruli, in Italy. Their kingdom was subverted by the Ostrogoths, A. D. 493, ten years after the last of the ten was established. The second which fell was the Vandal kingdom, in Africa. This was conquered by the army of Justinian, emperor of Constantinople, under the command of Belisarius, his general, A. D. 534. The third was the Ostrogothic kingdom, in Italy, which was conquered also by Justinian's army, under Belisarius, A. D. 538. The war commenced 536; and March, 538, the Ostrogoths raised the siege of the city of Rome and retired, leaving it in peaceable possession of Belisarius. Thus the third point was accomplished, A. D. 538, in the month of March.

4. The saints were, by a formal act, given over into the hands of a blasphemous, persecuting power; and the fall of the Ostrogothic kingdom opened the way for the carrying of that decree into effect. In A. D. 534, Justinian, emperor of Constantinople, published a new code of laws for his empire, regulating and settling some difficult points of jurisprudence.-Ruter's Church History, page 138. Among other edicts, was one declaring the Bishop of Rome the head of all the churches.-Justin. Novell. Lit. 14. Constitut. cap. 2. Thus the saints were, by a formal edict of the Greek emperor, given into the hands of

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the Roman pontiff, 534. But Rome was at that time in the hands of an Arian monarch, and a most bitter enemy of the Roman Catholic church and the pretensions of the Pope.

Nor had the three horns, or kingdoms, yet fallen; but in 538, the third, or Ostrogothic kingdom, did fall, and the Arian power was removed from Rome: the city also came into the possession of the same power which had constituted the bishop of Rome head of all the churches. Thus all that was predicted to precede the commencement of the time, times, and dividing of time, was brought to a focus; therefore, that period must commence at that time.

That the Papal power has done all that is ascribed to the little horn by the prophet, is so well understood at the present time, that it needs no further evidence. If any doubt it, let them read Smith's "Downfall of Babylon," or "McGavin's Protestant."

5. The dominion of the Papal power was taken away just 1260 years from the above occurrence, 538. From A. D. 538-1260 years will bring us to A. D. 1798. At that time General Berthier, a French general, with a French Republican army, entered Rome, took possession of the city, deposed the Pope, abrogated the whole Papal government, instituted in its place a republican form of government, and carried the Pope a captive to France, where, in 1799, he died. Thus the dominion of the little horn, which was to continue a time, times, and the dividing of time, continued 1260 years, viz., from A. D. 538 to A. D. 1798. Therefore, a time is a year of 360 days; times, two years of the same

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length; and the dividing of time half a year; the whole making 1260 days, and each day standing for a year; the whole period being 1260 years. Again; the Papal power existed just that time, and was then taken away; therefore, the Papal power is the kingdom predicted by the little horn of Daniel's fourth beast.

6. From 1798, when the Papal dominion was taken away, and God's great judgments were poured upon Papal Europe, the Papal power and influence, although nominally restored, have been steadily consuming up to the present time.

This point is so evident and so fully before the community, that it is needless to present evidence on the point. Popery is the mere shadow of what it once was; nor can it by any artifice ever again resume its former vigor and power. It is a plant of darkness; it cannot live and flourish under the flood of light and liberty which irradiates almost every point of our earth. Protestants are now tolerated in every Papal kingdom on the continent of Europe.

It only remains, then, that the body of the beast should be slain and given to the burning flame, to introduce the glorious, everlasting kingdom of God in all the earth. Is not the evidence decisive, then, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand? I have now done what I proposed, and here I rest the cause. I challenge the world to refute the above argument. And until it can be done, we have indubitable evidence that the kingdom of heaven is at the very door. The apostle's argument, that in his day "the day of the Lord" was not at hand, finds no place here; on the contrary, that very argument is incontrovertible evidence that it is now at hand, that we

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should constantly look for the brightness of his coming for the destruction of "that man of sin."

"The time, times, and a half" has long been a subject of deep interest to prophetic expositors; and labored arguments and deep research have been expended to fix the time of its commencement, with the expectation that when that was done they would be able to find the beginning of the Millennium. The time most generally fixed upon at the present time to begin the period, is A. D. 606, when the emperor Phocas conferred on the Roman pontiff the title of Universal Bishop. And from that date they fix on A. D. 1866, as the time when their anticipated millennium is to be ushered in. But it must be obvious to every reader of their theory, that the argument by which it is supported is very vague and indefinite. The only reason, indeed, which they can assign for fixing on 606, as the time for beginning the 1260 years, is the one above named, viz., that the Pope received the title of universal bishop at that time. They do not attempt to show the concurrence of a single circumstance beside, predicted by the prophet to precede it and point out the time. But what does the grant of Phocas amount to? Just nothing at all. Dr. Ruter remarks, (Ch. Hist. p. 142,) that "this title, however, was unaccompanied by any new powers, and only served to increase the animosity which invaribly subsisted between the patriarchs of Rome and Constantinople." Nor did the conferring of that title give the saints into his hand. Moreover, they had been given into his hand 68 years before, and we shall in vain look for another such grant of power over them.

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The foregoing argument, I believe, will stand the test of the rigid criticism. And until it is proved unsound by argument, (for time will have no effect on it, for it is all matter of history,) whatever may become of the calculation in this work, on the events of futurity, I must still believe the kingdom of God is just at hand, and continue to look for and hasten to its most earning.

IDENTITY OF THE APOCALYPTIC BEAST, REV. XIII., WITH THE LITTLE HORN

The great similarity between the characters of the beast, described in Rev. 13th chapter, and the little horn, Daniel 7th chapter, must be obvious to every reader. For instance,-1. The little horn was to be a blasphemous power. Dan. vii. 25. "He shall speak great words against the Most High." The beast also was to do the same thing. Rev. xiii. 6. "He opened his mouth in blasphemy against God." 2. The little horn was to make war with the saints, and prevail against them. Dan. vii. 21. The beast also was to make war with the saints, and overcome them. Rev. xiii. 7. 3. The little horn, Dan. vii. 8, 20, had a mouth which spake great things. So also it was with the beast, Rev. xiii. 5. 4. Power was given the little horn, for a time, times, and the dividing of time, (1260 years.) Dan. vii. 25. So also power was given to the beast to continue 42 months. Rev. xiii. 6. 5. The dominion of the little horn was to be taken away at the end of the specified period. Dan. vii. 26. So also the beast, which had led into captivity and conquered by the sword many of

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the princes of the earth, as well as heretics, was, at the expiration of the 42 months, to go into captivity, and be overthrown or killed by the sword, or vicissitudes of war. And how truly was the prediction fulfilled, when, in 1798, the French abrogated the Papal government, and established in its place a Republic; and also when the Pope, the life and soul of the Papal government, was carried a captive to France.

The apocalyptic beast and little horn must, therefore, mean one and the same thing, viz., the Papal system. And so also the 42 months, and time, times and a half, are the same, viz., 1260 years.

THE TWO-HORNED BEAST, AND IMAGE OF THE BEAST

The idea that, at the expiration of the 1260 years, the Papal system was, or is rather, to be abolished, seems to have but very little foundation in Scripture. The prophet Daniel taught that after its fall it was to consume away unto the end. The Revelator also more than intimates the same thing. Rev. xiii. 11-17. "And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, but he spake like a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth, and them that dwell therein, to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire to come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which

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he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by the sword, and did live. And he had power to give life to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads; and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."

A beast is the emblem of a human government. A horn of a beast, a division or part of the government; as the ten horns of the fourth beast, in Daniel's vision, and the two horns of the ram in the 8th chapter of Daniel, or the four horns of the goat in the same chapter.

So also the beast which came up out of the earth, after the captivity and death by the sword of the first beast, was a human government His two horns, two distinct divisions of that government. But has such a government as the above arisen since 1798? I answer, Yes. The Buonapartean government was such an one. He rose from obscurity, step by step, until he gained the imperial throne of France. But his government, like the Medo-Persian, had two horns, or kingdoms, under one ruler. 1. He was crowned emperor of France, Dec. 2nd, 1804. 2. And on the 26th of May, 1805, he was crowned king of Italy. "He spake like a dragon." Although he professed to be governed by the most liberal and

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republican principles, yet he meditated, like the old Roman government before him, universal dominion, and ruled with a tyrant's rod. "He exercised all the power of the first beast." He conquered, during his reign, all the Papal dominions. He also restored Popery, the first beast, and made it the religion of his dominions.

"He doeth great wonders,-causeth fire to come down from heaven," etc. That he ever did cause fire to come down from heaven, I have no evidence; but historians relate of him, that when he was in Egypt, he did say to the Mohammedans, "I can command a car of fire from heaven, and I can direct its course." And also by some means, while there, he gained the appellation of "Sultan Keber," King of Fire. But that he performed wonders or prodigies, no one who reads his history will doubt.

He commanded to make an image to the beast, etc. When he restored Popery and made it the religion of his dominions, he modelled it to his own liking: it was not what it once was, but what he pleased. It was not the old beast, merely restored, but its image, and bearing its name. So that Popery, that now is, is but an image of what it once was. To this, image he had power to give life, and did give it; and cause it to live and speak, and impose civil disabilities on all the subjects of his empire who would not worship it, and receive its mark in their hand or foreheads. Such then is the history of Popery since its fall in 1798. And it still lives.

THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST AND NUMBER OF HIS NAME

Much labor has been expended on this point; but as we have determined the question, who the beast is, we may with more certainty determine the number of his name. Among all the names which have been found, the numerical letters of which amount to 666, I am the best satisfied with that given in Clarke's Commentary on the pasgage.

The Papal power was emphatically a Latin government, so far as language and location are concerned, in a sense in which no other power has been. And it is a name by which they have always been distinguished from the Greeks. "The Latins" is a well-known name of the Roman church. I did once think it was pagan Rome, and the number of the beast, the number of years from their first league with the Jews, B. C. 158, to the conversion of the Ostrogothic king to Christianity, A. D. 508; but am now satisfied it was an error. The dragon, chapter 12th, is the representative of the civil Roman government. That dragon, when the seat of government was removed to Constantinople, gave

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up his seat to the beast-ecclesiastical or anti-Christian Rome. "The Dragon gave the beast his seat and power and great authority." Imperial Rome made the beast; and Imperial France, the image of the beast.

SECTION IV. THE SANCTUARY CLEANSED - OR EPOCH OF THE KINGDOM

DESIGN OF THE DIFFERENT VISIONS OF DANIEL

Having already shown, from the seventh chapter of Daniel and other portions of scripture, that the time of the establishment of the universal, everlasting kingdom of God is near, the way is now prepared for the discussion of another point, viz., the epoch of the kingdom.

The first revelation of the events of futurity made to Daniel, was communicated to him in relation to Nebuchandnezzar's dream, Dan. 2nd chapter. That divine communication assures us, that after the existence of four such kingdoms as those predicted in that dream, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed. But that revelation gave no intimation of the changes which were to take place in those kingdoms, and the time of the reign or triumph of the various powers, as signs of the approach of that kingdom. This deficiency, however, was supplied by the vision in the seventh chapter, where the various changes of the Roman kingdom are pointed out, and the specific period of

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the reign of the little horn, as the precursor of the kingdom of God, is distinctly named. The exact fulfilment of those 1260 years, and the subsequent events, affords conclusive evidence of the near approach of the glorious event. But yet a deficiency remains:-No intimation is given in either of the foregoing revelations as to the time when the great work is to be accomplished, and the kingdom be established. But the vision in the eighth chapter supplies this deficiency.

The vision the eighth chapter, unlike the former, commences with the reign of the Medo-Persian monarchy. The design of the vision of the four beasts, was, to give a connected chain of events from the days of Daniel, down to the little horn of the fourth beast, and his destruction at the second coming of Christ; and also to give the time of his reign, as a part of the Roman beast, together with the circumstances which are to fix the date of the 1260 years. The little horn, his character and conduct, having been thus predicted; the next vision is designed to present his origin, and the means by which he should become mighty, and also to determine the time of his destruction.

THE RAM AND GOAT - HIS FOUR HORNS AND THE LITTLE HORN

Dan. 8th chap., verses 3, 4. "Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns; and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other; and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward,

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and southward; so that no beast might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great." The above is explained, verse 20th. "The ram which thou sawest having two horns, are the kings of Media and Persia." The kingdoms of the Medes and Persians were united under Cyrus, the Persian general, by whom Babylon was taken, and became one of the most powerful kingdoms of antiquity.

Verses 5-8. "And as I was considering, behold, an he-goat came from the west, on the face of the whole earth, and he touched not the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns;-and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he-goat waxed great; and when he was strong the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones, toward the four winds of heaven." This passage is explained in the 21st and 22nd verses. "And the rough goat is the king of Grecia; and the great horn that is between his eyes, is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." All expositors, I believe, are agreed that this text points out the Macedonian kingdom; and the notable horn, Alexander the Great; who, in the height of his conquests, suddenly died at Babylon, and whose dominion was divided among four of his generals, towards the

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four winds:-Persia in the east; Macedon or Greece in the west; Syria in the north; and Egypt in the south. For further particulars, see Rollin's Ancient History.

Verses 9-12th. "And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down truth to the ground, and it practised and prospered." The above is explained, verses 23rd-25th. "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many; he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand."

The question to be discussed, is, Who or what is represented by the little horn, which came forth out of one of the four notable horns?

Some say, "Antiochus Epiphanes." But to

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this I object-1. Because Antiochus, instead of being another kingdom, growing out of the Syrian government, was that horn or government itself. 2. It never has yet been shown that Antiochus trod under foot, as it is assumed he did, the sanctuary and the host, for 2300 days. It is not known precisely how long he oppressed the Jews. But if the period is 2300 literal days, those who thus apply it are bound to show a literal fulfilment.

Again, it is said, "Mohammedism, and it came out of the northern division, Syria; because in Syria its first exploits were performed." I deny it. And even if it could be proved that its "first drama of wickedness" was acted in Syria, still an insurmountable difficulty remains. Mohammedism did not originate in or come out of Syria, but Arabia. And in Arabia the Mohammedan religion was first promulgated and gained a footing.

What, then, is represented by the little horn? I reply, In the seventh chapter it has been demonstrated to mean the Papal system. And it means the same thing in this place.

The little horn was to come out of one of the notable horns in the "latter time of their (the four horns) kingdom, when the transgressors (northern barbarians) had come to the fall." A. D. 325, Constantine, the Roman emperor, became sole master of the Roman world, and from that time openly and decidedly espoused the Christian cause. From that time a flood of worldly riches, honor and power, flowed in upon the church. The man of sin began rapidly to develop himself. A. D. 330, he removed the seat of empire from Rome

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to Byzantium, and honored it with his own name calling it Constantinople. After the death of Constantine, which happened A. D. 337, the Roman empire was divided between the three sons of Constantine. Constantius inherited the eastern division, and possessed his father's throne, in Constantinople. Constantine and Constans inherited the western empire. The Greek kingdom had again become an independent government under Constantius. But, A. D. 353, his two brothers both being dead, the whole empire came into his hands and the Roman empire was again united. But, A. D. 356, the Huns, a barbarous nation, invaded the Roman empire and established themselves in Hungary. This event was followed by the establishment, between 356 and 483, of nine other independent kingdoms within the Roman empire. But, during all this time, the eastern or Greek empire, as it was called, remained entire and independent. This was not the first time of the Greek kingdom's independence after Alexander's death; nor the last; but the latter. The first time was after the death of Alexander, until conquered by the Romans. The latter time, from the death of Constantine to the Ottoman conquest. The last time, partially, since the Greek revolution, but principally yet in the future, after the fall of the Ottoman power. It was this Greek empire which became the promoter of the Papal usurpations, from the days of Constantine, when he first removed the seat of empire to the east, until the days of Justinian, when, A. D. 534, he constituted the Bishop of Rome head of all the churches, and, 538, conquered Rome and established the pope in his see.

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It was in this way the little Papal horn came out of the Greek empire, one of the four horns of the goat, in the latter time of their kingdom. The power of this Papal horn became "mighty, but not by his own power." 1. The greatness of the Pope, as an ecclesiastical power, was conferred on him by the Greek emperor, Justinian. 2. The same emperor conquered the Ostrogoths to make way for the Pope. 3. He defended him against his enemies after he possessed Rome. 4. Pepin, king of France, in 755, conquered the Exarchote of Ravenna and conferred it on the Pope in perpetual sovereignty; thus constituting him a temporal prince. Other acts of assistance might be brought forward to almost any extent; but the foregoing are deemed sufficient to prove and illustrate the point, that the Roman Pontiff did not become mighty by his own power, but by the power of others. "He waxed exceeding great, toward the east, toward the south, and toward the pleasant land." The crusades established the Papal power in all Syria, and part of Asia Minor, and even erected the banner of the cross on Mount Zion. And where has not the Papal power been felt?

"He magnified himself, even to the host of heaven," etc. He assumed to be the sole church of God. "He cast down some of the host, and of the stars, and stamped on them." He persecuted the saints, and trod them in the dust. "He magnified himself even to the Prince of the host." He assumed to be the Vicegerent of Jesus Christ, and to possess and exercise the prerogatives of the Son of God.

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"By him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down."

"By him the daily;" the word sacrifice not being in the original. This term is of frequent occurrence in the book of Daniel, and it will be necessary to ascertain its true meaning. What then did the anti-christian or Papal abomination remove to make way for itself? What was it that let or hindered until he was taken out of the way? I answer, Paganism. For, although the empire was nominally Christian most of the time from the days of Constantine, yet Paganism continued to maintain itself in Rome, and Pagan sacrifices were offered there until the conversion of the Ostrogoths to Christianity, about A. D. 508, since which time we have no account of any public Pagan sacrifices being offered in the city of Rome. "The place of Paganism's sanctuary" was then cast down, and in its place a new system of idolatry was set up, viz., the worship of saints and images. So that these Pagan conquerors, when they embraced the Christian religion, only exchanged one system of idolatry for another. But by the fall of Paganism, the way began to open for the establishment of the Papal pretensions.

"An host was given him against the daily sacrifice, by reason of transgression." The energies of the church were directed by the aspiring pontiffs against Pagan institutions, and to bring the Pagans over to the Christian faith.

"And it cast down truth to the ground, and it practised and prospered." The Papal power trampled on the word of God, corrupted all the doctrines of the gospel, imposed on men's consciences

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burdens, heavy and intolerable to be borne; persecuted and put to death all who would not submit to the yoke. Thus far the prophetic emblems. And from them we learn that the little horn in this vision is the same as in the former, the Papal power. And from the 25th verse, we learn that he is to have the same end. "He shall stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand." He shall be destroyed without human intervention, by Divine power. He shall be slain and given to the burning flame. He shall be destroyed by the brightness of the Lord's coming, etc.

THE TIME WHEN THE SANCTUARY SHALL BE CLEANSED

"Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto 2300 days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." It seems there were two great systems of abomination which were to afflict the church; "the daily, and the transgression of desolation:" Pagan worship, and Papal superstition and oppression. The inquiry arose, how long shall these oppressive influences be permitted to defile and afflict the church? For that the sanctuary means the church, is evident from Heb. viii. 1, 2. "We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, a

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minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." The church, then, is the true sanctuary, of which Christ is the High Priest. In this sanctuary the tares and the wheat are to grow together until the harvest at the end of the world, and then be separated by the angels. Matt. xiii. The sanctuary will be cleansed, then, when the man of sin is destroyed, at "the day of the Lord," or when the little horn, Daniel 7th chapter, "is slain and given to the burning flame;" or when he is "broken without hand."

But the sanctuary is to be cleansed at the end of 2300 days, or evenings and mornings. When those days are to begin, and what is the length of a day, are the two points to be settled. On these two points the chapter affords no information. It must, therefore, be sought elsewhere. At the close of the vision, after the explanation of it by the angel, Daniel informs us, verse 27th, "And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick certain days; afterwards I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it." Here we have the testimony of the prophet that, although the vision had been explained, yet there, were parts of it yet obscure. But all had been explained to him, except the two points under consideration: the nature of the time, and its commencement.

Accordingly, in the next chapter we have a key to these points. After the prayer of Daniel and his confession of sin, we are told, chapter ix. 20, "And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the

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Lord my God, for the holy mountain of my God; yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me, about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding."

1. Gabriel, whom he had seen in the vision at the beginning, was sent to him again. But the vision in the 8th chapter is the first one in which he saw Gabriel. That vision he did not understand. The same divine messenger is sent again,-2. To give him what he had not at the close of the former vision, "skill and understanding." "Therefore, understand the matter, and consider the vision." What matter and what vision was he to understand and consider? Why, evidently, the one concerning which Gabriel had before instructed him, the "evening and morning" vision, chapter viii. 14.

He then gave Daniel a key, by which to understand the nature of the time, and when to commence the 2300 days. Dan. ix. 24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, (the Jews,) and thy holy city, (Jerusalem)-1. "To finish the transgression;" the transgression whereby the national doom of the Jews and Jerusalem should be sealed-the rejection and death of Christ. 2. "To make an end of sin;" by satisfying Divine justice, by the one sin-offering of Jesus Christ. 3. "To make reconciliation for iniquity;" by the atonement of the Savior; for "God hath reconciled us to himself by the death of his Son." 4. "To bring in everlasting

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righteousness;" as distinguished from the righteousness obtained by the offerings made under the law, where there was a remembrance of sins again every year. But Christ, by his own blood, entered once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 5. "To seal up the vision and prophecy;" to confirm or make sure the vision and prophecy, of which this 70 weeks is a supplement and key. For if the first was fulfilled, we may look for the fulfilment of the other in due time. 6. "To anoint the Most Holy," or "holiest of all," or "holy of holies." Thus Christ did, when he entered into the holiest, by his own blood. He consecrated it for us. And we now have boldness by the blood of Jesus to enter into the holiest by a new and living way, which he consecrated.

Thus all which was predicted to take place in the 70 weeks, was accomplished by the death of Christ.

Then follows the time when the seventy weeks were to begin, viz., at "the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem." That commandment was given B. C. 457, by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, in the seventh year of his reign. See Ezra, 7th chapter. From B. C. 457, to A. D. 33, the time of the crucifixion, is 490 years; the exact number of days in 70 weeks. Hence the 70 weeks or 490 days are to be understood as standing each day for a year, 490 years.

If, then, the 70 weeks are a key to the 2300 "evenings and mornings," then they also stand for so many years; and beginning B. C. 457, at the going forth of the commandment to restore

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and build Jerusalem, they will bring us to A. D. 1843, when "the sanctuary is to be cleansed," and "the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."

The inquiry, perhaps, may arise, Why commence the 2300 days with the 70 weeks? I reply,-1. Because the 70 weeks was given as a key to the 2300 days, to show when they began. 2. There is no other time to commence but that. For, if we understand them literal days, we are equally at a loss where to begin. If they commenced when the vision was given, the third year of Belshazzar, it is not true that the sanctuary was in any sense cleansed in 2300 days. If they represent 2300 years, and commenced then, they would have ended A. D. 1747, when no event transpired which could be called the cleansing of the sanctuary. But, leaving that point, we have no other period at which to commence but the one designated in the 70 weeks' prophecy. Indeed, it is now admitted by the strongest opponents of these views, that the two periods were to begin together; but then they contend that the cleansing of the sanctuary means the restoration of the Jews to Jerusalem, and the commencement of a temporal millennium. But it has already been shown, from Luke xxi. 24, that "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled;" and that "then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory." So that the Jews will never be restored to Jerusalem, until the Son of Man comes to possess his everlasting kingdom. Again; Gabriel declared expressly, "At the time of the end shall be the

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vision." And the time of the end will be shown to be, from the fall of Popery, 1798, to the end itself.

Once more. The same divine messenger declares, verse 19th, "At the time appointed (2300 days) the end shall be." So, when the 2300 days are ended, the end of the reign of wickedness will come, and "the sanctuary be cleansed."

If it be asked, "If your calculation on this point should fail, will it not shake your confidence in the Bible? "I reply, by no means. I admit there is a possibility of an error in our chronology, and if so, it will affect this calculation. But I must, even then, believe that the great event is at the door. But I now believe our chronological reckoning to be correct, and that 1843 will witness the cleansing of the sanctuary.

If it is true that we stand upon the verge of the great event is it not vastly important that the world were awake to it? And can ministers of the gospel be guiltless, and yet refuse even to give the subject a candid and through investigation? They are God's watchmen, placed on Zion's walls to mark the signs of the times, and receive the word at God's mouth, and give the people warning from him. But if, instead of doing their duty, and candidly looking at this subject as presented in the word of God, the history of the world, and the present signs of the times, they content themselves with believing the old doctrine of "the Jews' return," "the temporal millennium," etc., thus crying, "My Lord delayeth his coming," and lull their flock to sleep on the subject, how will they answer it at "the great tribunal?"

SECTION V. THE TIME OF THE END, AND END ITSELF

THE MEDO-PERSIAN AND MACEDONIAN KINGDOMS

The prophecy of Daniel, in the 11th and 12th chapters, unlike the former, is communicated, not by prophetic emblems, but by direct revelation of the events of futurity. But, like the others, it furnishes us with a train of events, from the days of Daniel to the resurrection and glorification of the righteous.

In entering on the examination of this prophecy, I shall not dwell particularly on the first part of the 11th chapter, as it is so plain that there is little dispute as to its application, and a sufficient explanation may be found in most of the commentaries of the day. But on the latter part of the chapter I shall dwell more fully.

Dan. xi. 2. "There shall stand up yet three kings in Persia." This vision was in the third year of Cyrus, who was the then reigning monarch. After him reigned three other Persian kings, viz., Cambyses, Smyrdis, and Darius

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Hystaspes. "The fourth shall be far richer than they all." This rich king was Xerxes the Great. He was the richest of all the Persian monarchs. "He shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia." His expedition against Greece is one of the most memorable wars of antiquity. His army and the followers of his camp are computed at 5,283,220 men. And as he was the last Persian king that invaded Greece, he is mentioned last, although there were eleven other kings who reigned after him on the Persian throne.

Verse 3. "A mighty king shall stand up," etc. Expositors are all agreed that Alexander the Great is here predicted.

Verse 4. "His kingdom shall be broken and divided towards the four winds of heaven, and not to his posterity."

In fifteen years after the death of Alexander, his entire family had become extinct; and there was none to inherit either his riches or glory. His kingdom was then divided among four of his generals. 1. Seleucus had Syria: 2. Lysimachus, Asia Minor: 3. Ptolemy possessed Egypt; 4. Cassander had Greece and the neighboring countries.

From the fifth to the fourteenth verse we have a very striking prophecy of the wars carried on between the king of the north, Syria, and the king of the south, Egypt. For an explanation of which, see Clarke.

Verse 14. "And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south, (Egypt;) also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision, but they shall fall."

The times here spoken of, were after the death

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of Ptolemy Philopater, and while Ptolemy Epiphanes was a minor, only four or five years old. Antiochus, king of Syria, thought this a favorable time to invade and conquer Egypt. Accordingly, he engaged Philip, king of Macedon, in his interests, and also brought powerful forces from the east. Egypt itself also rebelled at the same time. Thus many stood up against the infant king of Egypt, with the design of conquering and dividing the kingdom between them. "The robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves." "Whilst," says Rollin, "they (Antiochus and Philip) were meditating to dispossess a weak and helpless infant of his kingdom by piece-meal, Providence raised up the Romans against them, who entirely subverted the kingdoms of Philip and Antiochus, and reduced their successors to almost as great calamities as those with which they intended to crush the infant king." Thus they, Philip and Antiochus, who stood up against Egypt, fell.

Verses 15-19, continue the wars between the king of the north, Antiochus, and the king of the south, Egypt, until the death of Antiochus; when, verse 20, we are introduced again to the Roman history after the conquest of the four kingdoms of the Macedonian empire, and the assumption of the imperial form of government. Then shall stand up in his estate, "or on his base," a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom. This raiser of taxes, who inherited or stood "on the base" of those eastern kingdoms, was Augustus Cesar, the first Roman emperor. He stood in the height of the glory of the Roman dominions. He also made a decree that all the

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world should be taxed. Luke ii. 1. In his estate there stood up a vile person, Tiberius Cesar, under whose reign the Prince of the covenant, Jesus Christ, was broken. Thus we are brought down to one of the grand points to which all the prophets point, the sacrificial death of the Savior.

Next, we are taken back to the union first formed between the people of God, the Jews, and the Romans, the last of the four great earthly kingdoms which should exist, and which is to continue to exist until the end.

ROMAN, JEWISH, AND CHRISTIAN HISTORY

After the death of the Savior, predicted in the 22nd verse, we are taken back, verse 23rd, to the origin of the connection between the church and the Romans. "After the league made with him (the power predicted verses 20-22,) he shall work deceitfully; for he shall come up and become strong with a small people." The league here spoken off, is the first ever made between the Jews and Romans. The Jews having been long harassed by the Syrians, and having no prospect of assistance from the neighboring nations, sent ambassadors to Rome, and entered into a league, offensive and defensive, with the Roman senate. This league was formed about B. C. 162. And soon after, Demetrius, the Syrian king, at the order of the Roman senate, left off to afflict the Jews. (Josephus' Ant., B. 12, chap. x.) From this time the Romans, who had been hitherto a small people, began rapidly to extend their power and enlarge their dominions.

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The Roman government did that which none of their predecessors had done. The fattest provinces of the world became to them an easy prey. The Jewish rulers were appointed and continued in office at the dictation of the Romans.

"He shall scatter among them the prey." Rome is said to have done more toward the conquest of the world by her policy and craftiness than by her arms. Scattering the prey and spoil among those they conquered, was one of her favorite modes of conciliating the feelings of her most inveterate foes. But when these means failed to win over their enemies to the Roman interests, the sword decided the contest.

From the 25th to the 27th verse we have the history of the final conquest of Egypt by Augustus Cesar, by the termination of a war carried on against Mark Antony, a brother-in-law of Cesar, and Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, whose cause Mark Antony had espoused. For a history of this war, see Rollin's Ancient History, vol. viii.

Verse 28. "Then shall he return into his own land with great riches." After the conquest of Egypt, B. C. 30, Cesar returned to Rome in triumph, being master of all the dominions of Alexander the Great.

"And his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return into his own land."

The next warlike exploit of the Romans, after the conquest of Egypt, B. C. 30, of any considerable importance, was the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jewish nation; after which he returned again to his own land.

Verse 29: "At the time appointed he shall

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return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter."

"Come toward the south." The time appointed for the division of the Roman empire; the seat of government was removed from Rome to Constantinople, toward, not to, the south; but on the way to the south by a land passage. "Not as the former," the Syrian kings going to war with Egypt; "nor as the latter," the Romans marching against Egypt. But he shall merely remove the seat of his empire toward the south.

"The ships of Chittim shall come against him." The hordes of northern barbarians shall invade his dominions, and conquer the portion he has vacated by removing to Constantinople.

"And have indignation against the holy covenant, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant." Julian, the apostate, exhibited his malice against the Christians, and did all he could to restore Paganism and put down Christianity. To effect this, he made use of apostates from the Christian faith, to betray the cause they had forsaken. The Pagans, also, in the empire, believed the distress they suffered from the Huns, etc., was in consequence of the wrath of their gods for suffering the Christians to live among them. "Arms shall stand on his part." The Romans shall defend themselves by arms for a season, and preserve independent the eastern empire "And they (the barbarous nations) shall pollute the sanctuary of strength," (Rome,) by offering to their pagan deities human sacrifices. "And shall take away the daily sacrifice," "and they shall place the abomination that

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maketh desolate." The conquerors of Rome, when they were converted to Christianity, took away the pagan rites and sacrifices which had for centuries been observed in Rome, and in their place set up Christian images as objects of worship, which have continued in use to the present time. So that the removal of pagan abominations only made way for another great system of corruption and wickedness. This change was effected about A. D. 508, by the conversion of the Ostrogoths to the Christian faith, since which Christianity has been the religion of Rome.

"Such as do wickedly shall he corrupt." Those who are only nominal Christians, not Christians in heart, shall he corrupt by flatteries to submit to all the pretensions of Papal Rome. "But the people (true Christians) who do know their God, shall be strong and do exploits." They shall protest against the corruptions of Christianity which they witness around them. "And they that understand among the people shall instruct many." The true servants of God shall keep religion alive through the long dark night of Papal rule. Yet they shall be persecuted and put to death by a variety of means, many days. "When they shall fall they shall be holpen with a little help." They shall have now and then a respite from their persecutions; but whenever they do, they shall find many to cleave to them with flatteries, and that they are in danger of being corrupted from their simplicity. But, to keep them humble and dependent, "some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge them, and make them white, even to the time of the end, because it is

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for a time appointed," Until the time of the end, therefore, the Papal power was to continue and be exerted in persecuting and putting to death all who were in his power, who dared to dissent from the successor of St. Peter. But at the period where the 35th verse leaves us, the time of the end is yet future.

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, AND THE REIGN OF BUONAPARTE

We are next presented with the prophetic history of one of the most singular governments furnished by the history of the world;-a government pefectly atheistical in its character and reckless in its conduct.

Verses 36-39. "And the ²2 king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces: a God whom his fathers knew not shall he honor, with gold and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds, with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain."

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Such a character as is above described, was revolutionary France. That dreadful revolution commenced 1789, and was styled the first year of liberty. But not satisfied with the achievements of that year, and the liberty they had asserted and exercised, the revolutionists rested not, until they had established the reign of demoniac equality and frantic atheism. At an early period of the revolution, the illuminated free-masons took the name of jacobins, from the name of a convent where 'they held their meetings. They then counted 300,000 adepts, and were supported by 2,000,000 of men, scattered through France, armed with pikes and torches, and all the implements of the revolution. On the 12th of August, 1792, the wilful king, or atheistical power, exalted himself above all law; the king of France was seized and carried a prisoner to the temple, and his right to the crown declared forfeited; and it was decreed that to the date of rational liberty, the date of equality should in future be added, in all public acts. The names and titles of the nobility of France were swept away at a stroke, and all distinctions in civil society annihilated.

Not satisfied with this, on the 26th of August, 1792, this power exalted himself above all religion, and a decree was passed, establishing atheism by law; and the clergy were ordered to leave the kingdom within a fortnight of its date.

Thus this king, 1. Did according to his will, asserted and claimed licentious liberty as the right of all. 2. He exalted himself above every god or power, imprisoning the sovereign of France, and setting himself up as the supreme power. 3. He spoke marvellous things against

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the God of gods; by decreeing that there was no God, and by banishing the ministers of God from his dominion. In November a discourse was pronounced by Dupont, upon atheism, which was applauded by the convention. And in Nov. 1793, it was stated by one of the atheists, that all religious worship had disappeared in his section, even to the very idea of religion. He added, that he and his fellows detested God. On the 17th of October, 1795, all external signs of religion were abolished, and it was decreed that an inscription should be set up in the public burying-ground, that death is only an eternal sleep.

"Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women." Not only was atheism established by law, but the most gross and unbounded licentiousness was sanctioned, by a law of June 6, 1794. He honored a strange god. An idol was introduced, and set up in one of the churches, whither the abandoned citizens flocked, not to worship their Maker, but to hear his name blasphemed. Also, after the people had become sick of atheism, and demanded the restoration of some form of religious worship, a heathen ritual was prepared, and presented to the people, as the form of worship they were to observe. Nor was this repealed until Buonaparte was appointed first consul. And they divided the land for gain. The property, both of the clergy and nobility, was seized and confiscated, and applied to the support of the republic.

Verse 40. "And at the time of the end shall the king of the South push at him, and the king of the North shall come against him, like a whirlwind, with chariots and with horsemen, and with

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many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over."

"The time of the end" is a period to which frequent allusion has been made, and now we are brought down to the period where it is introduced. It has before been stated, that "the time of the end" is from the fall of Popery, 1798, to the end itself. The king of the South, we have also seen in the preceding remarks, is Egypt; and the king of the North, is Syria. "Him," in the 40th verse, is the atheistical government of France. This government was to prosper, verse 36, "until the indignation be accomplished;" or until Papal Europe should be scourged for the persecutions inflicted on the people of God. For this purpose, atheistical France was permitted to triumph. The French revolution, and the wars which followed it, and desolated Europe for so many years, were God's sore judgment on the Papal powers. Buonaparte was an instrument of vengeance in the hand of the Almighty. "And at the time of the end"-he is presented as growing up out of the revolution, rising above, and giving direction to, that dreadful storm. The Papal dominion was taken away in Feb. 1798; and in May following, at the instigation of Napoleon, the French fitted out an expedition for Egypt, the command of which was given to Buonaparte. He landed in Egypt on the 1st of July, and landed his army at Marubaut, about a mile and a half from Alexandria. The Turks, although unprepared for this invasion, mustered what force they could, and, shutting the gates of the city, held out until the French forced their way through the old, crumbling walls. Thus, in 1798, the king of the

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South pushed at him. After reconciling matters, however, with the Mohammedans, as well as he could, he commenced his march through Egypt to the Pyramids, in sight of which they arrived on the 21st of July. Here a decisive battle ensued with the Mamelukes, in which Buonaparte gained an important victory. The effect was, Cairo surrendered to him, and Lower Egypt was entirely conquered. In the mean time, the French fleet, which was moored in the bay of Aboukir, was destroyed by Lord Nelson. After settling the affairs of Egypt, he commenced, in the beginning of 1799, a march into Syria, with an army of 10,000 picked men. Feb. 15, he took possession of El-Arish; and, pursuing his march, he took Gaza without opposition; but at Jaffa (Joppa) the Turks made a resolute defence; but the walls were carried by storm, and 3000 Turks died with arms in their hands. And from 1200 to 3000 more, who had surrendered, were led out of the town, and murdered in cold blood.

Buonaparte having ascertained that the Pacha of Syria was at St. Jean d'Acre, and was determined to defend that place to extremity with the forces he had already assembled for the invasion of Egypt, endeavored to seduce this ferocious chief from his allegiance to the Porte. But the first of Napoleon's messengers returned without an answer; the second was put to death. Buonaparte then moved on with his army toward Acre, in all the zeal of revenge, and ordered the necessary apparatus for a siege to be sent from Alexandria, by sea.

Sir Sidney Smith was cruising in the Levant, with two British ships of the line, and being informed

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by the Pacha of the approach of Napoleon, he hastened to support him in the defense of Acre. Napoleon's vessels and stores for the siege, fell into his hands, and he arrived at Acre two days before Buonaparte appeared in sight. Smith, and Phillippeaux, a French Royalist, were permitted to regulate, as far as possible, the plan of defense. Although the loss of his heavy artillery and the presence of two British ships were inauspicious omens, yet Buonaparte immediately commenced the siege. This siege continued for weeks to be carried on with great spirit on both sides. Meantime, a vast army of Mussulmen was assembled on the mountains, and was preparing to descend upon the besiegers, in concert with the garrison of Acre. Junot, a French general; was sent to oppose this vast army of horsemen, and was followed by Napoleon himself; and they succeeded in dispersing the army. The siege continued to be vigorously carried on, day after day, until Buonaparte's army was thinned before the Pacha's gallantry and the skill of his allies. At this critical moment, a Turkish fleet appeared in sight with reinforcements for, the Pacha. Napoleon determined to finish the siege before the arrival of the fleet, and Smith was as determined to hold out until it arrived. But Buonaparte's efforts were fruitless; on the 21st May, Napoleon yielded to stern necessity, raised the siege, and retreated upon Jaffa.

Thus "the king of the North," Syria, came" against him like a whirlwind," with "horsemen," with "chariots," or wheeled artillery, and with many ships; two British ships, and a Turkish fleet. And he was defeated and driven back with great losses.

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Verse 41. "He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon."

In his march from Egypt to Syria, he stood in the glorious land, Palestine, and fought several battles, and also in his retreat he passed through the same countries. And many, not countries, but persons, were overthrown by him. But the Edomites, Moabites and Ammonites, countries bordering on Palestine, in consequence of his defeat at Acre, escaped him. He did not invade these ancient countries. Verses 42, 43-"He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Lybians and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps."

Although, when he left Egypt, he intended to go by land either to Constantinople or India, yet his defeat in Syria forced him back again into Egypt, so that it did not escape his grasp. He then became master of that ancient and renowned kingdom, and had power over all its treasures. The Lybians and Ethiopians, nations bordering on Egypt, were both at his steps; but, in consequence of his sudden departure from. Egypt, neither of them were conquered by him.

Verse 44. "But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many.

After Buonaparte's retreat into Egypt, in the

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course of his negotiations, Sir Sidney Smith found means of sending a file of newspapers to Buonaparte, giving him an account of the disastrous state of French affairs on the. continent of Europe. Thus tidings out of the north, from Syria, and the total failure of his East-India expedition, caused a manifest uneasiness, and induced him to desert his army in a helpless and enfeebled condition, and make his way, with a single vessel and a few of his intimate friends, back to France.

He immediately commenced another Italian campaign, which in two months restored the Cesalpine Republic to the French dominions.

And for fifteen years, every successive year brought with it a fresh sacrifice of human life, to gratify the ambition of the insatiable Buonaparte. During that period, Europe was deluged with the blood of millions. In his Russian campaign, of an army numbering near 500,000 when he began his march, not 50,000 ever returned to their homes. And in addition to this, hundreds of thousands of his enemies perished. Thus, truly, did he "utterly make away many."

Verse 45. "And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas, in the glorious holy mountain;" or, according to the margin, "mountain of delights of holiness."

A tabernacle is a temporary abode. "Tabernacles of his palace" would be many temporary palaces. Such were Napoleon's. Between the seas with which Europe is surrounded, there was not a kingdom, with the exception of Turkey, where he was not at one time or other master, temporarily, of a palace, even to Russia itself.

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Other sovereigns had their established palaces, and with their kingdoms transmitted them to their posterity, from generation to generation. But this mighty conqueror of the nations, although he possessed many palaces, yet had none abiding. "Yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him."

After the battle of Waterloo, Napoleon, the second, time, abdicated the throne of France, and, finding his escape cut off, he voluntarily surrendered himself into the hands of the British, by whom he was doomed to exile on the island of St. Helena; where, on the 5th of May, 1821, amid a dreadful storm of wind and rain, which tore up trees by the roots, and laid waste almost all which came in its way, Napoleon's spirit left the scenes of earth, to appear before him who is the "King of kings and Lord of lords." Thus he came to his end, and there was none to help him. And the Bourbon family were restored to the throne of France.

Thus far, we can trace the fulfilment of the prophecy on the page of history. But what remains of this prophecy is yet to be fulfilled. It has been remarked that the time of the end began in 1798, at the time of the fall of Popery. That it did so, is proved by the fact, that, when it came, the king of the south, Egypt, was to push at an infidel or atheistical government, which was fulfilled in 1798, when the Egyptians opposed themselves against the French. And the whole prophecy, from the 40th to the 45th verse, which was more than seventeen years in being accomplished, was all predicted to take place at the "time of the end." Nor is that all which was predicted to be

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accomplished at the time of the end. The three first verses of the 12th chapter also relate to events which are to take place during the time of the end; but they are yet in futurity.

GREAT TIME OF TROUBLE

Dan. xii. 1-3. "And at that time, (the time spoken of, chap. xi. 40,) shall Michael stand up, (commence his reign,) the great prince, which standeth for the children of thy people, (the people of God, Jew and Gentile;) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was, since there was a nation, even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered; every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness; as the stars forever and ever."

None of these events have as yet taken place; therefore "the time of the end" has not ended; nor will it close until the end itself, when the righteous shall be everlastingly glorified.

The great time of trouble, verse 1st, is the same as that spoken of by the Savior, Matt. xxiv. 21. Both affirm it to be a time of trouble, such as was not from the beginning to that time; and the Savior adds, no, nor ever shall be. I think I shall be able to prove, here, that those who refer the trouble spoken of by Christ to the destruction of Jerusalem, are in error.

1. Both Daniel and Christ predict such tribulation

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as never before was known. But the time of that tribulation is placed by Daniel subsequently to the fall of Buonaparte, and prior to the resurrection. Hence it is in futurity. The time spoken of by Christ could not, therefore, have been when Jerusalem was destroyed. For the Lord Jesus declared there never should be another such time as that spoken of by him. But Daniel's is to be such as never was before. They must, therefore, both refer to one and the same time: a period just prior to the resurrection of the just. It will be, probably, after the Lord Jesus leaves the throne of grace and commences the work of judgment; when "the dead (Rev. xx. 12.) will stand before God, and the books be opened, and another book be opened, which is the book of life, and the dead will be judged out of the things written in the books, according to their works." Then, too, "Ye shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not." The Lord will "give his angels charge" of his people, and they shall "not be afraid of the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day. A thousand shall fall at their side, and ten thousand at their right hand, but it shall not come near them; they shall only see the reward of the wicked." The Lord "will spare his people as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." Then will follow the resurrection of the just.

THE WORDS AND BOOK CLOSED AND SEALED

Dan. xii. 4: "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." It is often brought as an objection to the advocacy of the views here presented, that "others have written on the subject, and they have discovered nothing of which you speak. If these things are so, why did they not find it out?" Has any new revelation been made to you, that you know so much more than the wise and good who have gone before you?"

To this it is replied, No; I do not profess any new revelation on the subject. And as an explanation of the reason why "the wise and good" have not discovered these things, I will direct the inquirer to the text quoted above. The prophecy was, by divine command, closed and sealed, even to the time of the end. How then could the wisest or best of men understand what God had closed and sealed? But I have proved that the time of the end has come, and has continued from 1798 to the present time. And are we not authorized to look for an increase of knowledge at the time of the end? Most certainly. And we have it: for the last forty years there has been more said and written on the prophecies, and more light reflected on them, than, for centuries before. And light continues to increase. And those who can be persuaded to give up the old tradition of a temporal millennium, and search the Bible for themselves, see the light. But how can those "believe who seek honor one of another, and not that honor which comes from

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God?" But the seal is now evidently broken; and many run to and fro; and knowledge on this and all other subjects is increased.

Verses 5-7. A new scene is presented, and two celestial beings were heard conversing; one inquired, "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?" The wonders are the events foretold in the 11th and first three verses of the 12th chapter. "The other replied, and lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth, forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter ³3 the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished."

That the first part of this text has been fulfilled, has been already demonstrated. (See the third division, the kingdom of God at hand.) That the latter part is in a rapid course of fulfilment, all who know anything of the state of the world at the present time, I think, will acknowledge. What is meant by scattering the power of the holy people? Daniel exclaimed, "I heard, but I understood not Then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?" The time when they should be accomplished had already been stated But he did not understand the meaning of the concluding event, the scattering the power, etc. It was replied to him, "the words are closed up and sealed, even to the time of the end." As much as to say, it was not for him to know the full meaning; that was reserved for others. But an intimation of the nature of the event was given.

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Verse 10: "Many shall be purified, and made white and tried." There shall be a great revival of religion at the time of the end, and many shall be converted. "But the wicked shall do wickedly." The wicked shall still hold on their wicked course. "The wise shall understand." Those who believe God's word will understand the Scriptures and the signs of the times. "But none of the wicked shall understand." They who remain enemies to God shall be overtaken as a thief.

The scattering of the power of the holy people is the extension of the gospel. The term should rather have the idea of spreading attached to it. It is the same event as that promised by the Savior, Matt xxiv. 14: "This gospel of the kingdom must be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. Then shall the end come."

That this work is rapidly going forward, and that God is succeeding it in a very gracious manner, by pouring out his Spirit on all flesh, is too manifest to need proof. Never before were such efforts made for the spread of the gospel. And never before were the heathen so eager to receive it. What is done by England and America is but a part of what is being done in this work. God is raising up laborers by hundreds, where but yesterday, as it were, all was the darkness of the grave respecting the gospel. Is not the end, then, evidently near?

Verse 11: "And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be 1290 days." "The daily sacrifice," we have

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seen above, was the pagan sacrifices offered in Rome. 1290 days were to elapse from the time they ceased to be offered, to the fall of papal rule. Paganism ceased in Rome A. D. 508. 1290 years (for we are to reckon those days, years) would bring us to 1798, when the papal dominion fell.

Verse 12: "Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the 1335 days." From the same period, the taking away the daily, to the end, should be 1335 days or years. The daily was taken away 508. 1335 years added to that, will bring us to A. D. 1843. "But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." At the end of 1335 years, then, the end will come, and Daniel will stand in his lot, with all the sanctified.

A few more remarks, and this division of the subject shall be dismissed. We have already seen that Daniel was directed to shut up the words and seal the book to the time of the end; and afterward, when he wished to understand further respecting the prophecy he uttered, he was told that the words were closed and sealed to the time of the end. Now let this fact be compared with Acts i. 6, 7. When the disciples asked the Lord, "Wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" he replied, "It is not for you to know the times and seasons which the Father hath put in his own power." The time of the end had not then come, therefore they were not permitted to understand the times foretold by the holy prophets. See also 1 Pet. i. 10-12. There we are told that the prophets searched and inquired diligently, what, and what

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manner of time, the Spirit of Christ did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow-everlasting glory. But it was revealed to them that they ministered, not to themselves, but to after generations. And how applicable are these remarks to Daniel. The Spirit of Christ taught him, and then directed him to close the words and seal the book to the time of the end; and the words were shut up and the book sealed to the time of the end. But that time has come.

SECTION VI. THE THREE WOES, AND THE TWO WITNESSES

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR STUDYING THE BOOK OF REVELATION

As the limits I have prescribed for myself in this work will not admit of my entering so fully into an examination of the book of Revelation as I could wish, I shall content myself with remarking upon some of the most important (if it is proper to use the term) points presented in that most deeply interesting book.

I am not unaware of the prejudice existing in the Christian world, against the study of this book, with the idea of understanding its meaning; but so long as I believe it to be, what it professes in its introduction to be, "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John; who bare record of the word of God;" so long shall I feel justified in studying this sacred book. And again, while it is recorded, "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein," I shall

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be encouraged, whatever my fellow-creatures may think of it, to endeavor, according to my ability, to read and understand these words; for God has pronounced his blessing on such a work. Can we ask, then, for stronger encouragement for reading and endeavoring to understand the book? It is Heaven's own book, and as such, it is every way worthy of our perusal. We will, therefore, enter on the examination of one of the subjects presented in this interesting prophetic book, viz., the sounding of the three wo trumpets spoken of in the 9th, 10th and 11th chapters. I have selected this particular subject, because it affords some striking and tangible evidence of the near approach of the everlasting kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. For, when the sixth angel has done sounding, the second wo will be passed, and the third wo and the seventh trumpet will come quickly. And when the seventh trumpet does sound, and third wo come, then, "the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever."

THE ANGEL OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT, REV. IX

"And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came locusts out of the smoke on the earth; and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of

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the earth have power. And it was commanded that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months."

There is a very general agreement at the present day, among prophetic expositors, that the subject of this prophecy is Mohammedism. I shall not, therefore, enter into a particular explanation of the various figures used in the prophecy, but take it for granted that those who thus apply it are correct, and confine myself principally to the examination of the prophetic periods mentioned in the chapter, and endeavor to show their fulfilment. If this can be done, it is in itself the strongest evidence that a right application is made of the prophecy, when it is applied to Mohammedism.

The first prophetic period which occurs in the chapter, is in the 5th verse; "that they should be tormented five months." A prophetic month consists of 30 days, as in Rev xiii., and each day represents a year. Five months will amount to 150 years. During 150 years the lucusts (or warlike armies of horsemen) which came out of the smoke, (the Mohammedan errors,) for the propagation of his religion, were to torment a certain nation of men. But what nation? And when were they to begin the work? These are questions to be settled.

I shall endeavor to determine the first question by settling the second. When, then, were

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the Mohammedan armies to commence their torment on a certain people for 150 years?

Verse 10, the period is again referred to. "And their power was to hurt men five months." The 11th verse pointed out the time when those months were to commence. "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, (that is, a destroyer,) but in the Greek tongue he hath his name Apollyon," (destroyer.)

The beginning of the five months, then, is when these armies have one king over them, of the character above described.

After the death of Mahomet, his followers were divided into various factions, under several leaders. In this state they continued until the close of the 13th century. They were then united under one government, under Othman, the founder of the Ottoman or Turkish empire. The founder of the government, as well as the government itself, was truly described when called Abaddon, or Apollyon, a destroyer.

But this king was to be the angel, or chief minister, of the bottomless pit, or of the religion which arose from thence under Mahomet. Such was Othman; and such have been his successors. Like the Pope of Rome, the Turkish Sultan has exercised supreme power, both civil and ecclesiastical, throughout his dominions. This empire was established A. D. 1299. "And on the 27th day of July, 1299, Othman first invaded the territory of Nicomedia," to commence his attack on the Greek empire. (See

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Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.)

Beginning in 1299, the 150 years would end A. D. 1449. In that year, John Palcalogus, the Greek emperor, died, and left no children to succeed him in the throne; and his brother Constantine Deacozes was to succeed him. But, from some cause or other, although it was a time of peace, before he dared to ascend his brother's throne, he sent ambassadors to Amurath, the Turkish Sultan, to ask his permission; and having obtained it, he assumed the government of the empire. Thus, for 150 years, from 1299 to 1499, although the two powers were almost continually engaged in broils and contentions, yet the Turks could not prevail against the Greeks. "Their power was to torment," by sudden excursions. Thus far they might go, but no farther. The 150 years ended, and with it virtually ended the Greek empire; because from that time the Greek emperor only reigned by permission of his deadly foe. Thus closed the sounding of the fifth angel, and thus ended the first woe. The men then which they were to torment were the Greeks.

SOUNDING OF THE SIXTH ANGEL

Verses 12-15. "One wo is past, and behold there come two woes more hereafter. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound

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in the great river Euphrates. "And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, to slay the third part of men."

One wo ended with the 5 months or 150 years, and two more were to succeed it. The second wo began when the sixth angel began to sound. The same power which had restrained the Ottomans to the work of tormenting men five months, on the sounding of the sixth angel commanded that restraint to be taken off. "Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed."

"The four angels" are the four principal nations of which the Ottoman empire is composed, located in the neighborhood of the Euphrates. They had hitherto been confined to the work of tormenting the Greeks, without politically putting them to death. But from this time they were to slay, politically kill, that nation.

Accordingly, when the 150 years ended, the Turks were loosed, and the independence of the Greeks ceased, by their voluntarily acknowledging that they only existed politically by the permission of the Turkish Sultan.

But the duration of their dominion over the Greek empire is limited to "an hour," 15 days; "and a day," one year; "and a month," 30 years; "and a year," 360 years; the whole amounting to 391 years and 15 days. Both periods, the 150 years, and 391 years and 15 days, are 541 years and 15 days. The first period was fulfilled, and the four angels were loosed. Hence, we may expect that when the second period closes, with it will close the reign of the Ottomans

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in Constantinople. If the time for commencing the periods was at the time of the first onset of the Ottomans upon the Greeks, July 27th, 1299, then the whole period will end in August, 1840.

All observers of the signs of the times must acknowledge that, from present appearances in the eastern world, there is nothing improbable in the idea that the Turkish power will fall in the course of the present year. If it does, we shall be furnished with another demonstration of the fulfilment of prophetic periods, and shall be able to decide with certainty that the 9th chapter of Revelation predicts the Mohammedan government. The conclusion, also, that the sounding of the last trump is at the door, will be inevitable and irresistible to all who believe the word of God.

I wish to invite the reader's particular attention to this point. It is, on some accounts, the most important event of time predicted, and to take place in futurity. After the fall of Constantinople, or the Turkish power located there, we may not look for any very signal event to take place as an index of the coming of the Lord, until the mystery of God is finished.

ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE FOREGOING CALCULATIONS

When the above was written, the result was in futurity, and was purely a matter of calculation; but now, however, the time is passed, and it is

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proper that we should inquire whether the event has answered the calculations.

1. Has, then, the Ottoman supremacy in Constantinople been broken, or has it been lost?

1st Testimony. The London Morning Herald, after the capture of St. Jean d'Acre, speaking of the state of things in the Ottoman empire, says: "We (the allies) have conquered St. Jean d'Acre. We have dissipated into thin air the prestige that till lately invested as with a halo the name of Mehemet Ali. We have, in all probability, destroyed forever the power of that hitherto successful ruler. But have we done aught to restore strength to the Ottoman empire? We fear not. We fear that the Sultan has been reduced to the rank of a puppet; and that the sources of the turkish empire's strength are entirely destroyed."

"If the supremacy of the Sultan is hereafter to be maintained in Egypt, it must be maintained, we fear, by the unceasing intervention of England and Russia."

What the London Morning Herald last November feared has since been realized. The Sultan has been entirely, in all the great questions which have come up, under the dictation of the christian kingdoms of Europe: and on them he has been dependent for support against Mehemet.

2nd Testimony. The following is from Rev. Mr. Goodell, missionary of the American Board at Constantinople, addressed to the Board, and by them published in the Missionary Herald, for April, 1841, page 160:-

"The power of Islamism is broken forever; and

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there is no concealing the fact, even from themselves. They exist now by mere sufferance. And though there is a mighty effort made by the christian governments to sustain them, yet at every step they sink lower and lower with fearful velocity. And though there is a great endeavor made to graft the institutions of civilized and christian countries upon the decayed trunk, yet the very root itself is fast wasting away by the venom of its own poison. How wonderful it is, that, when all Christendom combined together to check the progress of Mohammedan power, it waxed exceedingly great in spite of every opposition; and now, when all the mighty potentates of christian Europe, who feel fully competent to settle all the quarrels, and arrange all the affairs of the whole world, are leagued together for its protection and defence, down it comes, in spite of all their fostering care."

This, let it be remembered, is the clear, positive testimony of an eye-witness, a man who is on the spot, and who knows whereof he affirms. For truth and veracity, he has the confidence of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and they, in their official organ, have given publicity to the testimony. Reader, please review this witness's testimony, and mark its point and strength.

3rd Testimony. The following is an extract from a London paper; the article is headed, "The Waning of the Ottoman Empire." It has been copied into most of the leading journals of this country, without one word of dissent on the part of any. Thus the whole editorial corps in this country have given it their official sanction.

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The object of the writer is to show the relative condition of the Turkish and christian powers of Europe. In former times the Turkish empire exceeded in power every kingdom in Europe. But the scene is changed; the Turks are weakened and the christian nations strengthened. The article concludes thus: "The day they (the nations of Europe) counted their numbers, was to be the last of Constantinople; and that day has everywhere come."

So, according to all our leading periodicals, the last of Constantinople has come.

4th Testimony. Dr. Bond, editor of the Christian Advocate and Journal, New York, in one of the May numbers of that paper, concludes his account of Eastern affairs thus: "The Mohammedan nations are effectually in the hands and at the mercy of the christian governments."

This is granting all we ask. Turkish supremacy is gone, and is in the hands of christian powers. With these I shall close the testimony on this point; and proceed to inquire-

2nd. When did the Ottoman Independence depart?

Perhaps it may be said in reply, "it has been decaying for years." True, it has. But if its power is broken forever, as Mr. Goodell declares, there must have been a point when it was broken. If it is dead, there was a moment when it ceased to be alive, and became dead. When was that crisis? To answer this question understandingly and clearly, it will be necessary to take a view of the eastern difficulty, and the means adopted for its settlement.

For some years Mehemet Ali, Pacha of Egypt,

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had manifested a disposition to throw off the Turkish yoke and maintain an independent government. He gradually increased in power, and extended his conquests, wresting one province after another from the Sultan, adding it to his own dominions. In 1839, a war broke out between Mehemet and the Sultan, in which the Sultan's army were cut up, and his fleet taken by Mehemet and carried to Egypt, which he refused to surrender and return to the Sultan; threatening to burn it, if an attempt should be made to take it.

The following extracts from the translation of an official document which appeared in the "Moniteur Ottoman," of Aug. 22, 1840, will show the turn of the affair at this juncture.

"Subsequent to the occurrence of the disputes alluded to, and after the reverses experienced, as known to all the world, the ambassadors of the great powers at Constantinople, in a collective official note, declared, that their governments were unanimously agreed upon taking measures to arrange said differences, and the sublime Porte, with a view of putting a stop to the effusion of Mussulman blood, and to the various evils which would arise from a renewal of hostilities, accepted the intervention of the great powers. His excellency Shekih Effendi, the Bey likgis, was therefore despatched a plenipotentiary, to represent the sublime Porte, at the conference which took place in London, (July 15, 1840,) for the purpose in question."

The conference was composed of England, Russia, Austria, and Prussia, together with the Sultan's ambassador. The following extract from

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the same official document above quoted, shows the decision of that conference.

"It having been felt that all the zealous labors of the conferences of London in the settlement of the Pacha's pretensions were useless, and that the only public way was to have recourse to coercive measures to reduce him to obedience in case he persisted in not listening to pacific overtures, the powers have, together with the Ottoman Plenipotentiary, drawn up and signed a treaty whereby the Sultan offers the Pacha the hereditary government of Egypt, and of all that part of Syria extending from the Gulf of Suez to the Lake of Tiberias, together with the province of Acre, for life; the Pacha, on his part, evacuating all other parts of the Sultan's dominions now occupied by him, and returning the Ottoman fleet. A certain space of time has been granted him to accede to these terms, and as the proposals of the Sultan and his allies, the four powers, do not admit of any change or qualification, if the Pacha refuse to accede to them, it, is evident that the evil consequences to fall upon him will be attributable solely to his own fault. His excellency Rifat Bey, Musteshar for foreign affairs, has been dispatched to Alexandria in a government steamer, to communicate their ultimatum to the Pacha."

The reason why the Sultan thus submitted the decision of the question to the Christian powers is intimated in a manifesto which he issued about the 20th of August, and caused to be read in the mosques, day after day. It was because he felt his weakness and the danger of his throne.

"The Porte, in order to counteract this, (the pretensions of Mehemet,) has deemed it necessary

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to publish a manifesto, laying before its subjects a statement of affairs from the commencement of the quarrel up to the present time, and proving to them, by the clearest arguments, that the Pacha himself is the enemy of their religion, and that the object he is aiming at is to dethrone the Sultan."-Corres. Lond. Morn. Chronicle.

If we can place any confidence in the declaration of the Sultan, he did feel his throne to be in danger; and this was his reason for throwing himself on his allies for support.

The ultimatum of the London conference, it seems, was put into the hands of the Sultan, to treat with Mehemet, and if possible settle the difficulty without the further intervention of his allies. But if Mehemet refused to accede to the terms, which admitted of no change or qualification, the great powers were pledged to use coercive measures. While, therefore, the Sultan held the ultimatum in his own hands, his independence was maintained; but the question once submitted to Mehemet, and it was beyond his control. True, if Mehemet accepted the ultimatum, the Ottoman independence would remain; but if he rejected it, there was no alternative but for the christian powers to interpose and put him down.

Rifat Bey left Constantinople for Egypt, with the ultimatum, August 5th, 1840.

"He arrived at Alexandria on the 11th of August, and was by Mehemet's orders placed, in quarantine until the 16th." Thus on the 11th of August the question of war or peace was taken from the Sultan's hands and placed in Mehemet's, so that the Sultan could no longer control the affair.

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The 541 years 15 days, commencing July 27th 1299, would end on the 11th of August; just the day Rifat Bey arrived at Alexandria.

On the 15th of August, Mehemet gave his answer to the Sultan in the following note:-

"Wallah, hillah, tillah,"(an oath, by God.) "I will not yield a span of the land I possess, and if war is made against me I will turn the empire upside down and be buried in its ruins.

Mehemet All."

This was the decisive stroke, and under it the Ottoman power was thrown into the hands of the Christian nations of Europe: And the very next day, the 16th, the consuls of the four powers took up the affair and remonstrated with him for his course, and threatened him if he did not submit. Since then, the Sultan has been under the necessity of submitting to the dictation of the European powers in all the affairs of his empire.

I am now entirely satisfied that on the 11th day of August, according to previous calculation, the end of 541 years 15 days, the ottoman supermacy departed; and that on the 15th of August, the control of the empire was thrown into christian hands, from which it had departed 391 years 15 days before. Thus the Ottomans were loosed and prepared for an hour, a day, a month and a year, to slay the third part of men. That time ended and their power was broken, and Christian power restored to Constantinople.

After the prediction of the Turkish power, the Revelator continues, chap. 10th, and relates what he saw farther. He saw an angel stand upon

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the sea and upon the earth, who "lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that are therein, and the sea, and the things that are therein, that there should be time no longer. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished; as he hath declared to his servants the prophets."

The Revelator was here permitted to anticipate the sounding of the seventh angel, and the event of his sounding, but the way was not yet prepared for presenting in due form the sounding of the seventh trumpet.

The history of the Greek church and their oppression by the Mohammedans was given in the 9th chapter, which brought us down to the ending of the second wo; but before the even of the third wo could be fully presented, another line of prophecy must be brought up to the same period. That line was to give the suffering and depressed condition of true religion in the west, and its triumph before the end.

THE LITTLE BOOK AND ITS CONTENTS. REV. 10TH AND 11TH CHAPS

The Revelator was directed to go and take a little book out of the angel's hand and eat it up. This he did; and was then told that he must prophesy again, before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

The events of the little book are the events

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predicted in the 11th chapter. And it was those events he was to predict before peoples, nations, tongues, and kings, before he could fully present the third wo.

THE TWO WITNESSES PROPHESY IN SACKCLOTH

Chapter xi. 1, 2. "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod; and the angel stood, saying, Rise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months."

The temple here spoken of, and which the Revelator was commanded to measure, is the church of Christ, composed of his living members, whether Jews or Gentiles, See Eph. ii. 19-22. This is emphatically the temple of God; and it was the church he was to measure.

"But the court . . . leave out . . . it is given unto the Gentiles, and the holy city shall they tread under foot 42 months."

In the ancient temple at Jerusalem the outer court was devoted to the Gentiles; into that they were permitted to enter and present their sacrifice to the priest.

So also in the Christian temple, there are those who, although professed members of Christ's body, are no more than Gentile or outer court worshippers, after all. Such is, and has been, the character of the church of Rome. She, while God has had a seed to serve him, has been

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treading that holy city under foot, and for 42 months, or 1260 years, the saints were given into her hand to oppress, persecute, and put to death. This church was not, in measuring the true church, to be taken into the account as forming any part of the temple of God.

Verse 3rd. "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth." Verse 4. "These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth."

The 4th verse seems to be a reference to Zech. 4th chapter. The prophet was presented in vision with a view of two olive trees. He asked, What are these? and was told, "This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel."

The two olive trees, then, represent the word of the Lord. Had we no farther evidence as to the character and person of the two witnesses, this ought to be sufficient. But we have other evidence. John v. 39. Jesus said to the Jews, "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me." Here the Savior explicitly asserted that the Old-Testament Scriptures bore witness of him. And hence they are his witness.

Again; Matt. xxiv. 14. He said, "This gospel of the kingdom must be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations." What is this but calling the gospel his witness? The Old and New Testaments are, therefore, Christ's two witnesses. They were to "prophesy," testify the truth of God, during all that long dark night of papal rule.

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"Clothed in sackcloth." Sackcloth is the emblem of sorrow or mourning. So the word of God is represented as mourning over the desolation of the church during that reign of wickedness. But still it bore a faithful testimony, and many by its heavenly light were led to the Savior.

"If any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies"

If any man add to the words of this book, it testifies that God will add to him the plagues written therein. And if any take away from the words of this book, his part shall be taken from the book of life, and from the holy city. Again, John xii. 48. "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him; the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." Thus fire proceedeth out of the mouth of these witnesses and devoureth all who would hurt them.

"These have power to shut heaven that it rain not." When the word of God was obscured, the rain of grace, the genial influences of the gospel, were withheld; revivals of religion, during the greatest part of papal rule, were almost unknown. "And have power over waters to turn them to blood." While the restraints of the word of God were withdrawn, the nations of the earth were continually involved in war and bloodshed.

"And when they have finished their testimony," or, according to Faber, when they are about to finish their testimony, "the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them."

The beast from the bottomless pit is the same

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as the wilful king, Dan. xi. 36, revolutionary France. That infidel government, so far as it could be done, made war on, and put to death, both the Bible and the God of the Bible. The one they declared, by a formal enactment, a lie, and prohibited its use; and the other they declared a nonentity, a being which did not exist.

They not only declared the Bible a lie and prohibited its use, but gathered it in heaps and burned it. At other times it was dragged through the streets with every circumstance of contempt.

"And their dead bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom, and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

"Streets of the great city." Paris. "Spiritually is called Sodom." The crying sin of Sodom was its licentiousness. But probably in no part of the world, since the ruin of Sodom, has this sin ever been carried so far as in France during the reign of terror. On the 6th of June, 1794, a formal enactment was passed in the city of Paris, to establish fornication by law. A parallel cannot be found.

It is also spiritually called "Egypt." The crying sin of Egypt was her atheism. "Who is the Lord, that I should let the people go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let the people go," was the language of Pharaoh. So also was it in France. One infidel, after the existence of God had been denied, declared that he and his fellows "detested God."

"Where also our Lord was crucified." The motto and watch-word of the infidel crew was, "Crush the wretch," meaning Christ. Nor was

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it an empty cry. All who bore the name of Christ were either banished from France or seized and put to death. It might be also in reference to the murder of the 30,000 Christians, members of Christ's body, on St. Bartholomew's eve, that it is said to be the great city "where our Lord was crucified."

"And they of the people, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations, shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves." The nations of the earth saw and heard of the dangers of the French revolutionists in regard to the Bible, but did not suffer it to be buried out of sight. It still stood out prominently in Great Britain. "Three days and a half." The decree condemning the Bible and establishing atheism was passed Aug. 26, 1792. And that decree continued in force until March, 1796, a period of about three and a half years. During those three and a half years they lay dead in Paris in sight of the nations.

"And after three days (years) and a half, the spirit of life from God entered into them." The decree by which they were condemned was repealed, and the Bible was again permitted to be read.

"And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them."

The great voice from heaven is the great demand which the world has made for the Bible since that time. The 1260 years of the prophesying in sackcloth of the two witnesses ended with the

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fall of Popery, 1798. In 1801 the British and Foreign Bible Society was formed, which, by the aid of the American Bible Society, has translated and printed the Bible, either in whole or in part, into more than 150 different languages. And missionary societies have been multiplying beyond even the most sanguine expectations of the warmest friend of the heathen world forty years ago, and the work is still going forward with unparalleled rapidity. The gospel will continue thus to spread until it has reached the last heathen nation as Christ's witness; "then," according to his declaration, "shall the end come." And the same fact is presented Rev. xi. 14, 15: "The second wo is past, and behold the third wo cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever."

If the calculation on the periods of the 9th chapter are correct, we are upon the very verge of the time when this text will begin to be accomplished. For as soon as the second woe passes, the third will come quickly. How soon, it is impossible to tell. The only safety any one can have, will be in securing an interest in the Lord Jesus Christ. The third wo will come as a thief in the night. It will come when the world are crying peace and safety. Of the day and the hour, no man knoweth. But rest assured, reader, when you see the Turkish empire fall, ⁴4 that it is nigh, even at the door. And by

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the close of 1843 we may expect that all these things will be finished, and the righteous glorified.

Now, I ask those who contend for a temporal millennium, to show me where it is to find a place between the sounding of the seventh angel, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and he begins his everlasting reign, "and the time of the dead, (verse 18,) that they should be judged, and that God should give reward unto his servants, the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear his name, small and great; and destroys them that destroy the earth?"

Where, again I ask, is the place for the millennium to be found?

Then "let Zion's watchmen all awake." Let them cry aloud and spare not, until a slumbering world is awake to its danger, and flies to Christ for refuge. For now it is especially true, that "He which testifieth these things, saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." Revelation xxii. 20, 21.

¹ A republication of English works on the Prophecies.

² The definite article should have been rendered by the indefinite-"a king shall do according to his will."

³ The word "scatter" should rather be rendered "disseminate," or "spread."

⁴ It has now fallen.