AN. EXPOSITION
or THE
REVELATIONS OF ST, JOHN TOE DIVINE;
rx coxKEonos with
THE PREDICTIONS OF THE PROPHETS,
ISAIA1I, JEREMIAH, EZEKIEL, DANIEL AND JOEL;
SHOWING THE SITUATION OR CONNECTION OF TIIE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD WITH
THE PROPHECIES-
BY ELDER JESSE COX,
MJKISTEa OF THE GOSPEL OF THE PRIMITIVE BAPTIST 01!BEE.
FRANKLIN:
PUBLISHED FOR TIIE AUTHOR.
1858.
CONTENTS.
CHAATER I. pain.
/ThB won ah ClOTHEX with ran Sun, and tbs Moon under acsa Feet ...11
CHAPTER II.
Tbs Wok an in Pain to bs Delivered, and tbs Ubeat Rsd Dbacon biadt to
Devour thi Child 1#
CHAPTER III.
Tan Dbacon Casting Wa^er out or hi9 Mouth, and u&xsxc Was with thb
Remnant or her Seed..... 84
The Church at Ephesus—The Opening the F'.rst Seal—Sounding the First Trum¬
pet—The Pouring out the First vial—The Dragon losing his power 87
CEAPTEE IV.
The Churofa aft Smyrna—The Opening the Second Se al—The Sounding the Second
Trumpet—The Pouring out the Second yial—The Destruction of the Dragon,
and <epen appearance of the Man of Sin 47
CHAPTER V.
The Church at Purgamos—The Opening the Thjrd Seal—TJve Sounding of the
Third Trumpet—The Pouring out the Third Vial—The Increased Strength
of vho Man of Siu „ 14
CHAPTER VI,
The Church in Tbyatira—The Opening the Fouth Seal—The Sounding of the
Fourth Trumpet—The Pouring out the Fourth Vial—The Increased Strength
of the Beast—The False Prophet Mahomet, ,734
CHAPTER VIL
The Woman (or church) in the Wilderness—Rqvatjiap, er the first Separation—The
Waldenaes in the Valleys, the valleys described—Their Article* of Faith 185
CHAPTER VIM.
The Church in Bardie—The opening of the Fifth Seal—The Sounding the Fifth
Trumpet—The pouring ont the fifth Vial—The Man of Siu, er the Beast losing
his Power 280
CHAPTER IX,
The Chureh in Philadelphia—The opening pf the Sixth Seal—The eoundipg of the
Sixth Trumpet—The pouring out of the Sixth Vial The Man of Sin losing
his Power - £97
CHAPTER X.
The Beast coming up out of the Earth—One of hie heads wounded to depth—The
deadly wound healed—The image to the heart—To giro life to the image df
the Beast ,, 860
CONTESTS.
CHAPTER XL
Tub These Unclean Spirits *. .409
The Spirit proceeding from the Beast—Out of the mouth of the Dragon—Out of
the mouth cf the False Prophet , 9. 411
CHAPTER XII.
Measuring the Temple—The Outer Court—The two Witnesses—They shall proph¬
esy 1260 days in Sack cloth—'The Witnesses stand upon their feet 465
♦ CHAPTER XIII.
The.Church at Laodioea—The four Angels holding the four Winds—'The opening of
the seventh Seal—The sounding of the seventh Trumpet—The pouring out of
the seventh Vial—The destruction of .Babylon, or Man of Sin—The Angel
ooming down from heaven having great power 531
CHAPTER XIV.
The Return of the Jews—The Stone breaking the Image—Satan bound and Christ's
reign fpr a thousand years—Satan loosed for a littj^ season—The end of all
things that are created 621
ERBATA.
As much as we may regret it, we have to say to the reader, that notwithstanding out
desire, as well as that of the publishers, to present you with the work without any ma¬
terial error, yet, with all our vigilance, some errors have been committed, mostly typo¬
graphical. It was to be expected, as it was the maiden effort of both of us, andaa l
but seldom bad an opportunity to examine the first sheet after the proof had been
corrected. I will note here such as change the meaning of the sentence; and there
are others of minor importance which the reader will please correct as he reads:
In chapter!, page 11, third line from the top, reads represented to be the moon—'
should read represented by the moon.
Page 20, top line reads Sion—should read Zion.
Page 83, the ninth line from the top—Vocides should be Vaudois.
Page 89, the second line, (farther) should be Founder.
Page81, in tbe year (149) should be -250.
Sage 103. Revelations xvi. 4th, Waters and fountain of rivers, should be rivers and
fountain of waters. ( ,
Page 197,.The sixth line from the top, (fifteen) should be fifty.
Page 217, the third line from the top, (host) should be hart.
]Page 233, the 18thline, (inquisition) should be in question.
Page 813, the 3d line, (streamers) should be strainors.
Page 865, the 2d line, (Boreany) should be Bourrienne,
Page 401, the 10th line, (were not'written^ should be weru writtten.
Page 420, the 6th line from the bottom, (discussing) should be describing.
Page459, new and stroug schemes, should he strange schemes.
Page 464, the 7th line irom the top; (Ntbo) should be Neco.
Page 540, about the middle of the page, (1653) should be 1853.
Page 559, the 9th line from the-top, (Prussia) should he Russia. •
Page 5^3," the i 8th line, (1854) should be 1354.
PREFACE,
I am well apprized that a goodly number of ephemeral pro¬
ductions, upon this subject, have, from time to time, appeared
in the literary and religious world, and then disappeared without
having any influence, or being of any, or at least of but little
Benefit to mankind. That mine will prove to be more lasting,
or exercise more influence upon the religious wot Id, or be more
for the glory of God, or in any degree tend to the furtherance of
His Kingdom, I shall not pretend to claim for it. I only ask for
it a place amongst the most humble. But I have had a great
(desire for a longtime to understand more of the sublime myste¬
ries," as recorded by St. John in the Ilev;lations. Having made
it' my study for several years, wi.th a prayerful searching of the
»word of God, and every other source that was within my reach
that was likely to give me any light upon the subject; and by
comparing profane and church history with the Holy Scriptures,
I concluded to commit to writing what I feel lias been the will of
God, through my researches, to open up to my understanding;
not that I profess to have had any new or miraculous revelation,
nor did I intend at first ever to bring it before the public, on ac¬
count of a consciousness of my inability to write for the public
eye, and a dislike for the criticism that I would have to endure.
But since I have commenced, some have seen, and others have
heard of it, while I have occasionally preached upon that sub¬
ject, which has caused a great many solicitations from brethren
and friends to have it published, to which I have at leDgth reluc¬
tantly given my consent.
I e-xpeot nothing from the mere 'pretended scholar, but the
classic will make all due allowance; nor am I endeavoring to
PREFACE.
please the critic—nor have I any thing to hope from a large por¬
tion of the religious world, for I have differed on most points
from every thing that I have ever seen or heard upon that sub^
ject, not merely for the purpose of differing from others, but
plainly and fairly giving my own views, as they are entirely my
own, for I have consulted id one upon the subject; and therefore
no one else is responsible for any doctrinal ideas that it contains.
I am well apprized of the difficulties that a man meets "with in
blazing out a new way, to what he would if he had kept the
beaten track, an I after he his midi i: lie can see many .improve¬
ments that might bo made to avoid some of those difficulties.—
So it is in religion, literature, and the arts and sciences, espe¬
cially when he cdmes in contact with long cheridved opinions and
popular institutions, he never fails to bring down the popular in¬
dignation upon his head, as has been the case in all ages—as in
the case of Columbus coming to the United States, or Fulton
bringing steam into general use, and Franklin bringing down the
lightning from the heavens. So in religion. See Christ and the
Apostles; as in the case of St. Paul at Ephesus, when he
preached Jesus Christ as the way: " And at the same time there
arose no small stir about that way. All with one voice about the
space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians."
And yet he had said nothing about the goddess Diana, but if
there is a superior God then our craft is in danger, and her mag-?
nificence must come to nought. ■ .
We should be willing to allow difference and interchange of
opinions, because the principle does not depend upon our belief
or unbeliefs to make it true or false in the arts and sciences, and
much more so in religion. If what I have written is not true,
my having published it will not make it true; but if it is true,
all the unbelief in the world will not make it untrue. And,
although I have differed with others, I have not set aught down
in malice to any person, or any denomination, but have honestly
given the conclusions to which I have arrived; and if I have mis-
represented any sect or denomination, it has not been done inten¬
tionally, and therefore hope that you, gentle reader, will allow an
PREFACE;
I
hm^st difference of opinion without being offended, as you are at
liberty to believe and practice as you think proper, (so far as I
am concerned,) without giving the least offence. But I pray you
to take a portion of the pains that I have in comparing what I
have written with the scripture, with history and with the pre¬
dictions of the prophets, relative to the kingdoms of the woild,
before you come to a conclusion or condemn what I have written,
although it may cross your former prepossessions. When it is
fairly tried, if it is not sustained by the Apostles and Prophets,
you ought not to receive it. And least it should seem to be my
bare opinion, or assertion, I have given many extracts from vari¬
ous authors, to prove the positions that I have assumed. As the
Revelations point out the church, or Kingdom of Christ, with
all the opposition she would meet with from the dragon, and his
downfall, to make room for the man of sin, which is the beast
with seven heads and ten horns, and then the beast with two
horns. Their connection with the governments of the world, un¬
der the reign of Kings and Emperors, while God reigns over all,
and uses them as instiuments to punish the wicked nations, and
for the .furtherance of his cause. 1 have endeavored to give tes¬
timony upon each subject, and to show their connection with
each other. In giving testimony, I have selected the very best
that was within my reach. Some, no dcubt, will regret, that so
much has been said upon some points, while others have been
left unexplained to their understanding, or agreeable to their
wishes; yet I have endeavored to explain each point in the most
frank, plain and simple manner, so as not to be too prolix, hut it
is not expected, nor can I ever hope, that all will understand me,
though I have endeavored to he very explicit; yet it will give
the spiritual part of the community, both now and hereafter, to
understand my religious faith. In giving testimony I have en¬
deavored to give that which was most authentic, and to avoid
etery thing that would be untrue or unfair, not resorting to gar¬
bled extracts to sustain me. And as I have sometimes given a
part of a quotation that had been given in a former chapter, it is
only when it was absolutely necessary to do so to get the sense of
10
FltEFACk
the part that 1 wished to quote. I have followed the customary
rule in interpreting prophecy, a day for a year. In my calcula-
tions I may not have commenced at the proper period, and if so,
the conclusions would he erroneous; and I may not have calcu¬
lated according to the rule understood by the Jews, but if I have
failed to arrive at the correct time, (which I think I have not,)
I know that the rest of the predictions will be fulfilled at tho
precise time, according to the message of the jmgel, because God
has said it and there can he no failure.
I have had many perplexities in my researches, and complica¬
ted duties to perform since I commenced this work. Sometimes,
perhaps I would write for a day, and then he absent for weeks;
and at other times write for a week, and then lay it aside per¬
haps for six or eight months, for I have rode, upon an average,
two thousand miles per year for the purpose of preaching, be¬
sides having a large family to provide for. This may be some
apology for any deficiency in arrangement that may appear.—
Nevertheless, I have derived great satisfaction amidst all these
perplexities; and if any of the weak and feeble of the flock shall
he benefited by it, whereby God will be glorified, 1 shall be
content, " JESSE COX.
AJST EXPOSITION
OF THE
BETELATIONS OF ST, JOHN, THE DIVINE,
CHAPTER I.
THE WOMAN CLOTHED WITH THE BUN, AND THE MOON UNDER HER FEET.
"And there appeared a great wonder in Heaven: a Woman clothed with the Bun,
and the Moon nnder her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars,"—Revela¬
tions xii, 1.
Heaven, where this wonder appeared, was the Jewish state,
as their order of worship was a pattern of heavenly things, and
thieir government a Theocracy, which is represented to he the
moon. It was a great wonder for her to appear in the Jewish heav¬
ens, because they did not expect their form of worship would ever
he changed.
The woman clothed with the sun evidently means the Church;
and although she first appeared in the Jewish heavens, she was
clothed with the sun as if just making its appearance ; for the
Church was that spiritual part of the Jews who had been born again;
or, as " John came to make ready a people prepared for the
Lord. " They had been prepared before John came ; # he only
came to make them ready, to collect them together in a church
state, separate from the unbelieving Jews, for the reception of the
Lord who had a right to reign over them. She was clothed with,
the Sun. That is, clothed with the righteousness of Christ; or,
" ye are the light of the world." Just as the sun i s the luminary
of the natural world, so Christ and his church is the light of the
spiritual world. And the moon under her feet. The more feeble
2
12
THE WOMAN cA^THED WITH THE SUN,
light of the Jewish worship was under her feet. And a crown
of twelve stars upon her head. She was crowned with the twelve
Patriarchs as stars which were afterwards thrown down. And then
she was crowned with the authority of the twelve Apostles, who
being endowed with the miraculous gift of the Holy Ghost,
shone as twelve stars. But more of this presently. We must
consider the subject as highly figurative and prophetic, having
reference to the setting up of the Gospel Kingdom, and the light
she would be to the world.
I will commence with some of the prophecies of Daniel upon
this subject. After interpreting the dream of Nebuchadnezzar,
and giving a description of the image and the kingdoms that should
rise and fall, he says, in Daniel ii. 44: "And in the days ot
these*'Kings shall the God of Heaven set up a Kingdom which
shall never be destroyed ; and the Kingdom shall not he left to
other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these
Kingdoms, and it , shall stand forever." (45th verse.) "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. " Then Daniel, in his own vision, has a view of .the
Kings that should precede this great event, even to the cutting
off the Messias and the destruction of Jerusalem.
Daniel viii. 20, 21, 22. The ram which thou sawest have two
horns are the Kings of Media and Persia, and the .rough goat is
the King of Grecia, and the great horn that is between his eyfss
lis the first King. Now that being broken, whereas four stood for
it, four Kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in
his power.
As these kings and kingdoms were the subject of prophecy, they
are evidently connected with the religious kingdom, and were used
for its furtherance—they were raised up for that express purpose :
and I shall continue to notice Profane History in order to show
the connection between the political and religious prophecies, or
the connection in the providential dealings of God *in the political
and religious world, as in Ezekiel's " wheel within a wheel.
This prophecy of Daniel was some 553 years before Christ.
AND THE MOON UNDER HER FEET.
13
This ram was Darius, or the high horn, and the he goat was
Alexander the Great, who is noted by one horn, and came from
the West with such rapidity, that Dani®l says "he touched not
the ground, but ran at the ram with two horns, " (that is Darius,
because he was King of Media and Persia,) "and brake his two
horns, and there was no power in him to stand before him, but
stamped him upon the ground."5'' There was a great differ¬
ence between the two armies in point of numbers, but more so
in point of courage. Thdt of Darius consisted of 600,000 foot
%nd 40,000 horse, and the other of not more than 40,000 foot and
7,000 horse. This was the last great and decisive battle which
Alexander fought with the Persians, who lost 300*000, and Alex¬
ander not more than 1,200. And Darius fled but was overtaken
and assassinated by one of his governors, who was afterwards put
to death. And thus fell or terminated 330 years before Christ the
great Persian Empire, which had existed 209 years from the time
of Cyrus the Great till it submitted to the all-powerful arms of
"Alexander.
Bfeaiel vii. 8-10. " Therefore the he.goat waxed very great,
and when he was strong the great horn was broken, and for it
came up four notable ones towards the four winds of heaven,
and out of one of them came forth a little horn which waxed ex¬
ceedingly great towards the South, towards the East, and towards
the pleasant Tand. And it waxed great, even to the hosts of
Heaven ; and it cast down some of the hosts, and of the stars t^
the ground and stamped upon them." ^
It may be as well to remark here, that horns in Scripture
nearly always, if not. always, mean kingdoms. And that the
horn, or kingdom, of Alexander was to be broken without hands,f
and it divided into four, and one o/ them towards the South
should wax great, and extending itself East and South, even to
the pleasant land, which was the Roman Government, which
was to cast down the stars of Heaven and stamp upon them, and
by whom the daily sacrifice was to be taken away. Alexander
*See History of Greece, p. 160, and Rollin's Ancient History, Vol. I., p. 559.
tSee History of Greece, p. 167, also Rollin's Ancient History, Vol. I., p. 597..
14 THE-WOMAN- CLOTHED WITH THE SUN,
was forever solemnizing new festivals, and was perpetually at new.
banquets. After having spent a whole night in carousing, a se¬
cond was proposed to him. There were twenty guests at the table;
he drank to every person in company severally-r-after this called
for Hercules cup, which held six bottles. Drinking down the whole
at once and an attempt to renew, threw him on the floor, which
brought on a fever from which he never recovered.
Thus this great horn was broken without hands after he had
filled his mission. And itg is now to*be divided into four King¬
doms, and that not amongst his family, his brother not being sufe
fiered to reign. It was divided between four of his Generals, his
only son afterwards being put to death.* "The wjiole Empire
of Alexander was thus divided to Ptolemy, Egypt, Lybia, Ara-
bia *lind Palestine; to Cassander, Macedonia and Greece; to
Lysincachus, Bithynia and Trace, and to Selcucus the rest of
Asia as far as Indus. This last was called the Kingdom of Syria
and became the most powerful, of the four. The prophecies of
Daniel were exactly accomplished by this last partition 5f Alex¬
ander s Empire.
Although Dan'iel notices these Kingdom's for the space of 500
years before Christ, and even notices that of Cleopatra, as^pueen
of the South, (of Egypt,) it is not my purpose to follow these
Kings or Kingdoms through all their changes, but to come to that
of the ushering in of the Gospel Kingdom ; in which the " wo¬
man is clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet," Ac¬
cording to our text. Daniel vii. 23. " And in the latter time
of their kingdoms, (the four Kings,) when the transgressions are
come to the full, a King of fierce countenance and understanding-
dark sentences shall stand up." Yerse 11 th. " Yea he magnified
himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sac¬
rifice was talgen away and the pales of his Sanctuary was cast
down."
Chapter ix. 24. " Seventy weeks are determined upon thy
people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to
make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and
*See History of Greece, p. 168-170.,
AND THE MOON UNDER HETR FEET.
15
'to bring in an everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision
and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy." Yerse 26.—
" And after three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but
not for himself .; and the people of the Prince that shall come
shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, and the end thereof
shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations
■ are determined. "
For some three hundred years, the wickedness and idolatry of
the Jews was so great, that God refused to give them a Prophet,
but Daniel and others of the Prophets had foretold the coming of
Christ, his being cut off for the sins of the people, and the wars
that finally led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish
State by Titus. In the foregoing quotations from Daniel, we
have the fierceness of the Roman Emperors, the 'Caesars, clearly
portrayed.
Daniel says: "In the days of these Kings shall the God of
Heaven set up a Kingdom, &c." Luke says, iii. 1 : "Now in
the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, &c." Matthew
iii. 1, 2 : "In those days came John the Baptist preaching in the
wilderness of Juaea, and saying repent ye for the Kingdom of
Heaven is at hand." Our Savior says.: "From the days of John
the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth vio¬
lence and the violent taketh it by force." Again •: " All the Law
and the Prophets prophecied until John—since that time the
Kingdom of Heaven is preached and all men press into it." This
proves the setting up of the Kingdom at the commencement of
John's preaching, and that it shall never be destroyed, which I
shall show, in the coming pages, to be in accordance with the
prophecy of Daniel, and that of Christ: " Thon art Peter, and
upon this rock I will build my Church, and the,gates of hell shall
.not prevail against it. "
As it was prophesied by Daniel, that he, the Roman Emperor,
" should cast down some of the hosts, and of the stars, to the
.ground and stamp upon them," he did not mean the stars of the
.firmament, but the host or Princes of Israel, with their teachers,
16
THE WOMAN CLOTHED WITH THE SUN,
who were considered in Heaven, (in the Jewish church,) who had
the oracles ot God as given to the Jews.
As in the Revelations, it is said, speaking of " the great
red Dragon, who drew a third part of the stars of Heaven with
his tail and cast them to the ground. " The Dragon is Pagan
Rome, and tail always means false teachers. So the Emperors of
Rome promoted Pagan idolatry, and put down the true worship,
and by their false teachers caused many to wander after Idols.
But more of this in the next chapter. And as he should " take
away the daily sacrifice and cause the abomination of desolation
to stand in the Most Holy place—their images inscribed on their
banners," this was a representation of the abomination and the
Roman armies which maketh desolate.
Jesus, in speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem, says, im
Matthew xxiv. 15: " When ye therefore shall see the abomi¬
nation of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, standing
in the holy place, (whosoever readeth let him understand.")
This is the fulfilment of the prophesies, in accordance with what
God had said by Daniel 553 years before. The Roman Government,
had spread East and West, North and South, until it had become
the most powerful nation upon earth.* Augustus became master
of the Roman Empire. He was now at the head of the most ex¬
tensive Empire mankind ever beheld. The city was inhabited by
a concourse from all countries of the world. The enfeebled world
was tottering on its foundation when Christianity appeared. The
national religion which had satisfied the parents, no longer proved
sufficient for the children. The new government could not re¬
pose contented with the ancient forms. The gods of every nation,
when transported to Rome, lost their oracles, as the nations
themselves had lost their liberty. Brought face to face in the
Capitol, they had destroyed each other, or each other's influence,
and the divinity which they seemed to have vanished. A great
void was created in the religious world. A kind of deism, desti¬
tute alike of spirit and of life, floated for a time above the abyss
in which the religious superstition of antiquity had been engulphed
*See History of Rome, p. 232.
AND THE MOON UNDER HER FEET.
17
—but, like all native creeds, it had no power to reconstruct.—
National prepossession disappeared with the fall of the national
gods. The various kingdoms melted one into another. In Eu¬
rope, Asia and Africa there was hut one vast empire, and the
human race began to feel its universality and unity. Then the
word was made flesh. God appeared among men and as man?
to save them that were lost. In Jesus of Nazareth dwelt all the
fullness of the godhead bodily. This was the greatest event in
the world. Former ages had'prepared the way for it, and to
which all the prophets had been directed. The later ages flow
from it. It is their centers, as the substance is to the shadows,
and bond of unity. Henceforward the popular superstition had
no meaning, and the fragments preserved from the general wreck
of incredulity vanished before the majestic orb of eternal truth.
Human systems had taught that salvation is of men—the religion
of the earth had devised an earthly salvation. They had told
men, (and still tell them,) that Heaven would be given them as a
reward. The religion of God taught that salvation came from him
alone ; that it is the gift of God, and that it emanates from the
grace and spirit of the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. "God
hath given to us eternal life, and that'life was in his Son. In him
was life, and the life was the light of men.
In this situation of the political and religious world, the wo¬
man, or Church, made her appearance "clothed with the sun,
and the moon under her feet or, as I have shown before, the
Kingdom was set up with the preaching of John, and was small,
as in the language of Christ : Matthew xii. 30: "The Kingdom
of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took
and sowed in his field." 32d verse : "Which indeed is the least
nf all seeds, but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs,
and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge
in the branches thereof. " Nearly in the centre of this great Ro¬
man Empire, the woman, or Church, makes her appearance, com¬
parable to a grain of mustard seed, as the field is the world, and
the heaven where the woman appeared was the Jewish State, for
she made her appearance in the wilderness of Judea. But now has
18 THE WOMAN CLOTHED WITH THE SUN, &C.
grown to a great tree, having spread her branches to nearly all
the world, "and the fowls of the air take shelter under her
branches." That is, false professors seek shelter in the church,
since she has become more powerful in her outward appearance,
and more numerous.
Thus the woman made her appearance in heaven clothed with
the sun. The gospel shone with such brilliance that it is com¬
pared to the s.un, while the moon is under her feet. The more
feeble light of Jewish rites and cetemonies with her government,
which was a Theocracy, were put under her feet. John said, " Re¬
pent ye and believe the gospel that is, turn from those figures
and shadows which were only to continue until the substance made
its appearance ; or, as Paul says, "ye are no longer under the law
but under grace." And a crown of twelve stars was upon her
head." That is, she was crowned with the ■ authority of the
twelve Apostles. And they have their authority from Heaven,
and was clothed with power to accomplish the work that was as¬
signed them. Matthew xvi. 19 : "And I will give unto thee the
keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind
on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose
on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Solomon speaks of the wo¬
man and her glorious appearance long before she makes her per¬
sonal appearance. Songs, vi. 9 : "My dove, my undefiled is but
one ; she is the only one of her mother." Verse 10 : "Who
is she that looks forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as
the sun, and terrible as an army with banners." This wonder in
heaven will ever rerpain to be a wonder; how he could be the
head and she the members ; or, he be the husband and she the
bride, clad ip his righteousness, and appear so glorious as not to
have spot or wrinkle or any such thing, notwithstanding all her
native deformity. But she is the light of the world, and shines
in the firmame'nt of heaven, being " clothed with the sun, and
the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars upon her
head."
THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON.
19
CHAPTER II.
THE WOMAN IN PAIN TO BE DELIVERED, AND THE GREAT RED DRAG"
ON READY TO DEVOUR THE CHILD.
"And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.—
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a Great Red Dragon, hav¬
ing seven heads and ten horns, and seven erowns upon his heads.—Revelations xii; 2, ?>•
This book is highly prophetic, and, in symbolical language,
describes the future condition of the church in every age to the
end of the world. In the 4th chapter, it begins- with a sublime
description of God, enthroned in glory and surrounded by the
hosts of heaven. " And round about the throne were four and
twenty seats, and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders
sitting clothed in white raiment, (the twelve Patriarchs and twelve
Apostles,) and they had on their heads crowns of gold ; and round
about the throne were four beasts, (the four Evangelists,) full of
eyes before and behind. And the four beasts had each of them
six wings ; and they were full of eyes within ; and they rest not
day nor night, saying; Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God. Almighty?
which was, and is, and is to come. "
Then the four and twenty elders fell down before him that
sat upon the throne, and cast their crowns before the throne, say¬
ing : u Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory, &c. "
He then describes the church as being in connection with the
Kingdoms and Nations of the earth—with the wars and blood¬
shed. Her persecution first by the dragon, and then the rise,
progress and persecution of the man of sin. Also the rise of the
false Prophet, (Mehomed,) and their final destruction, and the
triumph of the Church of Christ through the blood of the Lamb.
The woman to be delived has been described in the preceding
chapter. There are different and conflicting opinions as to who
the child was that was brought forth. Mr. Barnes thinks that
it could not be Christ, because the woman is the Gospel Church,
and he came before the Gospel Church was set up. He believes
that it must relate to some great ingathering or revival, which
41
-made the 'dragon angry, and quotes Isaiah for testimony, where
20 THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON.
he says : " When Sion travailed she brought forth her children.
And when gre?t numbers were added to the Church, then the
dragon became enraged, and then Constantine the Great caught
them up to heaven, and protected them by making laws for the
protection of Christians. This would only be the beast catching
them from the dragon, as I shall show Constantine to be the beast,
or the. cause of the beast, (Man of Sin,) before I am done. And
then the quotation from Isaiah: " Bringeth forth her children,"
is in the plural, and our text is in the singular. I must insist,
then, that the child was Christ, he is so frequently called by that
appellation, as in Isaiah ix. 6 : " Unto us a child is born, unto us
a son is given." Luke xi. 43 : " The child Jesus tarried behind
in Jerusalem. " The woman and the dragon were both in the
same heaven, and as I have said in the first chapter, the church
(woman) was collected together of the believing Jews,- jmd surely
the Virgin Mary was among that number : and the other wonder
was the dragon in heaven ready to devour it.. The dragon is Pa-
gaq (idolatrous) Rome, here represented by King Herod. He is
called red bgcause of the blood he has shed. When the child
Jesus was born of the seed of David according to the !!esh, it wis
said to Joseph by the Angel: Matthew xi. 23. " Plerod will
seek the young child to destroy him." Verse 16 : " Then when
Herod saw that he was mocked by the wise men, he was exceeding
wroth, and-sent forth and slew all the children that were in Beth¬
lehem, and in all the coast thereof, from two years old and under,
according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the who.
men."
The seven heads, literally speaking, are the seven mountains
upon which Rome was'built, and the ten horns is the ten King¬
doms into which Rome was afterwards divided, and by which
spiritual or religious Rome (Babylon) was represented. This,
great red dragon appeared in heaven as a great wonder. The
kingdom of Heaven, the kingdom of God and the Gospel king-,
dom, generally mean the same thing. The wonder is that ever
Pagan or idolatrous worship* should have gotten into heaven, in^>
the Jewish church, seeing that they had the oracles of God com-
THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON.
21
initted unto them, and their government was a Theocracy. But
in consequence of their forsaking God, he gave them over to a
hard heart and reprobate mind ; and from their connection with
and taking pattern after other nations, they naturally Kll into
idolatry. And this Herod the Great was partly Jew and partly
idolater. Augustus Caesar, Emperor of Home, made him King
of Judea, which was tributary to Rome at that time. Herod, fearing
married Mariamne, a grand daughter of the High Piist, he was in
the Jewish church, and showed such respect for the Jews as to
rebuild the Temple ; yet he brought pictures into Jerusalem.—■
This was in accordance with the prophet when he says : "The
sceptre shall not depart from Judea, nor a lawgiver from between
his feet, until Shiloh come. "
I will here say a few things relative to the literal Dragon, of
which John, in the Revelations is its likeness. Although there
is a great diversity of opinion among historians, as to what kind
of beast the dragon is, yet I will only give a brief account of what
is believed to be the most probable. Mr. Calmet says those
serpents of India, which are considered the dragon, are covered
with scales as resplendent as burnished gold They have a kind
of beard hanging from the lower jaw. Their aspect is fearful.
The}'- cry loud and shrill, their crest a bright yellow, and they
have a protuberance on their heads the color of a burning coal-
The bite is not venomous, though the creatures be dreadful.—
Their usual length is twenty feet. But those serpents, in Africa,
Hilarion denominates draco, or dragon, and says they were called
boas because they could swallow (boves) beeves and waste whole
provinces. But the longest serpent mentioned is that by Livv
and Plinly, which opposed the Roman army under ReguJus, at
the river Bagrada, in Africa. It devoured several of the soldiers ;
and so hard was its scales, that they resisted darts and spears. At
length it was, as it were, besieged, and the military engines were
employed against it as against a fortified city—it was an hundred
and twenty feet in length.
This serpent, being a very devouring creature, greedy of prey,
leaps from among the hedges and woods, and standing upright on
22 THE WOMAN AND THE DRAbON.
its tall, wrestles both with men and wild beasts. Sometimes it
leaps from the trees upon the traveller, whom it fastens on, and
heats the breath out of . his body with its tail. I have thought
it was necessary to give thus much of the description of this
terrible serpent, (Dragon,) as the one in our text is likened to
him, as I shall show the likeness between them presently; and
as thesenemy of God and man is called, "That old Serpent, the
Devil and Satan." The image here given does not refer to Herod
alone, but to the Eoman Government, as the Emperor estab¬
lished idolatrous worship by law, -and the dragon also had ten
horns which were ten kingdoms, or governments, all having the
same established form of worship. But it was necessarily to
commence with King Herod, as the dragon was in Heaven where
the woman was. 4th verse: "And his tail drew the third part
of the stars of Heaven, and did cast them to the earth."
With his tail lie drew the stars, As I have said before, tail al¬
ways means false teachers. And it is said " the Lt>custs had stings
in their tails, with which they hurt men." Isaiah says, ix.' 15:
"The ancient and honorable, he is the head and the prophet that
teaches lies, he is the tail." 16th verse: "For the leaders of
•this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are
destroyed." Says Christ: "If the blind lead the blind, both
shall fall into the ditch." Matthew xxiii. 15.: "Wo unto you,
Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land
to make a proselyte; and when he is made ye make him two
fold more the child of hell than ye yourselves." Eevelations
ix. 20.: "Yet they repented not of the works of their hands,
that they should worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver,
and brass, and stone, and wood; which neither can see, nor hear,
nor walk."
These stars mean teachers, and the third part- of them were
led away from the oracles of God, or the true worship; even
the High Priest Hyrcaniis was led after Herod in consequence of
Herod's marriage with Mariamne, his grand daughter. Daniel
-says, viii. 10: "And it waxed great, even to the hosts of heaven;
•and it cast down some of the hosts and of the stars to the ground
THE WOMAN AND' THE DRAGON.
23:
and stamped upon them." John's dragon and the Roman
power, is the same as those here spoken of by Daniel. His be¬
ing great even to the hosts of Heaven. Herod was called great,
not for being a great and good ruler; but for his tyranny and the
atrociousness of his crimes. When he made an oration, the
people said it was the voice of God, and not of a man.
Caligula, the Emperor, caused himself to be deified and
worshipped—had many priests, among whom was his horse and
his wife as priests. Great even to the host of heaven. And
they cast down some of the princes, They, Herod and the Em¬
peror, caused Antigones to be beheaded, which was the last of"
the Armonean dynasty, which had been 126 years. Herod also
had his wife Mariamne beheaded, and afterwards beheaded three
of his own sons by her, and her mother and brother. Although
Herod was a Jew by profession, he was in heart a heathen; and,
it displeased him that religion precluded his subjects from hon¬
oring him, as the great ones of the heathen were honored, by
statutes, temples, games and offerings. And drew a third part
of the stars. Hyricanus, the High Priest, was cast into prison,
and having his ears cut off, he was banished to • Babylon, where
he became popular, which displeased Herod. Then he recalled
him, with apparent great favor, and had him beheaded, after-
which he acted as High Priest. He would put in the priestly
office the lowest order of the people, trampling the stars under
foot; degrading the Priests, or those that should be Priests, and
trampling them under foot.
It is said that he even destroyed all the genealogies that he
could get, that it might not be known that he was not born a
Jew. After his opposition to all that had any pretence to the
throne, he put to death all that claimed any connection with
the former reigning power, even his wife and sons, and then
sought the life of the child J esus, as I have before stated. He
died a miserable death. This may suffice upon this subject for
the present.
John, in his vision of this great monster Herod and the Ro-
ipan government, while it continued its idolatrous worship ancl
24
THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON.
"persecutions of the Christians, could not have selected a more
appropriate monster than the chief of monsters, the great Drag¬
on, it being the king of serpents and the king of terror, beating
the breath out of its victim with its tail. The one in John s
vision was to be in its likeness; not in shape, but in its cruelty
and terror—-without human sympathy. "And the dragon stood
before the woman who was ready to be delivered, to devour tile
child as soon as it was born." The most of this has been anti-
cioated in what I have already said. It is the same dragon that
I have just described, and the same woman that is described in tin'
tirst chapter. He wanted to devour the child, as that is the manner
of destruction by the dragon. " Herod will seek the young child's
life." 6th verse: "And she brought forth a man child, who
was to rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her child was
caught up unto God, and to his throne. "
He ivas to rule. all nations with a rod of iron. This proves
that the man child was Christ; for the Church, nor none of her
children ever ruled all nations, but Christ does. Hebrews, xi.
7-8: "Thoumadest him a little lower than the angels; thou
crownedst him .with glory and honor, and didst set him over the
works of thy hands. Thou hast put all things in subjection
under his feet." If he did not reign, how could he reveal to
John when these Kings should rise, and'what they should do?
And her child ivas caught up unto God. That is, God pro¬
tected it by his* power, as if at „the throne of God;—his power
is every where*, and his throne'in every nation, as he rules over
all nations. His parents were, commanded .to flee into Egypt,
"for Herod will seek the young child's life;" or, again, said
Christ: "No man hath power to take my life—I have power to
lay .it down, and Dhave power to take it up again. " Again,
"ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to have en¬
tered into his glory." " I go to«tlie Father," &c. In the sixth
chapter, the woman is represented as fleeing into the wilder-
neas; but as it is twice repeated in this chapter, I shall leave
it until my closing remarks, and continue at present the war and
persecution by the dragon.
THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON.
Revelations, xii. 7. "And there was war in heaven; Michael
and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and
his angels fought." 8th verse: "And prevailed not; neither
was their place found any more in heaven." Tho war was not
in the heaven of glory, as Milton and others would have us 1>G
lieve, hut it was in the Church where the dragon and the woman
was. Michael, the arch angel (Christ) fought now with the
dragon. See how often the Scribes and Pharisees met and op¬
posed the Savior and his disciples, (angels,) but the dragon and
his angels were cast out, and he became very wroth. See the
language of John, Matthew in. 9.: "And think not to say
within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father; for I say
unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children
unto Abraham." 10th verse: "And now the axe is laid at the
root 'o£ the tree; therefore every tree that hringeth not forth
good fruit, is hewn down and cast into the fire." They were no
longer entitled to the privileges of the Church, on account of
their being children of Abraham according to the flesh, and
hence they are to he cast out. Luke x.( 18.: "I beheld Satan as
lightning falling from Heaven." As if he had said, when you
went forth preaching the truths of the Gospel in my name, error
and falsehood (or Satan's kingdom) fell with the velocity that the
vivid lightnings flash from heaven. Matthew xv. 13: "Every
plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall he rooted
up." xxi. 12: "And Jesus weqt into the Temple of God, and
cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and over¬
threw the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them
that sold doves." xxiii. 38: " Behold your house is left unto you
desolate." We see, by the foregoipgquotations, how they were
drawn off,, into idolatry, from the true worship, by his tail, (false
teachers,) and being cast to the earth, went from the oracles of
God to the traditions of men. As I'have said in the former
chapter, they, (the teachers,) promised them heaven for what
they done. They were not only cast out, or cast off from God,
hut the Jewish State and Temple were destroyed, of which I
«iall speak more presently. " They were cast out and their place
26
THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON.
was not found any more in heaven." They were dispersed, and
their place has never been found, either in the literal or spiritual
Jerusalem. 13th verse: "And when the dragon saw that he
was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman that brought
forth the man child." Said our Lord: " If they have persecuted
me they will also persecute you." "Go your ways I send you
forth as lambs among wolves."
How feeble they must have appeared as twelve lambs amidst
wolves. How discouraging when their Lord said "ye shall be
persecuted and hated of all men." But for their consolation:
"Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. "—
Matthew x. 22: "And ye shall be hated of all men for my
name's sake;, but. he that endureth to the end shall be saved.—
But beware of men for they will deliver you up to the council."
This was commenced in the case of Stephen, as he was brought
before the council and becaipe the first martyr. And Saul, at
whose feet the youg men that stoned Stephen laid their clothes,
was also a persecuter; or, in his own words: "I persecuted the
Church of God and wasted it." But, by the grace of god, he
became a preaching Paul, and a faithful angel in the battle,
and suffered as much persecution himself as any one.
From the death (or persecution) of Stephen, the Disciples,
were dispersed in every direction, fulfilling the commission, when,
had it not been for persecution, they might have remained at
Jerusalem fo? some time. Thus we see that God overrules the
wicked designs of men for the furtherance of his kingdom, §nd
that the war might be carried op elsewhere as well as at Jeru¬
salem. And the mustard seed now begins to shoot forth its
branches which are to become so conspicuous and glorious, that
the fowls of the air seek shelter in its branchers. The first of
the fowls that we see, after the day of Pentecost, was Ananias
and Saphira his wife. The fowls do not represent the church, as
most Divines suppose; but we must keep in mind that the mus¬
tard seed is the kingdom. The persecution, and the war be¬
tween Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels,
,.continued in various directions, as we find, recorded in A,cts xix
THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON.
27
26: "Morovei:, ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but
almost throughout all Asia, this Faul hath persuaded and turned
away much people, saying, "They he no gods which are made
with hands." 27th verse: "So that not only this our craft is
in danger to be set at nought, but also the temple of the great
goddess,® Diana, should be despised, and her magnificence should
be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshipeth." 28th
verse: "And when they heard these sayings, they were full of
wrath and cried out (the angels of the dragon cried out) saying,
great is Diana of the Ephesians." "And for two hours cried
out, great is Diana of the Ephesians." Paul was frequently
whipped; and, at Jerusalem, what an uproar was raised—he was
dragged from the temple and beat, while the mob tore off their
clothes and threw dust in the air. and cried, away with the fellow,
it is not fit that he should live. Again, Herod, being greatly
displeased, laid hold of the Apostles and killed James, John's
brother, and seeing that it pleased the Jews, he cast Peter into
prison and bound him with chains, between two soldiers, intend¬
ing to bring him out after Esther ; but the angel (Michael's
angel) brought him out and delivered him from all the expec¬
tations of the Jews. (Delivered him from the angels of the
dragon.)
I shall now proceed; to show, from history, some of the perse¬
cutions that were carried on against the Church, (woman,) as
we have seen, in the foregoing quotations from the Acts of the
Apostles—how the dragon became enraged, after the crucifixion
of Christ. "Caligula, Emperor of Rome, claimed divine hon¬
ors, and gave himself the names of such divinities as he thought
most agreeable to his nature; he even built and dedicated a
temple to his own dignity, and he had numbers of Priests, among
whom he admitted his wife and horse, and cast numbers of old
and infirm men to wild beasts."* "A great part of the city of
Rome was consumed by fire in his, Nero's, time, A. D. 64, and
to him most historians ascribe the conflagration. He used every
art to throw the odium of so detestable a crime from himself and
*Historyof Rome, p. S36.
3
28
THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON,
to fix it upon the Christians, against whom a most dreadful per¬
secution was raised—some were crucified and others burned alive,
In this persecution St. Paul was beheaded, and St. Peter was
crucified with his head downwards.
When the sin of the nation had risen to its height, God, ac¬
cording to the predictions of the Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Daniel, Ezekiel, Hosea, and last, though not least, of Christ,
destroyed Jerusalem and dispersed the Jews, and that curse oi
God rests upon them until this day, because they said, crucify
him, and let his blood be upon us and upon our children. It
took place about the year A. D. 70, or forty years after the pre¬
diction of Christ. The Temple was destroyed by Titus, in strict
accordance with the prophecy, and was the greatest calamity that
ever betel any nation. Our Saviour said such a time never had
been; no, nor never should be. I consider it a figure of the end
of the world, or the destruction of all things. It prefigures the
second coming of Christ, because the calamities were so great
that, during the siege, a million and one hundred thousand souls
perished, and one hundred thousand were taken prisoners; and
yet it is stated and believed by historians, that the Christians
did not perish in the siege—that they took the warning of the
Saviour when he said: "When ye see the city encompassed
about, then let him that is on the house top not come down to
take his stuff out, and let him that is in Judea flee to the moun¬
tains, and pray that your flight be not in the winter, nor on the
Sabbath day." How necessary to obey the injunctions of the
Saviour, to pray for what we need. Notwithstanding it h^d
been a matter of special prophecy, and the time determined on,
yet it was their duty to pray, and to ask God that it might not
be in the winter, as if it depended upon their prayers; for they
could see that it would be so hasty that they could not take
their stuff, and then their suffering would be so great. And
that it should not be on the Sabbath day, because it was unlaw¬
ful for the gates of the city to be opened on the Sabbath day,
and hence the impossibility of escape. In three days it was en-
*History of Rome, p. 239.
THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON.
29
^compassed by Titus, by a wall and a ditch; but as the siege
^lasted tor six months, for some purpose, Titus called off part
'of his troops, and then it is supposed that the Christians made
their est'ape to the mountains, in accordance with the directions
of Christ. It was said by the Prophet that "Jerusalem should
be plowed'like a field," and by Christ that "there should not be
left one stone upon another that should not be thrown down."
When we consider the greatness of the Temple, it looks as if
it were impossible that it could be accomplished. Josephus
tells us that the stones in the wall were cut of marble, and that
they were five; cubits thick, ten cubits wide and twenty cubits
long, which would make them seven and a half feet thick, fifteen
in width and thirty, long, and fit so completely that they could
scarcely discern the joints with the natural eye. No wonder that
the disciples would show the Lord the building and the great¬
ness of the stones. As the Temple was a figure of the Church,
how well it represented what Paul said of the Ghurch, "Ye are
a building fitly framed together."
After Titus had tried every stratagem to demolish the walls
with his battering rams, and aH'iailed, (it being in many places
sixty feet high,) he undermined it and the walls turned over,
which left not one stone upon another. Titus and Josephus did
all they could to save the Temple, but all failed, for Christ had
said that it should be destroyed. The soldiers threw fire into it
and a vast number perished rather than forsake it; and so eager
were the soldiers to obtain gold, that they plowed the city.—
"Titus carried on the war against the Jews with great vigor,
and after a siege of six months, their city was entirely razed
by the ■p'lo'tv, so that according to 'our Saviour's prophecy, nor
one stone remained upon another.The soldiers did not knovf
they were fulfilling the Saviour's prophecy, but it was their anxi¬
ety to obtain gold; nor does Josephus seem to understand that
it was confirming the prophecies, and thereby establishing Christ
to be the Messias and Prophet that Moses said should come' for
Josephus was a Jewish High Priest and opposed to Christ.—
*History of Rome, p. 242.
30
THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON.
"Your house is left unto you desolate, which never shall be re¬
built." Although Julian the apostate, who established idola¬
trous worship during his reign, and in the year 361 attempted to
rebuild the Temple to disprove the prophecy of Christ, the
workmen were miraculously prevented by fire balls issuing from
the rubbish. It was also said that the Jews should be dispersed
among all nations,, and should] become a by word, which is fully
verified to the present time ;■ and but few have embraced the
G-ospel, so they are completely cast out.
Persecution continued during the reign of Nero, in which all
the disciples suffered martyrdom, save John, who lived atEphe-
sus, having gone there prior to the destruction of Jerusalem,
from which place he was banished to the Island of Patmos, by'
the Emperor Domitian, in the year 96. For the testimony he'
bore to the truth, the Emperor, hoping to get clear of his doc¬
trine, placed him where G-od designed to re-veal to him for the
benefit of the Church, what should afterwards be, and the won¬
derful mysteries contained in the Revelations of his glorious ap¬
pearance enthroned in light.
After the death of the Emperor, and he (John) had fulfilled
his mission, he was permitted to return, under the mild reign of
Nerva. And during his mild reign, and -that, of Trajan, the
Church had rest, and naturally grew worldly-minded and many
designing men crept into the Church, especially at Rome; for
Paul said to the Elders at Ephesus: "I know that after my de¬
parture grievous wolves shall enter in, not sparing the fleck."
The man of sin began to make his appearance. 2nd Thes-
salonians, ii. 7: "For the mystery of iniquity doth already
work; only he who now letteth, will let, until he be taken out of
the way. That is, the Roman Emperors who established idola¬
trous worship by law and let,, or hindered, the man of sin until
he be taken out of the way—out of the way of ambitious and
designing men. And although their reign was said to be mild,
(and was mild in comparison with those that had gone before
and those that followed,)'' yet their edicts continued and perse¬
cution was carried on everywhere, and hundreds and thousands
THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON.
31
suffered martyrdom merely for confessing that they were Chris¬
tians; but notwithstanding this, the word of Grodgrew and multi¬
plied, and "believers were added to the Church daily."
Persecution increased in the reign of Decius, and 'in the year
249 it became very severe. In the reign of Callus, it became
so severe that the woman fled to the wilderness, (Voidus, or
valleys,) of Piedmont, about the year 252, where she had a place
prepared for her to remain for one thousand, two hundred and
three score days, which would be 1260' years, where I shall con¬
tinue to notice Per until the time expires.
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he
persecuted the woman that brought forth the man child."
Jones, in his Church History, page 126, sgys: "Ho sooner had
Decius- ascended the throne than a tempest was raised, in which
the fury of persecution fell in a dreadful manner upon the
Church of Christ. Whether it were from an ill-grounded fear
of the Christians, or from a violent zeal for the superstitions of
his ancestors, does not appear:; but it is certain that he issued
edicts of the most sanguinary kind, commanding the praetors, on
pain of death, either to extirpate the whole body of Christians,
without exception, or to force them, by torments of various
kinds, to return to the Pagan worship. Hence in all the Prov¬
inces of the Empire, during the space of two years, multitudes
of Christians were put to death by the most horrid means which
an ingenious barbarity could invent."
The persecution arose, under the reign of Decius, in 239; or
rather, as it is expressed by a late writer, " the gates of hell
were once more opened, and merciless executions were let loose
upon the defenceless Christians, who deluged the earth with
blood." This trying state of things continued during the reigns
of Callus, Yalerian, Diocletian and others of the Koman Empe¬
rors. Dr. Chandler, in his History of Persecution, in reference
to this period, says: "The most barbarous outrages were made
use of upon all who would not blaspheme Christ and offer in¬
cense to the imperial gods. They were publicly whipped—drawn
by the heels through the streets of cities—racked until every
32
THE "WOMAN AND THE DKAGON.
bone in their bodies were disfigured—had their teeth..beat out——
their noses, hands and ears cut off—sharp pointed, spears rum
under their nails—were tortured with melted lead being throwm
upon their naked bodies—had their eyes dug out—-then limbs ,
cut off—were condemned to the mines—ground between stones
—were stoned to death—burnt alive—thrown headlong from
high buildings—beheaded—-smothered in burning lime kilns-
run through the body with sharp spears—destroyed with hunger,
thirst and cold—thrown to wild beasts—broiled on gridirons
with slow fires—cast by heaps into the sea—crucified—scraped
to death with shells—and in a word, destroyed by all the various
methods that the most diabolical subtlety and malice could in¬
vent. I have made some few quotations from history upon
the subject of persecutions, since the completion of the canon of
the scriptures, showing how the woman was persecuted after
the dragon was cast out, Which caused her to flee to the wilder¬
ness. Revelations xii. 6: "And the woman fled into the wil¬
derness, Avhere she had a place prepared of God, that they should
feed her there a thousand two hundred and three score days."—
Into the wilderness means a desert uninhabited country, or but
thinly populated, where she would be nearly out of sight, in
some obscure place. Where she hath a place prepared of God.
This place was prepared beforehand by God himself, and I have
no doubt but that it was prepared in the creation of the world
for the express purpose of being a safe retreat for the Church.
14th verse: "And to the woman were given two wings of a
great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place;
where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time
from the face of the serpent." This verse has the same mean¬
ing as the sixth verse, only using different expressions to convey
the same idea. Here to represent the swiftness of her flight
and to show that it was a gift, not of herself, he uses the figure
of two eagle's wings being given her; and the eagle is used be¬
cause lie is the most independent and flies'swifter than any other
bird.. Fly into the wilderness into her place. The same as be¬
fore—from the presence of the dragon into a lonely place, where
"THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON.
33
she is to be nourished, (in tlie other verse fed,) which means to
be protected and preserved, as any creature would feed, nourish
and protect its young and tender offspring. And it is to be for
a time, <md times, cmd half a time. Just the same as the other.
A time is a year,, and times is two years, and the half, which
makes forty and two months; and to count it prophetically, a
-day for a year, ft would make twelve hundred and sixty years.
The wildernes to which she fled, is situated partly between
Italy and France, and is called the Tocides—composed of the
five valleys of Piedmont. Mr. Jones says "the Principality of
Piedmont derives, its name from the circumstance of its
being situated at the foot .of the Alps, a prodigious range of
mountains, the highes indeed in Europe, and which divides
Italy from France, Switzerland and Germany. It is an exten¬
sive tract of rich and fertile valleys, embraced in mountains
whieh are encircled again by mountains higher than they, inter¬
sected with deep and rapid rivers, and exhibiting in strong con¬
trast the beauty and plenty of Paradise." Sir Samuel Moreland
says: " It is fortified by bulwarks of rocks and mountains, with
•narrow passes, as if the All-wise Creator had, from the begin¬
ning, designed that place as a cabinet wherein to put some inesti¬
mable jewel, or in which to reserve several thousand souls, which
should not bow the knee to the image of Baal." To preserve
a jewel. Indeed the greatest npon earth, and one that he loved
so much that he " gave his life for it, to redeem it from ah
iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of
good works." In accordance with his prophecies, he now places
lb there to preserve it from the pollutions of Anti-Christ and
from the face of the serpent
Having shown that the woman fled from the face of the dragon
into her retreat in the wilderness about the year 252, we shal]
leave her there for the present, and return to notice the circum¬
stances connected with the dragon persecuting the remnant
->f lier children, as they did not all flee to the valleys at the
ri.u: e time, or at any time, but a portion went at other times, as
I shall show before I have done.
34
THE DRAGON MAKING WAR
CHAPTER III.
THE DRAGON CASTING WATER OUT OF HIS MOUTH, AND MAKING WAR
WITH THE REMNANT OF HER SEED.
Revelations xil. 15,16 and 17. "And the serpent cast out °f bis
a flood, after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away ot t e "
"Aud the earth "helped the woman; and the earth opened her mouth and
op the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth." rPm-
"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war wi
nant of her seed, which keep the comma#lments of God, and have the testimony
Jesus Christ."
From this out I shall have to rely upon church and profane
History, to prove the completion or fulfillment of these mysteri¬
ous prophecies, so far as they have come to pass, and then give
my own views of those things that are yet to transpire.
As God has seen fit to use the number seven so frequently in
the Scriptures, I shall take it as a significant number and so use
it. For instance, he rested on.the seventh day. This I consider
a representation of the duration of time, as it is said that one
day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. So
I give it as my opinion, that the world will stand seven thou¬
sand years. I shall give the reasons why I think so hereafter.
In the Revelations, he speaks of the seven stars, the seven
candlesticks, the seven Churches, the seven spirits or ministers,
the Book sealed with seven seals, the seven thunders, the seven
trumpets and the seven vials. A repetition of the same circum¬
stances, only using different figures and different phraseology; a
portion being connected with the religious periods through time,
and a portion connected with Anti-Christ and his opposition to
the Church of Christ, and also a portion connecting the political
governments or kingdoms of the world with both the others.
And the serpent cast out of Ms mouth xoater as a flood. We
must consider that we are still under the reign of the dragon, the
man of sin not yet having fully made his appearance, although
"the mystery of iniquity doth already work." This is highly
figurative, as we know of no serpent that casts water out of his
mouth, but it is said that they cast venom. But waters^ gen¬
erally speaking, in scripture, means people and nations. As
"WITH .THE SEED OF THE WOMAN.
35
this is a flood, at would be a flood of persecution, or a flood of
error and falsehood, all combined together against the Church,
by which he might cause her to be carried away by the flood like
a deluge of water. So persecution and error deluged the whole
country, and swept off a great many by persecution, and an equal
number by embracing error and falsehood. But the woman fled
(flew) so fast to her place in the wilderness that she was not
overtaken, for the earth opened her mouth and helped the woman
—-not that the literal or material world was rent asunder, but
seems to sympathise with the woman, and has reference to the
world .©£ mankind, or what pertains to the world, or worldly re¬
ligion.
"The Pagans were allowed a power of persecuting the Chris¬
tians through all parts of the States. These calamities were
succeeded by a pestilence, which seemed to spread over every
part of the earth, and continued for several years, in a manner
unequalled, and all these were followed by a war between Ga'llus
and his Generals.
Thus we see that the earth did literally open her mouth, for
many thousands in every State fell victims to the pestilence and
were buried. And in addition to .that, the war continued for
some time,for between the years 249 and 268, there were great
contentions.
"It was at this time that no less than thirty pretenders were
disputing with each other for the dominion of the State, and
adding the calamities of civil war to the rest of the misfortunes
of this devoted empire. These are usually known in history by
the name of the Thirty Tyrants."*
God, in his providence, so overruled the wicked designs of
men as to cause many to fall by pestilence and sword, (that
lasted for some sixteen years,) and bring a just retribution on a
guilty nation that had so awfully persecuted the woman, as re¬
corded in the former chapter.
And to swallow up the flood that he cast out of his mouth.
Amidst all these calamities the woman seems to have been for-
Grijnsliaw'a His'ory »f Rome, p. 218. t Ibid, p. 219.
THE DRAGON MAKING WAR
gotten, until slie is peaceably settled in her retreat. I .shall not
pretend, as I have said before, that all the Christian Church fled
to the valleys, for they were able, in their situation, to prcscrv e
the Scriptures and the order of the Lord's House inviolable
throughout the dark ages,, or the 126.0 years, which I shall show
hereafter, and continue to consider, her as . the true Church ot
Christ.
And the dragon ivas wroth with the woman, and went to make
war with the remnant of her seed'.
President Edwards, in his History of, Redemption, page 305,
says: "About the year 162, many suffered martyrdom in Eng¬
land, the land. of. our. forefathers,, where Christianity had been
2)lanted by the Apostles. And in -the latter persecution, the Ro¬
man Emperors, being vexed at the failure of their predecessors,
who were not able to extirpate Christianity or hinder its. progress,
were enraged"to be the more violent iff their attempts.. Thus a
great part of the first three hundred years after Christ, was spent
ip violent and cruel persecutions of the Church of Ghrist by--the
Roman Emperors. All hell was raised to oppose it with its
utmost power."
On page 3.09, the same, author,says: "These who were in au¬
thority set themselves with the utmost violence to root out
Christianity by burning all Bibles and destroying all Christians,
and therefore they did not stand to try or convict them in a for¬
mal process, but fell upon them, wherever they could. Some¬
times they set fire to houses where multitudes were assembled,
and burned them all together; at other times they slaughtered
such multitudes that their persecutors were quite spent with the
labor of killing and tormenting them; and . in some places so
many were slain together, that the blood ran in torrents. It is
related that seventeen, thousand martyrs, were slain in one month,
and that during the continuance of tire persecution in Egypt
alone, no less than one hundred, and forty-four thousand Chris¬
tians died hy the violence of their persecutors, besides seven
Hundred thousand that died through the fatigues of banishment
or the public works to wlii'ch they were condemned."
WITH THE SEED OF THE WOMAN. 37;~
This-persecution lasted for ten years;-and as it exceeded all
former persecutions in the number of martyrs, so it exceeded
thepa in variety and multitude of inventions of torture and cru-.,
city. Some authors who lived at that time say they were innu ..
inferable and, exceed all account and expression. This persecu-.
tion in particular was very severe in .England.
Thus we see how the dragon made wax with,the remnant of her
seed, by doing all that was, in his powder, (and ho had. the power
to make laws and .execute them,) ,first by destroying the Bible to .
keep the people in ignorance, and second to extirpate them,,
from the earth by death; but to use their own language, "the ,
blood of the martyrs beeaige the seed of the Church;" or, the
more they -put to death the more they . increased.,
I will now; give an extract from Jones' Church History, page -
127: "It miist be owned and confessed, says he,. (Cyprian,) dhat
the outrageous and heavy calamities which hathabnost devoured
our flock, and continues to devour it to this day,, hath happened
to us for our sins, since wje keep not the way o,f "the Lord, nor
observe his heavenly commands which, were designed to lead us ,
to salvation. Such was the deplorable state of the Church,
which Cod, as Eusebious justly remarks,, first punished with a
gentle hand; but when they, grew hardened and incurable in-
t.heir vices, he was pleased to let in the most grievous persecu-..
tions upon them, under Diocletian,, which exceeded in severity
and length all that had gone before,, it being, in the year 302."
Having, as I think, produced., sufficient testimony (out of. a
host of others) to prove the wratlpof the dragon,, and the v:ar
with the remnant of her seed, and against them that keep the
testimony of Jesus Christ,, so exactly in accordance with the
predictions'of John, it looks astonishing that even historians
cannot see it.
I shall next show the situation of the Church at Ephesus.
2d. The opening of the fi'tst seal.
3d. The sounding the first trumpet.
4th. The pouring out the first vial.
5th. The decline, but fury of the dragon, because his time is
short.
38
THE CHURCH "A,T EPHESUS,
I shall continue to notice them in connection, believing the}
all embrace the same period of time, the first relating to the
Church, the second to the persecutions, troubles and increase as
connected with the government, the third and fourth to the
judgments of God upon Rome, and the fifth to false religion as
connected with the dragon.
1st. Revelations, ii. 1: "Unto the angel of the Church of Ephe-
sus write." Verse 2: "I know thy works and labor, and thy
patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil; and
hast tried them which say they are Apostles, and are not, . and
hast found them to be liars." Verse 4: "Nevertheless, I have
.somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."
This Church was at the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor, which
contained the magnificent Temple of the great Goddess Diana,
and from which place John was banished to his exile, and was
directed to write this first epistle to the Church at Ephesus, or
rather to the Angel of the Church, which was delivered to her.
He commended her for her works, labor and patience, and her
hatred to them that are evil; that isj such as lived ungodly and
pretended to be worshipers of God; and she had also tried some
that pretended to be Apostles and found them to be liars—tried
them by the word of God, and their conduct not corresponding
with what they, professed, proved them to be liars. But still I
have somewhat against you, because you have left your first
love, as if he had said you have nearly forgotten that great love
you had for me, and have gone after the world; repent and
turn from it; be sorry for your neglect and turn to your first
works—that ardent desire and zeal that you had at first to do
the will of God. If you do not I will remove the candlestick
out of its place. That is, the Church will be dissolved, and
will no longer give light to Ephesus and to the world, which
took place not long after, as well as the destruction of the city
for her idolatry and persecution of the Church of Christ, and
both the Church and the city remain .removed out of their
place to this day. Verse 6th: "But this thou hast, that thou
.hatest the deeds of theNicholaitans which I hate also."
OPENING THE FIRST SEAL.
39
The Nicholaitans were a gnostic sect, who derived their name
from one Nicholas, their father. They taught that lewdness
and idolatrous sacrifices were lawful. They were, of course, 1( os 3
and profligate in their lives, and aimed at nothing but their own
licentious gratification, and this the Church at Ephesus hated.
So does the Church everywhere, because it is dishonoring to
God, anl what he hates, l^r. Jones, in his Church History, page
127, in reference to Cyprian, says: "The letters which he wrote
during his retirement, give a distressing picture of the effects
which had been produced upon the churches by the state of tran¬
quility and exemption from suffering which, with little inter¬
ruption, they had enjoyed from the death of Severus to the
reign of Decius, a period of nearly forty years."
Says Cyprian: "Our principal study is to get money and
estates; we follow after poride; we are at lbisure for nothing but
emulation and quarreling, and have neglected the simplicity of
our faith—we have renounced the world only in words and not
in deeds. Every one studies to please himself and to displease
others."
Thus we see the situation of the Church which God charges
with having departed from her first love, , and threatens to re¬
move the candlestick unless she repent, which she did not do:
and the candlestick was removed, as I have already said. This
letter, addressed to the Church at Ephesus, applied to the
Churches qfery where at that time.
2d. The opening the first seal. After giving a description of
the book, and its being sealed with seven seals, and in the right
hand of him that sat upon the throne, he says there was no one
that was found able to take the book and loose the seals and look
thereon, which caused John to weep until he was told the Lion
of the tribe of Judah, the Boot of David, had prevailed.—
Then with a note of attention he says, in the midst of the
throne and of the four beasts there stood a Lamb, as it had been
slain. Then he called upon all, and I heard the voice of many an¬
gels, and the beasts and Elders all saying: "Worthy is the Lamb
that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and
'OPENING TiTB FIRST "SFi'L.
' strength,' and honor, and glory, and "blessing. And then ever)
' creature, and the beasts, and the elders, fell down and wor¬
shipped him."
After this adoration by all the heavenly hosts, he proceeds to
open the'seals. Revelations vi. 1-2: "And'I saw when the
Lamb opened one of the seals; ahd I heard as it were the voice
of thunder, one of the four beasts, saying come and see.
"And 1-saw, and, behold, a white horse; and he that sat on
him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him; and he went
forth conquering, and to conquer."
This represents the conquering of the workhby the Almighty
in the Gospel day,'or the spread of the Gospel, notwithstanding
all -the opposition and. persecution by the dragon; and as the
horse is white, it represents the . purity of the ' Gospel. During
the whole of this period, there were great additions to the
Church, and notwithstanding the opposition and cruel persecu¬
tion, and thousands of martyrs, it became fashionable; and so
"desirous 'were men of the glory of dying as martyrs, that no
doubt great numbers professed the Christian religion, who did
not possess the principle, and thereby greatly corrupted the
Church, until she was compelled to separate and flee into the
wilderness, while the man of sin begins more -clearly to manifest
himself. Conquering and to conquer. ' J ones, in his Church
History, page 100, says: "Pliny acknowledges that th§ Pagan
temples had become almost desolate. We should not overlook
the proof which these letters afford, of the peaceableness of the
Christians of those days, and of their readiness to submit even
to the most unjust requirements, rather than disturb the peace
of society. According to Pliny's owif-representation, their num¬
bers were so immense, that had they considered it lawful, they
might have defended themselves by the power of the sword.—
Persons of every age and each sex, had been converted to'Chris¬
tianity. The body was so vast as to leave the Pagan temples
almost desolate, and their Priests solitary." Pliny was Gover¬
nor of Bytheny, and a Pagan,
•«btJi}©ING 'THE FIRST SRUMPEl1.
41
3d. The sounding the first trumpet. Revelations xiii. 7: "The
•lirSt angel sounded, and "there followed hail and fire mingled with
hlood, and they were cast upon the earth; and the ihird part of
the trees were burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. "
I shall "now add some more testimony, which will be pretty
much the same in substance as that which I have already given in
support of opening the first seal, both embracing pretty much,
the same period of time. The sounding of the first trumpet had
reference to the awful calamities that were in the land, for he says,
"There flowed fire and hail mingled with blood." See it literally
fulfilled in the fighting of a battle by Aurelius about the year
A. D. 169. It is stated, in Grimshaw's History of Rome, page
206, that in one of the engagements he was miraculously relieved,
when his army was perishing with thirst, by the prayers of a.
Christian legion, which had been levied in his service.
At that dreadful juncture, audjust as the Barbarians were
ready to attach them, we are assured that there fell so heavy a
shower of rain as instantly to refresh the fainting army. The
soldiers were seen holding their mouths and their hemlets towards
heaven, and receiving the water which came so wonderfully to
their relief. The clouds Which served for their rescue, at the
same time discharged so tremendous a storm of hail, accompanied
with thunder and lightning, against the enemy, as to astonish and
confound them, by which the Romans were encouraged, and turn¬
ed upon their enemies and cut them to pieces. Aurelius seemed
so sensible of miraculous aid, that he immediately relaxed the
persecutions against the Christians^ and wrote to the Senate in
favor of their religion. Truly, as John said, there followed fire,
and hail, anil 'blood; the awful thunder and lightning, it is said,
rolled upon the ground, the tremendous hail, and the blood that
was pourcfd out before the water subsided made it terrific, and
displayed the awful grandeur of God in fulfilling the prophetic
vision of John relative to a wicked and idolatrous people.
And the third'part of the trees were btvrnt up, by the fire that
came down with the hail and the blood. And all green grass
no:is burnt tip, wherever this tempest lighted on the earth. The
42
SOUNDING THE FIRST TRUMPET.
meaning would seem to be, that the effect was to destroy a third
part—that is a large portion of the trees and all the grass. A
portion of the trees that are strong and mighty would stand
against it, but that which was as tender as grass would be con¬
sumed. This would not be an inapt description of the ordinary
effects of invasion in time of war. The fulfillment of this, we aie
undoubtedly to expect to find in the terrors of invasion the evils
0f war—the effusion of blood—the march of armies. A few of
these things which seem most firmly established, im society like-
trees in a forest—weather out the storm, while the gentle virtues,
the domestic enjoyments, the arts of peace, and the wealth of the
country are entirely destroyed.
Mr. Gibbon, speaking of this time, says: "During the first
three years of his reign, his hands were yet unstained with blood,
but he soon degenerated into a most severe and. bloody tyrant;
and when Commodus had once tasted, human blood, he was inca-
/ 7
pable of pity or remorse." The tyrant's rage, says Mr. Gibbon,
after having shed the noblest blood of the Senate, at length re¬
coiled on the principal implement of. his cruelty. While Corn-
modus was immersed in blood and luxury, he devolved the detail
of public business on Pirennes, a servile and ambitious minister,
who had obtained his post by the murder of his predecessors.—
Gibbon remarks that " Caraella was the common enemy of man-
kind. Every province was by turns the scene of his rapine and
cruelty. In the midst of peace and repose, upon, the slightest
provocation, he issued his commands at Alexandria,.in.Egypt, for
a general massacre. From a secure post in the Temple of Sera
pis, he viewed the slaughter of many thousand citizens, as well as
strangers, without^ distinguishing either the number or the crime
of the sufferers."
In casting the fire of the altar there were voices and thunder
and lightning and earthquakes. This seems to be in connection
while the prayers of the saints ascend up as incense. In a letter
from the Emperor to the Common Council of Asia. " But you
harrass and vex the Christians, and accuse them of atheism and
other crimes, which you. can. by no means, prove. To them it
POURING THE FIRST VIAL.
43
appears an advantage to die for their religion, and they gain their
point, while they throw their lives away, rather than comply with
your injunctions. As to the earthquakes, which happened in
times past or more recently, is it not proper to remind you of your
own despondency, when they happen; and compare your spirits with
theirs, and observe how earnestly they rely in God. "* " During
the Emperor's stay at Antioch, the city was almost destroyed by
an earthquake-—it was preceded by violent claps of thunder, unu -
sual wind, and a great noise under ground, "f Then followed so
terrible a shock that the earth trembled for some hours. The
Christians were accused of being the cause ot the earthquakes,
and of course suffered great persecution. This was during the
time of Pliny. I will close this proposition now, as the next will
be testimony to the same point, and tlie same period of time.
4th. Bevelations xvi. 2: " And the first went and poured out
his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore
upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them
_ that worshipped his image. "
This vial was poured upon the earth, and a grievous sore fell
upon the men that had the mark of the beast. As if the curse
was upon the earth, but the sore fell upon men because they had
the mark of the beast, by which they are distinguished from the
Christians wdio were sealed. The mark is their being like the
beast in their worship, in their enmity, to Christ and his Church,
and in opposition to the truth.
I shall date the pouring out this first vial at about the year
165. "Nothing could exceed the miserable state of the Empire.
A raging pestilence spreading terror and desolation through all
parts of the Western world;- earthquakes, famines and inunda¬
tions, %uch as had never before happened; the products of the
earth, throughout all Italy, devoured by locusts; all the barbarous
nations suarounding the Empire—the Germans, the Samaritans,
the Quades and Marcomannds, taking advantage of its various
calamities^ and making their eruptions into Italy itself; the
Friests doing all they could to put a stop to the miseries of the
*See Jones' Church History, p. 106. IT bid 10-'.
4
44
PptTKING THE FIRST VIAL.
State, by attempting to appease the gods; vowing and offering in¬
numerable sacrifices, celebrating all the sacred rites that ever had
been known in Home, and exhibiting the solemnity called Lectis-
lernia seven days together. To crown the whole, these enthusi¬
asts, not satisfied with the impending calamities, made others, b>
ascribing the distress of the State to the impiety of the Christians
alone, so that a violent persecution was seen raging through the
Empire, in which Justin Martyr, St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna,
and an infinite number of others suffered martyrdom.
In this reign an eruption of Mount Vesuvius caused considerable
damage, overwhelming marry towns, and throwing ashes into
countries more than a hundred miles distant. On this memorable
occasion, Pliny lost his life: There happened also, about this
time, a fire in Rome, which continued for three days and nights,
to which succeeded a plague that caused the burial of ten thou¬
sand men in a day. In connection with these calamities the Jews
made insurrection in all parts of the empire against the Armeni¬
ans, Parthenians, Creeks and Romans, depopulating several coun¬
tries. Their barbarities were so enormous, that they eat the flesh
of their enemies, wore their skins, sawed them asunder, cast them
to wild beasts, made them kill each other, and studied new tor¬
ments by which to kill them. A second insurrection of the Jews
falling upon the Romans and Christians at Jerusalem, this war
was concluded in two years, by the demolishing about a thousand
of their best towns and the destruction of nearly six hundred
thousand men in battle. He then banished from Judea all those
who remained, and- by a public decree forbade any to come within
view of their native soil. The Barbarians then entered the Em¬
pire and produced great devastation. "':;s
I have abundant other testimony to the same point, but Consider
wnat I have produced sufficient to show the destruction of a
third part of the trees, and the destruction of the grass, and
also the grievous sore upon those that had the mark of the beast;
for we see in the extracts how Cod punished the Jews, the Pa-
';-See History of Rome. p. 2e5.
THE DECLINE AND RA'GE OiF 'I1 HE DRAGON.
45
gans, the Heathens, G-reeks and Romans, on acconnt of their
«cruel persecution of the Church of Christ.
5th. The dragon 'losing his power, Or on the decline, but still
maintains his wrath against the remnant of her seed. The dra¬
gon is gradually losing his influence as the Gospel progresses, as
Pliny; says the idol's temples were almost deserted. Forty years
of partial respite from such cruel persecution, caused great addi¬
tions to the Churoh of every class, and of both sexes, so that if
they had been disposed they could have defended themselves with
the sword. And in this state of things, numbers of ungodly de¬
signing men united with the Church, and when a professed min¬
ister of that description had charge of the Church, he would use
all his influence to make additions without regard to qualifications
as members; as in the casein Rome, where Cornelius was willing
to receive back into fellowship such as had, under persecution,
went back to idolatry, and when persecution ceased they wished
to return to the Church again, to which Novatian was opposed, so
that it finally produced a division in the Church, the majority
going with Cornelius, and now persecuting the minority which is
the true Church, she being persecuted by idolatry which is the
dragon, and persecuted by the Cornelius party, which is the man
of sin making a more visible appearance. These things caused
the woman to flee to the wilderness, while the man of sin con¬
tinues to increase and prepare the way for his full development,
which Constantine discovered to be his increasing strength and
made it a means by which he arrived at the Government of the
Empire.
The woman having in some degree escaped from the persecution
of the dragon, he is now wroth with the remnant of her seed,
which shows that all the Christians did not flee to the wilderness,
but that a portion of them remained. After, or at the close of
the forty years' abatement of such cruel suffering, it is renewed
with increased fury and barbarity, under the reign of Decius,
and several succeeding reigns, clearly showing the wrath of the
dragon against them that keep the testimony of Jesus Christ.
46 THE DECLINE AND .RAGE OF THE DRAGON.
T.o recapitulate: In this chapter. I have shown first that the -
dragon cast water out of . his mouth dike a flood after the woman,
and that the earth helped.the woman by opening her mouth and
swallowing the flood.. Second., I. have shown the faithfulness of
the Church, at Ephesus in some things, yet her departure from
her first love, for which the candlestick was moved out of its place.
Thirdly. Shown the opening the first seal—that G-od went forth
conquering, and that he conquered by his spirit and grace, and by
pestilence famine and sword. " For he shall rule the nations with
a rod of iron. " Then at the sounding the first trumpet, " there
followed hail and fire mingled with blood." As also the pouring
out the first vial upon the earth there " fell a grievous and noi¬
some sore upon men." And .lastly, showed the "decline of the
power of' the dragons and his wrath against the remnant of her
seed."
All these embracing the same period of time, and although not
in a day, or a year, or even during the reign of one Emperor, yet
they happened in close succession one after another, and sometimes
two or thr#e of these calamities were upon the people at the same
time; and they took place, most of them, in the space of about
seventy years and during the second century. Thus we see dis¬
played the wisdom, power and grandeur of God in the execution
of his judgments upon the enemies of his Church, whom they
had persecuted, which is a complete fulfillment of the prophecies ,,
of, his servant John v
THE ' CHURCH AT^'SMYRNA.
47
CHAPTER IV.
"THE CHURCH AT SMYRNA, THE RED HORSE, THE BURNING MOUNTAIN,
AND THE SEA TURNED'TO LBEOOD.
"And the second angel poured his vial upon, the-sea; and it became as the blood of
a'dead man; and every living soul died in the sea'."—KRevel&tions'xii. S.
In this chapter'I shall;show, first,'the^situation of the'Church
• at Smyrna.
2d. The opening the second seal.
•3d. The sounding the second trumpet.
'4th. The pouring out the second vial.
'5 th. The destruction of the dragon and the open appearance
• of the man of sin.
Smyrna was situated in a city of Ionia in Asia Minor called
•Smyrna, and one of the finest cities of all the Levant. This was
one of the seven churches of Asia, to which John was directed
to write his second epistle.
Revelations ii. 8: " And unto the angel of the church in
•Smyrna write; the things .saith the first and the last, which was
dead and is alive." 9th verse: "I know thy works and tribula¬
tions, and poverty, (but thou art rich,) and I know the blasphemy
of them, which say they, are Jews, and are not, but are the syna¬
gogue of Satan."
•Polycarp is supposed to have been the pastor of the church at
-Smyrna at the time John wrote. I have before shown that the
• church fled to the wilderness, who, having to forsake all their
'■worldly goods and friends on account of persecution, became very
poor. Their property being taken from them by the State, "they
wandered about in sheep skins and goat skins, and took shelter in
caves and dens of the earth." St. Paul says: " We suffer the loss
•of all things, yea count all things lost, that I may win Chrish"—
They willingly suffered all this, being desirous of keeping the
^Church from piide and pollution of idols, so as to keep it in its
• original simplicity, as the Church at Rome had become corrupted,
(as all churches will surrounded by a princely government.)—
.Heretofore the ministry had mostly been unlearned and plain un-
.assuming men.
48 THE CHURCH AT' SMYRNA..
But thou art rich. Though poor in this world, yet rich m<
faith; and although deprived of any benefit or participation in an
earthly kingdom, yet they are made kings and priests to^ God.—
Rich, being "heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, " and^ so
highly favored by the King of Kings as to be the happy partici¬
pants of divine life, and have the liberty of preserving the or ei
and ordinances of the Lord's House, while the oracles of God were
committed unto them as a rich legacy.
And tried them that say they are Jews, (the true Church,) and
<ore not, hut are the synagogue of Satan. Paul says he is not a
Jew which is a Jew outwardly, but he is a Jew which is one in¬
wardly, having reference to the true Gospel Church,. At this-
time the Church, and especially at Rome, was greatly corrupted,,
it being about the time that the Bishops were coming into great
favor and power, at which time idolaters were suffered, to enter
the Church, which many did from sinister motives because it was
popular, and yet they claimed to be the orthodox Churchy which.
Smyrna had tried and. found them, to be the synagogue of'. Satan,
for she had separated from them on. account of. their corrupt
practice.
John says, in-the next verse: " Fear none of those-things which
thou shalt suffer; behold the devil shall cast some of you into
prison, that you may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten
days; be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of"
life."
Oast into prison and suffer tribulation for ten days, which:
would be ten years. Mr. Jones says, in the third chapter of his
Church History: "At the commencement of the fourth century
of the Christian era, the Roman Empire was under the dominion
of four M.onarchs, Dioclesion, Maximin Herculeus, Constantius
Chlorus and Maximums Galerius. Dioclesion had swayed the
sceptre sixteen years and was mild, tolerating the Christian reli¬
gion; and during this period, they had enjoyed a large portion of
outward: peace. The Pagan Priests were greatly alarmed at this
peace and liberty. They addressed themselves to the Emperor
whom they knew to be of a timorous arid, credulous disposition,
THE C'HURCH AT SMYRNA.
49
and "by petitions, oracles and other perfidious stratagems, endeav¬
ored to engage him to persecute the Christians. "
This failed for some time to move Dioclesion. Their recourse
was next had to GfaliriiSj who had married the daughter of Dio¬
clesion, a Prince whose gross ignorance of every thing but military
•affairs was accompanied with a fierce and savage temper, which
rendered him a proper instrument for executing their designs.—
Dioclesion, at this time5 was residing at $ficomedia, where a great
number of Christians livech And G-alertos, his son-in-law, who
came to spend the winter with him, in vain besought the Emperor-
to persecute the Christians. At length the portion of the palace
that he occupied was twice set on fire, (of which no doubt he was
the agent,) which he charged upon the Christians, and by that
means obtains an edict from Dioclesion In the year 302 it was
ordered to pulldown all the places of worship belonging to the
Christians, to burn all their books and writings, to deprive them
of all their civil rights and privileges, and rendered them inca¬
pable of any honors or civil promotion.
In the third year of this horrible persecution, (A. D. 304,) a
fourth edict was published by Dioclesion, at dhe instigation of
Galenas, commanding the magistrates to-' force all Christians,
without distinction of rank or sex, to sacrifice to the gods,
and authorizing them to employ all sorts of torments, with the
view of driving them into this act of apostacy. The diligence
and zeal of the Roman magistrates in executing this inhuman
edict, ultimately reduced the Christian profession to a very low-
ebb, for. this horrid persecution lasted ten years.
It is computed in this tenth persecution, as it is commonly
sailed, there were not less than seventeen thousand Christians put
to death in the space of one month,, and that during its continu¬
ance, in the Province of Egypt alone, no less than one hundred
and fifty thousand persons died by the violence of their perse¬
cutors, and five times that number through the fatigues of ban¬
ishment, or in the public mines to which they were condemned.
Some, of you shall he cast into prison. In the seeond edict it
was ordered that all the bishops, pastors and public teachers
50 OPENING, THE SECOND SEAL.
throughout the Empire, should be apprehended and imprisoned,
hoping that if the leaders could be once effectually silenced, their
Hocks might be easily dispersed. After all this Galerius was tor¬
mented with the most loathsome and lingering disease, (some¬
thing similar to that of Herod's,) which caused him to enter up
an edict one month before his death to release all the Christians
from prison and from the mines, granting them full religious
liberty, which made it ten days >(years) of tribulation, just in ac¬
cordance with what John said.
2d. The opening the second seal. Revelations vi. 4: "And
there'went out another horse that was red; and power was given
him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth; and that they
shall kill one another ; and there* was given to him a great sword. "
■ The color of the horse—another horse that to as red. This
symbol cannot be mistaken. As the white horse denoted, purity,
prosperity, triumph and happiness, so this would denote carnage,
discord and bloodshed. This is clear, not only from the nature of
the emblem, hut from the explanation immediately added.—
" And power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace
from the earth, and that they should kill one another." Of the
< pplicability of this to the time supposed to be represented by
this seal, we have the fullest confirmation in the series of civil
wars commencing with the accession of the Emperor Commodus,
A. D. 193, and continued with scarcely any intervals of intermis¬
sion for ninety years. So Sismandi, on the fall of the Roman
Empire, says: " With Commodus' death commenced the third
and most calamitous period. It lasted ninety-two years, from 193
to 284. During that time, thirty-two Emperors and twenty-
seven pretenders to the Empire, alternately hurled each other
from the throne by incessant civil warfare. Ninety-two years of
civil warfare taught the world ou what a frail foundation the vir¬
tue of the Antonines had reared the felicity of the Empire."
As the red horse is an emblem of war and bloodshed, and the
taking of peace from the earth, so there must have been a peace
that preceded it, which was represented by the white horse, and
the conquering by him that sat thereon with his bow, ais an em-
sOFENING THE SECOND SEAtL.
51
Fblem.to conquer, which I have showed in the opening of the first
■seal, which had referehce to the political state of the Empire as
well as the religious, which political relation I will now show as I
omitted it in the proper place.' Although the bow was an em¬
blem to conquer, and the government made great accessions of
territory and conquest over many nations,, still they ,had internal
peace and happiness.
Mr. Gibbon thus describes it: "The two Antonines governed
-the world forty-two years with the same invariable spirit of wis¬
dom and virtue. Their united reigns are possibly the only period
of history in which the happiness of a great people was the sole
object of government." Again he says: "If a man were called
to fix a period in the history of the world, during which the con¬
dition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he
would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death
of Domitian to the accession of Commodus." All this peace and
prosperity, both political and religious, was taken from the earth
by the red horse and him that sat thereon, as I have^hown in part.
The testimony that I have produced in reference to the ten day's
tribulation of the Church at Smyrna, corresponds with this time,
which shows that the Church at Smyrna and the opening o.f the
second seal occupied the same period of time, and not, as most
expositors affirm, that the addresses to the churches were meant
to embrace their situation then and no more, as Mr. Barnes says,
"he addressed churches then existing, &c." " Here, (alluding to
the opening the seals,) however, the scene opens into the future,
&e." But I say that John speaks of the opening of the seals
in the present: " I saw, &c." And yet it was symbollic and
prophetic, and why not the churches (though they then existed)
represent the seven periods of the Church of Christ until his
reign for a thousand years, fcr there are but seven periods, as I
liave before stated. * If it is not so, why do the addresses differ so
much as it regards the tribulation and persecution of the seven
churches, .if it only had reference to that period alone; as they
were all in Asia, if one was persecuted by the Government, jso
.52 OPENING THE SECO"ND SEAL:
would all be. I will now offer some additional testimony upoff
the disturbances of Rome.
Goldsmith, in his History of Rome, page 355, says: " Every
street and almost every house in the Oapitol, contained some one
ever on the watch to pick up any unguarded expression which
might be distorted, into treason or sedition. Execution followed
execution in fearful rapidity, until' the bonds of society were bro¬
ken, and every man dreaded his neighbor, lest by misinterpreting
a word or look, he should expose himself to the indiscriminate
cruelty of his sovereign." The same author says, on page 349:
" Oonstantine entered Italy, -with ninety thousand foot and eight
thousand horse, and advanced almost to the very gates of Rome.
Maxentius advanced from the city with an army of one hundred
and seventy thousand foot and eighteen thousand horse. The
engagement was fierce and bloody. Victory was declared on the
side of his opponent, and he himself was drowned in his flight by
the breaking down of a bridge as he attempted to cross the river
Tiber."
It will be seen by what I have already shown, that the peace
of society and families were destroyed and confidence lost, for it
has reference to the political state of Rome in their internal
divisions, which produced war and bloodshed—Romans killing
Romans until peace was banished from public and private society,
to say nothing of the Barbarians killing the Romans.
Having given some evidence of the blood and persecution, un¬
der the reign of Pagan Emperors, just at their close, I come now
to look at the scene reversed under Oonstantine and others.
Jones,, in his Church History, page 149, says: " Thus restored^
to the full exercise of their liberty, their churches re-built, and.
the imperial edicts every where published in their favor, these new
Bishops immediately began to show what temper they were of.-—
Constan tine's letters afford abundant proof of the jealousies and.
animosities that prevailed among them. He stated to .them that
it was a very grievous tiling to see so great a number of persons
divided into parties,, and the Bishops disagreeing among them¬
selves. He earnestly wished to compose their differences; but in
OPENING v THE SECOND SEAL.
53
spite of allfais efforts they persisted in their quarrels. It had*laid
the foundation for a system of persecution of a complexion alto¬
gether new—-professed Christians tyrannizing over the consciences
of each other, and, as will be seen in the sequel, inflicting tor¬
tures and cruelties upon each other far greater than they had ever
sustained from their heathen persecutors. "
It will'be seen by the few quotations that I have made, (while
I might have made a thousand more,.) that blood was shed and
peace taken from the earth; for the putting down the established
form of religion, that had been kept up for thousands of years by
the decrees of sovereigns, would naturally create dissatisfaction,
and the destruction, or change of their magnificent temples into
places of worship for Christians, would harrow up their feelings
to such a state of ambition that they could not contain themselves.
See the uproar at Ephesus when Paul preached Jesus Christ and.
him crucified.
And now when their form of worship is put down by a decree
from the Emperor, and the Christians whom they hated raised
over them by the same power, it is not to be supposed that they
would submit to it tamely. They not only lost their religious
privileges, but their political also, for while they were turned out
of office, the high and lucrative offices were filled by Christians..
This led to great corruption, and hence all or nearly all the offices
were filled by corrupt and designing men, who soon began to con¬
tend with each other for preferments. And as the Church was
enriched by endowments from the Emperor or Government,
Bishop began to vie with Bishop, as to who should be the greatest.
And now in turn, being put in authority, they who had so long been
persecuted, naturally began to take revenge, or persecute their
enemies. (But I wish it distinctly understood that they were
Christians only in name and not in principle, and that the true-
Church was in the wilderness and never did persecute, as* we will
show before we are done.) Hence peace was taken from the earth
apd discord and bloodshed prevailed. There wag continual polit¬
ical broils and rebellion^ as well as numerous hordes of Barbarians,
that infested the Empire. . And then the religious discord. wa&>
.t)4 SOUNDING THE "SECOND TRUMPET.
such*as to disturb and shake the very foundation of the gov
.ernmcnt, and even cause a division between the Emperor and
the Empress, disturbing not only the churches and Bishops, but
families, so as to array brother against brother and the wife
against her husband. "And there was given to him a great
_ sword." Constantine and his successors swayed the sceptre
religiously and politically. See him presiding over the first
religious council and then enforcing its decrees by the sword.
3d. The sounding the second trumpet. Revelations viii. 8.:
"'And the second angel sounded, and as it^were a great moun¬
tain burning with fire was cast into the sea, and a third part of
the sea became blood. " Yerse 9th: "And a third part ol the
creatures, which were in the sea and had life, died, and a third
part of the ships were destroyed." A mountain is a natural
symbol of strength, and hence ^becomes a synibol of a strong
and powerful nation; for mountains are not only places of
strength in themselves, but they anciently answered the pur¬
pose of .fortifying places, and were the seats of power. We
naturally, then, apply this part of the symbol to some strong and
mighty nation—not a nation necessarily that issued from a moun¬
tainous region, but a nation that resembles a mountain in
strength, burning with fire. A mountain in a blaze. There
would, perhaps, be no more sublime image than such a mountain,
lifted suddenly from its base and cast into the sea. The symbol
employed here would denote some fiery, impetuous, destructive
power. If used to denote a nation, it would be a nation that
was, as it were, burning with the desire of conquest—impetuous,
fierce and fiery in its assaults, and consuming all in its way.—
Cast into the sea. The image is very sublime; the scene, should
such an event occur, would be awfully grand. As to the ful¬
fillment of what was intended to be represented by the symbol
there can be no doubt. It is not to be taken literally a mountain
thrown into the sea. The Roman Empire is here represented
by the sea, for like the sea, the Roman Empire spread over a
great portion of the globe, and an army, or nation whose precipi¬
tate march would produce agitation and commotion, with de-
SOUNDING THE SECOND TRUMPET.
struction and devastation following in its course, would'be like a
burning mountain cast into the sea. It is very evident that the
nation should be war-like and maritime, living on the sea coast
or beyond it.
As L have said, before, this sounding of the second trumpet
took place during the same period of time as the opening of the
second seal, in which peace was taken from i the earth, and during
the ninety-two years of war that ,1 have described in the open¬
ing of the second seal: Then; I believe it was,, the internal
divisions in the Empire during the ninety-two years, with the
invasion of the Goths, produced sucln vast destruction both in
the lives and property of the Eomans; for after they lost their
freedom and were governed by absolute Monarchs, the appoint¬
ment or election of the Emperors to the crown was done by the
army for the space of eighty years, and hence they generally
made choice of some chieftain who had arisen in the army from >
low birth or parentage, to fill the important office of ruling the
people, or sold it to some ambitious officer, and sometimes to -
foreigners, so that it became profitable to the soldiers; and if
fjiey had the power to make, they had the power to unmake,
which they did, for nearly every Emperor during this period was :
assassinated—some in. a few days, others in a few years, which
kept the Empire in perpetual commotion and bloodshed, until'a
great portion of her citizens and property, with her magnificence,
had been destroyed. When Cbnstantine came to the throne, he
considerably improved the Empire during his administration.
I will now give some condensed testimony from Gibbon, Vol.
I:, p. 124: " The victory over the Senate was easy and inglb-
rious. Every eye and every passion were directed to the su¬
preme magistracy, who possessed the arms and treasure of the
State, whilst the Senate, neither elected by the people nor
guarded by military force, nor animated by public spirit, rested
its declining authority on the frail and crumbling basis of ancient
opinion. The fine theory of Republic insensibly vanished and
made way for the more natural and substantial feelings of Mon¬
archy.. In the reign of Severus, (who was an Affican,)the
56 SOUNDING THE SECOND TRUMPET.
Senate was filled with polished and eloquent slaves from tin-
Eastern provinces, who justified personal flattery by speculative
principles of servitude." On page220, the same author says.
"The Emperor Deems had employed a few months in the works
of peace and the administration of justice, when he was sum¬
moned to the banks of the Danube by the invasion of the
Goths. This is the first considerable accession in which history
mentions that great people^ who afterwards broke the Eoman
power, sacked the Capitol, and reigned in Gaul, Spain and
Italy. So memorable was the part which they acted in the sub¬
version of the Western Empire, that the name of the Goths is
frequently improperly used as a general appellation of rude and
warlike barbarians."
A few words upon the origin and emigration of the Goths
may suffice to show that they were the burning mountain. Mr.
Gibbon, in Yol. I., p. 223, says: "If so many successive genera¬
tions of Goths- were capable of preserving a faint tradition of
their Scandinavian origin, we must not expect, from such unlet¬
tered barbarians, any distinct account of the time and circum¬
stances of their emigration. To cross the Baltic was an easy
and natural attempt. The inhabitants of Sweden wrere masters
of an immense number of large vessels with oars, and at a dis¬
tance of little over one hundred miles from Carlscroon to the
nearest ports of Pomerania and Prussia."
Mr. Gibbon goes on to state that, after they cressed the Baltic
they remained in Prussia until about the commencement of the
Christian era, and that the Yandals and Goths, the Ostrogoths
and Visogoths, their likeness, religion and manners, all have
such a resemblance, that they must originally have been one
great people. He then says that at the time of the Antonines
they were still in Prussia. But then, in the course of about
seventy years, they migrated from the Baltic to the Euxine sea;
from the extreme North to the South, and in their progress
(indifferent as to what force or powerful nation they might en¬
counter, many barbarians united with them, and especially the
jouth, which greatly increased their army. They being natu-
SOUNDING THE SECOND TRUMPET.
orally indolent, yet warlike, preferred to live by war and plunder,
rather than to cultivate the soil, although they were then in a
rich soil and a warm climate. Gibbon, in Yol. I. p. 226, says :
'"The Sythianhordes, which towards the East, bordered on the
new settlement of the Goths, presented nothing to their arms
except the •doubtful chance of an unprofitable victory.. But the
prospects of the Roman territories were far more alluring, and
the fields of Dacia were covered with rich harvest, sown by the
hands of an industrious people, but exposed to be gathered by
those of a warlike disposition."
Thus, having migrated such a distance, they were almost
unknown to the Romans, but by a precipitate march, they, like
a burning mountain, burning with hunger and with a desire of
gain and conquest, seventy thousand in number, were hurled into
the Roman provinces almost without giving the Romans any
notice of their approach. This first attack was about the year
A. D. 259.
And a third part of the sea became blood. That as a burning
mountain cast into the sea would give color, or tinge with a red
appearance, so this powerful army of Barbarians, first and last,
tinged the third part of the Roman Empire with blood.
And the third part of the creatures that were in the sea died.
As if such a mountain were cast into the sea, it would naturally
destroy the third part of living creatures—-of the fishes and
every thing that had life. this victorious Barbarian army
destroyed the third part of the .Roman population, and of the
animals that were necessary for their subsistence they drove off.
Who can doubt that, with the internal wars and dissensions of
rival pretenders for the throne, in the ninety-two years of war,
(during which time the thirty tyrants all contended for the
throne at the same time,) a third paft of every living creature
died. It is not necessary to give the exact number of one-third;
this is impossible, as no exact record ef either the living or the
dead was kept. I will give a few extracts from Gibbon to show
how great the slaughter was.
58' SOUNDING THE' SECOND TRUMPET!
Gibbon, in Vol. I. p. 226, says: "The King or leader of the
fierce nation traversed with contempt the provinces of Decia,
and passed both the Dneister and Danube without encountering
any opposition capable of retarding his progress. The lelaxed
discipline of the Roman troops, caused them to betray the most
important posts where they were stationed, and fear of severe
punishment induced great numbers of them to enlist under the
Gothic standard."
"Decius found the Goths engaged before Nicapolis, on the
Jatrus; on his approach they raised the siege, but only with the'
design of marching away to a conquest of greater importance,
the siege of Fhilippopholis, a city of Thrace; founded by the'
father of Alexander, near the foot of Mount Hamus. Decius
followed them' through difficult country and by forced marches;
but when: he imagined himself at a considerable distance from
the rear of the Goths, Cniva turned with rapid fury on his pur¬
suers. The camp of the Romans was surprised and pillaged,
and for the first time, the Emperor fled in disorder before a troop
of half armed Barbarians. After a long resistance, Phili-
popholis, destitute of succor, was taken by storm. A hundred
thousand prisoners are supposed to have been massacreed in the
sacking of the great city. Many prisoners of consequence be¬
came a valable accession to the spoils."
Decius had revived his army and wished to wipe out the
stain on his character and that of the Roman arms, for having
retreated before the Barbarians, so he returned the next year to
chastise the Barbarians, who, having exhausted the resources of.
the country, would have gladly retreated; but tliey were nearly
surrounded by the Romans. Decius, being certain of victory,
would listen to no terms of accommodation. The high spirited
Barbarians preferred dfeath to slavery.
"An obscure town of Maesia was the scene of battle. The
Gothic army was drawn up in three lines, and either from
choice or accident, the front of the third line was covered bv
morass. The first and second line fled, the conflict was terri¬
ble, The 4hird line only remained to dispute the passage, of the.
SOUNDING THE SfcCOND TRUMPET.
59
morass, which was imprudently attempted by the enemy. Here
the fortune of the day turned, and all things became adverse to
the Romans; the place deep with ooze, sunk under those that
stood and was slippery to such as advanced; their armor heavy
and the waters deep, they could not wield, in the uneasy situation
their weighty javalins.- The Barbarians, on the contrary, were
incensed to encounters in the bogs, their persons being tall and
their spears long—such as could wound at a distance. In this
morass the Roman army, after an ineffectual struggle, was irre¬
coverably lost; nor could the body of the Emperor ever be
found."
Gibbon, in Vol. I. p. 219, says:. "From the great secular
games celebrated by Phillip to the death of the Emperor Galli-
nus, there elapsed twenty years of shame and misfortune. Du¬
ring that calamitous period, every instant of time was marked,
and every Province of the Roman world was afflicted by bar¬
barous invaders and military tyrants, and the ruined Empire
seemed to approach the last and fatal moment of its dissolution."
On page 183 he says: "From the reign of Augustus to the
time of Alexander Severus, the enemies of Rome were in her
bosom, (the tyrants and soldiers,) and her prosperity had a very
distant and feeble interest in the revolutions that might happen
beyond the Rhine and the Euphrates. But when the military
order had levelled in, wild anarchy, the power of the Prince, the
laws of the Senate, and even the discipline of the camp, the
Barbarians of the North and of the East, who had long hovered
on the frontier, boldly attacked the Provinces of a declining
Monarchy. Their vexatious inroads were changed into formi¬
dable eruptions, and, after a long vicisitude of mutual calami¬
ties, many of the victorious invaders established themselves in
the Provinces of the Roman Empire."
Mr. Gibbon says that no less than six Emperors were assassi¬
nated in a few short months. And then the greatest calamity
was, that when an Emperor was put to death, the next that was
ivested with the purple, had of necessity, to put to death all his
predecessor relatives and friends, to secure his own safety as he
supposed.
5
6U SOUNDING THE SECOND TRUMPET.
Ill Vol. I. p. 253, he says: "The rapid and perpetual transi¬
tion from the cottage to the throne, and from the throne to. the
grave—the election of these precarious Emperors, their powei
and their death,, were equally destructive to their subjects and
adherents. When they fell, they involved armies and Provinces
in their fall. There is still extant a most savage mandate from
Gallenus to one of his ministers. " It is not enough," says that
soft but inhuman Prince, "that you exterminate such as have
appeared in arms—the male sex of every age must be extermi¬
nated; provided that, in the execution of the children and old
men, you can contrive means to save your reputation, let every
one die who has dropped an expression, or who has entertained
a thought ag'ainst me; tear, kill, hew in pieces. I write to you
with my own hand, and would inspire you with my own feellings.
While the public forces of the State were dispersed in private
quarters, the defenceless Provinces lay exposed to every invader.
The bravest usurpers were compelled, by the perplexity of their
situation, to conclude ignominious treaties with the common
enemy, or purchase with heavy tributes the neutrality or services
of the Barbarians, and to introduce hostile and independent
nations into the heart of the Roman Monarchy. "
"Such were the Barbarians, and such the tyrants, who, under
the reigns of Yalerian and Gallienus, dismembered the Provinces
and reduced the Empire to the lowest pitch of disgrace and ruin,
from which it seemed impossible that it should ever emerge."
" The sufferings (of society) of that once flourishing and still
fertile island, were inflicted by baser hands. A licentious crowd
of slaves and peasants reigned for a while over the plundered
country, and renewed the memory of the servile wars of more
ancient times. Devastations, of which the husbandman was
either the victim or the accomplice, must have ruined the agri¬
culture of Sicily; and as the principal estates were the property
of the opulent Senators of Rome, who often enclosed within a
farm the territory of an old Republic, it is not improbable that
this private injury might affect the Capitol more deeply than
all the conquests of the Goths or the Persians,"
SOUNDING THE SECGNB TRUMPET.
61
I have produoed testimony sufficient t© satify every reasonable
mind, that the ninety-two years of war and internal dissensions,
with the war of the Goths and Vandals, which continued suc¬
cessively for twenty-years, would be sufficient to represent the sea
being turned into blood, and the death of the third part of the
living creatures; and as the pouring out of the second vial will
occupy the same period of time, I shall produce additional tes¬
timony that will not only corroborate what I have already given,
but will go to strengthen and confirm it; so I shall leave this
part for the present and proceed to show the destruction of the
ships.
And the third part of the ships were destroyed. Gibbon, in
Vol. I., page 239, says: "Domestic factions, and the fears, or
private interests of obscure usurpers, who seized on the vacant
throne, admitted the Goths into the heart of Bosphorus. With
the acquisition of a surplus waste of fertile soil, the conquerors
•obtained the command of a naval force sufficient to transport
their armies to the coast of Asia. "
On the 240th page, he says: " The fleet of the Goths, leaving
the coast of Circassia on the left hand, first appeared before
Pityus, the utmost limits of the Roman Provinces. Circling
round the Eastern extremity of the Euxine sea, the navigation
from Pityus to Trebizond is about three hundred miles. The
city was large and populous; a double enclosure of walls seemed
to defy the fury of the Goths, and the usual garrison had been
strengthened by a reinforcement of ten thousand men. But
they had no advantages capable of supplying them in the
absence of discipline and vigilance. The numerous garrisons of
Trebizond, dissolving in riot and luxury, disdained to guard
their impregnable fortifications. The Goths soon discovered the
supine negligence of the besieged, and erecting a lofty pile of
fascines, ascended the walls in the, silence of night and entered
the defenceless city sword in hand. A general massacre of the
people ensued, while the affrighted soldiers made their escape
through the opposite gates of the city. The most holy teihples
and the most splendid edifices were involved in a common de-
62
SOUNDING THE SECOND- TRUMPET.
struct ion. The booty that fell into the hands of the Goths was
immense; the wealth of the adjacent countries had been de
posited in Trebizoiid, as a secure place of safety. The number
of captives was incredible, as the victorious Barbarians ranged
without opposition through the extensive Provinces of Pontus.
The rich spoils of Trebizpnd filled a great fleet of ships that
had been found in the port. The robust youth of the sea coast
were chained to the oar, and the Goths, satisfied with the suc¬
cess of their first naval expedition, returned in triumph to their
new establishment in the Kingdom of Bosphorus. "
I have been thus lengthy, as this was their first naval expedi¬
tion. I will now give some more condensed extracts from two or
three other expeditions, to show from this ancient history that
the symbols spoken of by John were literally fulfilled.
The same author, on page 241, says: "The second expedition,
of the Goths was undertaken with greater powers of men and
ships, but they steered a different course.." Not wishing to go
into Pontius, which they had already ravaged, they steered on
the Western coast of the Euxine, (now Black sea,) and in¬
creased their fleet by capturing a great number of others; they
approached the narrow outlet through which the Euxine sea
pours its waters into the Mediterranean. The garrison of Chaloe-
don was encompassed near the straits that commanded the en¬
trance, and their army surpassed in numbers that of the enemy,
but they fled in consternation and abandoned the city of Chalce-
don, most plentifully stored with arms and money, to the de¬
struction of the Goths. They hesitated whether they should,
continue their depredations by sea or land, in Europe or Asia.
A fugitive pointed out Nicomedia as being as rich a city as the
Capitol of Bithynia. Nice, Prusa, Apacmaca, Cius, cities that
rivalled the splendor and wealth of Nicomedia, were involved in
the same calamity, and the enemy in a few weeks ranged without
control through the whole Province of Bithynia. When the
city of Cyzicus withstood the utmost efforts of Mithredatus, it
was distinguished by wise laws, a naval power of two hundred
galleys, three arseflals of arms, military- engines and corn. Im
SOUNDING TBfE SECONI} TEUMPET.
63
consequence of the rise *of the waters their spoils were horn off
upon a long, train of wagons, while they wontdnly burnt Nice
:and Nicomedia.
We are informed that the third fleet, equipped by the Goths
in the ports of Bosphorus, consisted of five hundred sails of
ships. With these, they with sfome difficulty passed the Helles¬
pont, destroying some towns and pursuing their winding naviga¬
tion amidst the numerous islands scattered over the Archipelago,
or the Agean sea. At length the Gothic fleet anchored at
Pirocus, five miles from Athens, which became a-prey to dhe
Barbarians, but while they gave Themselves up to plunder and
intemperance, their fleet, which was left with a slender guard,
was destroyed by those that fled from Athens. The rage of
war, both by land and by sea, spread from the Eastern point of
Sunium to the Western coast of Epirus, The Goths had already
- advanced within sight of Italy, but were dispersed by the Em¬
peror.
I will now give one more extract upon this subject from Gib¬
bon, from Vol. I., page 261: " The various nations of Germany
and Sarmatia, who fought under the Gothic standard, had
already collected an armament more formidable than any that
had issued from the Euxine. On the bank of the Dneister, one
of the great rivers that discharge themselves info the sea, they
constructed a fleet of two thousand, or even six thousand ves¬
sels, (this would be A. D. 269,) which number would be suffi¬
cient to transport their pretended army of three hundred and
twenty thousand Barbarians. In their passage through the
Bosphorus, the unskillful pilots were overpowered by the vio¬
lence of the current; and while their multitude of ships were
crowded into a narrow channel, many were dashed against each
other or against the shore."
"A spirit of discouragement and division arose, in the fleet,
and some of their chiefs sailed, away towards the islands, ©f Crete
and Cypress, but .the main body pursued a more steady course,
and at length anchoring..pear -the foot of Mount Athos, they
assaulted the city of Thessalonica, the wealthy Capitol of Ma-
64
POURING OUT THE SECOND VIAL.
cedonia. " But Claudius, hastening to meet them, writes thus-
to the Senate: " Concript fathers," says the Emperor, ' know
that three hundred and twenty thousand Goths have invaded:
the Roman territory. If I vanquish them, your gratitude will
reward my service. Should I fall, remember that I am the
successor of Gallienus. We are in want of darts, old spears
and shields." He fought several great battles both by land and
sea, in which fifty thousand were slain and a goodly number
taken prisoners. All the fleet being destroyed, the Barbarians
that remained were driven into the mountains, from which they
were nearly destroyed by the excessive cold through the winter
and by pestilence. So the nation sued for peace, which was.
agreed to by the Romans, after a war of twenty years. One of
the conditions of the treaty was that the Goths should supply
the Roman army yearly with two thousand soldiers. Aurelian,
the Emperor, withdrew the forces from Dacia, and relinquished
that great Province to the Goths and Vandals, which, in th&
process of time,,, caused the destruction of the Roman Empire,
by introducing foreigners into the State.
This is sufficient, I think,, to show that during the twenty-
years of war with the Barbarians, one third part of the ships,
both of the Romans and of the Goths, were destroyed. When
we consider that battles were not fought then as they are now,
for gunpowder had not been invented then, they were sometimes
very destructive.
4th. The pouring, out the second vial. Revelations xvi. 3:
" And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea, and it
became as the blood of a dead man, and every living soul died
in the sea."
The sea, the same as in the former proposition, is the great
Empire of Rome. And it became as the blood of a dead man.
That is dark, gloomy, congealed, inactive and poisonous, and
having lost its vitality is therefore eapable of producing death.
This, like the various expressions of John, is highly figurative,
and refers not only to the political state of Rome, but to tho
religious also. What could better represent the blood of a dead
man, than the State of society m Roine- during the ninety-twc^
LOURING OUT THE SECOND VIAL,
05
years of war with, the various tribes of Barbarians that sur¬
rounded them, and with the Persians as external foes, while the
civil wars*and internal commotions of the Empire and the con-
" tent ion of those that sought by fraud and violence to reign over
that great Empire, would not only prevent any regular form of
government from being administered, but would destroy com¬
merce and agriculture, which are so necessary to support the
healthy action of a body politic, all of which would produce
distrust and dissatisfaction. These frequent insurrections and
rebellions produced famine and pestilence, which gave it a very
gloomy, death-like appearance.
Gibbon, in Yol. I. page 17b, says; "Distrust and jealousy
reigned in the Senate; and even in the temples where they
assembled, every Senator carried either open or concealed arms. "
"An insult offered to the Senate by two of the guards produced
a war between the people, the Senate and the soldiers, which
lasted several days in the city, with infinite loss and confusion
on both sides. When the pipes were broken^hat supplied the
camps with water, the Praetorians were reduced to intolerable
distress; but in their turn they made desperate sallies into the,
city, set fire to a great number of houses and filled the streets
with the blood of the inhabitants. The Emperor Balbenus
attempted, by ineffectual edicts and precarious truces, to recon¬
cile the factions at Borne, but their animosity, though smothered
for a while, burnt with redoubled violence. The soldiers, de¬
testing the Senate and the people, despised the. weakness of the
Prince who wanted either the spirit or the power to command
the obedience of his subjects; " He says that "The civil wars
of Modern Europe have been distinguished hv their fierce ani¬
mosities, and have generally some pretext of religion, freedom
or loyalty. But the Bomans, after the fall of the Bepublic,
combatted only for the choice of masters."
As soon as his power declined they forsook him, and as they
had no interest hut their own safety, they readily flew to the
most popular tyrant. Severus, in warring with Albums and
JSiiger, who claiming to be Emperors, fought a number of hat-
G6 POURING OUT THE SECOND VIAL,
ties, the last of which was the storming or besieging of Byzan-
tum, which lasted three years, captured all the fleet of the
nation, as that city had five hundred ships beside the garrison,
all of which were demolished,, The two rivals were put to death
by Severus, and all their adherents, among whom were forty-one
Senators, suffered death. Surely this state of things, nas the
appearance of the blood of a dead man.
On page 3-75 he says: " Notwithstanding their repeated efforts,
those brave veterans (the guards) were unable to recover the
victory; they obtained an honorable death, and it was discovered
that their bodies occupied the same ground which had been
occupied by their ranks. The confusion then became general,
and the dismayed troops of Maxentius, pursued by an impla¬
cable enemy, rushed by thousands into the deep and rapid stream
of the Tiber. The Emperor attempted to escape back into the
city over Milvian bridge, but the crowd that pressed together
through the narrow passage forced him into the river where he
was drowned."
"But Caracal]#, (the Emperor whose father was an African,)
was the common enemy of mankind. He left the Capitol about
a year after he murdered Geta, his brother, in his mother's arms.
The rest of his reign was spent in the several Provinces of the
Empire, and every one was by turns the scene of his rapine and
cruelty. The most wealthy families were ruined by partial ffties
and confiscation. In the midst of peace, and upon the slightest
provocation, he issued his commands at Alexandria, in Egypt,
for a general massacre. From a secure post in the temple of
Serapis, he viewed and directed the slaughter of many thousand
citizens as well as strangers, without distinguishing either the
number or the crime of the sufferers."
And every living soul died in the sea. At the sounding of the
second trumpet the sea became blood, and one-tliird part of
every living soul died; but here, in pouring the second vial, it
is said that every liying soul died. It is the same in substance,
having reference to the same period of time, but a different
expression is used. The language is figurative and symbolic.—»>
POURING OUT THE SECOND VIAL.
The sense is in the death and depression of -so many during the
riHftety-two years of internal and external wars and depression—
all was death-like, and every one had the sentence of death in
himself. The Emperors ordered the destruction of individuals,
or of thousands as it suited them, and the soldiers assassinated
the Emperors whenever they became tired of them, the good as
well as the bad, so that no one was secure whether high or low,
rich or poor; nor were any surprised when they received the
sentence of death, having it already within themselves.
Gibbon says: "The foundation of Alexandria was a noble
design, at once conceived and executed by Phillip. The beauti¬
ful and regular form of the great city, second only to Koine
itself, comprehended a circumference of fifteen miles—it wa-s
peopled by three hundred thousand free inhabitants, besides at
least an equal number of slaves. But the people of Alexandria,
a various mixture of nations, united the vanity of the Greeks
and the superstition and obstinacy of the Egyptians. The most
trifling occasion, even a religious dispute, was at any time suffi-
cient to kindle a sedition amongst the vast multitude, whose
resentment was furious and implacable. The Alexandrians
abandoned themselves to the ungovemed rage of their passions,
and their unhappy country was the theatre of a civil war which
continued about twelve years. All intercourse was cut off he-
tween the several quarters of the afflicted city, every street was
polluted with blood, and every building of strength converted
into a Citadel; nor did the tumults subside until a considerable
part of Alexandria was irretrievably _ .ruined." This long and
terrible sedition was first occasioned by a dispute between a sol¬
dier and a townsman about a pair of shoes.
Gibbon further says: "Ourhabits of thinking so fondly con¬
nect the order of the universe with the .fate of men, that this
gloomy period of history has been decorated with inundations,
earthquakes, uncommon meteors, perpetual darkness and a crowd
of prodigies, fictitious or exaggerated. But a long and general
famine was a calamity of a more serious kind. It was the inevi¬
table consequence of rapine and oppression, which extirpated
68 POURING OUT THE SECOND VIAL.
the produce of the present and the hope of the futuie liaivest.
Famine is almost always followed by epidemical diseases, the
effect of scanty and unwholesome food. Other causes, however,
must have contributed to the furious plague, which, fiom tit
year 250 to the year 265, (15 years,) raged without interruption
in every Province, every city, and almost every family, of the
Roman Empire. For some length of time five thousand persons
died daily in Rome; and many towns that had escaped the hands
of the Barbarians were entirely depopulated.
Applying this authentic fact to the most correct tables ot
mortality, it evidently shows that more than half the people of
Alexandria perished; and could we venture to extend the
analogy to other Provinces, we might suspect that war, pesti¬
lence and famine had consumed in a few years the moiety of the
human species."
In Yol. III., page 50, Gibbon says: "After the battle of
Hadrianople, in which the Emperor Yalens was slain and the
Roman army dispersed, the Goths spread themselves from Con¬
stantinople to the foot of the Julian Alps; and as far as the
confines of Italy and the Adriatic sea, committed rapes, massa¬
cres, conflagrations and profanation of saints and churches,
turning them into stables." Jerome relates twenty years after
the death of Yalens, that " in these desert countries nothing
was left except the sky and the earth; that after the destruction
of the cities and extirpation of the human race, the land was
overgrown with thick forests and inextricable brambles; and tKat
the universal desolation, announced by the prophet Zepheniah,
was accomplished in the scarcity of the beasts, the birds, and
even the fishes."
As Gibbon says that half (for a moiety is half) the human
species were consumed in a few years by war, pestilence and
famine, may we not readily conclude that during the calamities,
of the ninety-two years of war, which produced famine and
pestilence, an equivalent to the whole number of the population
of the Roman Empire at the commencement of the war, must
POUKING OUT THE SECOND VIAL.
69
have died? And hence it might he said that every living sonl
in the sea died.
But as this relates to religious persecution and death, as well
as the political condition of the Empire, I shall give a few
extracts from Church History to show the sufferings of the
Christians during this period of time; but as I. have quoted
Church History elsewhere to show the persecutions that caused
the woman to flee into the wilderness, I shall make but few,
because it would only be a repetition of what I have already
written.
"No sooner had Decius ascended the throne than a tempest
was raised, in which the fury of persecution fell in a dreadful
manner upon the Church of Christ. Whether it were from an
ill-grounded fear of the Christians, or from a fervent zeal for
the superstitions of his ancestors, does not appear; but it is
certain that he issued edicts of the most sanguinary kind, com¬
manding the prseters, on pain of death, either to exterminate
the whole body of Christians, without exception, or to force
thorn by torments of various kinds to return to the Pagan wor¬
ship. Hence, in all the Provinces of the Empire, during the
space of two years, multitudes of Christians were put to death
by the most horrid punishments which an ingenious barbarity
could invent."*
When the persecution, arose under the Emperor Decius, or
rather, as it is expressed by a late writer, when the gates of hell
were once more opened, and merciless executioners were let loose
upon the defenceless churches, then the earth was deluged with
blood.
" A learned French writer computes that in this tenth perse¬
cution, as it is commonly called, there were not less than seven¬
teen thousand Christians put to death in the space of one month;
and that during the continuance of it, in the Province of Egypt
alone, no less than one hundred and fifty thousand persons died
by the violence of their persecutors, and five times that numbi r
*$ee Jones' Church History, page 126.
VO "THE DESTRUCTION OF THE 'DRAGON AND
from the fatigues of banishment, or in the public mines to which
they were condemned.""
This may suffice Tor the present to show that the state of
the Roman Empire was like the blood of a dead man, inactive,
dark and gloomy, both politically and religiously; and that every
living soul died in the sea, as the extracts from Gdbbon show,
and they are only a small portion that really took place. And
the quotations from Jones -shows what the Church of Christ
suffered—the blood that was shed, and the deaths of the Chris¬
tians during the ten years of persecution, which is put down at
seven hundred and fifty thousand in Egypt alone. The amount
must have been enormous in all the Provinces put together, and
would show a death-like appearance.
5th. The destruction of the dragon, and the open appearance
of the man of sin.
The ancient customs, manners and worship of the Romans
had long been corrupted, and was in a declining state from com¬
ing in contact with so many foreign nations. As it were, all the
different creeds of worship, held and practiced by all the con¬
quered nations, were transferred to Rome, and, when blended
together, made a heterogeneous mass of Judeism, of heathenish
barbarity, of infidelity and idolatry of every shade and degree
that could be invented. When Antonius of Syria, the pretended
son of Caracalla, was made Emperor by the army, being the first
Emperor of Asiatic extraction, and a mixture of African blood,
he transported from Syria the god of the sun who was wor¬
shiped at Emesa under the name Elagabalus and under the
form of a black conical stone, which was universally believed to
have fallen from heaven upon that sacred place. To this pro¬
tecting deity the Emperor ascribed his elevation to the throne.
The display of superstitious gratitude was the only serious busi-
nesss of his reign. The-triumph of the god of Emesa over all
the religions of the earth, was the great object of his zeal and
vanity, he assuming Tor himself the name of the god. But as
his god was incompetent without a goddess, he sought the moon;
'■"".See Jones' Church Hi story, page 135.
OPEN" APPEARANCE OP THE MAN OF SIN, 7P
adored?at Carthago by the Africans under the name of: Astarte,
This god and goddess, with a crowd of inferior deities, .he trans--
ported with great pomp in a triumphant procession through the
city of Rome, to the great mortification of the citizens.
As the Romans were losing their nationality by the blending
together of so many foreign nations, the foreigners, many of
whom being soldiers, were able to elect or proclaim some of their
own G-enerals Emperors of Rome. So the national religion lost.
its identity or nationality, by being blended together by the
Emperors with all the foreign forms of superstition, on account
of which the dragon gradually lost his power. He not only lost
the form of worship, but the transfer and destruction of the
magnificent temples. One instance I will give which is con¬
nected with the casting of the burning mountain into the sea.
Gibbon, in Yol. I., page'244, says: "In the general calami¬
ties of mankind, the death of an individual, however exalted,
or the ruin of an .edifice, however famous, are passed over with
careless inattention. Yet we cannot forget the temple of Diana
at Ephesus, which, after having risen with increased splendor
from seven repeated misfortunes, was finally burnt by the Goths
.in- their third naval invasion. The arts of Greece and the wealth
of Asia had conspired to erect that sacred and magnificent struc¬
ture. It was supported by an hundred and twenty seven marble
columes of the Ionic order. They were gifts of devout monarchs,.
and each was sixty feet high, yet the length of the temple of
Ephesus was only four hundred and twenty-five feet, which was
about two-thirds of the measure of the Church of St. Peter at
Rome. The temple of Diana was, however, admired as one of
the wonders of the world. Successive Empires, the Persian, the
Macedonian and the Roman, had revered its sanctity and en¬
riched its splendor, but the rude savages of. the Baltic were des¬
titute of a taste for the elegant arts, and they despised the ideal
terrors of a foreign superstition."
The national religion had not only been losing its influence by,
amalgamation, but to suffer martyrdom for the cause of Christ
had. gained a popularity that had attracted the fanatical. They
*72 THE DESTRUCTION OF THE DRAGON AND
having seen the patient sufferings and boldness of the Christians
in their persecution and death, wished to imitate their example,
that they might have the name and honor of dying as maityrs
for Christ, which caused many to unite with the Church who
were destitute of the true principles of Christianity, all of which
was preparing the way for the appearance of the man of sin.
Yet, notwithstanding all this, true and vital Christianity pre¬
vailed to a great extent, and believers were multiplied under the
reign of several Emperors just prior to the coming of Constan-
tine to the throne. Jones, in his Church History, says: " Aure-
lius was succeeded in the government of the Empire by his son
Commodus, during whose reign of nearly thirteen years, the
Christians enjoyed a large portion of external, peace, and their
numbers were every where multiplied to a vast extent."
Constantius, the father of Constantine and Emperor of the
West, being favorable to the Christians, under his reign they
greatly increased, many of them being his officers and soldiers
as well as his household servants.
Constantine may in truth have believed in the Christian reli¬
gion, yet it is doubtful; so much so that I am inclined to think
he had sinister motives in view, for his object was to reign with¬
out a rival, and a great portion of his subjects professed the
Christian religion, as well as some legions of his soldiers. I
believe he concluded to profess to believe in Christ because it
was the most sure way to the crown. It is true he professed to
have a miraculous view of a cross in the cloud, and a night
vision directing him to fight under the cross by which he should
conquer, which he adopted for his banner. When his Christian
soldiers and subjects saw the cross raised as a standard, no doubt
they became enthusiastic; and when it was understood that he
had had a miraculous vision of the cross, the superstitious of
that age would rally to such a banner, under which we might
be sure he would succeed, as he did, especially when we believe
(as I do) that he was raised up as the instrument by which the
man of sin was to be displayed, because from that time [to the
present the cross has been a subject of worship and adoration.
OPEN APPEARANCE OF THE MAN OF SIN. 73
When Constantine .became sole Emperor, lie issued an edict
granting equal liberty to all to worship as they chose, which
greatly relieved the Christians—this is what should have been
done, yet it gave great offence to the Pagans. But this state of
things did not continue long, for Constantine soon incorporated
the Christian or Catholic Church into the State.
The Apostle said, 2d Thessalonians, ii. 7-8: "For the mystery
of iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth will let,
until he be taken out of the way. And then shall the wicked
be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his
mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming;
even him, whose coming is after the working of satan, with all
power and signs, and lying wonders; and with all deceivableness
of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received
not the love of the truth, that they might be saved."
The mystery of iniquity doth already work. The seed was
then sown; idolatry was already stealing into the Church. 1st
Cor. ^ x. 14: "A voluntary humility and worshiping of angels."
Col. xi. 18: " Men of corrupt minds, destitute of the truth, sup¬
posing that gain is godliness." Men of this cast appear to have
abounded early, and as acting not wholly in opposition to Chris¬
tianity, but corrupting it by a will worship, deceit and hypocricy.
During the whole progress towards the full revelation of the man
of sin, there was no direct disavowal of the truth of Christi¬
anity; it was " the form of godliness without the power. "—
" He who now letteth," or he who now hindereth is to be taken
out of the way. The Koman Emperors were idolatrous and
thereby represented the dragon, for they established Pagan idola¬
try bylaw; but the dragon hadgto be cast out to make room for
the man of sin. He, the dragon, had been gradually losing his
power for some time, for he had been first cast out, or prevented
from coming into the gospel church, (as I have shown before,)
but in the destruction of the Jewish state, is then finally cast
out from that power and authority that he had held so long.—
He who now letteth must be taken out of the way. The Apostle
uses great caution when speaking upon this subject to the Thes-
7T4 TENS DESTRUCTION OF TfiE-'- D&AGQN AND'
salonians, but he said they knew it as I; told you-when I was
with you. It would have been very imprudent in the Apostle to •
have written publicly that the idolatrous Emperors-must be ta¬
ken out of the way, and the established dorm of worship changed,
because it would have been looked, upon as treason and as a
thing impossible—would have caused: their persecution and suf¬
fering to be increased to a frightful extent, which was already as
much as they could well,bear. That the early Christians did
believe it would be removed—that the Roman government would
come to an end, and that the government, or man of sin that
was to take its place, was greatly to be dreaded as being far •
worse than the one that then existed, is very evident from their
writings. I will give one extract from. Turtullian's Apology,
in which he says: " Christians are under particular necessity of
praying for the Emperors, and for. the continued state of the
Empire, because we know that dreadful power that hangs over
the world, and the conclusion of the age, which threatens the
most horrid evils, is restrained by the continuance of the time
appointed for the Roman Emperors. This is what we would not
experience; and while we pray that it may be deferred, we
hereby show our good will to the perpetuity of the Roman
State. " A great event is now to take place—that form of reli¬
gion which had been held almost from the creation of the world,
which had been established and upheld by the laws of Rome for
a thousand years, had held all the offices and . privileges of the
Roman court, had shed so much blood as to be called the great
red dragon, and had held in check all other forms of worship,
was now to be put down by law; and in the year A. D. 325, at
the Council of Nice, the ChristuM religion is declared the estab¬
lished form of religion, and taken into favor with the Emperor,
taey were allowed to fill the offices of the government, and he
prohibited by a severe edict the performance of pagan rites and.
ceremonies.
Mr. Jones, in his Church History, page 138-9, says: "The
extraordinary occurrences of the life of Constantine produced an
entire change in the whole of the Christian profession. It*
<?J^N ,A^P^AEA]f£[E OF MAN QF SIN. 75
frieads were, nowt no longer called upon to endure patiently the
hatred, of the woyld—totake up their cross and press after a con¬
formity to Christ in his sufferings, and through much tribula¬
tion to enter into the kingdom, but they were to bask in the
sunshine of worldly prosperity, enjoying the smiles of the great,
and connecting with their profession the riches and honors of
this world, the baneful effects of which soon began to develop
themselves. Such, however is the depravity of human nature,
that, when they enjoyed any intervals from persecution, they
became more profligate in their morals and tempers; and now
that the restraint was wholly taken off by Constantine, the
churches endowed and riches and honors liberally conferred on
the clergy, he authorized them to set in judgment upon the
consciences and faith of others, and confirmed them in the spirit
of the world, avarice, domination and ambition, the indulgence
of which, in all ages, has proved fatal to the purity, peace and
happiness of the Kingdom of Christ Now they bfegan to model
anew the Christian Church, the government of which was, as
far as possible, arranged conformable to tlie government of the
State. The Emperor himself assumed the title of Bishop, and
claimed the power to regulate its external affairs: and he and
his successors convened councils, in which they presided and
determined all matters of dispute.
" Heathenism was now, -in a great degree abolished throughout
the Roman Empire. Images were destroyed and heathen tem¬
ples pulled down. Images of gold and silver were melted and
coined into money. Some of the chief of their idols, which
were curiously wrought, were brought to Constantinople and
there drawn by ropes up and down the streets for the people to
behold and laugh at. The heathen Priests were dispersed and
banished.
Revelations xiii. 1-2: " And I stood upon the sand of the sea,
and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and
ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads
"■History of Redemption, p. 312.
6
76 TtfK THssTfettcllbN -OF THE! DR'A^ON AU3T>
blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto aleopaid,
and his feet was the feet of a bear, and his month was the mouth
of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat and
great authority."
Here John stood as it were on the sand of the sea shoie, and
saw another beast rise up out of the sea. Out of Rome, (01
the Roman Empire.) He was like a leopard—-had seven lieaas
and ten horns, which I shall describe in another chapter. But
the dragon gave him his power,, and his seat, and great authority.
Tills second beast now takes the power of the dragon; that is,
becomes the established form of religion, holds all the lucrative
offices of the government, and even in the palace; has power
(and the disposition too) to persecute as he had been persecuted.
He also " gave him his seat," which was at Rome, where he
continues to this day, though in a electing state. And as the
Pagans held* all the offices of authority in the government up
to this time, from which the Christians were debarred, now. the
Christians (or Catholics) are put in all the offices of authority,
from which the Pagans are not only debarred but are even ban¬
ished, and their worship prohibited by law, while their edifices
are destroyed. 80 the " dragon gave him his power an'd his
seat." Constantine was evidently the instrument that caused
s first beast, (I will term it heast, as the other whose place he
ffies is called the dragon,) to make his first visible appearance,
tor although the mystery of iniquity bad been working from the
time of the Apostles, yet lie never makes bis visible appearance
in power until now.
President Edwards, in speaking of Constantine, (and also in
the Encyclopedia,) says, that it was one of the greatest blessings
to the Church that ever happened. Says be: " The Christian
Church had great peace—all Heathen magistrates were put
down, and Christians were advanced, and we had Christian
Presidents and Governors. Constantine set himself to put honor
upon Christian Bishops and ministers, and to build and adorn
churches."
OPEN APPEAEANOE «OF THE MAN 'OF SIN. 77
All this Gonstantine did, but it did not tend to the benfit of
the Church nor the glory of God. It tended to corruption, or
rather removed the hindrance put of the way, so that the cor¬
ruption that had been working in the church might develop
itself by assuming the power. Christ said "my kingdom is not
of this world," and therefore it needs no worldly honors, nor
needs tp be connected with the laws of Kings and Emperors,
but all that the Christians ask of the laws of any country, is
that they be protected in their person and property, and in the
exercise of their religious principles to be allowed freedom of
thought and republican principles.
To recapitulate: I have first shown that the Church at Smyrna
was poor in spirit and poor in this world's goods, and had to flee
into the wilderness from persecution; and although Smyrna was
not in the wilderness, yet in the symbol, she represented the
Church at this time which had fled to the wilderness from perse¬
cution. And yet she is rich in faith, as being an heir of God,
and has tried them that say they are Jews (the true Church)
and have found them to be the synagogue of satan. The Catho¬
lic party claimed to be the Church, but when tried by the word
of God they were found to be the synagogue of satan. Also
that' the Church suffered tribulation ten days, which would b-
ten years, and that some of them should be cast into prison,
which was exactly fulfilled in the reign of Diocletion, commenc¬
ing in the year A. D. 202.
2d. The opening of the second seal. That him that sat on
the red horse had power to take peace from the earth and cav.se
them to kill one another. This was fulfilled to the letter during
the time of the internal commotions, while the Senate and the
soldiers were opposed to each other, and Emperor fought witn
Emperor for the supremacy, during the whole reign of terror
up to the beginning of the year A. D. 300, which may be said to
have lasted from the time that the Guards set the Empire up
for sale, which was purchased by Julian in A. D. 193.
.3d. The sounding of the second trumpet. As it were a great
burning mountain was cast into the sea. This mountain I have
78
THE DESTRUCTION! OF THE DRAGON AND
shown was figurative and represented the Goths and other Barba¬
rians that united with them, which is a good likeness of that
fierce and precipitate nation, who being impatient of lestraint,
had migrated from the North of the Baltic sea to the Euxine,
or Black sea, and they resided, on the North-Eastern borders of
that sea, in a mountainous country, at the time they cast them¬
selves into the sea, (the Roman Empire,) where, like a -burning
mountain, they destroyed one-third part of the living creatures.
They not only ravaged the Provinces, but those tyrants who,
wishing to become Emperors, courted their favor, received their
young men as soldiers into the Roman legions, hired them by
rewards, suffered them to live in the Province of Decia, and by
those that were intrigueing for office, they were given an inheri¬
tance within the Roman Empire, where they continued to con¬
sume until Rome existed only in. name—the subjects of Rome
proper being in the minority, they were governed by foreigners.
Those Barbarians knew but little about the laws of Rome and
cared less—they continued to consume until the Roman govern¬
ment was finally destroyed, or ten Kingdoms arose up out of it,
which is represented by the ten horns of the beast that made his
appearance in the reign, of Constantine, as I shall show hereafter.
They also destroyed a third part of the ships. Barbarians as
they were, they had a considerable fleet of ships for the time in
which they lived. They had the full possession of the Northern
coast of the Euxine sea, stretching across South to Asia. At
the time of their third expedition against the Romans,, their fleet
amounted to five or six hundred ships, which, were destroyed as
well as many of the Romans. So the Gothic nation answers to
the symbol in every sense of the word.
4th. The pouring out the second vial. The second angel
poured his vial upon the. sea and it became , as the blood of a
dead man. I have shown,that the sea was Rome, and that du¬
ring the internal and external wars which lasted ninety-two
years, every law was inactive and ineffectual except by .the power
of the sword, and every thing looked gloomy and death-like,
which is well represented by the blood of a dead man.
OPEN APP.EAKANCE OF 1THE MAN «OF SIN. 79
5t*h. The downfall and destruction of the dragon, ahd the rise
•of the beast out of the sea. I have shown that Constantine
changed laws and customs—that by sanguinary edicts he sup¬
pressed the Pagan worship, destroyed their temples, turned them
out of office and banished many at them. While the' Christian
Church (which turned out to be the synagogue of satan) was
taken into favor and her form of worship established by law, then
it was 'that the monster beast, with seven "heads and ten horns,
grew up and made his appearance at the Council of Nice in A. D.
325. "And had power to continue forty and two months."
This would make 1260 days, or years in prophecy. This was the
first general Council, the number of Bishops being three hundred
and eighteen, besides a multitude of presbyters, deacons, &c.,
amounting in all. to two thousand and forty-eight persons, over
whom the Emperor presided.
I have placed the Church at Smyrna, the opening the second
seal., the sounding the second trumpet, the pouring the second
vial, the final destruction of the dragon and the rise of the beast,
all as occupying the same period of time, (this being my firm con¬
viction,) which occupied a Space of about 150 years.
80
THE CHURCH AT PEKGAMOS.
CHAPTER V.
THE POURING. OUT OF THE VIAL OF THE THIRD ANGEL UPON THE
RIVERS AND FOUNTAINS, AND THE WATERS BECOMING BLOOD.
"And the third angrel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters.
and they became blood.—Revelations xvi. 4.
In the first proposition I shall treat of the Church at Pergamos.
2d. The opening of the third seal.
3d. The sounding of the third trumpet.
4th. The pouring out of the third vial.
5th. The increased strength of the man of sin, and rise of the
fiilse prophet.
1st. The church at Pergamos. Revelations ii. 12: "And to the
angel of the Church at Pergamos write; these things saith he which
hath the sharp sword with two edges." The sword with two
edges is the word of God, See Ephesians vi. 17 and Hebrews iv.
12. Revelations i. 16: "And out of his mouth went a sharp
two-edged sword. " Revelations ii. 13: "I know thy works and
where thou dwellest,. even where Satan's seat is; and thou boldest
fast my name, and- hast not denied my faith, even in those days
wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among
you, where Satan dwelleth. " Pfergamos was a city of Troas, and
was a very considerable city at the time John wrote. It is now in
the possession of the Turks, and although its inhabitants are indo¬
lent and the city has greatly declined, it now contains thirty thou¬
sand inhabitants.
Where Satan dwellest, even there thou boldest fast my name and
hath not denied my. faith, &c. Mr. Jones, in his Church Plistory,
page 145, says: " The council (at Nice) began their discussions
on the 19th of June, and ended them on the 25tli of August the
same year, (325) to the joy of Constautine, with the defeat of
Arius and the triumph of the Athanasian party. Eusebius of
Nicomedia, and sixteen other Bishops, opposed the general sense
of the Council." So there were a few in the face of the council,
and in the presence of the Emperor, who held to the faitl\ and
THE, CHlJRCi$ AT MERGAMOS.
81.
deigned to dispute the authority and orthodoxy of the council. "
Jn speaking,of Novatian, he says: " What their numbers were in
xhese cities does not appear, hut it is intimated that they had
three churches in Constantinople. Novatian and his principles
were condemned by the Catholic party at the time Dionisus wrote
the aforementioned letters concerning them to the Bishop at Rome,
and he continued to be supported by a numerous party in various
places. He separated from the Catholic Church in the year 149."
u The Novatians had hitherto mightily increased in Rome,
having a great many places of worship and laige congregations;
but the rising power of the Catholic interest, its union with the
sword, and the ambitious character of its officers, together with
the tyrannical spirit of the Bishops, prompted them to crush
every opposing interest. They consequently robbed the Nova¬
tions of all their churches, (as they have done in the divisions that
have taken place in our time whenever they had the power,) and
drove them into obscurity. One of Innocent's successors, A. D.
431, took possession of all their churches (houses of worship) in
the city of Rome, and compelled them to worship in private
houses, in the most obscure places. (So they have done twice in
the Capitol of this State since I united with the Church.) A
council was convened at Arlis, and at Lyons, in 455, in which the
views of the Novatiani^ls on predestination were controverted,
and by which name they were stigmatized. It was in the city
of Rome that Satan had his seat and still has it. And although
Constantine had established the Catholic Church, yet there were
some who refused a connexion with them. But they were natu¬
rally led into error and corruption by living in a populous city,
where all sorts of idolatry and Judaism was practiced, (as it is in
our day in large cities.) Where the church is surrounded by all
the fashionable denominations and the pride of the city, she is
naturally led away from that humility and simplicity that existed
in the Apostolic time, or that is to he found in the country round
.about.
O&urcJi His'pry, p, 7- ,
82
THE' CHTJRCH AT FEKGAMOS'.
John says, in the 14th verse: " But I have a few things against
thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Baajg
lam, who taught Baalack to cast a stumbling block before th •
children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to com¬
mit fornication." The doctrine of Baalam was to induce the
Israelites to idolatry,, that God might curse or punish them-—nor
that he himself was able to curse them—which was casting a
stumbling block in their way. And liis covetous disposition was
such, that he would have willingly cursed Israel for the sake of
the money that Baalak offered him. " Those whom he did be¬
tray by it," says Calmet, " were slain by their brethren who
continued unperverted." Besides this he pretended to great
power—to intercourse with spiritual existences, who furnished
him with supernatural intelligence, and who could and would
perform extraordinary feats of destruction in consequence of his
execration. The pretence has never wanted professors in any age;
in our time it is called Spirit flappings. The church at Borne, I
have said before, was induced more or less to partake of the idola¬
try that prevailed, thereby causing the amalgamation of the
established religion, Pagan idolatry and Jewish superstition.—
And not only that—they professed (some of them) to be divinely
inspired and capable of prophesying and working miracles, which
gifts had ceased long before, but has b^en believed by Catholics
and idolaters until now, which was the doctrine of Baalam. He
further taught them to eat things offered in sacrifice unto idols
and to commit fornication, which means to partake with other
churches who differed with them in doctrine, in practice, or in the
administration of the ordinances. To commit fornication spiritu¬
ally, is to receive their administration of the ordinances as valid
and their members as legal. 15th verse: " So also bast thou
them that hold the doctrine of the Hicolaitans, which thino-1
/ ©
hate." This doctrine is similar to the former, only more profli¬
gate, and originated with Nicholas of Antioch, who being a Gen¬
tile, by birth, first embraced Judaism and then Christianity.—
His great zeal and devotion recommended him to the church at
Jerusalem, by whom he was chosen one of the first deacons.-—
THE CHURCH AT PERGAMOS.
■They allowed a i community of wives, and made no distinction
between ordinary meats and those offered to idols. This now had
become the last resort to which 'Christians must submit, if they
wished to escape persecutions;; and the Nicholaitans sought to
gain converts by telling them that they might still believe in
Jesus, though they eat of things offered to idols. They taught
that lewdness and idolatrous sacrifices were lawful. They were,
of course., lewd and profligate in their lives, and aimed at nothing
but their own secular advantage. This kind of doctrine, with the
corruption of human nature, would very naturally lead est ray
those who wished to gratify their propensities, and at the same
time escape persecution; which doctrine is so dishonoring to God
and injurious to his cause. No wonder he would say " which doc¬
trine I also hate." In our time it is called Mormonism. 16th
verse: " Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will
fight against thee with the sword of my wrath. "
If they do not repent I will eome in the government and dis¬
cipline of the Church, which has been established by the inspired
Apostles. And will fight with them (and slay them too) with the
:Sword of my mouth. By the word of God. 17th verse: "He
that hath an ear, let him he^ar what the spirit sayeth unto the
Churches: To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hid¬
den manna, and will give him a white stone, and in that stone a
new name written, which no man knoweth save him that receiveth
it."
He that hath an ear. That has had his ears unstopped so that
he can hear and receive the truth—let him understand that what
the spirit saith to the Churches, is said to Christians, and is bind¬
ing upon the Churches for all time to come.
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna.
Him that gives his ear to the truth, withstands temptations, and
continues steadfast in the faith, the order and ordinances of the
Lord's House, according to the word of God. He shall eat—shall
have the answer of a good conscience, enjoy the sweet' union and
communion with Christ, and that spiritual food that comes down
from Heaven, whereof if a man eat he shall never die. The hid-
84 THE -CHURCH AT PERGAMOS.
den manna of the truth. The language would mean, as the Chil¬
dren of Israel were sustained through all the wilderness by the
manna, so he that overcomes, or withstands the temptation, will
be nourished through this wilderness of sin with Gospel food as if
fed on that hidden manna; that is, they will be supported all
along their whole existence in this world with that spiritual food
that is necessary for their souls.
And will give him a white stone, and in that stone a new name
loritten. A white stone was used by the ancients in voting for him
that was to be elected—he that received a black one was rejected.
It is an emblem not only of favor and prosperity, but of purity
and victory. It is said to have been a custom with the Greeks in
their Courts of Justice, that when a man was tried and not found
guilty, they gave him a white stone as an emblem of his innocence
or victory, while he that was condemned received a black stone.
As such, it would denote that the Christian to whom it is to be
given would meet with the favor of the Redeemer, and would
have it as a token of his approval; as being free from the doctrines
of Baalam and the Nicholaitans. He would receive a new name.
" This is the name whereby she shall be called, the Lord our
righteousness. " Again says St. Paul: "If any man be in Christ
he is a new creature. " But no man hnowcth save he to whom it
is given. It is not known to others the divine communication that
is made to the soul or understanding of the Christian who receives
it, only as others judge from his external acts, for we have the wit¬
ness within ourselves. "It is the law written on the fleshly
tablets of the heart. "
Although the true Church (woman) had fled to the wilderness
between one hundred and fifty and two hundred years before this
time, still a remnant of her seed remained about Rome, and is
represented by the Church at Pergamos. And though Pergamos
was not literally in Rome, yet figuratively she represented the
Church of Christ in Rome at this period of time, and was where
the seat of Satan was, which was Rome, for that is where Anti¬
christ located and still resides.
OPENING THE THIRD ■SEAT,.
«L The"'%pffinhg' the tliird seal. Revelations vi. 5: "And
when he had opened' the third seal, I heard the third beast say,
come and see. And I'beheld, and lb, a black horse; and he that
sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand." This would
properly denote distress and calamity, for black has always been
regarded as such a symbol. Black, in scripture, is the image of
fear, of famine, of death. Lamentations v. 10: "Our skin was
black like an-bvan, because of the terrible famine. " From the
color of the horse here introduced, we should naturally look for
some dire calamity. Famine, pestilence, oppression, heavy taxa¬
tion, tyranny, invasion, any or all of which might be denoted by
the color of the horse.
In order to show that all these calamities did come upon Rome,
as represented by the symbol of the black horse, I shall have
reference to the history of the times, and consider it as commenc ¬
ing with Constantine;' or rather, the transporting of the govern¬
ment to Constantinople in the year A. D. 330. " But it is sup¬
posed that all the services that Constantine rendered to the Em¬
pire, were not sufficient to recompence the evil which it sustained
by his transferring the Government from Rome to Byzantum.—
The Empire had long before been in a most declining state, but
this, in a great measure, gave precipitation to its downfall. After
this it never renewed its former splendor; but, like a flower trans¬
ported to a foreign clime, languished by degrees, and at length
sunk into nothing.
" From the dreary period^ the recovery of the Empire became
desperate; no wisdom could obviate its decline, nor courage oppose
the evils that surrounded it on every side. These Barbarians-
were long unknown to the Romans, and for some time after? their
appearance, had been only incommodious to them.. But now they
had become formidable, and arose in such great numbers,, that
the earth seemed to produce a new race of mankind to complete
the destruction of the Empire. They had been increasing in
their hideous deserts, aihidst regions frightful with perpetual
snows. Against such an enemy, no courage could avail nor
*Grimshaw's History of Rome, p; 22S.
86
OPENING THE THIRD SEAT*.
abilities be successful; a victory only cut off numbers -without ft
habitation or name, soon to be succeeded by others (equally despe¬
rate and obscure." "At this time the Northern Hive, as it was
called, poured down their swarms of Barbarians upon the Roman
Empire, and when opposed, they as suddenly withdrew into the
barren and cold retreats, inaccessible to all but themselves^ whilst
every defeat seemed only to increase their strength and perse¬
verance. " »
" That tract of land which lies between Paliis Maotis, the
mountains of Caucasus and the Caspian sea, was inhabited by a
numerous savage people, known by the name of Huns and Alens.
In consequence of the information they had received from two
young men, an innumerable body of Huns passed those straits,
and meeting first with the Goths, made that peeple. fly before
them. The Goths, in consternation, presented themselves on the
Danube, and with a suppliant air, entreated the Romans to allow
them a place of refuge.. This they easily obtained from Valena,
who assigned them several portions of land in Thrace, but left
them destitute of all needful supplies. Stimulated therefore
by hunger and resentment, they soon rose against their protectors;
and in a dreadful engagement, fought near Adrianople, they de¬
stroyed Yalens himself and the greater part of his army.
As I have shown, in the foregoing extracts, the decline of the
Empire from the removal of the seat of government from Rome
to Constantinople, I will now show how rapid was the decline and
downfall of the Western Empire after the division took place,
dividing the Roman Empire into East and West, which is well
represented by the symbol of the black horse.
Gibbon, in Yol. II., page 420, says: "From the extremity of
Italy and Asia, the young and the aged were dragged in chains to
the tribunals of Rome and Antioch; senators, matrons and phi¬
losophers expired in ignominious and cruel torture. The soldiers
who were appointed to guard the prisons, declared with murmurs
of pity and indignation, that their numbers were insufficient to
oppose the flight or resistance of the multitude of captives. The
*Griaishaw's History of Roms, ppp. 222-528-229. . ~
OPENING THE: THIRD" SEAL.,
Wealthiest families were ruined by fines and confiscation;: the
most' innocent citizens trembled for their safety; and we may
form some idea of the magnitude of the evil from the extravagant
assertion of an eminent writer, that in the obnoxious Provinces
the prisoners, the exiles and the fugitives, formed* the greater part
of the inhabitants."
Mr. Jones, in his (Dhurch History, page 174, says:: "'.Marie,
the Gothic King, appeared before Rome, and the Senate was una¬
ble to guard against the secret conspiracy of their slaves and do¬
mestics, who, from ' their birth (for they were foreigners) or from
interest, were attached to the cause-of the enemy. At the hour
of midnight, the Salarian gate was silently opened, and the inhabi¬
tants were awakened, by the tremendous sound of the Gothic
trumpet. In the year 410, eleven hundred and sixty-three years
after the foundation of Rome, the imperial city, which had sub¬
dued and civilized so considerable a part of mankind, was delivered
to the licentious fury of the tribes of Germany and Scythia,
who, during six days,, pillaged the city of all its gold and jewels,,
stripped the palaces of their splendid furniture, the sideboards of
their massive plate,, and the wardrobes of their silk and purple,
which were loaded on; wagons to follow the march of the Gothic
army. The most cruel slaughter was made of the Romans—the
streets of the city were filled with the dead bodies—the females
were delivered up to the brutal lust of the soldiers, and many of
the most noble edifices of the city destroyed by fire."
I have been induced to go more into detail upon this subject
than I should otherwise have done, for the sake of giving the
uninformed reader some general idea of the misery which resulted
from the eruptions of these barbarous hordes in the Roman Em¬
pire, and because it ultimately prbved the means of its subversion ;
but it is incompatible with my plan to pursue the subject further
than, to add, that new invaders, from regions more remote and
barbarous, drove out or exterminated the former colonists, and,
Europe Was successively ravaged, till the country which had poured
forth her myriads washlfained of people and the sword of slaughter
\ygary of destroying, " If a man were called,," says Dr. Rob-
8<8 OPENING THE THIRD SEA.L.
erson, " to fix upon the period in the history of the world, during
which the condition of the human race was most calamitous and
afflicted, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed
from the death of Theodosius, the great, A, D. 395, to the estab¬
lishment of the Lombards in Italy, A, D. 571. The cotempo-
rary authors, who beheld the scene of desolation, are at a loss for
expressions to describe its horrors. "" The scourge of Grod the
destroyer of nations,"" are the dreadful epithets by which they
distinguish the most noted of the barbarous leaders; and they
compare the ruin which they had brought on the world to the
havoc occasioned by earthquakes, conflagrations and deluges—the
most formidable and fatal calamities of which the imagination of
man can conceive.."
" But the means to stop the universal decline proved the most
mortal stab to its security.. The Grothie Prince, who is repre¬
sented as brave, impetuous and enterprising, perceived the weak¬
ness of the State, and at length putting his mighty design into
execution, he ascended the Alps, and poured down, like a torrent,
among the fruitful valleys of Italy. But the inhabitants of Rome
felt the calamities of the times with double aggravation. This
great city, that had set long as the mistress of the world, now
saw. herself besieged by an army of fierce and terrible Barbarians :
and being crowded with inhabitants, she was reduced, by extremi¬
ties of pestilence and famine, to a most deplorable condition.—
Alaric, now finding that he might become master of Rome
whenever he might think proper, returned with his army a short
time afterwards; pressed more closely than before and at last
took it; but whether by force or stratagem is not agreed among
historians. Thus the city, which for ages had plundered the rest
of mankind, felt in turn the sad reverse of fortune, and suffered
all that barbarity could inflict or patience endure. The. soldiers
had liberty to pillage all places except the Christian Churches.—
This dreadful devastation continued for three days, and unspeaka¬
ble were the precious monuments, both of . art and of learning,
which sunk under the fury of the conquuors., However, there
OPENING- THE THIRD SEAL.
89
l&till remained innumerable traces of the city's greatness; so this
appeared rather a correction than a total overthorw."
" The Gothic conquerors of the West, though they had suffered
Borne to survive its first capture, now found how easy it was to
become master of it any time., No security to be expected from
without; for the number of people were so extremely diminished,
that the Emperors were obliged to retire to Bavenna, a place-so
well fortified by nature that they would be safe without the assis¬
tance of an army. What Alaric, therefore, had spared Genseric,
the King of the Vandals, not long afterwards, contributed to de¬
stroy; his merciless soldiers, for fourteen days together, ravaged
with implacable fury, in the midst of the venerable palaces.—
'Neither private dwellings, nor public buildings; neither sex, nor
age, nor religion, were the least protection against their lust or
avarice. The Capitol of the Empire being thus ransacked several
times, and Italy overrun by barbarous invaders, under various de¬
nominations, from the remotest skirts of Europe."*
Its final destruction happened about five hundred and twenty-
two years after the battle of Pharsalia, one hundred and forty-six
after the removal of the imperial seat to Constantinople, and four
hundred and seventy-six after the nativity of our Saviour.
Gibbon, in Vol. IV., page 212, thus speaks of the final over¬
throw: "Against the city which had so long delayed the course
of'his victories (Totilo's) he appeared inexorable; one-third part
of the walls, in different parts, were demolished by his command;
fire and engines prepared to consume or subvert the most stately
works of antiquity; and the*world was astonished by the fatal
decree, that Rome should be changed into a pasture for cattle.—
The Senators were dragged in his train, and afterwards confined
in the. fortress of Campania; the citizens, with' their wives and
children, were dispersed in exile; and, during forty days, Rome
was abandoned to desolate and dreary solitude. "
The same author, in Vol. III., page 204, says: "I have now
accomplished the laborious narrative of the decline and fall of the
Roman Empire, from- the fortunate ages of Trajan and the Anto-
*Grimstiaw's History of Rome', p. 230,
90 OPENING THE THIRD" SEAL.
nies, to its total extinction? in the West, about five centuries after
the Christian era. "■
Having given testimony to show the wars, the decline and
downfall of Rome, together with the pestilences which followed, I
will now give some upon the subject of earthquakes, all of which
is fully represented by the black horse, which is a badge of mourn¬
ing.
In Yol. III., page 9, Gibbon says: "In the second year of the
reign of Valentinian and Valens, on the morning of the twenty-
first of Jul}*, 365, the greatest part of the Roman world was
shaken by a violent and destructive earthquake. The impression
was communicated to the waters—the shores of the Mediterra¬
nean were left dry by the sudden retreat of the sea;, great quanti¬
ties of fishes were caught with the hand; large vessels were stranded
on the mud, and a curious spectator amused his eye, or rather his
fancy, in contemplating the various appearances of valleys and
mountains which had never, since the foundation of the globe,
been exposed to the sun. But the tide soon returned with the
weight of an immense and terrible deluge, which was sensibly felt
on the coast of Sicily, of Dalmatia, of Greece and Egypt. Large
boats w*ere transported and lodged on roofs of houses; at the dis¬
tance of two miles from the shore, the people, with their habita¬
tions, were swept away by the waters, and the city of Alexandria
annually commemorated the fatal day on which fifty thousand
persons had lost their lives in the city by the inundation. "
Gibbon, in Yol. IY., page 238, says: "During the reign of
Justinian, (which was 38 years,); each year is marked by the repe¬
tition of earthquakes of such a duration that Constantinople has
been shaken for forty days; of such extent that the shock has
been communicated to the whole surface of the globe, or at least
of the Roman Empire. An impulse or vibratory motion was felt;
enormous chasms opened, huge and heavy bodies were discharged
into the air, the sea alternately advanced or retreated beyond its
ordinary bounds, and a mountain was thrown from Libanus and
cast into the waves where it protected as a mole the barboj; of
Botr-ys. The institutions of great cities, which includes a nation
OPENING THE THIRD SEAL.
91
within a wall, almost realized the wish of Caligula, that the
Romans had hut one neck Two hundred and fifty thousand
are said to have perished in the earthquakes at Antioch, whose
domestic multitude was increased by the conflux of strangers to
the festival of the Ascension." This took place May 20th, 526.
I will here give one other extract to show the extent of the
plague, from Gibbon, VoL iv., page 239: "Ethiopia and Egypt
have been stigmatized in every age, as the original source and
seminary of the plague. In a damp, hot, stagnant air, this
African fever is generated from the putrefaction of animal sub¬
stances, and especially from swarms of locusts, not less destruc¬
tive to mankind in their death than in their lives. The fatal
diseases that depopulated the earth in the time of Justinian and
his successors, first appeared in the neighborhood of Pelusiuin,
between the Serbonian bay and the eastern channel of the Nile.
From thence, tracing as it were a double path, it spread to the
east over Syria, Persia and the Indias, and penetrated to the
West along the coast of Africa and over the continent of
Europe."
On page 242 he says: "No restraints were imposed on a free
and frequent intercourse of the Roman Provinces; from Persia
to France the nations were mingled and infected by wars and
emigrations, and the pestilential odor which lurks for years in a
bale of cotton was imported, by the abuse of trade, into the most
distant regions. The mode of its propagation is explained by
the remarks of Procopius himself, (who was physician at the
time of the plague,) that it always spread from the seacoast to
the inland country; the most sequestered islands and mountains
were successively visited; the place which escaped the fury of
its first passage, was alone exposed to the contagion the ensuing-
year, The winds might infuse the subtle venom, but unless the
atmosphere be previously disposed for its venom, the plague
would soon expire in the cold or temperate climates of the earth.
Such was the universal corruption of the air, that the pestilence
which burst forth in the fifteenth year of Justinian, (which
would be A. D. 542,) was not checked or alleviated by any differ-
7
12 OPKNIN'G THE THIRD' SHAI*.
ence of the seasons. In time, its first malignity was abated aH<f
dispersed; the disease alternately languished and revived, but it
was not until the end of the calamities of fifty-two yeais, that
mankind recovered their health, or the ah reserved its pm e ana?
salubrious quality. No facts have been preserved to sustain an
account, or even a conjecture, of the numbers that perished in
the extraordinary mortality. I only find that during three
months, five, and at length ten thousand persons died each day
at Constantinople—that many cities of the east were left vacant,,
and that in several districts in Italy the harvest and vintage-
withered on the ground The treple scourge of war. pestilence
and famine afflicted the subjects of Justinian, and lis reign is
disgraced by a visible decrease of the human species, which has
never been repaired in some of the fairest countries of the globe.''*
As to the number that died by the plague, Alemannus and
others interpret Procopius (who was a doctor and lived at the
time) to say two hundred millions, but Mr. Gibbon thinks it
should be interpreted myriad of myriads, wbich would be one
hundred millions, a number not wholly inadmissible. Mr. Gib¬
bon, in Vol. iv,, page 328, says: "We may faintly picture in
our fancy the distress of the Romans; they shut or opened their
gates with a trembling hand, beheld from the wall® the flames
of their houses, and heard the lamentations of their brethren,
who were coupled together like dogs and dragged into slavery be¬
yond the sea and the mountains. Such incessant alarms would
necessarily annihilate the pleasure and interrupt the labors of
rural life; and the campagna of Rome was speedily reduced to
the state of a dreary wilderness, in which the laiid is barren, the
waters impure and the air infectious. Curiosity and ambition
no longer attracted the nations to the capRoI of the world; but
if chance or necessity directed the steps of a wandering stranger,
he contemplated with horror the vacancy and solitude of the
city, and might he tempted to ask, where is the Senate, and
where are th'e people? In a season of excessive rains, the*Tiber
swelled above its banks and rushed with irresistible violence
into the valleys of the seten hills. A pestilential disease dfiose
OPENING THE THIRD SEAL.
98
from the stagnation of the deluge, and so rapid was the conta¬
gion, that four score persons expired in an hour in the midst of
a solemn procession, which implored the mercy of heaven. "
As the horse is an emblem of strength, of fleetness and of
war, it is to show how swiftly he rushes into battle and produces
devastation and destruction. See Joel ii. 4: "The appearance
of them is as the appearance of horses and horsemen; so shall
they run." Also Jeremiah iv. 13: " Behold he shall come up
as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind,; his horses
are swifter than eagles. Wo unto us! for we are spoiled."
The horse is not only a representation of strength, of fleetness
and of war, but the effect to be produced by the representation
in this symbol is to be determined from the color being black,
which I have said before represents any grievous calamity which
would produce great mourning and lamentation. What figure
could have been used better calculated to convey the idea to
John's mind of the suffering that would take place from war,
pestilence, famine and earthquakes, followed by inundations, all
passing in review before him from three to five hundred years
before they transpired? That the vision which John had was
completely and literally fulfilled in the decline and fall of the
Roman Empire, is clearly proven front the history of the times
in the condensed extracts I have here given. John in his vision
would see Goths, Aliens, Huns and Arabs, with all the hordes
of Scythia, coming up on their fleet horses to battle and to plun¬
der, and must have appeared as fleet as eagles, seeing that so
great an Empire could be destroyed and subverted in a little over
one hundred years. No one can form any just estimate of the
suffering and mourning that must have been of necessity, unless
he had experienced something similar. And all these calami¬
ties were not accidental, but a just and holy God inflicted this
punishment on a guilty nation, and especially the great city, for
their sins, their pride and oppression of other nations. Though
•he long bore'with their cruel persecution of his people, justice
eventually overtook them, as it surely will all nations, as well as
individuals, who pursue such .a wicked course. This is fully
94
OPENING THE rHIRD SEAL.
represented by the symbol of the black horse, in swiftness, if!
suffering and in mourning.
And he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
This properly means a yoke, serving to couple two things to¬
gether, as a yoke for oxen. Hence it is used to denote the bearru
of balances, or of a pair of scales. The idea is that something
was to be weighed, in order to ascertain either its quantity or its
value. Scales or balances are the emblems of justice or equity.
See Jobexxxi. 6, Psalms lxii. 9, and Proverbs xi. 1". And as
was said by Daniel to the King, Thou art weighed in the bal¬
ances and found wanting." And at this time it would apply to
the injustice of the ruling powers in Rome—they had heen
weighed in the balances and found wanting, and, like Bel-
shazxar, had been destroyed.
In this plaee, joined with other symbols, it becomes more
immediately the representative of a scarcity of bread. Thus, in
Lev.xxvi. 26, "Bread by weight" denotes scarcity. So inEze-
kiel iv. 16: "And they shall eat bread by weight. " The use of
balances here as a symbol would signify that something was to
be accurately weighed out, and the connexion leads us to suppose
that this had reference to the necessaries of life; for the refer¬
ence to wheat and barley goes further to show that the symbol
had reference to bread or the scarcity of the necessaries of life.
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say. This
proclamation is from the throne. The voice was not one of the
four beasts, but it seemed to come from among them. As the
rider went forth, this was the proclamation that was made in
regard to him; or this is what is symbolized in his going forth,
to wit: that there would be such a state of things that Ibneas-
ure of wheat would be sold for a penny. A measure of wheat
as here rendered, would be about equal to one quart English
measure. And the word penny was of the same value as the
Greek drachm, and was equivalent to about fourteen cents of
our money. This was the usual price of a day's labor and the
daily allowance for one man. At that price it would be about
eight times as dear as ordinarily, that is, there would be a
SOUNDING THE THIRD TRUMPET.
95
scarcity or famine. The price 'of a bushel of wheat at this rate
would be about four dollars and a half of our money, a price
that would indicate great scarcity and which would give rise to
much distress.
And three measures of barley for a penny. This would show
that barley was worth about one-third as much as wheat.—
During the long wars in Rome, with the pestilences, inunda¬
tions and earthquakes, this symbol was completely fulfilled, as
the history of the times shows, and also as reason would teach
every person that would reflect upon the subject of the terrors of
an exterminating war. But I will give one extract from Gibbon
to confirm what I have said, from Vol. iv. page 328: "A society
in which marriage is encouraged and industry prevails, soon
repairs the accidental losses of pestilence and war; but as the
far greater part of the Romans were condemned to hopeless
indigence and celibacy, the depopulation was constant and visi¬
ble, and the gloomy enthusiasts might expect the approaching
failure of the human race. Yet the number of citizens still
exceeded the measure of subsistence; the precarious food was
supplied from the harvest of Sicily or Egypt; and the frequent
repetition of famine betrays the inattention of the Emperor to
a distant Province. " And see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
Oil and wine was almost as necessary with the ancients as bread
and meat; not as a luxury, but as a subsistence; and in war the
cultivation of the soil was necessarily neglected, yet the order
with the invading army was not to destroy the fruit, not
'-he olive orchards nor vineyards, which, though not much
cultivated^ would produce some oil and wine. The balances
may also represent taxation, which was necessarily severe in a
long war for revenue purposes, and was made very oppressive by
the extravagance of some of the Emperors.
3d. The sounding of the third trumpet.
Revelations viii. 10: "And the third angel sounded, and there
fell a great star fromheaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell
upon tlje third part of the rivers,, and upon the fountain of
waters,/2,
96 SOUNDING THE THIRD TRUMPET.
A star is a natural emblem of a Prince, of a ruler, of one
distinguished by rank, or by talent, politically or religiously.
A star falling from heaven would be a natural s} rnbol of one
who had left a higher station, or who had left his former stand¬
ing, or one whose character and cause would be like a meteor
shooting through the sky. Burning as it were a lamp. The
language here would be that of a meteor blazing through the
air—an emblem of fiery energy, of rapidity of movement and
execution, and of splendor of appearance—such as a chieftain
of high endowments, of impetuousness of character and richness
of apparel; the meteor is used because it is so bright, because
it passes with such velocity, and because its course cannot be
determined by any known laws. In the application of this part
of the symbol, we naturally look for some Prince or warrior of
brilliant talents, who appears suddenly and sweeps rapidly over
the world—who excites consternation and alarm, whose path is
marked by desolation, and who appears to be sent of God or
permitted by him to execute his wrath upon mankind. And as
the political and religious world are, in my opinion, both repre¬
sented by this symbol, I shall so treat it, and make Atilla the
political star and Arius the religious.
It must be a conquest that is very brief and very destructive.
Such was that of Atilla. But as he is more immediately repre¬
sented by the pouring out the third vial, upon which I shall
dwell more at length, I will be very brief here in reference to
him and his cause. As a star Atilla claimed to be Mars, or to
have derived his authority from Mars. Mr. Gibbon says: "The
religious arts of Atilla were not less skillfully adapted to the
character of his age and country. It was natural enough that
the Scythians should adore, with peculiar devotion, the god of
war.
One of the shepherds of the Huns perceived that a heifer that
was grazing had wounded herself in the foot, and curiosity led
him to follow the track of the blood till ho discovered, among
the long grass, the point of an ancient sword, which he dug out
of the ground and presented to Atilla. The artful Prince
THIJID TRUMPET.
97
accepted wi£h ^pipus. gratitude the celestial favor; and as the
rightful possessor, of the sword of Mars, asserted his divine and
indefeasible claim to the dominion of the earth. The favorite
of Mars soon acquired a sacred character, which rendered his
conquests more easy and more permanent, and the Barbarian
Princes confessed, in the language of devotion and flattery, that
they could not presume to gaze with a steady eye on the divine
majesty of the King of the Huns."
"If a line of .separation," says Gibbon, "were drawn be¬
tween the civilized and savage climates of the globe; between
the inhabitants of cities, who cultivated the earth, and the hun¬
ters and shepherds, who dwelt in tents, Atilla might aspire to
the title, of supreme and sole Monarch of the Barbarians." The
same author says, in Yol. iii. page 316; " In the .proud review of
nations those who acknowledged the sovereignty of Atilla, never
entertained, during his lifetime, the thought of revolt. The
crowd of vulgar kings and the hordes of marshalled tribes, who
served under the standard of Atilla, were ranged in the submis¬
sive order of guards and domestics round the person of their
master. They watched his nod, they trembled at his frown, and
sit the first signal of his will, they executed without murmur or
hesitation, his stern and absolute commands." He is the greater
light, while- the Kings, Princes and commanders of the different
tribes or nations,"And of his numerous armies, (which is said to
amount to seven hundred thousand,) were around him as the
lesser light, while he is the centre of attraction.
As it is said to have fallen upon the rivers and fountains of
waters, literally speaking, Atilla's operations were about tlio
Alps and heads of nearly all the fountains or rivers that water
Europe, hut figuratively it means people and nations. And as
Alaric and Genseric ravaged the city of Rome several times,
Atilla. seems to direct his army more against the Provinces. So
uncertain was his course for some time that it was not known
whether he would fall on Persia or Rome, hut at length he over¬
run such a large portion of the Roman Empire, as well as the
Barbarians, that his name was a terror to all nations, for he sent
98 SOUNDING THE THIRD TRtnTTET.
ambassadors to China. And so great and victorious was 1iin
arms, so barbarous his practice, that he was called the " Scourge
of God."
As I shall notice his course more particularly in the next
proposition, to which he more particularly belongs, I shall leave
him for the present, and introduce Arius as being represented by
the symbol. As I have said in the first chapter, a star repre¬
sents a minister, a false as well as a true one, as in Jude xn:
" Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wan¬
dering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for-
ever." This is what Jude has said of the false teachers, that
they are, like clouds without rain, of no benefit, but dangerous
to the human family; or, like wandering stars, have no fixed
principles—no certainty about them, but once had a place in the
firmament, in the religious heavens. Then if they possessed
great talents, and of course held a high and elevated position,
and then embracing heresy, led off a party producing great dis¬
tress, it would be fairly represented by a great star falling.—
fohn had a vision of true ministers in Revelations i. 16: " And
le had in his right hand seven stars." But these are not-the
vandering kind, because they are held by the Son of Man in lib
ight hand. In the 20th verse he says: " The seven stars are
vhe seven angels (ministers) of the seven churches." I have
said Alius was that star, not because he was so far superior to
others, hut in consequence of his fall from his original stand, the
heresy he introduced, and the influence it had over the religious
and political world, which the testimony I shall produce will
prove. As he contended for the office cf Bishop of Alexandria
and failed, he embraced, or rather instituted the heresy that
bears his name to this day. Jones, in his Church History, page
149, says: " Thus restored to the full exercise of their liberties,
their churches rebuilt and the imperial edicts every where pub-
ished, these new Bishops immediately began to discover what
spirit they were of. As their several revenues increased, they
grew more ambitious, more haughty in their behavior, more
quarrelsome in their tempers and more regardless of the sim¬
plicity of their profession.'
SOUNDING THE THIRD TRUMPET.
99
I will here give a very condensed statement of the Arian
faith and by whom it was opposed. As it was Alexander that
was chosen Bishop of the Church at Alexandria, in Egypt, in
preference to Arius, who was a member and presbyter of the
same church, it gave him great offence. And one day, while
Alexander was preaching and dwelling in very strong and point¬
ed language " that the Son of God was co-eternal, co-essential
and co-equal with the Father," Arius took exceptions to it and
said that it was inconsistent and impossible. Alexander en¬
treated him for some time, rather fearful to come into an argu¬
ment with him, for Arius was a man of accomplished learning
and commanding eloquence, venerable in person and fascinating
in address. At length Alexander caused him to be excluded
from the church. Arius now retired into Palestine, where his
talents and address soon made a number of converts, and among
the rest, the celebrated Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia.
This caused such an interruption among the Churches that
Constantine called the Council of Nice, held in A. D. 325.—
Athanasius was the chief opponent of the Arians. Both parties
were willing to subscribe to the language of the Scriptures, but
each insisted on interpreting for themselves. The Athanasians
attempted to fix their sense on the sacred writers by scholastic
terms, to which the Arians agreed, with various evasive excep¬
tions. "Did the Trinitarians (says Mr. Milner) assert that
Christ was GodP The Arians allowed it, but in the same sense
as holy men and angels are styled God in the Scriptures. Did
they affirm that he was truly GodP The others allowed he was
made so by God. Did they affirm that the Son was naturally of
God? It was granted; even we, said they, are of God, of whom
are all things." This is enough to show that the Arians denied
the divinity of Christ. The Athanasian creed was adopted by
the Council and Arius banished to Illyricum. Jones, in his
Church History, page 141, says: " The sentiments of primitive
Christians, for the first three centuries, in reference to the divinity
of the Saviour, were, generally speaking, pretty uniform; nor
does there appear to be any controversy regarding this leading
100 SOUNDING THE THIRD TRUMPET.
article of the Christian faith. But a dispute now arose which
may he said to have involved all Christendom in a flame. It
originated in the church at Alexandria, in Egypt, between
Alexander and Arius, two of the pastors of that church, and
soon spread itself into other churches, inflaming .Bishop against
Bishop, who, undqr the pretext of supporting divine truths,
excited tumults and fomented the most deadly strifes and hatred
towards each other. These divisions of the prelates set the peo¬
ple together by the ears, and the disputes were managed with
such violence, that it involved the whole Christian world, and
gave occasion to the Heathens to ridicule the Christian religion
upon their public theatres. "
To settle this difficulty Constantino convened the Council of
Nice, which I have described before, by the decree of which
Arius was banished and Athanasius sustained to the great joy
of Constantine; but this did not allay the animosity—it. only
tended to increase it, as the persecuted party always gains the
sympathy of the people, and in this case so much so, that after
Constantine's time, several Emperor's- professed the Arian faith,
and Athanasius was three times banished and restored again, but
finally died in exile.
Mr. Jones says, in his Church History, page 146: " It requires
not the spirit of prophecy to anticipate the effects which must
flow from the disgraceful proceedings of this great council,
though Constantine wrote letters himself enjoining universal
conformity to its decrees, and urges as a reason for it, that it was
the will of God, and that the agreement of so many Bishops
was by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. It laid the founda¬
tion for a system of persecution of a complexion altogether new
—professed . Christians tyranizing over the consciences of each
other, and, as will be seen in the sequel, inflicting torture and
cruelties upon each other far greater than they had ever sus¬
tained from their heathen persecutors."
On page 148, he further says: " When the undivided govern¬
ment of the Empire centred in the hands of Constantius, he
evinced a strong predilection for the Arian side of the contro-
SOUNDING THE THIRD TRUMPET.
101
versy and Arianism became fashionable at court. They favored
only the Bishops of that faith. Athanasius, who had rendered
such essential service to Alexander, his Bishop, in maintaining
the dispute with Arius at the Council of Nice, had by this time
risen to great popularity, and in reality had become the oracle of
the orthodox party. The Scriptures were now no longer the
standard of the Christian faith. What was orthodox and what
was heterodox was, from henceforth, to be decided by councils.
We should meet with little else in ecclesiastical history than
violence and cruelties, committed by men who had wholly de¬
parted from the simplicity of the Christian doctrine and pro¬
fession, more enslaved to avarice and ambition, and carried away
with temporal grandeur, high preferments and large revenues. "
And it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the
fountains of waters. Rivers and fountains of waters mean peo¬
ple and nations, and kingdoms. And as I have shown in the
preceding proposition that sea figuratively meant the city of
Rome, so rivers mean the Provinces of Rome; for Arius' heresy
first fnade its appearance at Alexandria, which is on the fountains
of waters and rivers both, it being situated on the sea at the
mouth of the Nile. It then spread to Nicomedia, and then to
Palestine, after which, as history informs us, it spread nearly over
the world. At least over the third part—that is, one third part
of Christendom embraced the Arian faith. Revelations xii. 11:
"And the name of the star is called wormwood; and the third
part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of
the waters, because they were made bitter. " Jeremiah, speak¬
ing of the same thing, and of its being produced by heresy, or
similar to the Arian heresy, in chapter xxiii. and at the . 11th
verse, says: "For both Prophet and Priest are profane; yea, in
mine house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord. "—
15th verse: " Therefore, thus saith the Lord of Hosts concerning
the Prophets: Behold,. I will feed them with wormwood, and
make them drink the water of gall; for from the Prophets of
Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land."
102
SOUNDING THE THIRD TRUMPET.
Thus it will he seen that God uses by the Prophet the figure
of wormwood to convey the idea of the bitter contentions that
heresies always produce, as well under the former as undei the
Gospel dispensation. I shall give some more testimony to show
how bitter the contention was, and that many men died because
the water was made bitter by the Arian heresy. Mr. J ones says,
page 149: " The truth is, that the clergy of the Catholic Church
were now become the principal disturbers of the Empire; and
the pride of the Bishops and the fury of the people on each
side had grown to such a height, that the election or restoration
of a Bishop seldom took place in the large cities without being
attended with a scene of slaughter."
Gibbon says, in Vol. ii. page 233: " Constantine learned with
surprise that the Provinces of that great country (Africa) were
distracted with religious discord. The source of this division
was derived from a double election in the church of Carthage.—
The controversy was tried in five successive Councils ordered by
the Emperor." On page 243 he says: "The sincerity or the
cunning of the Arian chiefs, the fear of the laws of the people,
their reverence for Christ and hatred to Athanasius, ail the
causes human and divine, that influence and disturb the coun¬
cils of a theological faction, introduced among the sectaries a
spirit of discord and inconsistency, whiqh in the course of a few
years, erected eighteen different models of religion. " " It is a
thing, " says Hilary, " equally deplorable and dangerous, that
there are as many creeds as-opinions among men. We condemn
the doctrine of others in ourselves—our own in that of others;
and reciprocally tearing one another to pieces, we have been the
cause of each other's ruin. "
I will give but one other quotation upon this point, which is
from Gibbon, Yol. ii. page 235: " The schism of the Bonatists
was confined to Africa; the more diffusive mischief the Trinita¬
rian controversy successively penetrated into every part of the
Christian world. The former was an accidental quarrel occa¬
sioned by the abuse, of freedom,, (in the election of Bishops.)
The latter was a high and mysterious argument* derived from
POURING OUT THE THIRD VIAL
103
the abuse of philosophy. From the age of Constantine to that
of Clovice and Theodoric, the temporal interest, both of Romans
and Barbarians, were deeply involved in the theological dis¬
putes of Arianism."
As I think I have produced sufficient testimony to prove' that
Arius, with his heresy, was that star, and as the next proposition
will require similar testimony, I shall leave it here for the pres¬
ent. As our text says "fell on the rivers and fountains of wa¬
ters. " That is, the bitter strifes and contentions that arose in
consequence of the Arian heresy all over the religious and polit¬
ical world, (for it was so politically as well as religiously, be¬
cause Church and State were now united, and each faction was
alternately rising into preeminence and power, and when in
power persecuted each other,) made the water bitter, and de¬
stroyed all that peace and happiness in society that is so desi¬
rable. And of course many died of the waters because they
were made bitter.
4th. The pouring out the third vial.
Revelations xvi. 4: " And the third angel poured his via!
upon the waters and fountains of rivers; and they became
blood."
This is similar in import and time to the sounding of the
third trumpet in the last proposition, but different phraseology
is used to convey the same idea. The former says "a star fell on
the rivers and fountains of waters and they became bitter. "—
The lajtter says " poured on the rf&rs and fountains of waters
and they became blood." The other referred more particularly
to the religious strifes, which were bitter. This refers more par¬
ticularly to those strifes politically, which led to wars and
bloodshed, that turned the same rivers (Roman Provinces) into
blood. The same testimony would establish either, because the
religious controversy led to war and bloodshed. But I shall give
some additional testimony to establish this proposition, as I
have only used a portion of the abundance that I have.
The first I shall introduce is in Gibbon, Vol. iii. page 447:—
(e The Vandals and Ostrogoths persevered in the profession of
104 POURING OUT THE THIRD VIAL.
Arianism till the final ruin of the kingdoms which they had
founded in Africa and Italy. The Barbarians of Gaul submitted
to the orthodox dominion of the Franks; and Spain was restored
to the Catholic church by the voluntary conversion of the Visi¬
goths. " Vol. iv. page 414: " These furious but transient sedi¬
tions were encouraged by the success of Valatine, who, with an
army of Huns and Bulgarians, for the most part idolaters, de¬
clared himself the champion of the Catholic faith. In thia
pious rebellion he depopulated Trace, besieged Constantinople,
exterminated sixty-five thousand of his fellow-Christians, till
he obtained the recall of the Bishops, the satisfaction of the
Pope. And such was the event of the first of the religious wars
which have been waged in the name and by the disciples of the
God of peace."
"In the year 328, to him (the King of Persia) therefore, the
Priests complained of the Christians, representing them to be
enemies of Persia, and secretly carrying on a correspondence with
the Roman government. Naturally averse to Christianity, the
jealousy and hatred of Sapores was greatly incensed by the
above representations of the Priests, and orders were issued for
the persecution of the Christians. Throughout the Persian Em¬
pire, two other persecutions followed the above, but the third, it
is said, was more cruel and destructive than either of the
others.
Gibbon, in Vol. ii. page 425, says: "But the Provinces of the
East, from the Euxine to "the extremity of Thebes, the strength
and numbers of the hostile factions were more equally balanced;
and this equality, instead of recommending the councils of peace
served only to perpetuate the horrors of war. The monks and
Bishops supported their arguments by invectives, and their
invectives were sometimes followed by blows. Athanasius still
reigned at Alexandria; the thrones of Constantinople and Anti-
och were occupied by Arian prelates, and every Episcopal va¬
cancy was the cause of a popular tumult. " At this time Atha¬
nasius and his party were still feigning in the most populous
*Fox's Book of Martj's, p. 67.
POURING OUT THE THIRD VIAL.
105
cities; especially in Alexandria in Egypt they continued to per¬
secute the Avians wherever they had the power; hnt presently
the scene is changed; and then persecution comes from the other
side of the question with all its unrelenting fury and barbarities,
which always follows when one religious faction has been perse¬
cuted by another who have the power for the time being, hut
then loses the power which the other regains, while it seems to
triumph not so much for domination as to take revenge because
they have the power. "For," says Gibbon, on page 70: "in¬
deed so fierce was the persecution, that the clergy were driven
from Alexandria; their churches were shut, and the severities
practiced by the Arian heretics were as great as those which had
been exercised by the Pagan idolaters. If a man accused of
being a Christian made his escape, his whole family were massa¬
cred and his effects forfeited. By this means the orthodox
Christians, being deprived of all places of public worship in the
city of Alexandria, used to perform their devotions in a desert at
some distance from it. Having met one Lord's day for worship,
George, the Arian Bishop, engaged Sebastian, the General, to
fail upon them with his soldiers while they were at prayers.—
Many were sacrificed to the fury of the troops. "
" At this time, not satisfied with the cruelties exercised upon
the orthodox Christians in Alexandria, the principal persecutors
applied to the Emperor for an order to banish them from Egypt
and Lybia, and to give up their churches to the Arians; they
obtained their request, and an order was sent for that purpose to
Sebastian, who signified the Emperor's pleasure to all the sub-
governors and officers. Hence a great number of the clergy
were seized and imprisoned; and it appearing that they adopted
the opinions of Athanasius, an order was signed for their banish¬
ment into the desert."
On page 72, he says: " The Arian party now made Gregory of
Cappadocia, a very obscure person, bishop of Alexandria, after
having deposed Athanasius. In the accomplishment of this
affair, they were assisted by Phil'agerius, the governor of Egypt,
who was apostate, and who authorized them to commit every
106 POURING OUT THE THIRD VIAL.
outrage. Hence, arming themselves with swords, clubs, &c.,
they broke into one of the principal churches of Alexandria,
where great numbers of orthodox Christians were assembled at
their devotions, and falling upon them in a most barbarous man¬
ner, without the least respect to age or sex, butchered the
greater number."
I have confined my testimony mostly to the persecutions at
Alexandria because the heresy originated there; and I have only
given a small portion of that, while I have left out France,
Spain, Italy, Africa, and the Eastern part of the Empire. But
I shall yet give some few extracts which connect the political
and religious together! But what I have given is enough to
show that the figures used by John have been fulfilled, both as
regards the waters being made bitter and turned to blood.
In Vol. iv. page 339, G-ibbon says: "In every word and in
every action, the son of Nushirvan degenerated from the virtues
of his fathers. His avarice defrauded the troops, his jealous
caprice degraded the satraps, (governors,) the palace and the
tribunals, the waters of the Tiber were stained with the blood of
the innocent, and the tyrant exulted in the sufferings and execu¬
tion of thieteen thousand victims. Exasperated by long and
hopeless oppression, the Provinces of Babylon, Susa and Carmo-
nia, erected the standard of revolt; andjthe Princes of Arabia,
India and Sythia, refused the customary tribute to the unworthy
successor of Nushirvan."
It will be seen in the above extracts that the religious dis¬
putes were continually going on between the religious factions
of the two contending parties. (For the Pagans had been partly
put down by Constantine, and then was revived by Julian the
Apostate and nephew of Constantine,, but was afterwards almost
entirely subdued by Theodoric.) While first one and then the.
other was established bylaw, and then in turns.persecuted each
other, the doctrine held by the Athanasian creed was called ortho¬
dox, or Christian, and those that held the doctrine of :Aritfc
were called heretics. . Yet I consider them both as belonging to
Anti-Christ; for the true church,receives some respite from perse^
POURING OUT THE THIRD VIAL,
107
ration In lier retreat, while the two parties are persecuting each
other. It is true that some true Christians still remained scat¬
tered throughout the Empire, for there was a remnant of her
(the woman's) seed that remained when she fled and upon
whom the dragon made war, "and the beast ware them out."—
And no doubt there were some of God's children connected with
these two factions, yet neither c'ould be called the true Church
of Christ, although they at this time administered baptism by
Immersion and held some Gospel truths; jet they held many
errors and extravagances, had departed from Gospel discipline,
instead of which they instituted general councils and synods,
became despotic and were governed by Kings and Emperors,
their mandates being enforced by the sword, thereby turning the
rivers into blood.
John says, in the 5 th verse: "And I heard the angel of the
waters say, Thou art righteous, 0 Lord, which art, and wast,
and shall be, because thou hast judged thus." 6th verse: "For
they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast
given them blood to dnnk; for they are worthy."
The Roman government commenced under the prophetic dis¬
pensation, and so they shed the blood of prophets as well as
saints under the Gospel, for which God has given them blood
as a church and nation to drink. As the angel of the waters
said, the angel that poured his vial upon the rivers and fountains
of waters.
I shall now endeavor to give some extracts from Gibbon to
prove the fulfillment of the predictions of the above texts. But
any one who has read Mr. Gibbon, or attempted to make con¬
nected and condensed extracts from his writings on the decline
and downfall of Rome, knows how difficult it is, because before
he has finished a narrative, perhaps he will introduce something
that took place a hundred years before or since the relation that
he is giving.
Passing over the numerous wars with the Goths and Vandals
until they were allowed a position in the Roman Empire, where
they rose against the Romans and finally reigned, we find a new
8
108 POURING OUT TH'Ii THIRD VIAL.
enemy in the Huns under the lead of At ilia. While the Gothf*
or Visigoths and others were allied with the Romans, Atill.f
made a claim to the Princess Honoria, a daugh'tei ot one of tin
Emperors of Rome, for whom he besieged the country and foimed
and alliance with the eldest son of the King ot the I ranks.
Gibbon says: " The Kings and nations of Germany and Seythia.
from the Volga to the Danube, obeyed the warlike summons of
Atilla. From the regal village in the plains of Hungary, hb
standard moved towards the west,- and after a march of seven or
eio-ht hundred miles, he reached tho confluence of the Rhine and
t> 7
the Neclear, where he was joined by the Franks, who adhered to
his ally the elder of the sons of dodion. And while he be¬
sieged Orleans, the Romans' and their allies were about to give
him battle, and he thought it prudent to seek more suitable
ground for the great contest, which he sought m the great
plains of* Chalons, said to be one hundred ancf fifty miles long
and one hundred broad, which would be more suited to his cav¬
alry. In reference to this great battle, Mr. Gibbon says, in Vol
iii. pp. 352-3; "But the battle of Chalons can only excite our
curiosity, by the magnitude of the object; since it was decided
by the blind impetuosity of the Barbarians, and has been rela¬
ted by partial writers. Cassiodorus, however, had familiarly
conversed with many Gothic warriors who served in the memo¬
rable engagement; "a conflict," as they informed him, "fierce,
various, obstinate and bloody; " such as could not be paralleled,
either in the present or in past ages," The number of the slain
amounted to one hundred and sixty-two thousand, or, according
to another account, three hundred thousand persons; these make
an effective loss, sufficient to justify the historians remark, that
whole generations may be swept away by the madness of Kings
in the space of a single hour.
In speaking of this battle in the History of all Kations, it w
said that " a stream ran through the plane where the battle was
fought, and' that it suddenly rose into'a torrent, not with water,
bnt with the blood of the slain, and that the wounded, on account
of great thirst, dragged themselves up to the stream and drank
POUEING OUT THE THIKD VI^L.
109
their own Hood to quench their thirst. " Thou art righteous, 0
Lord, which art, and toast, andshallbe, because thou hast judged
thus.
Him that is infinite, that was before, that now is, and will
continue to he the same; amid all the changing Kingdoms and
Empires, the wars of devastation and bloodshed, you have
judged right; thou hast given them blood to drink, for they have
shed the blood of prophets and saints without any just cause—
made the saints drink blood as it were. And now you have
caused them to shed each other's blood because their iniquity
was full, and caused them to drink blood. This symbol was ful¬
filled to the letter as well as the spirit.
And the rivers and .fountain of waters were turned to Wood.
Not only were the different Provinces at various times invaded
and depopulated, but when Genseric invaded France and depopu¬
lated Spain, so that the miserable remnant, on account of fam¬
ine, fed on human flesh, and the beasts increased until they de¬
voured their human prey, Genseric crossed over to Africa at
Gibraltar, and spread desolation and death throughout the whole
country, destroyed many towns and cities, and finally subdued
Carthage, and wholly subverted or wrested the government from
the Western Empire for a long time. And then it is said his
government was not secure until he slew of the Goths, and of
his own connections, more than he had slain in battle. First he
slew his brother, and then two nephews, sons of the former'
King, and then drove their mother into the river. Genseric was
an Arian by profession.
Gibbon says, in Yol. iv. page 433: "Apollinaris entered the
hostile city in military array, alike qualified for prayer or for
battle. His troops under arms were distributed through the
streets; the greatest of the cathedrals were guarded, and a chosen
band was stationed in the choir to defend the person of their
chief. He stood erect on his throne, and throwing aside his
upper garments of a warrior, suddenly appeared before the eyes
of the multitude in the robes of Patriarch of Alexandria. As-
'ionishment held them-mute; hut no sooner did'Appollinaris be-
110 LOURING (HJT THE THIRD* VIAE.
gin to read1 the Tome of St. Leo (who was an Arian) than a
volley of curses and invectives, and stones, assaulted the odious
minister of the Emperor.. A charge was sounded by the succes¬
sor of the Apostles; the soldiers*wadecl to their knees in blood,
and two hundred thousand Christians (Catholics) aie said to
have fallen by the sword of the Arians in one day.
Thou hast given them, hlood to drinlc, for they are worthy.
Surely this is a complete fulfillment of the language of the angel.
This is where Arius first commenced. The Moguls (or Turks)
made great destruction amongst the Persians, while commanded
by Zingis, and afterwards by Tamerlane. In the destruction of
three great capitols of Khorasn the loss was immense. At Maru
1,300,000;. at Herat 1,6.00,000; at Neisabour 1,747,000, mak¬
ing four million three hundred and forty-seven thousand persons.
In hie camp before Delhi, Tinmr massacred 100,000 Indian
prisoners, because they smiled when, an army of their country¬
men appeared in sight. Gibbon says Atilla and Timur deserves
the name of the Scourge of God.
Gibbon says that the Tigris was tinged with blood, thus
causing the rivers literally to be turned to blo.od. But Atilla,
after this great battle, which, was fought in, A. D. 451, returned
the next year and made the demand of the Emperor for the Prin¬
cess Honoria the second time, which was refused. He then
passed the Alps, invaded Italy, and besieged Aquilcia with an
innumerable host of Barbarians, which seige lasted three
months, when this wealthy and populous city was destroyed.
After this awful tragedy, Atilla pursued hi^ march, and as he
passed, the cities of Altinum, Concordia and Padua were re¬
duced into heaps of stones and ashes. These were seaport to\yns.
And then the inland towns, Yicenza, Verona and Bergamo, were
exposed to the rapacious cruelty of the Huns. Milan and Pavia
submitted without resistance to the loss of their wealth, and,
applauded the unusual clemency whieh preserved from the
flames the public as well as private buildings, and spared the
lives of the captive multitude. Any one may imagine, but they
can never arrive at a just conclusion of the vast amount of
TOURING OTJT THU THIRD VIAD.
Ill
treasure, suffering and blood that this devastation of Atilla
^caused in the Eoman provinces. In one instance he took three
hundred Virgins and caused them to be stripped and torn to
pieces by wild horses, and then caused their bones to be crushed
by loaded wagons running over them. I give this as an instance
of his barbarity. Bishop was contending with Bishop for the
■supremacy, for at this time the Bishops of Borne, Constantinople,
Antioch, Alexandria, Carthage and Ravena were contending, not
only for their respective parties, but for supreme power, in which
they involved the government at Rome; and more particularly in
the Provinces, as they were contending with each other, (which is
here represented by the rivers,) and finally divided the Western
Empire into ten Kingdom's, which represent the ten horns of the
beast, of which I shall treat more fully in their proper place.—
This theological dispute was not merely confined to the Roman
Empire, but Gibbon says it penetrated into every part of the
Christian world. It continued to distract many parts of the world
for more than a thousand years. Mr. Everett said, in a speech:
" Gentlemen, let Germany teach us.; how did she come out of the
chaos of the dark ages^ after a thousand ages of intestine war?—
Did she come out with two or three confederacies? Gentlemen,
she counted more than three hundred independent principalities,
as they were called, but all laying at the mercy of the nearest des¬
pot or the strongest army. "
Mr. Jones saj-s, on page 160-: "Valens being sole Emperor,
was soon prevailed on by the artifice of Eudoxus, Bishop of Con¬
stantinople, to take a decided stand with the Arians, and to
abandon his moderation, by persecuting the orthodox church.—
The first thing that fired his resentment was the conduct of these
latter, who had solicited and obtained his permission to hold a
Synod at Lampascus, for the. amendment' and settlement of the
faith; when, after two months consultation, they decreed the doc¬
trine of the Son's being like the Father as to his essence to be the
tfrae.orthodox faith, and deposed all the Bishops of the Arian
party. This highly exasperated Valens, who, without delay, con¬
vened a council of' Arian Bishops, and in turn, commanded the
112 POURING OUT THE THIRD VIAL.
Bishops that composed the Synod of Lampascus to- embrace the
doctrine of Eudoxius the Arian; and upon their refusal, sent
them into exile, transferring their churches to their opponents.
After this, he pursued measures more violent against them, some
were condemned to be whipped, others disgraced, not a few im¬
prisoned, and many fined."
" But the most detestable pari of his conduct was his treache¬
rous and cruel behavior towards eighty of them, (Bishops,) whom,
under pretext of sending into banishment, (a thing to which they
had consented rather than subscribe to what they did not believe,)
he put on board a ship and caused the vessel to be set on fire as it
sailed out of the harbor, by which they all perished either by fire
or water. After having reigned fourteen years, Yalens lost his life
in a battle with the Goths,. A. D. 318., and was succeeded in the
government of the Empire by Gratian, the son of Yalentinian.—
He was of the orthodox party; and after the death of Ids uncle
Yalens, he recalled those that had been banished, restored them
to their Sees, and sent. Sap.oras, one of his Captains, to drive the
Arians like wild beasts out of their churches. This Emperor,
soon after his accession to power, united with himself as colleague
in the government, the great Theodosius, a name celebrated in
history and dear to the Catholic church. "
A name dear to the Catholics, but how dear to Arians and
Pagans let Mr. Jones tell us: ,c Such were the persecuting edicts
of Theodosius against the Pagans, which were- rigidly executed,
and whiph were attended with the desired effect, for so rapid and
yet so gentle was the fall of Paganism, that only twenty-eight
years after the death of Theodosius, the faint and minute vestige
was no longer visible to the eye of the legislator. " But Mr.
(
Robinson tells us that it took three hundred years to suppress
(not idolatry) the offering of sacrifice to the idol gods, which was
practiced more particularly in Africa. (It no longer appeared to
the eye of the legislator.) But Mr. Robertson continues: " After'
it was subdued in th& cities it retired to more secluded places,
and the reason why it was called Pagan idolatry is because it was
contined to be practiced in the Pagos. " (That i& villages.) And
INCREASED STRENGTH OF THE MAN OF SIN. 113
another reason why it had disappeared was that the pretended
orthodoxy had blended a great deal of idolatry in their worship,
and as the Apocalyp angel says: " And they worship the dragon,
which gave power unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast
saying, who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with
him?"
The dragon, as I have before shown, ha4 given place to the
beast, and they worshiped him, the dragon. That is, they intro¬
duced idolatry into the established church; and to the beast the
dragon gave his power. His seat and power being established by
law and having gained the ascendency, enabled him to persecute
all others; and it being fashionable at court, they became very
numerous. Gibbon says: " Under the reign of Theodocius, after
Christianity had enjoyed more than sixty years the sunshine of im¬
perial favor, the ancient and illustrious church at Antioch (in
Asia) consisted of one hundred thousand members. " And taking
this as a guide, he says: " there must have been in the Church at
Rome two hundred and fifty thousand prvfessed Christians."
I have given sufficient testimony to show that the last two
propositions had reference to the same period of time—that the
bitter religious strifes and contentions would fairly represent the
rivers and fountains of waters as being made bitter in the extreme,
and that the blood shed by wars and persecutions would fairly
represent the rivers and fountains. of waters being turned into
blood, and hence he gave them wormwood and blood to drink.
The increased strength of the man of sin.
The calamities of the times naturally contributed to increase
his strength; and as the Bishops became ambitious for wealth and
power, and as wealth is power, they used every stratagem to gain
wealth and magnificence; and they succeeded but too well by the
credulity and fanaticism of the people. They imposed upon the
people by studiously drilling (as some do now) until they had
gained a complete victory over them, so as to cause the people to
look up to theni as being greatly superior, almost superhuman;
and by imposing on them with shrines and relics of the saints and
Apostles, enabled them, to build the magnificent churches of St.
114 INCREASED STRENGTH OF THE MAN OF SIM.
Peter and St. Paul at Rome. Bishop Ambrose, at Milan, was* a
great favorite with the Emperor Theodocius, who was making his
royal residence at Milan for some time, and was a Catholic. Am¬
brose prevailed on the Emperor by his'eloquence and station, to
put down the ancient forms of worship at Rome and throughout
the Roman Empire, and also that of Arianism which still pie-
vailed at Constantinople and nany other places by authority ot
law or more powerful edicts, as it had not been entirely suppressed
by Constantino's acts.
Mr. Gibbon says, in Yol. iii. page 117: "In a full meeting of
the Senate, the Emperor proposed, according to the forms of the
Republic, the important question, whether the worship of Jupiter
or that of Christ should be the religion of the Romans. The
liberty of suffrage, which he affected to allow, was destroyed by
the hopes and fears that his presence inspired; and the arbitrary
exile of Symmachus (who was an aged and respectable citizen
and had been arbitrarily exiled through the influence of Ambrose
because he held to ancient forms of worship) was a recent admo¬
nition that it might be dangerous to oppose the wishes of the
Monarch. On a regular division of the Senate, Jupitor was con¬
demned and degraded by the sense of a very large majority. The
hasty conversion of the Senate must be attributed either to super¬
natural or to sordid motives; and many of these reluctant prose¬
lytes betrayed on every favorable occasion, their secret disposition
to throw aside the mask of odious dissimulation. But they were
gradually fixed in the new religion, as the cause of the ancient
became more hopeless; they held to the authority of the Emper
ror, to the fashion of the times and to the entreaties of their wives
andjchildren, who were instigated and governed by the clergy of
Rome and the monks of the East."
Their wives and children were instigated and governed by the
clergy. We see that persisted in and practiced by many of the
clergy in our time. If we can extend our influence and govern¬
ment over the wives and children, we can govern the husband as
to acquisition of members, measures and money; and any people
who are destitute of the spirit of the Gospel will always seek that
INCREASED STRENGTH OF THE MAN OF SIN. 115
p&fession of religion that is most fashionable, and of course most
popular; and when the clergy have gained this ascendency they
become more popular, and of course gain more p mer and wealth,
especially when they make such rich converts as the Senators at
Rome. Gibbon goes on to relate that the Priests of Pagan wor¬
ship were impatient to strip themselves of the pontifical garments,
to cast off the skin of the old serpent, to assume the snowy robes
of baptismal innocence, and to humble the pride of the consular
faces before the tombs of the martyrs.
The citizens, who subsisted by their own industry, and the popu¬
lace, who were supported by the public liberality, filled the
churches of the Lateran and Vatican, with an incessant throng of
devout proselytes. The stately churches of the idol gods were
stripped of their furniture, and the doors closed to prevent them
from indulging in their favorite snperstition; but if they did, their
humble repentance disarmed the magistrate, and they seldom
refused to atone for their rashness by submitting to the established
religion. The churches were filled with the increasing multitude
of these unworthy proselytes who had conformed from temporal
motives to the reigning religion.
Gibbon says, in Vol. iii. page 131: " The satisfactory experience
that the relics of saints were more valuable than gold or precious
atones, stimulated the clergy to multiply the treasures of the
church. Without much regard for truth or propability, they
invented names for skeletons, and actions for names. A supersti¬
tious practice, which tended to increase the temptations of fraud
■and credulity, insensibly extinguished the light of history and of
reason in the Christian world. "
Theodosius, by the decree of the -Senate, put down the Pagan
worship effectually at Rome and the Arians at Constantinople,
and the Novatians with them; for at this time there were a goodly
number of Novatians still at Constantinople, who were of the
true Church of Christ; and although they believed in the trinity,
yet the edict of the Emperor prevented their assembling either in
public or in private capacity in the city, or in the woods, without
risking their lives and property, because they were not of the
116 INCREASED STRENGTH OF THE MAN OF SIN.
established church. The temples of the idols were not only
stripped and the doors shut, but they were finally demolished, and
the rich furniture confiscated and given to the government and to
the Catholic church, while their gold and silver images were
melted and coined into currency, all of which gave strength to the
man of sin, the beast.
After the death of Theodosius, the Empire was divided be¬
tween his two sons who were indolent and incapable of govern¬
ment, and they themselves were governed by ambitious men, and
mostly by the Bishop or popular clergy, who persuaded Honorous
to turn out of office all those who were not strenuous Catholics.
In Vol. ii. page 196, Gibbon says: " By the pressing instances
of the new favorites, these generals, unworthy as they were as
soldiers, were promoted to the command of the cavalry, of the
infantry and of the domestic troops. The Gothic Prince would
have subscribed with pleasure to the edict which the fanaticism
of Olympius dictated to the simple and devout Emperor. Hono-
rius excluded all persons who were adverse to the Catholic church,
from holding any office in the State; obstinately rejected the
service of all those who dissented from his religion, and rashly
disqualified many of his bravest and most skillful officers, who
adhered to the Pagan worship, or who had- imbibed the opinions
of Arianism."
By this means the Bishops governed almost entirely in the
court, the palace, the army, and in the church; by their ambition
for power in opposition to each other, and their persecution of the
Pagans, the Avians and the Christians, they deluged Europe and
Asia with blood. Here is an instance of the first power gained
over a sovereign by a Bishop, since Constantine established reli¬
gion by law, when he swayed the sceptre over the Church as well
as the State, and all this is accomplished in the year ,390, only
sixty-five years after the establishment. It is Ambrose over
Theodosius. It is recorded by Gibbon in Vol. iii. page 101, that
iC Theodosius was proceeding in the accustomed manner to perform
his devotion in the great church at Milan, when he was stopped
in the porch by the Archbishop, who in the tone and in the lan-
INCREASED STRENGTH OF THE MAN OF SIN. 117
guage of an ambassador of Heaven, declared to his sovereign,
that private contrition was not sufficient to atone for a public fault,
or to appease the justice of the offended Deity. The rigorous
conditions of peace and pardon were accepted. It was sufficient
that the Emperor of the Ruffians, stripped of the ensigns of roy¬
alty, should appear in a mournful and suppliant posture, and
that, in the midst of the church of Milan,- he should humbly so¬
licit, with sighs and tears, the pardon of his sins. In this spiritual
cure, Ambrose employed the various methods of mildness and
severity. After a delay of about eight months, Theodosius was
restored to the communion of the faithful. " The Prince," says
Montesquien, " who is actuated by the hopes and fears of religion,
may be compared to a lion, docile only to the voice, and tractable
to the hand of his keeper. The nations of the royal animal will
therefore depend on the inclination and interest of the man who
lias acquired such dangerous authority over him; and the priest
who holds in his hand the conscience of a king may inflame or
moderate the sanguinary passions. The cause of humanity and
that of persecution, have been asserted by the same Ambrose
with equal energy and with equal success. "
The Bishops at Rome were naturally looked up to and their
advice asked; but after a while, instead of giving advice they be¬
gan to give it in the form of a decree. Mr. Jones says, in his
Church History, page, 180: "The claims to supremacy,
which, during the preceding centuries, had been asserted by the
Bishops at Rome, were at first faintly urged and promoted by art
fal and almost imperceptible means. They now, however, began to
insist upon superiority as a divide right attached to their sea,
which they contended had been founded by the Apostle Peter;
f nd this arrogant claim, which had appeared conspicuously enough
in the conduct of the Bishops of Rome of the preceding century,
was now no longer concealed or cautiously promulgated. Such,
however, was the extensive influence of the papal intrigues, that
tie re were few among the Princes of the Western Empire that
were not virtually in a state of subjection to the authority of the
Bishops of Rome before the close of the fifth century. A station
118 INCREASE*) STRENGTH OF tf-HE MAN OF SIN.
so elevated, which lay open to the ambitioil of numbeis, "Was ca
gerly contested, and often obtained by fraud, chicaner}, or the
practice of whatever was most opposed to the spirit of the Gos¬
pel. During the sixth century, the peace of the Catholic church
was thrice disturbed by the contentions and squabbles of the rival
pontiffs. The advantages attendant upon the acquisition of such
♦enormous power, induced the Bishops of Constantinople, who
were scarcely less arrogant than their brethren at Borne, to refuse
to acknowledge their pre-eminence, and prompted them to lay
claim to similar authority. The arrogant presumption of these
rival sees involved them in continual dissensions, which were pro¬
digiously increased by the conduct of John, the pastor,, a prelate
distinguished for his authority, who, in a council held at Constan¬
tinople in the year 588, assumed the title of Universal Bishop,
which was confirmed by the council. This appellation, which
applied preeminence difficult to be endured by those who were as
ambitious as himself, was opposed vehemently by Pelagus, the
then second Bishop of Borne, who called it an execrable, profane
and diabolical procedure; but his invectives were disregarded and
he died soon after."
In the year 530, he was succeeded by Gregory, the' Great, as
he is usually termed. This Gregory writes a long letter to the
Emperor, (Mauric of Constantinople,) protesting against the
claim of the Bishop of Constantinople to be universal Bishop, but
at the same time he flatters the Emperor hoping to procure that
title for himself, but this stratagem failed. (This letter is too
lengthy, or I would insert it here in order to show what the cor*-
ruption of the times was.) These rival powers, as I have before
said, had long been contending with each other for power. The
Bishop at Borne contended that on account of St. Peter's Church
at Borne being the mother church, and he having the keys given
to him and his successors, it should be the acknowledged head —
Notwithstanding he disclaimed any such intention, yet Gregory
exercised authority over the elections and churches of Italy and'
Franee. And the Bishops contended for Constantinople, because
it was the seat of the Emperors of the East, and' its sees were:
INCREASED STRENGTHS OF THE M;AN OF SIN. 119
generally filled with Arian Bishops. Eavena contended also be¬
cause the. Emperors of the West resided there as a place of safety.
Milan had been the seat of government for the West for a long
time, and Ambrose contended for that place. Carthage and Alex¬
andria also contended as, being very populous cities, and the resi¬
dence of Athanasins.
The following is an extract from Gregory's letter: " If then,
every one in the ch,urch assumes the name by which he makes
himself the head of all good men, the Catholic church, which
God forbid should ever be the case, must needs- be overthrown
when he falls who is called universal. But far from Christians be
this blasphemous name. And therefore I am bold to say, that
whoever adopts or affects the title of Universal Bishop, has the
pride and character of AntUChrist, and is in some manner his
forerunner in this haughty quality of elevating himself above the
rest of his order. And indeed, both the one and the other
seem to split upon the same rock; for, as pride makes Anti-
Christ strain his pretensions up to Godhead, so whoever is ambi¬
tious to, be called the only or universal prelate, arrogates to him¬
self a distinguished superiority, and rises, as it were, upon the
ruins of the rest.
Gregory had sagacity enough to see that to be universal Bishop
would be Anti-Christ. Though he did not possess the title of
universal Bishop, yet he exercised the power in a good degree.—
Thus this monster, or man of sin, had risen to great power and
authority, which-opened up the way for his full appearance, which
took place with the successor of Gregory, as I shall show in the
next chapter.
To recapitulate. In the first proposition, I have shown the
situation of the church at Pergamos, and that she still holds a
few names although she dwells where satan's seat is. I have also
shown what was the doctrine of Baalam and of the Nicolaitans.
In the second proposition I have shown the opening of the
third seal and what is represented by the black horse. In the
third proposition, I have shown the sounding of the third trum¬
pet, in which is represented a* great star falling front heaven (and
120 INCREASED STRENGTH OF THE MAN OF SIN.
that star was Arius) upon the third part of the rivers and foun
tains of waters and turned them into wormwood. That the bitter
contentions between the Bishops set the people at \ariance and
divided, not only the Catholic Churches between Arius and Atha-
nasius, but finally into some 17 sects, and also divided families,
as Gibbon says, set father against son and son against the father.
In the fourth proposition, I have shown the pouring out the
third vial on the rivers and fountains of waters (to be the Prov-
vinces of Borne) and they became blood. This is only different
phraseology; for although in the third proposition they became
bitter, they did not stop at bitter contentions, but persecuted
each other in turns until they filled the land with blood. And as
the Barbarians overran the Provinces and divided them among
themselves, there was an immense quantity of blood shed in them,
(the rivers,) both politically and religiously; and as the Bomans
had shed the blood of saints, he gave them blood to drink.
And in the fifth and last proposition, I have shown the in¬
creased strength of the man of sin, and the means by which he
arrived at such great power and influence, which proves him to
be the Anti-Christ, the beast with seven heads and ten horns.
CHAPTEB VI.
THE ANGEL POURING OUT THE FOURTH VIAL.
'"And the fourth angel poured his rial upon the sea."—Revelations xvi. 8.
In the first proposition I shall treat of the church in Thyatira.
2d. The opening the fourth seal.
3d. The sounding the fourth trumpet.
4th. The pouring out the fourth vial.
5th. The man of sin in full power, and rise of the false prophet.
The first proposition. Bevelations ii. 18: " And unto the.angel
of the church in Thyatira write; these things saith the Son.- pf
THE CHtTRCIl AT THYATIRA,
121
OAd, who hath, liis eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet like
fine brass."" Thyatira was situated in a city of Lydia, in Asia
Minor. It is situated nearly midway between Pergamos and
Sardis, and is still a tolerable town considering that it is in the
hands of the Turks. After giving a description of his glorious
presence, iflL which he says "who hath eyes like unto a flame of
fire, and his feet like fine brass," he says in the 19th verse: " I
know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and patience;
and the last to be more than the first. " 30th verse: " Notwith¬
standing, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest
that woman Jezebel, which callest herself a prophetess, to teach
and seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things
sacrificed to idols."
The ivories, and charity, and service, and faith and patience.
They had need of great charity and patience, as their suffering at
this time was very great. The Christians were very charitable to
edch other as far as they had it in their power, by relieving each
other in their persecuted condition, as well as from the distress
occasioned by the inroads of the numerous Barbarians who de¬
stroyed every thiHg in their way; so their works and labor of love
was to send relief to the most destitute portions of the country.
As I have said before, there was a goodly number of Novatianiste
at Constantinople in the reign of Theodosius and Honorous, who
shut their places of worship and confiscated their property. Not¬
withstanding, they suffered that woman Jezebel to teach and cause
some of them to eat things sacrificed to idols. * Jezebel was wife
of Ahab, the King of Israel. This King introduced into the
Kingdom of Samaria, the *public worship of Baal, Astart and
other Idols. Jezebel was so zealous that she fed at her own table
four hundred prophets, belonging to the godess Astart. And
Ahab, in like manner, kept four hundred of Baal's prophets, as
ministers of his false gods. So the name of Jezebel is proverbial,
as being connected with idolatry and sacrificing to idols; and she
is liere called a prophetess, which signifies to teach or inculcate
the principles she holds.
122 THE CHURCH AT- THYATIRA.
Idolatrous worship was gradually introduced into the Catholic
church soon after Constantine's time. Indeed it might be said
his introducing the cross led to idolatry, which remains to the
present. And one reason why it gained so readily, was the man¬
ner in which the superstitious worship of idols (which had con¬
tinued the lawful worship from Jezebel's time to Constantine s,)
was prohibited by law first by Constantine and after wards by The-
odosius, which law not only compelled the multitude to abandon
their former worship, but from necessity or interest to profess
Christianity as it was called. That is, they renounced the former
worship and professed Christianity without expressing any change
of principle, which even the Senators of Eome done.
Mr. Jones says, in his Church History, page 188: "The intro¬
duction of images into places of Christian worship, and the idola¬
trous practices to which, in process-of time, it gave rise, is an
event that dates its origin soon after the time of Constantine the
Great; but like many other superstitious practices, it made its
way slowly and imperceptibly." 21st verse: " And I give her
space to repent of her fornications, and she repented not." Here
the Smgel answers it himself and says she repented not, as will
appear more fully hereafter by the extract that I shall make.
The 22d verse: " Behold I will cast her into a bed, and them
that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they
repent of their deeds." 23d verse: " And I will kill her children
with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which
searches &c." That is, I will cause all that unite with her, or
partake with her Idolatrous worship, to be cast into tribulation, and
to kill her children with death. No doubt many of the true be¬
lievers in Christ were led away by th© external show of the Catho¬
lic church and allured into her communion; and others were
driven there from fear of persecution, of those who still remained
as the remnant of her seed. (For the true church which kept
the ordinances was still in the wilderness.) The Donatists of
Africa, particularly at Carthage, at this, time were numerous, and
held to the doctrines and practices of Novatian, and baptized all
who came ove? from the Catholic communion. Them and the-
THE CHURCH AT THYATIRA.
123
Catholics "both suffered great tribulation and death by the con¬
quest of Africa and Carthage by G-enseric, and calamities and
deaths were caused by the invasion and destruction in all the
Provinces by the Barbarians.
Still they did not repent. In the year 730, "Leo issued an
edict against idols. There was in the palace of Constantinople
a porch which contained an image of the Saviour on the cross.
Leo perceiving that it was an instrument of idolatry, sent an
officer to remove it. Some females who were then present en¬
treated that it mi£ht remain, but without effect; the officer
mounted a ladder, 'and with an axe struck three blows on the
face of the figure, when the women threw him down by pulling
the ladder from under him, and murdered him instantly. The
image, however, was removed, and a plain cross set up in its
room. The women proceeded to insult Anastasius, the Bishop,
for the profanation of holy things. An insurrection ensued, and
in order to quell it, the Emperor was obliged to put several per¬
sons to death. The news of this flew rapidly to Rome, where
the same rage for idolatry prevailed, and such was the indignation
excited by it, that the Emperor's statues were immediately
pulled down and trodden under foot. All Italy was thrown into
confusion, and attempts were, made to elect another Emperor in
the room of Leo, and the people encouraged the attempts. The
Greek writers affirm that he prohibited the Italians from paying
tribute any longer to Leo; but in the midst of these broils, while
defending idolatry and exciting rebellion with all his might, he
was. stopped short in his wicked career. "He was extremely inso¬
lent, 'ksays an imperial writer, "though he died with the char¬
acter of a saint." Jonee says, in his Church History, pages
190-91 : " He was succeeded in his office by Gregory III., A. D.
731, Who entered with great spirit and energy into the measures
of his predecessor. The reader cannot but be amused with the
following letter, which he addressed to the Emperor immediately
affer his elevation:
"Because you are unlearned and ignorgnt, we are obliged to
write to you rude discourses, but full of sense and of the word of
9
124 THE CHHRCH AT THYATTKA,
God We conjure you to quit your pride, and to Iiear us trith
humility. You say that we adore stone walls and boards,. Ifefe
not so, my lord; but these symbols make us recollect the per¬
sons whose Barnes they bear and exalt our groveling, minds.
We do not look upon tliem as gods; but if it be the image of
Jesus, we say u Lord save u&/* It it be the image of his mother,
we say " pray to your son to save us." If it be the martyrs, we
say " St. Peter, pray for us." We might, as having the power
of St. Peter, pronounce punishment against you; but as, you
have pronounced a curse on yourself, let it stick to you. You
write to us to assemble a great couneil, of which there is no need.
Do you cease to persecute images and all will he quiet, we fear
n )t your threats. "
The mystery of iniquity continued to work, or the desire ifor
images, until at length, under the reign of Irene, the Empress,
of Constantinople and her son Constantine, about the close of
the eighth century, was convened what is termed the seventh
general council. It was held at Nice, and the number of Bish¬
ops was about three hundred and fifty. In this venerable assem¬
bly, it was decreed that holy images of the cross should be conse¬
crated and put in sacred vessels and vestments, and upon walls
and boards, in private houses, and in public ways; and especially
that there should be erected images of the Lord God, our Sa¬
viour Jesus Christ, of our blessed lady, the mother of God, of
the venerable angels and all the saints; and that whosoever
should think or teach otherwise, or throw away any painted
hooks, should be punished. Irene and Constantine approved
and ratified these decrees, the result of which was, that idols and
images were erected in all the churches, and those who opposed
them were treated with great severity. And thus, by th6 inter¬
ests of the Popes of Rome, iniquity was established by law, and
the worship 'of"Idols authorized and confirmed in the Catholic
church, though' in express opposition to all the principles of
religion, and the express declarations 'of the Scriptures and
the design of the worship of God.
THE CHTJRCH AT THYATISA.
125
I think that I have shown sufficiently how J ezabel caused
Kings and Princes, to sacrifice to idols, which no doubt led away
many true believers. And the contention upon this subject
caused them to kill each other, as well as the great slaughters
made by the heathens at this time. I will ME her children ivith
death. But during all this time there were here and there emi¬
nent persons who arose in defence of the true worship; as also
some in the Catholic, church, and amongst the Bishops and
Priests who were eminently "pious men, together with the church
in the wilderness, and of whom I shall speak at the proper time.
I know thy worlcs, and faith, and patience, dec. Their faith and
patience must have been very great to endure the temptations of
the times and the insults and persecutions by which they were
surrounded. And the last to he more than the first. This may
be considered as the first under the Pagan form of worship, or
under Pagan Some, and the second that of Papal Rome, while
they suffered greater persecution by Papal Rome than they did
by Pagan Rome. And then it may be considered in this sense-
that the establishment of religion by Constantine was the first,
and the establishment of images or idols in the church as the
second, as J ezabel is the representative of idolatry. And this
last is more than the first, because it is not only the establishment
of idolatry, but the Pope is in full power. We used to preach
against such idols as being dishonoring to God, but now, if we
ever think, or speak, or teach against idolatry, we are to suffer
for it, so the last is worse than the first—that is, it requires more
good works and patience than the first. I will put upon you no
other burden; but that which you have already. Since the Pope
sways the religious and political sceptres both, and idols are
established in the churches, I will put no greater burthen upon
you; as if he had,said, I will put no additional persecution upon
you; for these people were now so few and peaceable that there
was not much attention ppid. sto them, there being other con¬
flicting opinions or heresies" (as they were called) more numer¬
ous and influential that required more attention.
126 OPENING THE FOURTfr SEAL.
Holdfast till I come. For lie will come for their deliverance
and the destruction of their enemies. 26th verse. And 'e
that overcometh, and keepetli my works unto the end, to him
will I give power over the nations; and he shall rule them, &c.
He that overcomes all the temptations and withstands all the
persecution—continues steadfast, always abounding in even
good word and work, he shall rule; that is, his conduct and sta¬
bility shall be a rule for all nations or eyes; or, I will cause that
truth or kingdom that he is contending for to triumph oveT all
other kingdoms. 28th verse: " And I wilt give him the morn¬
ing star." The morning star, literally, is that bright planet
Venus, which, at some seasons of the year, appears so beautiful
in the East—the harbinger of day. It is not spoken of as though
he that holds out will be that star, but like the stars he (Jesus)
held in his right hand. But "I will give, &c." Like Peter said,
" until the day star arise in your heart. " He that holds out to
the end—continues in good works unto the end—that has expe¬
rienced regeneration—to him I will give that star to shine in
him, or he will be like that bright luminary—will only hide his
appearance when the Son of Bighteousness arises.
2d. The opening the fourth seal.
Revelations vi. 8: "And I looked, and behold a pale horse;
and his name that sat on him was Death, and hell followed with
him; and power was given unto them over the fourth part of the
earth, to kill with the sword and with hunger, and with death,
and with the beasts of the earth. "
The peculiarity of this emblem consists in the color of the
horse, the rider, and the power that was given unto him. In
these three is entire harmony, and there can be but little diffi¬
culty in explanation and application. The color of the horse is
pale. The color is an appropriate one to represent death* as
paleness always follows after death, no matter by what cause
produced—whether by famine, pestilence or sword. If there
was nothing else in the text to guide us but the color, we might
naturally look for great mortality by famine and' pestilence; bht
as- it is said power waa given them to kill with the sword, With
OtEJjTING THE EOURTH SEAL.
127
hunger and death, and with the beasts of the earth, I shall no¬
tice all of them separately. And his name that sat on him was
Death. No particular description is given of his power—but
power was given them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill
with the sword, &c. It does not say he had a sword, but of
■course he had. And going forth as a conqueror, hunger, famine
and pestilence all follow after war, all of which is represented
in the text. And hell followed, which expositors say means
hades, o$ where the dead are deposited. But where there is so
much ambition and war, hell must follow, for God causes sin to
punish itself. Undoubtedly we are to look for the fulfillment of
this to -some wide spread calamity—to some severe visitations
which, would sweep off great multitudes of mea. The nature of
that visitation is designated by the words, to hill with the sword.
In war and discord we are therefore to look to a period of war.—
Most expositors. confine the term used here to the Roman Em¬
pire, but the text says over a fourth part of the earth.
I shall commence with the wars of Persia, under the command
■of Chosroes. The fortifications of Merdin, Dara, Amida and
Edessa, were besieged and destroyed by the Persian monarch.—
He then crossed the Euphrates, occupied the Syrian cities Hiera-
polis, Chalcis and Aleppo, and then Antioch. Then Cessarea,
the capitol of Capadocia. Then Damascus with the rich
country around. After the reduction of Galilee and the region
beyond .Jordan, Jerusalem was assaulted and taken. The se¬
pulchre of Christ and the stately churches were consumed by
fire, or at least damaged by the flames, and the massacre of
ninety , thousand Christians is said to have taken place besides
others. Egypt itself was overrun for the first time since Dio-
clesian by a foreign foe. He spread death and destruction in his
way—even Alexandria fell in his possession. He then followed
in the footsteps of Alexander on his return through the sandy
desert. And in his second march across the Euphrates, Chalce-
don surrendered after a long siege, and a Persian camp was main¬
tained ten years -in presence of Constantinople. Consider an
enemy with a large force of Barbarians camped ten years in a
128 OPENING THE FOURTH SEAE.
conquered country, and subsisting entirely on the spoils of that
conquered country. It is not only what they necessai ily con-,
sumed to support, but what they destroyed wilfully, together
with what is trampled down in the fields by the march of an
army, and the husbandman destroyed or deterred from cultiva¬
ting the soil. Then would follow hunger, (famine,) pestilence
and death.
. But after this the Roman Emperor Heraclius dispensed the
Persians and followed them into their own country, and in nu¬
merous battles fought rescued fifty thousand captives, and after
three year's absence he returned in triumph to his capitol. And.
now appears another enemy who is Mahomet, for Mahomet the
second appeared in the field with four hundred thousand follow¬
ers in arms. And they were killed with sword, with hunger, and
with death. While this state of things was taking place in the
Eastern Empire, and in Persia and Syria, the western Empire was
overrun first by the Lombards, and then by the Avars until Rome
and Italy were lost, and the western Empire divided into ten
kingdoms, which makes the beast with seven- heads and ten
horns.
Gibbon, in speaking of the victory of the Lombards over
Italy, says: " Of this army, the pay and rewards were drawn
from the conquered provinces; many of the most wealthy Italians
were slain or banished: the remainder were divided amongst the
strangers, and a tribute (or tax) established of paying to the
landlords a third part of the fruits of the earth. "
"Amidst the arms of the landlords, and under the despotism
of the Greeks, we again inquire into the fate of Rome, which
had reached, about the close of the sixth century, the lowest
period of her depression. By the removal of the seat of Em¬
pire, and the successive loss of the Provinces, the sources of
public and private opulence were exhausted; the lofty tree, un¬
der whose shade the nations of the earth had reposed, were de¬
prived of its leaves and branches, and the sapless trunk was left
to wither on the ground."
OPENING THE FOURTH SEAiL.
129
In addition, to ;t,hese wars, was that of the crusades from the
Western Empire to Jerusalem, which x lasted for an hundred
years, some seven or eight in number, 'They would collect to¬
gether hundreds of thousands, headed fey a King and made up of
princes and noblemen, by peasants and even women and children,
and set out in a promiscuous crowd two thousand miles to Jeru¬
salem to worship at the holy sep'uichre; and so destructive was
it that not less than six millions of Christians perished, besides
a large ' number of their images, which I shall describe more
fully in the fourth proposition,
A pale horse, and death and kdlfollowed. N othing could bet¬
ter describe the awful sufferings of these times, and especially
the crusades, while J ohn was permitted to look at them at a
distance by a prophetic vision, than to say death and hell fol¬
lowed. Poiotr was given over the fourth part of the earth.—
The distress extended over Europe1, part of Asia, part of Africa,
Persia, Egypt and Syria. To he killed with the sword, with hun¬
ger, with death, and with the wild beasts of the earth. This was
completely fulfilled, for many millions were slain with the sword,
even multitudes of women and children; and millions died with
hunger, and as such wars and calamities always produce famine,
a great number of the crusaders died with hunger. With death
means those who died by disease or by pestilence, besides those
that were killed with the sword and with hunger. And as war
produces famine, and they together produce pestilence, hundreds
of thousands died with it. And to be killed vnth wild beasts of
the earth. When a country becomes depopulated the wild beasts
increase, and when they get a taste of the multitude of the
-slain that is not buried, they become more voracious, and multi¬
tudes of the defenceless crusaders, as well as defenceless indi¬
viduals, were killed by them. I might here leave this proposi¬
tion, but I will give two extracts from church history to show
some of the suffering of the West by religious intolerance.
uIt would have been well for his memory, indeed, had he
stopped there; but a blind zeal to propagate Christianity, which
extinguished his natural feelings, made him guilty of severities
130 OPENING THE FOUKTH SEAL.
which shocked humanity. One of the leading objects of .his
reign (Charles the great, or Charlamaigne,) was the conveisioii
of the Saxons, a nation of Germany, to the Christian faith.^ He
seems to have considered a reception of the mild doctrine of
Christianity as the best means of taming a savage people, and to
accomplish this he sent his armies to invade the country. After
a number of battles gallantly fought, and many cruelties com¬
mitted on both sides, the Saxons were totally subjected; but as
they yvere no less tenacious of their religious than their civil
liberty, persecution marched in the train of war, and stained
with blood the fetters of slavery. Four thousand five hundred
of the principal men, because they refused, on a particular occa¬
sion, to give up their celebrated General, Witikind, were ordered
to be massacred—an instance of cruelty scarcely to be paralleled
in the history of mankind, especially if we consider that -the
Saxons were not natural subjects of Charles, but an independent
people struggling for freedom. He compelled the Saxons, pmder
the pain of death, to receive baptism—condemned to the sever¬
est punishments the breakers of Lent, and every where substi¬
tuted force for persuasion."*
"Leather succeeded his father in the imperial dignity. His
father Louis, by a second marriage, had a son who afterwards
was known by the name of Charles the Bold. At the time of
his father's death he was only seventeen years of age; but his
father, in bequeathing the Empire to Loather, had stipulated
for a portion of territory to his youngest child, and the former,
to fulfil the wishes of his indulgent father and entreaties of a
fond mother, consented to resign to him a portion of his terri¬
tories. But scarcely was Charles warm in his seat, than he con¬
spired with his brother Louis to dispossess Loather of the Em¬
pire. Here fraternal hatred appeared in all its horrors.. A bat¬
tle was fought at Fontenoy, in Burgundy, than which few en¬
gagements that are upon record were more bloody, for one hun¬
dred thousand men are said to have fallen on the spot. Loather
was defeated and obliged to abandon France to his victorious
* Jones' Church History, n. 2.15. ! ~
SOUMDING- THE FOURTH TRUMPET.
131
brothers. . To secure their conquest the latter applied to the
clergy, and with more confidence of success, as Loather, in or¬
der to raise his troops with great expedition, had promised the
Saxons the liberty of renouncing Christianity, the very .idea of
which was abhorred by the church of Rome. The Bishops as¬
sembled at Aix-la-chapella, and after examining the misconduct
of the Emperor, inquired of the two Princes, whether they
chose .to follow his example or to govern according to the laws of
God—by which they meant the imposing Christianity upon the
Saxons. Their answer maybe easily anticipated. "Receive
then the kingdom by divine authority," added the prelates; "we
exhort you, we command you to receive it. " But Loather, by
means o,f his indulgence to the Saxons and other expedients, was
•enabled1 to raise a new army and recover his throne.
Thus the clergy intrigued and claimed the right to place the
crown on the head of sovereigns, causing many to be slain
with the sword. This is a specimen of what it was throughout
the Empires both East and West. At this time the Pope had
almost universal power, and kept the whole country in a state of
ferment—first against one heresy and then another—so they kept
up not only persecution in all its forms, but set Kings and Em¬
perors against each other, while they (the clergy) contended for
supreme power; so that it may well be said to be a pale horse
and that him that sat thereon was death, and hell followed.—
purely there could be but little true and vital religion amongst
them, whilst they experienced all the horrors of hell upon earth
and eternal destruction awaited them.
, 3d. The sounding of the fourth trumpet.
Revelations viii. 12: " And the fourth angel sounded, and the
third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the
moon, and the third part of the stars, so as the third part of
them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it,
and the night likewise. "
Christ, speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem and the end
.of the world says, Luke xxi. 10: "Then said he unto them,
'"Jones' Church History, p. '219.
132 SOUNDING THE FOURTH TRUMPET.
nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
11th verse: "And great earthquakes shall be in divers places^
and famines and pestilences; and fearful sights and great sign$
shall there be from heaven." 25th verse: "And there shall be.
signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars, and upoir
the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and wa^i
roaring." 26th verse; " Men's hearts failing them for fear^
and for looking after those things which are coming On the earth?
for the power of heaven shall be shaken. ■ For these be the days
of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.fi
And the third part of the sum was smitten. The sun is a
natural and beautiful figure of the Church; the sun is the light
that gives light to the world by day;, the church, Christ-said?;
"was the light of the world." We shall here have to allow
the Catholic church to be the, ohurch represented, as she was
once connected with the true church, and is now the most visi¬
ble, as the true church is still in the wilderness. ■ And as the
third part' was smitten, a th ird part of it was darkened and the
day shone not for a third part of it. A day is a thousand years;
and to commence the dark at about the time of the Pope's assu¬
ming power, which was about the time of the downfall of the
Western Empire, and add a thousand years, it will bring us to
the commencement of the Reformation. And the true church
may, in some degree, be here represented, as in her retreat her
light is, lost to tfie world, or rather, she is lost sight of by the
world in a good degree. Shone not for a third part of it does
not mean that it shone clear two parts of the day and that the
other third was entirely dark,but that it had lost its light; one
third part of them was darkened, for ignorance, superstition and
idolatry prevailed, and all the learning of tho times was confined
principally to the clergy, and they were ignorant and supersti¬
tious, and used every efiort to keep the people in ignorance in
order the more easily to deceive and enslave them. I shall first
speak of the sun, and then the moon and stars, each in their
pioper places,, but the testimony I shall produce will necessarily
be blended together in some degree.
SO'tfNIXtNG' THE FOURTH TRUMPET.
13S
fflt: JoHes'SaySy ort page 213: "The ninth and tenth centuries
of the Christian1 eta, are universally allowed to form the lowest
of depression to which the profession of the religion iof Jesus
Christ was reduced in regard to darkness and superstition. It
will not therefore be necessary to detain the reader long from
subjects of a more pleasing nature, by dwelling very minutely
upon the state of things during this period. The fact is ac¬
knowledged by th.e Papists themselves, by Caianza, Qenebrard,
Baronius and others, who described the tenth century as a mon¬
strous age. The language of the latter indeed is so remarkable,
that it deserves to be quoted.. He says " Christ was then as it
would appear, in a deep sleep, and the ship was covered with
waves; and what seemed worse, when the Lord was thus asleep,
there were no disciples by whom, with their cries, to awaken
him, being themselves all fast asleep. "
0,n page 201 he says:, " In several churches in France, a festh
val was commemorated of the Yirgin M,ary's flight into Egypt
■—•-it was called the feast of the ass. A young girl, richly dressed,
with a child in her arms, was placed upon an ass superbly deco¬
rated with trappings. The ass was led to the altar in solemn
procession—^-.high mass was said with great pomp—nthe ass was
taught to kneel at proper places—a hymn, no less childish than
impious, was sung in his praise; and when the ceremony was
ended, the priest, instead of the usual words with which he dis-.
missed the people, brayed three times like an ass, and the peo--.
pie, instead of the usual response, brayed three times in return."
Surely, " darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the
people."
" I come now to the darkest and most dismal time the Chris¬
tian Church ever saw, and perhaps ever will see, from the rise of
Anti-Christ to the reformation, by Luther and others. rf he true
Church in this space was for many hundred years in a state of
great obscurity.
It is said in the History of the Reformation in Europe by the
author ,of the Council of Trent, on pages 17-18, that, " the
*History of Redemption, p. 321.
134 SOUNDING THE FOURTH TRUMPET.
TheodoGian code was written in blood; its punishments for heresy
and sedition would have satisfied Draco himselt. Alashho^
changed was the state of the body still calling itself the ChurcJj,
of God! What a mournful contrast between the times of t|ne
Apostles and those of Gregory the Great! " The next step will
be to the age of Gregory VII., the celebrated Hildebrand. ,Hg
became Pope A. D. 1073. The intervening period was an age
of dense darkness. The people were immersed in gross ignorance
and none cared for their souls. ■ . : .
President Edwards says: " During this time also superstition
and ignorance more and more prevailed. • The Holy Scriptures,
by degrees, were taken out of the hands of the laity, (and de¬
stroyed,) the better to promote the unscriptural and wicked
designs of the Pope and clergy; and instead of promoting
knowledge among the people, they industriously promoted igncr-
rance. It was a received maxim among them, that ignorance
is the mother of devotion; and so great was the darkness of these
times, that learning was almost extinct in the world. . The
priests themselves, most of them, were barbarously ignorant as
to any commendable learning, or any other knowledge than their
hellish craft in oppressing and tyrannizing over the people."
Voltair says: " Every thing sacred in religion was dignified in
the West by customs the most ridiculous and extravagant. The
festivals of fools and asses were established in most churches.-^
On days of solemnity, they created bishops of fools; and an,a#
was led into the body of the church, in a cape and a four coiir
nered cap. Church dancers feasting on the altars, revelry and
obscene farces were the ceremonies observed on these festival^
and in many dioceses these extravagances were.. continued for
seven centuries. Were we to consider only the usage here rela¬
ted, we should imagine we were reading an account of Hottentofs
or Negroes, and it must be confessed that in many things we did
not fall much short of them. "
Thus I have given some testimony upon, the ignorance, super¬
stition and darkness of the Church, (Sun,) and I might mul^h
ply it to an unlimited extent, but I think this is sufficient, as I
THE FOURTH TRUMPET.
135
find my self-Jimp^ih'eptibly led along until I am lengthening out
fiar heyoild what'I* anticipated or intended at the outset. But
seeing so 'much testimony before me, and it generally written
out lengthy, it requires more space to make quotations.
And the third part of the moon, &c. This I consider to he,
and shall so treat it, as the civil government of Rome, because
at this timfe it was a kind of Theocracy, like the Jewish. The
so called church held the supremacy over the civil government,
and yet the church and State were united together, and professed
to he governed by God himself, or by his Vicar the Pope. And
as I have said the Jewish code of worship and government was
represented by the moon, so also I may safely say that the moon
represented the government of Rome at this time, though I know
it is deviating (as I have done in nearly all the positions that I
have taken) from all the expositors that I have seen. I con¬
sider it to be a good figure, as the moon borrows all her light
from the sun. So during this day, (a thousand years,) the'civil
government derived all her light and power from the church.—
The Pope, who was the head of the church, had the right to
cr'own Kings and Emperors and to dethrone them at his pleasure ;
to declare war and to make peace; in fact, Kings had no right
to do any thing without his permission. And in fact, like the
sun over the moon, he and the clergy were entirely independent
of the civil authority—commit what crime they would, it could
not touch them. Indeed the Pope could not commit a crime as
he professed to be infallible, and was so considered by the peo¬
ple. As the sun was dark, so the moon only had two-third parts
of that light she once had. Republican Rome, that once shone
so brilliant, had now lost one-third of her light; and although
her republican form of government was not perfect nor as good
as it might have been, yet it was far superior to what she now
had. That Empire that once enlightened nations—where reli¬
gion, the arts and the sciences had prevailed over all the rest of
the world, had become obscure; for after the downfall of 'the
Western Empire she was presided over by Barbarians, and gov¬
erned by the Pope and his clergy, assisted by the monks who
1^6 SOUNDING f HE FOUftlTt i>RUJt?EA
were very ignorant, and they kept the rulers in ignorance,
had dispensed with all the wholesome laws of the Republic,^
They had destroyed the enlightened Senate that had so long .pre¬
sided over the Empire and made wholesome laws foi their pro¬
tection in life and property. All this was accomplished by the
influx, imigration of foreigners who Were ignorant of a republi¬
can form of government, who by then* numbers overpowered the
Romans and instituted tyranny and barbarity that could not he
endured, and of course darkness, anarchy and bloodshed fol¬
lowed,
Mr. Jones says, on page 179: " Many of the Gothic chiefs
were men of great talents,, and some of them not wholly igno¬
rant of the policy and literature of the Romans; but they were
afraid of the contagious influence of Roman example, and they
therefore studied to avoid every thing allied to the name whether
hurtful or beneficial. They erected a cottage in the vicinity of
a palace, breaking down the stately building, and burying in its
ruin§ the finest works of human ingenuity. They ate out-of
vessels of wood and 'caused their captives to be served out ■ of
vessels of silver. They prohibited their children from acquiring
a knowledge of literature and of the elegant arts, because they
concluded from the dastardly behavior of the Romans, th§t
learning tends to enervate the mind, and that he who had treifflr
bled under the rod of a schoolmaster, will never dare to meet the
sword with an undaunted eye. Upon the same principle they
rejected the Roman code of Laws; it reserved nothing to the
vengeance of man—they, therefore, inferred that it would rob
him of his active powers. Nor could they conceive how the
person who "received an injury could rest satisfied, but by pour¬
ing out his fury upon the author of the injustice. Hence arose
all these judicial combats and private wars, which ibr many
ages desolated Europe."
"In ages of ignorance and credulity," says Dr. Robertson,
u the ministers of religion are the objects of superstitious vene¬
ration. When the Barbarians, who overrun the Roman Empire,
first introduced the Christian faith, they found the clergy in
'.®he fouriva Frumfef.
13?
|>0Sgession of considerable power; and they naturally transferred
to those new guideS'the profound submission and reverence which
they had befen accustoihed to yield to the priests of that religion
which they had forsaken. They deemed their person to be
equally sacred with their function, and Would have considered it
as impious to subject them to the profane jurisdiction of the
laity."
J opes says, page 217: "Nothing is more clear, than that the
clergy aspired to the right of disposing of crowns, which they
founded! on the ancient Jewish practice of anointing Kings.—
They^iad recourse to the most miserable fictions and sophisms
to render themselves independent. They refused to take the
oath of fidelity, because sacred hands could not, without abomi¬
nation, submit to hands impure. One usurpation led to another
—abuse constituted right—a quibble appeared a divine law.—=
Ignorance sanctified every thing, and the most erroneous super¬
stitions of the clergy obtained a< ready sanction from the slavish
superstition of the laity. One very popular argument which
the former much insisted on was, that the splendor of their dig¬
nity was to the majesty of the Emperors and Kings as the reful¬
gent sun was to the borrowed light of the moon; and therefore
demanded and extorted from crowned heads the most extravagant
marks of respect and the most debasing humiliations, They
trumpeted up a collection of forged acts, known at present by
the frame of " The Decrees;" spurious writings, in which are
Supposed the ancient canons, ordaining that no provincial coun¬
cil shall be held without the consent of the Pope, and that all
ecclesiastical causes shall be -under his jurisdiction, • It was pre¬
tended that these canons were, left by the Apostles, and was im¬
posed upon the people for eight hundred years; and although
the fraud was detected, the custom established by them still
exists in some countries; their antiquity supplied the place of
truth. " History tells us that the Senate was restored in the
tenth century, but Gibbon says "that will not bear criticism,
but that it-was restored in 1194, and consisted of 56 Senators.;3
138 SOUNDING THE FOURTH TRUMPET.
I think I have produced testimony sufficient to show that the
construction I have put upon the visionary view which John h&d
is the correct one, as the clergy claimed the church to he the sun,
and the civil government or state to he the moon. (See the last
quotation from Jones.) And that as darkness prevailed for a
thousand years, the Senate was restored ahout the close of the
twelfth century, which hegan to show some light. -v
And the third part of the stars was smitten likeiuise. I have
had occasion several times already to speak of stars as heing men
high in office. For instance: as the Jewish High Priests or
ministers of State, hut more particularly as ministers claiming
to he ministers of the Gospel; hut in this figure, F mink it
refers to ministers of Church and State hoth. That it includes
ministers is very evident from the language used in the first
chapter of Revelations: " I saw one like unto the Son of Man
walking amongst the seven golden candlesticks, and holding the
seven stars in his right hand; the seven stars are the seven spirits,,
or ministers of the seven churches." I have already shown the
darkness of the government and ministers of State, and some of
the darkness of ministers in connection with the church, hut . will
here produce some additional testimony, to show that a third
part of the stars was smitten also. The sun, moon and stars had
long been in eclipse, not entire, but one-third part; not one-third
part of the day and the other part of the time bright, but one-
third part was darkened or smitten the whole day, which was
one thousand years. The church, the government and the min¬
istry had greatly departed from their former high stand and
passed through a dark season.
When I say church here I mean to be understood as alluding
to the Catholic church and her ministry. Although there was a
Gospel' church and ministry in existence, yet, from persecution
and being shut up in the wilderness, she had but little light;
' o '
and all over the Empire now and then a bright star would make
its appearance. That is, some truly Gospel ministers, at inter¬
vals, make their appearance throughout all the dark ages.
JT^.E FOURTH TRUMPET.
139
.( M[rr, ,,i>£| page 200: "History has exhibited to us
the most melancholy picture of universal darkness and ignorance,
which, at the beginning of the seventh century, had overspread
all ranks of men. Even the ecclesiastical orders scarcely offered
an exception to this general description. Among the Bishops,
the grand instructors and defenders of the Christian church,
O . 7
few, we are told, could be found, whose knowledge and abilities
were sufficient to compose the discourses, however mean and in¬
coherent, which their offices sometimes compelled them to de¬
liver to the people."
Jones saysjteofi page 220: "The reader will probably be satis¬
fied with this concise detail. Indeed, all our historians,, civil
and ecclesiastical, agree in describing the tenth century of the
Christian era as the darkest epoch in the annals of mankind.—
The history of the Roman pontiffs that lived in this (the tenth)
century, says the learned Mosheim, is a history of so many mon¬
sters, and not of men, and exhibits a horrible series of the most
flagitious, tremendous and complicated crimes, as all writers,
even those of the Romish communion, unanimously confess."
" The morals of the clergy were at the lowest ebb. Bishops,
Abbots, and others of the highest orders, reveled in luxury, or
committed with impunity deeds of violence and blood. Their
dwellings were, for the most part, scenes of, debauchery. Often
did they appear in the field clad in mail and weapons of warfare
in their hands, leading armed hosts to plunder and inflict wretch¬
edness on the innocent and. defenceless people. The common
Priests had indulged their licentious propensities without the
slightest regard to decorum. In many places concubinage was
the rule, and chastity the exception. Habits of gluttony and
drunkenness, and general dissoluteness of manners, distinguished
..thpse who should have been patterns of good works. Sometimes
thq Priests paid a fine to the Bishop for the women they kept,
and for every child born to them. A German Bishop boasted,
in .a public assembly, of having received payments of this kind
ffom eleven thousand priests in one year.
*LUsioix of th.e Reformation, p. 48.
10
140
SOUNDING THE FOURTH TRUMPET.
The Priests and Bishops were not only ignorant, immoial ans£
debased, but were idolatrous and superstitious in the extreme-*—
they encouraged monkism, monasteries and hermits, who inflicted
a kind of penance upon themselves, secluding themselves from
human society. I will give two extracts to show to what extent
men can be led by religious phrenzy., I will first give an ex¬
tract from one of the letters of Gregory the Great, to show the
ignorance and superstition of the times, upon the subject ot
relics. He, (Gregory.) is considered one of the best and most
! earned Bishops, and was far superior to those %ho lived in the
intermediate space from the sixth to the twelfth century.
''Gregory was enthusiastic in his reverence for the relics.—
ddie Empress Constantina had built a .Church at Constantinople
in honor to the Apostle St. Paul, and requested Gregory to send
her the Apostle's head or some portion of his body to deposit in
the church. In his reply, Gregory states that he neither could
or dare grant the favor, for the Bodies of the holy Apostles Peter
and Paul, are so resplendent with miracles and terrific with prodi¬
gies in their own churches, that no one can approach them with¬
out great awe, even for the purpose of adoring them. When my
predecessor, of happy memory, wished to change some silver
ornaments which were placed over, the most holy body of St.
Peter, though at the distance of almost fifteen feet, a warning
of no small terror appeared to him. Even-1 myself wished to
make some alteration near the holy body of St. Paul, and it was
necessary to dig rather deeply near his tomb. The superior
(superintendent) of the place found some bones which were not
at all connected with the tomb, and, having presumed to disturb
and remove them-to some other place, he was visited by certain
fearful apprehensions and died suddenly. Be it then known to
you, that it is the custom of the Romans, when they give any '
relics, not to venture to touch any part pf the body; only they
put into a box a piece of linen, (called brandium,) which is
placed near the holy bodies; then it is withdrawn, and shut up
with due veneration in the church that is to be dedicated; and
SOUNDING THE FOURTH TRUMPET.
141
Sis many prodigies are then wrought by it as if the bodies them¬
selves had been carried thither. Whence it happened, that in
the time of St: Leo, (as we learn from our ancestors,) when
some Greeks doubted the virtue of such relics, the Pope called
for a pair of scissors and cut the lining and blood flowed from
the incision. But that your religious desire may not be wholly
frustrated, I will hasten to send you some part of those chains
which St. Paul wore on his neck and hands, if indeed, I shall
succeed in getting off my filings from them. For since many
continually solicit as a blessing, that they may carry off from
those chains some small portion of their filings, a priest stands
by with a file; and sometimes it happens that some small por¬
tion falls off from the chains instantly and without delay, while
at other times the file is long drawn over the chains, and yet
nothing is at last scraped off of them."
Such were the follies of Gregory the Great, as he was called;
a man who is one of the principal saints of'the church of Borne,
and whose name is often mentioned by Protestants with great
respect, and by historians, both politically and religiously, as
one of the great luminaries. "If thy light be darkness how
great must that darkness be. " If such persons as Gregory and
the Empress' could be so ignorant as appears in this lette~, or
base enough to know it was not true and dissemble so as to im¬
pose it upon others, what must have been the ignorance and su¬
perstition of the common people; and yet he is still regarded as
a saint.
I will now give the other extract to show the ignorance and
superstition upon the subject of penance by the monks. The
doctrine of monks was propagated at Borne in 341, and the most
singular case is recorded by Mr. Jones on page 169, in which
he says: "One of the most renowned examples of monkish pe¬
nance that is upon record, is that of St. Sytnon, monk, who lived
about the middle of the fifth century, (Gibbon says A. D. 451,)
and who is thought to have outstripped all others. He is said
to have lived thirty-six years on a pillar erected on the summit
©f a high' mountain in Syria, whence he got the name of "Symon
142
SOUNDING THE FOURTH TRUMPET.
Stylits." From his pillar, it is said, he never descended1, unless
to take possession of another, which he did four times, having in
all occupied five of them. On his last pillar, which was loftier
than any of the former, being sixty feet high and only three
broad, he remained, according to report, fifteen years without
intermission, summer and winter, day and night, exposed to all
inclemencies of the seasons, in a climate liable to great and
sudden changes, from the most sultry heat to the most piercing
cold. We are informed thafc he always stood, the breadth of his
pillar not permitting him to lie down. He spent the day till
three in the afternoon in meditation and prayer; from that time
till sun set he harrangued the people, who flocked to him from
all countries, after which they were dismissed with his benedic¬
tion. He would, on no account, permit females to eome within
his precincts, not even his own mother, who, it is said, through
grief and mortification from being refused admittance, died the
third day after her arrival. In order to show how indefatigable
he was in every thing that conduced to the glory of God and
the good of mankind, he spent much time daily in exemplary
exercise of bowing so low as to make his forehead touch his
toes, and so perpetually, that one who went with Theodoric to
see him, counted no fewer than twelve hundred and forty-four
times, when, being more wearied in counting than the saint (the
maniac I call him) was in performing, he gave over counting.
He is said to have taken no food except on Sundays, and that all
the last year of his life he stood upon one leg only, the other
having been rendered useless by an ulcer, (cancer.) The mon¬
astic saints, who excite only the pity and contempt of a phi¬
losopher, were respected and adored by the prince and the peo¬
ple. Successive crowds of pilgrims from Gaul and India, salu¬
ted the divine pillar of Symon; the Queens of Arabia and Persia
gratefully confessed supernatural virtue; and the angelic hermit
was consulted by the young Theodocius in the most important
concerns of Church and State.
His remains were transported from the mountain of Telemessa
by a solemn procession 6f the Patriarch, the Master General of
WWRUJG OUT THJS FOURTH VIAL.
143"
the East,,six Bishops, twenty-one Counts or Tribunes, and six
thousand soldiers, and Antioch received his hones as her glorious
ornament and impregnable defence. The favorites of heaven were
accustomed to cure incurable diseases with a touch, a word, a dis¬
tant message, and to expel the most obstinate demons from the
souls and bodies which they possessed. They familiarly accosted,
or commanded the lions and serpents to depart, infused vegeta¬
tion into sapless trunks, suspended iron on the surface of the pa¬
ters, passed the Nile on the back of a crocodile, and refreshed
themselves in a fire furnace*
This may suffice for the .present to-show the ignorance and su¬
perstition (and of course darkness) that pervaded the ministry
(the stars) for a thousand years,
4th. The pouring out the fourth vial.
Revelations xvi. 8-9; "And the fourth angel poured out his
'vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men
with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blas¬
phemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues;
and they repented not to give him the glory. "
Poured out upon the sun. Can any one doubt but what this
had reference to the same period of time as that of opening the
fourth seal and sounding the fourth trumpet. The opening of
the fourth seal was a pale horse, and him that sat on him was
death, which had reference to those tremendous and destructive
wars that brought about the overthrow of the Romans and the
setting up the ten kingdoms. And the sounding of the fourth
trumpet had reference to the ignorance and darkness, both of
Church and State, including the ministry. This being poured out
upon the sun, (church,) has reference to persecutions, tyranny and
oppression by the Bishops and Popes over the Church, or over
each other, when they had. the power during this dark period.
Poured upon the sun. As. if the heat of the sun was increased
to such intensity that its burning rays, having no obstruction, na
intervening clouds or refreshing, rains to moisten the earth and to
jpvigorate vegetation, continues until the earth and vegetation is
144 POURING OUT THE FOURTH VIAE,
parched, man is scorched and famine ensues,, which produces
dreadful consequences. This is the literal figure used. *
This is the meaning: God had poured the vial of his wrath into
the Church until it produced, spiritually, what the heat of the
sun would produce literally. God frequently causes sin to punish
itself; and the Catholic church had risen to such an awful height
of sin and blasphemy, that he poured his wratn upon her so that
she might he afflicted in several different ways, as I shall show he-
fore I have done.
First. The Pope had attained, in the year A. D. 606, to su¬
preme power, both temporal and ecclesiastical—-there was no in¬
tervening power. It used to be that the Emperor could restrain
him some, hut now he claimed to he superior to Kings and Em¬
perors, for he claimed to he God upon earth and infallible. Being
thus endowed with all power, he undertook to rid the world of all
heretics of vdiatever name, for all was heresy that was not in
accordance with his faith, (not with the Bible,) and having the
military sword in his hand, he could enforce his decrees.
Second. During the long rvar with Persia the church became
disturbed, and finally divided upon the incarnation of Christ; a
seism that was more bitter and destructive to church and State—
more lasting and widespread than that of Arianism. It produced
a religious war that lasted two hundred and fifty years. The doc¬
trines of the incarnation are so diversified and various, that it
would be impossible and imprudent for me to undertake to give
all the multifarious views that entered into this war. A concise
view of a portion of it may suffice. It was contended by some
that Jesus was but a mere man, the legitimate son of Joseph and
Mary, while others contended that he was not human but divine—
never was a child but always a man—that he was not subject to
affliction, hunger and thirst, but that he was incorruptible.. Some
contended that he was a mere man,, but that he was better than
others, until his baptism, when the spirit descended upon him as.
the Christ, and entered into him and remained until his cruci-.
fixion and then fled and left him, wdiile others contended that; he
had no body in substance—that it was only in appearance, and
E.OJJItfN.G QUX TJEJ® F01JET,a YUJW
14^
that whemhe.spake, the yoice .only seemed to, emanate from him.
Others made a distinction between the Christ and Jesus—that
the Christ'was the first of God's creation, and that Jesus was an
emanation . from Mary. (Just, what some of our modern divines
hold.) But the: more rational part held that the two natures
were blended or united together, and that he was divine, yet
that he possessed a material body and rational soul and was sub¬
ject to afflictions, hunger and thirst.
This religious war was going on while the Emperor was engaged
in long and destructive wars with Persia and other nations. At
this time Cyril became Patriarch of Alexandria, who being ambi¬
tious and despotic when seated upon the throne of Athanathes,
became a great persecutor of all he supposed to be heretics. The
Jews, who had long been indulged in Alexandria, being an indus¬
trious people, had accumulated great wealth. He sallied out with
his troops and soldiers at dawn of day upon the unsuspecting and
defenceless people, and destroyed and dispersed forty thousand
Jews of Alexandria, taking possession of their immense wealth.
Gibbon says lie even persecuted, or opened his reign by persecu¬
ting the Novations, the most innocent and harmless of all the
sectaries. This is saying a great deal for the Novatians by a Catho-
olic, or rather an infidel, for they composed the Church, or vvefc-
the true followers of Christ—a remnant of the woman's seed, who
were not engaged in these controversies.
Thus matters stood until Nestorius, a monk of Antiocli, was
made Patriarch of Constantinople. To show his disposition I will
give his language 'in his first discourse before the Emperor: "Give
me, 0 Caesar, " he exclaimed, "give me the earth purged, of here¬
tics, and I will give you in exchange the kingdom of heaven.—
Exterminate, with me, the heretics, and with you, I will extermi¬
nate the Persians." Nestorius publicly denounced the idea of
calling Mary the mother of God, which the Catholics had been
in the habit of doing to avoid Arianism, which caused a dispute
between Cyril and himself, notwithstanding he had discovered a
conventicle .of Arians who preferred death to submission, and set
fire to. it, when the flames so§n communicated to the other build-
146
POURING OUT THE FOURTH VIAL.
ings, for which act he acquired the name of incendiaiy. Cyril
made religion a pretext, yet it is evident that jealousy and ambi¬
tion (as it is in our day) was the ground of complaint. They
commenced the controversy mild but soon became more bitter, and
finally a council was ordered by the Emperor to be held at Ephe-
sus on Pentecost. Cyril made his appearance with great force
with his Egyptian and African monks; and as Nestorius delayed
coming a few days, Cyril called together the council and excom¬
municated him before his arrival; but when he arrived at the inn
and heard-what had been done, he and his bishops in turn exclu¬
ded and anathematized Cyril and his bishops, ordering out the
troops to enforce his anathemies. This raised a clamor of the
rabble of the city against the blasphemer of the mother of God,
as her tomb was at Ephesus. This caused the Shedding of blood,
and finally the Emperor iuterposed and ordered them to disperse.
Another general council was called. Cyril asked the assistance of
the Roman Pontiff, who being flattered by it, readily gave his
ascent. The Emperor labored for thirty years to reconcile the
fwo factions without success—first one side prevailed and then the
other, until finally it ended in a division of the Church of the
Eastern and Western Empires, and henceforward they worshiped
in the East in the Greek and in the West in the Latin language.
The most bitter enmity existed between them. Several attempts
have been made to bring about a reconciliation or union, but
without effect.
And'power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. In a
religious war of two hundred and fifty years, men would be greatly
scorched. Gibbon says, in speaking of this war, Vol. iv. page 410:
" This deadly superstition was influenced, on either side, by the
principles and practices of retaliation. In the pursuit of meta¬
physical quarrels many thousands were slain, and the Christians
of every degree were deprived af the substantial enjoyments of
social life. Perhaps an extravagant fable of the times may con¬
ceal an alegorical picture of these fanatics, who tortured each
other and themselves. Says a grave Bishop: " The people of
Alexandria, and all Egypt, were seized with a strange and diaboli-
POURING OUT THE FOURTH VIAL.
147
Cal phrenzy.1 Great and small, slaves and freed men, monks and
clergy and the natives of the land who opposed the Synod of
Ohalcedonia, lost their speech and reason, barked like dogs, and
tore with their own teeth the flesh from their own hands and
arms." These factions extended even into the Choir.
In Yol. iv. page 413, Gibbon says: " The Trisagion, with and
without this obnoxious tradition, was chanted in the Cathedral by
two adverse choirs, and when their lungs were exhausted, they
had recourse to the more solid arguments of sticks and stones.—
The aggressors were punished by the Emperor, and defended by
the Patriarch, and the crown and the mitre were staked on the
event of this momentous quarrel. The streets were instantly
crowded with innumerable swarms of men, women and children.
The legion of monks, in regular array, marched, and shouted and
fought at their head. In this pious rebellion he depopulated
Thrace, besieged Constantinople, and exterminated sixty-five
thousand of his fellow-Christians. Such was the event of the first
of the religious wars, which have been waged in the name and by
the disciples of the God of peace."
Such a religious warfare produced famine, for there was but
little Gospel preaching done; as the Prophet had said "it shall
come to pass in the latter day, that there shall be a' famine in the
land; it shall not be a famine for bread, nor a thirst for water, but
for hearing the word; they shall run to and fro and not hear it."
When there is so much war famine follows as a natural conse¬
quence, and every person discouraged, inasmuch as those who
were not engaged in the war, if they accumulated property, it was
liable to be taken by the army, or by the clergy; so no one had any
anxiety or encouragement to study the arts and sciences, or to cul¬
tivate the soil.
God's displeasure was hanging over them for their wickedness,
idolatry and persecution of his people. It is said that a famine
took place which lasted thirty years and almost depopulated Pa¬
lestine, and destroyed the fertility of the country so that historians
and skeptics have doubted whether it ever was as- productive as
it is represented in the bible.
143 P0FRING OUT THE FOURTH VIAL.
Gibbon says, in Vol. iv. page 432: " But the approximation .at
ideas could not abate the vehemence of passion; each paity weic
the more astonished that their blind antagonists could dispute on
so trifling a difference. The tyrant of Syria enforced die belief
of his creed, and his reign was sprinkled with the blood of. thjee
hundred and fifty monks, who were slain, not perhaps without
provocation, under the walls of Apamea. Fifty-iour Bishops,
were swept from their thrones and eight hundred ecclesiastics
were cast into prison.
Notwithstanding the ambiguous favor of Theodora, (the Em¬
press,) the oriental flocks, deprived of their sheplierds, must either
have been insensibly famished or poisoned. The exile of the popu¬
lar candidate to Carthage and Sardinia, in darned the ferment of
Alexandria; and after a schism of one hundred and seventy years,
the Gaianites still revered the memory and doctrine of their foun¬
der. The strength of numbers and discipline was tried in detpi¬
rate and bloody battles; the streets were filled with the dead
bodies of citizens and soldiers—the pious women, ascending the
roofs of their houses, showered down every sharp or ponderous
utensil on the heads of their enemies; and the final victory of
Narses was owing to the flames with which he wasted the third
capitol of the Roman world. The powers of government were
straitened in Ids support; he might appoint or displace the dukes
aud tribunes of Egypt. The allowance of bread which Diocletian
had granted was suppressed, (he churches were shut, and a nation
of scismatics was deprived, at once of their spiritual and' carnal
mod."
And the people were scorched. We see in these quotations that
men were not only slain in this pious war, which had now con¬
tinued one hundred and seventy years all over the same church.,
(Catholic,) hut divided upon the incarnation of Christ.
The two factions had triumphed alternately. Now the govern¬
ment of the Eeist had prevailed at Alexandria over the people,, cl¬
over Cyril's party, though he had long been dead. Monks, and
ministers were, many of them, put to death, and many morofim-
piisoned, while the city was destroyed "by fire and the stpmis
PaUKING OU.T TI|E FOUJJTH VIAL.
149
drenched, with tjjlood. Eamine. followed as a natural consequence.
All this was produced by the factions of the Church, (anti-Chris¬
tian church.) Surely the people were. "scorched with great heat
and blasphemed,the name of God."
Third. They were scorched by Mahomet, who claimed to be
the Prophet of God, about the beginning of the seventh century,
aqd soon began to propagate his religion by the sword. He, being
situated on the verge of two Empires, (Persia and Rome,) must
have viewed with great satisfaction the destructive wars between
the two Empires, and the religious wars by which they were con¬
tinually wasting their strength. When he had numbered fifteen
hundred converts, he proclaimed his intention of propaga¬
ting his religion by the sword, and by attacking and robbing cara¬
vans, distributing the spoils amongst his followers, he soon con¬
quered Arabia; and setting out for Rome with ten thousand horse
and twenty thousand foot, in the way that leads from Media to
Damascus, intent on the conquest of Syria, he died on his way in
the year 632. His successor, Mahomet the Second, continued his
conquests over Egypt, Syria, Palestine; and almost over all Eu¬
rope, and finally seated himself at Constantinople, which con¬
tinues to be his royal palace to this day. What a scorching, or
scourging of the nominal christians, for many thousands were put
to death, and multiplied thousands made to embrace the faith of
Mahomet.
I had intended to have many mere extracts from Gibbon's
Rome, but they are so numerous that might be made to the point,
and would require so much space, that I shall content myself
with what I have given, and proceed fourthly and lastly to show
how they were scorched by the crusades, which were from the
West, as nearly all that I have said upon the subject was con¬
nected with the Eastern Empire.
I shall proceed to make a quotation from Jones, though rather
lengther for my purpose, hut it is so condensed and arranged that
I cannot give the sense as I wish without giving it entire. It will
at once show the fermentation and excitement of the Church
150 POURING OUT THE FOURTH VlAt.
(sun) in the West as well as the East, inasmuch as the fourth vial
was poured upon the sun.
The following is from Joneses Church History, pages 240-243;
u It has been remarked by late historians, (Robertson and Hume,)
that there is no .event in the history of mankind more singular
than that of the crusades. The subject is indeed very remotely,
if at all, connected with the Kingdom of Christ; but as it forms
a prominent feature in the history of the anti-Christian apostacy,
and as this extravagant enterprise took place about the close of
the eleventh century, and especially as the i elation of them
throws a portion of light upon the history of Europe during this
benighted period, it may not be without its use to give an account
of them.
Pope Gregory VIII., among his other vast ideas, had formed
the project of uniting the Christians of the Western Empire
against the Mahometans, and of recovering Palestine from the
hands of the Infidels, but his quarrels with the Emperor Henry
the IV.' prevented the enterprise from being achieved during his
pontificate. The veneration and delight with which we view
those places that have been the residence of any illustrious per¬
sonage, or theatre of any great event, have been remarked by
philosophers and moralists. Hence the enthusiasm with which
the learned still visit the ruins of Athens and Rome; and from
this source also flowed the superstitious notion which induced
Christians, from the earliest time, to visit the country in which
their religion originated, and that city in particular in which the
Saviour died for the redemption 'of sinners. Pilgrimages to the
shrines of saints and martyrs were also common; and in propor¬
tion to the difficulty with which they were performed to distant
countries was their merit appreciated, till they came at length. tP
be considered an expiation for almost every crime. Moreover an
opinion began to prevail over Europe, towards the close of tbh
tenth and the beginning of the eleventh century, that the thou¬
sand years mentioned in. Revelations xx. 2-4, were nearly accoinr
plished and the end of the world was at hand; a persuasion which
greatly augmented the number and order of the crusade ^eyot^fe
POURTNGr OUT THE- FOURTH VIAL,
151
who undertook the journey. A general consternation seized the
minds of men; numbers relinquished their professions, forsook
their families and friends and hastened to the holy land,- where
they imagined Christ would suddenly appear to judge the living
and the dead. But on this pious journey the pilgrims had the
mortification to find that the holy sepulchre, and other places
which had been rendered sacred by the Saviour's presence, had
fallen into the hands of the infidels. The Mahometans had made
themselves masters of Palestine, soon after the death of their
prophet, but they gave little disturbance to the zealous pilgrims
who daily flocked to Jerusalem, and they allowed every person,
on payment of a moderate tribute, to visit the holy sepulchre to
perform his religious duties and to return in peace.
But, about the middle of the eleventh century, the Turks who
had also imbibed Mahometanism, wrested Syria from the Sara-
cenes who had now been in possession of it for several centuries,
and making themselves master of Jerusalem, the pilgrims became
exposed to outrages of every kind from those fierce barbarians.—
Every person who leturned from Palestine related the dangers
he had encountered in visiting the holy city, and described the
cruelty and vexation of the Turks, who, to use the language of
pilgrims, not only profhned the sepulchre of the Lord by their
presence, but derided the sacred mysteries in the very place of
their completion, and when the Son of God was expected imme¬
diately to judge the world. While the minds of men were thus
truly roused, a fanatical monk, commonly known by the name of
Peter the Hermit, a Frenchman, born at Amiens, in Picardy,
conceived the project of leading all the forces of Christendom
against the infidels and driving them from the holy land. He
had made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and was so deeply affected
with the danger to which bis fellow pilgrims were now exposed,
that, on his return, he ran from Province to Province, with a cru¬
cifix in his hand, exciting Princes and people to undertake the
holy warfare, and he succeeded in every where kindling the same
enthusiastic ardor for it with which he himself was animated.—
When he painted the sufferings of the natives rnd pilgrims of
152 POURING OUT THE FOURTH VIAL.
Palestine, every heart was melted to compassion every bieast
glowed with indignation when he challenged the warriors of the
Empire to defend their brethren and rescue their Saviour.
Pope Erban II., who at first hesitated about the success'of
such an undertaking, at length entered into Peter s views, and
summoned a council at Placenta, at which, so immense was the
multitude of attendants, it was found necessary to hold it in the
open field. It consisted of four thousand ecclesiastics and thirty
thousand of the laity, all of whom declared for the war against
the infidels, though but few of them showed any alacrity to en¬
gage personally in the enterprize. The Pope, therefore, was under
the necessity of calling another council, during the same year,'at
Cleremont, in Havergne, which was attended by the Prelates,
Nobles and Princes of the first distinction. On this occasion the
Pontiff and the Hermit exerted all their eloquence in the most
pathetic exhortations, to stimulate the audience to embark in the
pious cause, at the conclusion of which the whole assembly, as if
impelled by an immediate inspiration, exclaimed with one voice:
" It is the will of God." "It is indeed the will of Glod, " replied
the Pope. " And let the memorable saying, the inspiration surely
of the Holy Spirit, be forever adopted as your cry of battle to
animate the devotion and courage of t'he champions of Christ.
His cross is the emblem of your salvation—wear it—a red bloody
cross, as an external mark on your breasts or shoulders, as a pledge
of your sacred and irrevocable engagement." These words were
aocordingly adopted as the motto for the sacred standard of reti-
desvous and battle in all the future exploits of the champion^ of
the cross; the symbol chosen by the devout champions, as the
badge of union, and it was fixed to the right shoulder, whence
their expeditions obtained the name of crusades.
Persons of all ranks now flew to arms with the utmost' ardht;
not only the gallant nobles of the age and their martial followers,
when the boldness of a romantic enterprise might be suppose'*!!to
allure, but persons in the more humble and pacific statioiM
life, ecclesiastics of every order, and even felnales concealed*tfi§r
sex beneath a disguise of armor and engaged with emulatiob$$a
POURING OUT THE FOURTH YIAL. 153
cause which was deemed so sacred and momentous. The gieatest
criminals entered with alacrity into a service which they regarded
as a propitiation for all their offences; if they succeeded they
battered themselves with the hope of making their fortunes in
this world, and if they died, they were promised a crown of glory
in the world to come. Devout passion and prejudice, all contri¬
buted to the common end; and the combination of so many causes
produced that wonderful emigration which induced the daughter
of Alexis Commenus, the Emperor of Constantinople, to say that
Europe loosened from its foundation, and impelled by its moving
principle, seemed in one united body to precipitate itself upon
Asia. The number of adventurers soon became so great, that
their more experienced leaders were apprehensive that the great¬
ness of the armament would defeat its own purpose. They there¬
fore wisely permitted an innumerable multitude, computed at three
hundred thousand, to go before them, under the command of
Peter the Hermit, Walter the Moneyless, and other wild fanatics.
Peter at the head of his army, with sandals .on his feet and a
rope about his loins, marched through Hungary and Bulgaria to¬
wards Constantinople. A German Priest by the name of Godes-
ealus, followed by a numerous banditi, took the same route; and
trusting to heaven for a miraculous supply of all their wants, they
made no provision for subsistence on their march. They were not
long, however, in finding themselves reduced to the necessity of
obtaining by plunder what they presumptuously expected from
miracles, and the Jews were the first victims of their plunder.
Considering themselves as enlisted in the service of Christ, they
concluded that they were fully warranted in taking vengeance on
Ins murderers, and they, therefore, put to the sword without-
mercy such as refused to be baptised, seizing their property without
the least regard to justice. In Bavania alone, twelve thousand
Jews were massacred, and many thousands more in the other
Provinces of Germany. But Jews were not to be found every
where-; those pious robbers, having tasted the sweets of plunder,
and: being subject to no military regulations, began of course to
pillage without discrimination, till the inhabitants of the country
154 POURING OUT THE FOURTH VIAL.
through which they passed rose in defence of themselves and fam¬
ilies, and nearly destroyed them all. Peter, however, with .the
remnant of his army, consisting of about twenty thousand stary-
ing wretches, at length reached Constantinople, where he was re¬
inforced by a multitude of the rabble from Germany and Italy,
who, by pillaging the churches and practicing the greatest disor¬
ders, had so far continued to follow their leaders.
Alexus Commenus, the Greek Emperor, was astonished to sec
his dominions deluged with an inundation of licentious barbarians,
strangers alike to order and discipline; and especially on being
told of the multitudes that were following under different leaders.
Thus circumstanced, however, he very wisely considered that the
most prudent step he could take, was to get rid of such trouble¬
some guests as soon as possible, by furnishing them with vessels to
transport themselves to the other side of the Bosphorus. And
Peter, the General of the crusade, soon found himself in the plains
of Asia, at the head of a Christian army, ready to give battledto
infidels. The first engagement was with Soliman, Sultan of Nice,
who fell upon the disorderly crowd and slaughtered them almost
without resistance. Walter the Moneyless, and many other
leaders of equal celibrity, were slain; but Peter the Hermit found
his way back to Constantinople, where he was regarded as a ma¬
niac who had enlisted a multitude of inflated people to follow
him. .
Asia was then divided into a number of petty States, coi&pie-
hended under the great ones. The princes of the lesser States
paid homage to the califfs, though they were in effect their coas¬
ters; and the Sultans, who were very numerous, still further-en¬
feebled the Mahometan Empire by continued wars with each other,
the certain consequence of divided sway. The crusaders^ there¬
fore, who, when mustered on the banks of the Bosphorus,
amounted to the incredible number of one hundred tkoua&nd
horsemen and six hundred thousand foot, were sufficient, d» have
conquered all-Asia,'.had th-ey, been properly disciplined andjimited
under one head, or commanded by leaders rwho, acted in .ccmid;
but they were conduetedby:men:the nmst>independen^ia^adffi(|ta-
POURING OUT THE FOURTH VIAL.
155
b}o spirits, unacquainted with discipline, and enemies to civil
and military subordination.
Their zeal, however, their courage and their irresistible force,
still carried them forward, and advanced them to the object of
their expedition in defiance of every obstacle. After an obsti-
nant seige they took Nice, the seat of old Soliman, Sultan of
Syria; they also made themselves masters of Antioch, the seat
of another Sultan, and entirely broke the strength of the Turks,
who had for a long time tyranized over the Arabs.
The armies of the crusades were now greatly reduced in num¬
ber, yet, notwithstanding this diminution of forces, after a seige
of five weeks, they took the city of Jerusalem by assault, and
put the garrison and the inhabitants to the sword without dis¬
tinction. The brave were not protected by arms, nor the timid
by submission: neither age nor sex were spared; infants pierced
by the same sword that pierced their suppliant mothers. The
.streets of Jerusalem were covered with heaps of the slain, and
the shrieks of agony and despair resounded from every house,
when these triumphant warriors, gioted with slaughter, threw
aside their arms still streaming with blood, and advanced, with
naked feet and bended knees to the sepulchre of the Prince of
Peace. Sung anthems to that Redeemer who had purchased
their salvation by his blood," (I doubt whether the salvation of
any of them had been purchased as they vainly supposed,) "and
while deaf to the cries of distress of their fellow creatures, dis¬
solved in tears for the suffering of the Mesiah! So inconsistent
is human nature with itself, and so easily does the most degraded
superstition associate both with the most heroic couragp and with
the fiercest barbarity."
Having given in detail pretty much the first crusade and its
disasters, (for it set out with seven hundred thousand persons,
of whom only about twenty thousand ever returned to Europe,)
I shall now content myself with giving some few more particu¬
lars without giving in detail all the others, as there were seven
or eight in all in one hundred years with about the same result.
n
156 POURING OUT THE FOURTH VIAL.
In the seige at Jerusalem, the Christians became iat length
dispirited, and wearied.with fatigue, began to recoil, which Duke
Godfrey perceived and called out with a loud voice, proclaiming-
that the heavens declared for them, that he had just seen on
Mount Olivet a horseman descending from the clouds with a
buckler, all sparkling with lightning, who by his gestures encour¬
aged him to pursue his victory. This artifice had the desired
effect. The whole army believed in the reality of the vision,
not doubting that it was St. Gregory who promised them suc¬
cess.
The power of the crusaders was gradually declining in those-
places which they had conquered. Aid was asked from Europe^'
PopeEugenius III., to whom the deputation from the East had
been sent, appointed Bernard, Abbot of Clairvoux, as the insti¬
gator of this pious warfare. He was heard as an ariel and re¬
vered as a prophet. He persuaded the King of France that-
there was no other method of expiating his guilt but by going on-
a crusade to the Holy Land, who accepted the cross with many .
of the nobility. The labors of this fanatical orator were not
confined to France. He preached the Crusades in Germany also,.
where, by the force of his gestures and impassioned eloquence*
he prevailed on Conrad III. and an infinite number of persons of
all ranks to take the cross, and created great excitement, though
they did not understand a word he said, it being delivered in
French," (similar to some of our zealous missionaries amongst.,
the heathen.) "This romantic expedition was signally clisasj*
trous, for the King of France and Conrad xwas defeated by thg-
Sultan of lconium, who decoyed them among the rocks of L,ao-
decia and cut up their armies entirely, and they returned to Flit
rope with a handful of men. Thousands of ruined families in*
vain exclaimed against St. Bernard for his deluding prophets.,
He excused'himself by the example of Moses, who* like him,
said, had promised to conduct the.Israelites into a happy poring,
try and yet saw the first generation perish in the desert." » id
1 he worst enemies to the crusades were their own
feud* and dissensions. - They neither could V^il^
POURING OUT THE FOURTH VIAL.
157
irig together 'in mass with a view to conquest, nor could they
unite their!conquests under one government after they had made
them. They set up their small States, one at Jerusalem, an¬
other at Aritioch and another at Edessa. These States, instead
of assisting, made war upon each other and on the Greek Emp;-
rors, and thus became an early prey to the common enemy. In
1204, the phrenzy of crusading seised the children, who are ever
ready to imitate what they see their parents engaged in. Their
childish folly was excited by the monks and schoolmasters/' (sim¬
ilar to our preachers and Sunday school teachers, who excite
them upon foreign missions,) "and thousands of the little inno¬
cents were conducted from their parents and homes on the super¬
stitious interpretation of these words: " Out of the mouths of
babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise. " (The same
words are perverted now to excite children who do not know what
they do only to imitate their preachers, parents and teachers.)—
Those base instructors and conductors of the innocent and delu¬
ded children sold thousands of them to the Turks, and thousands
of others perished miserably. They perished with hunger on
their way to the Holy Land that had been promised them.
The crusades show clearly the enthusiasm and excitement
that prevailed in the Church during about one hundred years of
their continuance, as there was seven of them, (some historians
say eight,) besides one against the Albegences in the South of
France. And not only the great excitement, but the loss of life
and property, for the Saracenes had held the possession of Je¬
rusalem and the Holy Land for about the space of two hundred
years. It was then taken by the Turks,,and in the first crusades
several cities were taken by the Christians; and then taken by
the celebrated Saladin the Great, who by his bravery had fixed
himself on the throne of Egypt, and afterwards retaken (after
the death of Saladin) by the Christians, who abandoned it, so
that it is now in the possession of the Turks, who are Mahome¬
tans. What was the loss of life on both sides it is impossible
to tell. Mr. Grimshaw says that from France alone two mill¬
ions p6rished from Hunger, pestilence and the sword. Germany
15S POURING OIJT THE FOURTH VIAL.
was equally zealous and unsuccessful. England nearly the samq„
Italy was also engaged, taking into consideration, the opposi¬
tion ok the Greek church, (or church of the East, v hich was.
Catholic,) to the Latin,, (Western Church,) of which the cru¬
sades were formed. In the seige and sacking of Jerusalem the
first time, it wars garrisoned by forty thousand soldiers, and esti¬
mating them at one fourth, of the population, we would have one
hundred and sixty thousand souls, every one of whom was put
to the sword, young and old, women, and children, as w;ell $$
soldiers, until the city ran with human gore; and while the
hands of these deluded fanatics were streaming with the blood,
of their fellow creatures, they went with bended knees and
bowed in devotion to, the sepulchre of the Prince of Peace, who
came not to take life, hut to give it. Then we might put down,
the loss on all sides at from, six to eight millions of souls, besides
the other wars at home and the crusades against the Albigences
in the South of France, which seems sufficient almost to de¬
populate the country, then rather sparcely populated in, many
places.
And the fourth angel 'poured out his vial upon the■ syn,; and
power ivas given ujito him to scorch men with fire. The angel
says in the fifteenth chapter that the vials were "filled with the,
wrath of God." God, in his providence, caused them to he
scorched with fire, that is, their misguided zeal and fanaticism
caused them to rush on, to their own destruction, and the West¬
ern half of the church to war with the Eastern half, and with
the Mahometans, who wpre. evidently the false Prophet. Thus
God caused them to destroy each other, or caused sin to punish
itself, for their sin and blasphemy and persecution of his church.
9th verse; "And men were scorched with great heat, and blas¬
phemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues,
and they repented not to give him glory."
And men were scorched with greed heat That is as before,
expressed—calamity came upon them, which would be well rep
resented by such heat. It is said that this calamity would-cofte
upon men, and we are to suppose that it would be a calamity;
incfteito ^trEng'th of :the beast, &c. 159
wliibli lilii6&n"l!!fe would be affected; and as the heat of the sun
must be exceedingly intense to cut down men, so the judgment
that it is intended to represent would be intensely severe and
produce great destruction of human life, which is fully proven
by the testimony I have already given.
AndVlaspfoemed the name of God. That is, reproach God for
the calamities that befel them, with which the crusaders charged
God as being the cause of their, ill success. To blaspheme is to
be attrociously wicked; but in this place it is intended to repre¬
sent the grossly idolatrous and presumptuous worship that they
•called the worship of God; for instance, the slaughter of the in¬
habitants of Jerusalem, and then to bow at the sepulchre of
Christ in pretended adoration to God. Which hod power over
these plagues. Who- had power to bring these plagues upon
them, which they believed he had brought upon them, and had
power to remove them, and because he did not they reproached
him, blasphemed.
And they repented not to give him glory. All their suffering
did not produce contrition or repentance, although it was evident
that it came from God, but they still persisted in their shame¬
ful and sacrilegious worship, instead of glorifying God in their
bodies and -spirits which are his.
5th. The increased strength of the beast or man of sin and
the appearance and reign of the false prophet.
I have shown in the preceding chapter that the clergy had
been gaining power through the distracted state of Rome up to
the time'of Gregory the Great, who died in 604, who was suc¬
ceeded by'Pope Boniface III., who had no scruples about adopt¬
ing this proud title. He readily accepted, or rather importunely
•begged it from the Emperor Phocas, with the privilege also of
transmitting it to his successor. The profligate Emperor, to
gratify the immoderate ambition of this court sycophant, de¬
prived the Bishop of Constantinople of the title which he hith¬
erto had borne, of which Gregory had complained, and conferred
if upon Boniface, at the same time declaring the church at Rome
the' head of all other churches.
1(3.0 IN9K?|.&ED , ST^EN^TH QF • £HEj SfEAgT
Gib]x)3c^ in Yol. ,iy. page 33, says: " Theodoric yas psot,igno¬
rant of. the dignity and importance of the Roman Pontiff, to
whom the venerable name of Pope was now appropriated. The
peace or revolt of Italy might depend on the character of a,
wealthy and popular Bishop, who claimed such ample dominion
both in heaven and in earth, who had been declared by a nu¬
merous synod to be pure from all sin and exempt from all judg¬
ment. "
"The clergy in general, and especially the Bishops at Rome,
assumed more and more authority. From a Bishop he became
a Metripolitan, which is equivalent to an Archbishop; then a
Patriarch- Afterwards he claimed the power of universal
Bishop over the whole Christian church, when he was opposed
for a while, but afterwards was confirmed in it by the civil power
of the Emperor, in the year fi06. After that he claimed the
power of a temporal Prince, and so was wont to cany two swords,
to signify that both the temporal and spiritual swords were his.
He claimed more and more authority, till at length as Christ's
vicegerant* on earth, he claimed the same power that Christ
would have done, if he was present on earth reigning on his
throne; or the same power that belongs to God, and was used to
be called God upon earth; to be submitted to by all the Princes
of Christendom. He claimed power to crown Princes and to
degrade them at his pleasure, and his power was owned—yea,
Kings and Emperors used to kiss his feet. The Emperors re¬
ceived their crowns at his hands, and Princes were wont to dread
the displeasure of the Pope as they would dread a thunderbolt
from heaven. If the Pope was pleased to excommunicate a
Prince, all his subjects were at once freed from their allegiance
to him, and obliged not to own him any more, on pain of ex¬
communication; and not only so, but any man might kill him
wherever he found him. Further, the Pope was believed to have
power to damn men at pleasure; for whoever died under his
communication was looked upon as certainly damned.
*History of Redemption,..page 327,
AJM* BEIGN OF THE FALSE -PROPHET.
• One reason* why, the beast gained,' or arose to such power, was
the divided state of Rome, or, the Barbarians entirely overturn¬
ing the ancient Roman government, and dividing the Western
half amongst themselves, they respected the Bishops; and being
idolatrous and superstitious, they readily gave way to their power
and influence, and their form of worship became-more idolatrous,
or idols were introduced into their houses of worship; hence they
worshiped the dragon and the beast to whom he had given his
power.
I have said before that the seven' heads were the seven hills
upon which Rome was built, and that the ten horns were the ten
K ingdoms into which the AVestern half of the Empire was di¬
vided, while Mahomet overrun and took possession of the East¬
ern half as the false Prophet, which I shall show more fully pre¬
sently.
Historians all agree as to the division of the Western half. A
late writer, styling himself Ariel, says: "The ten'horns is 1st
Kingdom of Huns, 2d Ostrogoths, 3d Visigoths, 4th Franks, 5th
Vandals, b'th Suves or Alens, 7th Burgundians, 8th Herule and
other tribes, 9th Saxons, 10th Lombards."
Mr. Jones says, on page 178: " The overwhelming progress of
the Barbarians soon diffused its powerful effects throughout
every part of Europe, in the course of the fifth century. The
Visigoths took possession of Spain, the Franks of Gaul, the
Saxons of England, the Huns of Panoria, the Ostrogoths of
Italy and the adjacent provinces. New governments, laws and
languages; new manners, customs and dress, and new names of
men and countries prevailed, and an almost total change took
place in the state of Europe."
President Edwards says: " They even overrun the Empire,
and in the fifth century took the city of Romer, and finally con¬
quered and took possession of the Western half and divided it
amongst themselves. It was divided into ten kingdoms, with
which began the ten horns of the beast; for we are fold that the
ten borxs are ten kingdoms, which arose in the latter part of the
162 INCREASED STRNNGTH OF THE BEAST
Roman Empire. These are also represented by the ten toes of
Nebuchadnezzar's image. "
Revelations xiii, 6: " And he opened his mouth in blasphe¬
mies against God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle^,
andr them that dwell in heaven. "
What could be more blasphemous than the pretended worship
of the times—the arrogance of the Pope and Priests—their
pretending to absolve the most atrocious crimes that were ever
perpetrated; also promising earthly wealth and eternal happi¬
ness in heaven to the crusaders? By which promises every kind
of character was called forth, or induced to join the crusades,
and by which the meanest and most vulgar and the greatest out¬
laws, prisoners, were turned out of prison 'and absolved from
guilt—allowed to plunder and kill, and promised in the' end an
earthly paradise and eternal happiness in heaven for their con¬
duct. And all this is called the worship of God.
And them that dwell in heaven. Those that were in the true
church they not only persecuted, but blasphemed, belied and
misrepresented their character and doctrine, and called it a blas¬
phemous heresy.
Some of the most distinguished Roman Catholic authors say:
" a child who serves his father may secretly purloin as much as
his father would have given him for compensation. Servants
may secretly steal from their masters as much as they judge
their labor is worth more than what they receive. "
uIt is no matter of sin to steal that from a man which he
would have given if asked for it. It is not theft to take any
thing from a husband or father if the value be not considerable.
After a son has robbed his father as a compensation, the confes¬
sor need not then enforce restitution, if he has taken no more
than the just reward of his labor. "
This is blaspheming his name, his house, (church,) and his
worship, and in his name tempting children and servants to be
dishonest, regardless of what Paul says: "And let every one
that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."
AM) REIGN OF THE FALSE PROPHET.
163
2d Thessalonians; ii. 9: "Even liim whose coming is after
the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying won¬
ders.' " His coming here is after the working of Satan. That
is, the devil is deceptions—is a liar and, the father of it. And
it is here foretold by St Paul that it, will be by all power; that
is, he possessed all power both temporal and ecclesiastical.
And by signs and lying wonders. By pretending to work
miracles will be the signs by which it is to be known that he
has come.
" An impious practice had not only been tolerated in the
church of Paris but several other Cathedrals. In the capitol it
was called the fools festival—in others the festival of the inno¬
cent. The Priests and clerks assembled, elected a Pope and
Bishop, whom they conducted in great pomp to the church,
where they appeared arrayed in different whimsical dresses, repre¬
senting women, animals, or buffoonery; and dancing and singing
obscene songs. They converted the altar into a sideboard, where
they drank the celebration of mass. They eat and drank, play¬
ed at dice, burned their old sandals instead of incense, and ran
and jumped about, exhibiting a variety of indecent postures."*
"He granted the avaricious monarch a tenth of the revenues
of the clergy for three years, and canonized his ancestor Saint
Louis, after sixty-three miracles had been duly verified; a canoni¬
zation, says the Pope, that took more writing than an ass could
carry.
Signs and lying wonders. Jones says, in his Church History,
page 244: "From France, Bernard proceeded to preach to the
crusaders in Germany; and if we may credit the historians of
the times, worked miracles. It is not indeed pretended that he
raised the dead, but it is affirmed that the blind received their
sight, the lame walked and the sick were healed, and to these
bold assertions we may add a fact no less incredible, that while
St. Bernard's eloquence operated so powerfully on the minds of
Ihe Germans, he always spoke in French, a language which they
did not understand.
"History of France, p. S.9,, f lbid 98.
3,64
IN.CBE.ASED STRENGTH OF THE BEAST
2d. Thessalonians, ii. 4:, "Who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as
God setteth in the temple of God shewing himself that he is
God. "
He opposeth and exalteth himself. He opposes every thing
that would be in the way of his elevation and exaltation; he
opposeth every thing that is God like—exalteth himself above all
that is called God. He feels himself above what is God's church,
his word and worship; so he as God setteth in the temple of God.
He claims to be head of the church—claims supremacy, not only
over the church, but over Kings and Emperors—sets himself up
as a universal Sovereign to govern the Universe as Sovereign.—
Just as God would—claims infallibility—claims adoration from
his subjects, even from proud Monarchs; Kings and Emperors
were wont to kiss his toes, (what God never required,) but they
thought it a great honor to be permitted to do so.
Jones' Church History, page 222: "Gregory VII. (whose
name was Hilderbrand,) next formed the project of making
himself lord of creation, by at once dissolving the jurisdiction,
which Kings and Emperors had hitherto exercised over various
orders of the clergy, and subject to the papal authority all tem¬
poral princes rendering their dominion tributary to the see of
Rome; and however romantic the undertaking may appear, it
was not altogether without success. Solomon, King of Hungary,
was at that time dethroned by his cousin Geysa, and fled to
Henry for protection, renewing his homage to the latter as the
head of the Empire.
Gregory, who favored the cause of the usurper, exclaimed
against the act of admission, and said in a letter to Solomon:
" You ought to know that the Kingdom of Hungary belongs to
the Roman church, and learn that you will incur the indigna¬
tion of the holy see, if you do not acknowledge that you hold
your dominions of the Pope and not of the Emperor."
He setteth in the temple of God} showing himself that he is
God. That is, he sits as judge and mediator; that he alone Ms
jsower on earth to forgive sins—power to release from purgatory
A3NtD REIGJST OF THE FALSE PROPHET.
165
Sifter death,, and that good works are meritorious, which entitles
a ip.an,to more grace, happiness, and to eternal life in heaven..—
0§ee council .pf Trent.) And another special article is that of
penance after baptism, without which no man can he saved, (who
sins after baptism,) which must consist in making confession to
the Priest, (or confessor,) and performing what he enjoins—such
as fines and inflicting punishments upon their own person. And
last of all, he claims power to release from purgatory after
death, if he receives a sufficient sum of money. The Popes and
prelates had arrive to full authority, or their greatest power,
about the year one thousand, or from one thousand to fifteen
hundred.
Revelations xii. 7: " And it was given unto him to make war
with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him
over all kindreds and tongues and nations. " . -
The crusades against the Albigences in the South of France,
or the war upon them, was long, cruel and bloody until they
were overcome. I shall not attempt to give a description of it
here, but Mr. Orchard says that it continued until a million of
Christians suffered martyrdom about the Pyrennean mountains,
partly in France and partly in Spain, besides the great number
of Waldences, that suffered perhaps to the same extent in the
valleys and mountains of Piedmont. Orchard says that the
Albigences were the same in faith and practice as the Walden¬
ces, but were called Albigences because they lived near Albi.—
" The slaughter, " says Mr, Orchard, "had been so prodigious—
the massacres so universal—the terror so profound and of so long
duration, that the church of Rome appeared completely to have
attained her object. The churches were drowned in the blood
of their members, and the streams of water tinged with blood,
or every where broken up and scattered—the public worship of
the Albigences had every where ceased. All teaching had be¬
come impossible." To make war ivith the saints and to over¬
come them. He had such complete power over the saints, and
the war had continued so long and severe, that he had worn out
the paints. There were scarcely any to be found at this period
168 INCREASED STRENGTH OF THE BEAST
"who dared openly to " contend for tlie faith once delivered to the
saints," but there were still some that were scattered and seclu¬
ded that held out faithful, but were not allowed to meet in a
church capacity, except the church in the wilderness, which will
he the subject of the next chapter. He was permitted to over¬
come the saints by such various stratagems of persecution, such
base heresies and superstitions, with the prohibition ot reading
the word of God, all of which that could be found liad been de¬
stroyed by the Pope's edicts, and it was made punishable by
death for the common people to read or consult the scriptures—
so darkness and ignorance generally prevailed for live hundred
years.
And power was given Tiim over all kingdoms, and tongues and
nations. I will give a few extracts to show the extent of his
power, as it was evidently extended over kingdoms, and tongues,
and nations. Although the Roman Empire had been divided
into ten kingdoms, yet the Pope still retained his power over
them civilly and religiously, and they were made up of Barba¬
rians of different languages.
"Of all the asserters of Papal power, Gregory VII. was the
most daring that had hitherto appeared. He had formed a
scheme of universal Empire. According to him the saints, so
called, were literally to possess the kingdom; and the head of
tlie church was to be, at the,same time and same extent, lord of
the world. " (This is what Dr. John Thomas, of New Yerk, is
contending for now, which he says will commence with the re¬
storation of the Jews. The only difference is, Thomas says that
the dead saints will be raised, and the living to be united with
them, and that Christ will reign over them in person, and that
tlie kingdom will be universal for a thousand years—that it witl
commence in 1866, and that all who believe this (and no more)
will be considered saints and live a thousand years. About as
good saints as Gregory's I think.) "Nor did he make any se¬
cret of his pretensions. Fairly and fully did he put them for¬
ward, urging them with the pertinacity of a better cause. He
died a martyr to his favorite dogma. From the death of Gregory
AND REIGN 0>F THE FALSE, PROPHET.. lfitf
tp,the end of the great Westerm schism in 1429,. a period of
344 years, the tyranny of the, papacy continued to assume a
tierce tone, and to lead men with yet more vexatious oppression.
Became more greedy of power and money. Nearly one half of
the wealth of Europe was. in the hands of the ecclesiastics. The
Romish yoke rested with galling and intolerable pressure on the
necks of the people. Mighty Princes were treated with proud
disdain, and compelled to yield reluctant submission through
fear of excommunication.
Jones says, on page 222-223.: " Gregory now resolving to push
his claims of investures, sent two of his legates to summon Henry
to appear before him as a delinquent. This arrogant message
from one whom he regarded as his vassal, greatly provoked
Henry, who abruptly dismissed the legates, and lost no time in
convening an assembly of Princes and dignified ecclesiastics at
Worms, where, after mature deliberation, they came to the con¬
clusion that Gregory, having usurped the chair of St. Peter by
indirect means, inflicted the church of God with many novelties,
and abuses, and deviated from his duty to his sovereign in many
instances. The Emperor, by his supreme authority, had a right
and ought to divest him of his dignity and appoint a. successor..
Henry, therefore, sent an ambassador to Rome, with a formal
deprivation of Gregory, who, in his turn, convened a council,, at
which were present one hundred and ten. Bishops,, who unani¬
mously agreed that the Pope had jpst cause to depose Henry, to
annul the oath of allegiance which the Princes had taken in his
favor, and to prohibit them from holding any correspondence
with him on pain of being excommunicated. And this execra¬
ble sentence was immediately fulminated, against the Emperor
and his adherents. "In the name of Almighty God, and by
your authority," said Gregory, addressing the members of the
council, " I prohibit Henry from, governing the Tutonic King¬
dom and Italy. I release all Christians from their oath of alle¬
giance to him, and I strictly forbid all persons to serve or attend
him as King, " This is the first instance of a Pope presuming,
*History- of Redemption,. page 2A
168 increased strength of1 tee beast?
to deprive a Soverei^ri of his crown; but unhappily, it Was tod
flattering to ecclesiastical pride to be the last."
The circular letters written by Gregory breathe the sarEe
spirit as his sentence of deposition. In them he repeatedly
asserts that Bishops are superior to Kings, and made to judge
them. His object is said to have been that of engaging in the
bonds of fidelity and allegiance to the Pope as Yicar of Christ,
all the Potentates of the earth, and to establish at Borne an an¬
nual assembly of Bishops, by whom the contests, that might
from time to time arise between Kingdoms and sovereign States,
were to be divided, the rights and pretensions of Princes to be
examined, and the fate of nations and empires to be determined.'''
" Gregory well knew what consequences would result from the
thunders of fhe church. The Bishops of Germany immediately
came over to his party, and drew with them many of the nobles.
The Saxons took the opportunity to revolt; and the Princes and
Prelates who had assisted in deposing Gregory, gave up their
Monarch to he tried by the Pope, who was requested to come to
Atigsburg for that purpose. " *
"To avoid the odium of this impending trial, Henry took the
strange resolution of suddenly passing the Alps, accompanied by
only ,a few domestics, and throwing himself at the fedfc of Grego¬
ry in order to implore his absolution. The Pontiff was at the
time on a visit to the Countess or Duchess Matilda, at Canosa, a
fortress in the Appenines. At the gate of this mansion, the
Emperor presented himself as an humble suppliant. He alone-
was admitted within the outer court, where, being stripped of*
his robes and wrapped in saccloth, he was compelled to remain
three days in the month of January, (A. D. 1077,) bare foot and
fasting, before he was permitted to kiss the feet of his holiness-.**
This indulgence was, however, at length granted him—he
was permitted to throw himself at the feet of the haughty Pon¬
tiff, who condescended t.o grant him ahsolution after he had
swofn obedience to the Pope. In that Henry reaped nothing
but disgrace and mortification from his journey^ while the Pon-
*Mosleim'§ History, vol. ii. r "" " 1—1 '' '
AND REIGN OF THE FALSE PROPHET.
169
tiff, elate with triumph and considering himself now lord and
master of all the crowned heads in Christendom, said in several
of his letters, " that it was his duty to pull down the pride of
Kings." •
Happily for Henry, all sense of propriety and common decency
was not banished from the earth. The Princes of Italy were
disgusted with the strange accommodation, and their detestation
of Gregory induced them to take sides with Henry, although he
was abandoned by his own subjects; and all Lombardy took up
arms against the Pope, while lie was raising all Germany against
the Emperor, and urged them to elect another Emperor, which
they did by choosing Rodolph, duke of Suabia, who was solemn¬
ly crowned at Mentz. In order to extort submission from Henry
the Pope professed to be displeased with Rodolph. He had de¬
posed Henry but he yet had it in his power to pardon him—he
therefore declared that he would acknowledge as King or Empe¬
ror of Germany whoever wonl d he most favorable to the holy
see. But Henry was not to he duped. He chose rather to trust
to the valor of his arms than to the generosity o± the Pope, and
therefore marched his troops against his rival Rodolph, who he
defeated in several, engagements. Gregory seeing no hopes of
submission, thundered out a second exclusion in which, offer de¬
priving Henry of strength in combat, and condemning Mm never
to be victorious, he desires the world to talce notice, that it is in
the Pope's power to take away Empires, Principalities and King¬
doms, &c., and to bestow them upon whom he pleases. The
whole concludes with the following extraordinary apostrophe to
the Apostles Peter and Paul: " Make all men sensible that, as
you can hind and loose every thing in heaven, you can also upon
earth—take from or give to every one according to his deserts,
Empires, Kingdoms, Principalities. • Let the Kings and Princes
of the age instantly feel your power, that they may not dare to
despise the orders of your church; and let your judgments he so
speedily executed upon Henry, that nobody may doubt of his
falling-fey your hands and not by chance. " But the Apostles
were either deaf to the prayer of their pretended successor, or
170 INCREASED STRENGTH OF THE BEAST
declined, their co-operation with it. Henry triumphed over his
enemies.
But Henry's troubles did not cease with the death of the-
Pope, for his successor possessed the same ambition^ Urban III.
contrived, in conjunction with the Countess Matilda, to seduce
the Emperor's son's into rebellion against his father, and insisted
that his son Conrad was bound to take on him the Kingdom,,
which he did as King of Italy, and declared his brother Henry
King of the Romans.
Two years afterwards Conrad and the Pope both died—the
latter being succeeded in the Papal chair by Pascall II., (another
Gregory,) and Henry the younger brother as King of Italy.—
The new Pope was scarcely invested in office before he contrived
to excite young Henry to rebel against his father, stating that
he could not acknowledge an excommunicated King or father.
He did rebel and overcome his father by stratagem and hypocrisy,
and was instantly invested with supreme power by the Pope.—
But Henry, after being excommunicated, degraded and impris¬
oned, found means of escape, and finally triumphed over his
enemies.
Mr. Jones says, in his Church History, page 248: " But not¬
withstanding the reiterated distress and ill success that attended,
the frantic expeditions to the Holy Land, so resolutely was the
court of Rome bent on achieving its grand object, that the Popes>
were continually urging the Princes of Europe to renew the
effort. Their power and influence were, by this time, become so
predominant, that it was at the peril of the latter to decline com¬
pliance with their sovereign will. The Papal chair was at this
time filled by Celestine III., by whom Henry the VI. was
crowned Emperor of Germany. He was then a veiy old man,
being in his eighty-sixth year. The ceremony of coronation was-
performed on Esther Monday—the Pope placed his crowiven
the head of Henry, which he had no sooner done than he kicked
it off again, as a testimony residing in the sovereign Pontiffs t6
make and unmake Emperors at their pleasure."
AND REIGN OF THE FALSE PROPHET.
171
The $tate of Europe was at this time full of perplexity and
confusion.. Innocent III. succeeded Celestine in the Papal
chair, an able and ambitious pontiff,, whose ruling passion was
^e aggrandizement of the holy see. He quarreled with Philip,
Duke of Suabia, who had been recently crowned King of the
Pvomans, excommunicating him and all his adherents, and la¬
bored with all his might to detach the Princes and prelates from
his cause, notwithstanding the remonstrances' of the King of
France, to whom he proudly replied: " Either Philip must lose
his Empire or I the papacy."
Mr. Grimshaw says, in his History of "France, page 97: " But
the most powerful enemy of the degraded Monarch was the
Pope. By him he was excommunicated; not for his many
crimes, but for his interference in the church government of
England. As the last sentence could not be excited Without an
armed force, the Pontiff fixed upon the French King, into
whose hands he could most safely entrust so terrible a weapon,
and offered that Monarch, besides the remission of all his sins,
the Kingdom of England, as the reward of his labor, although
he thereby ratified an authority that might one day hurl him
from his throne. Philip accepted the liberal offer of the Pope.
A decisive action was soon expected between the two Kings, but
the Pope artfully tricked them both, by inducing the King of
England to surrender to Mm his crown. Philip was informed
that he must relinquish all thoughts of attacking England, as it
was then a fife of the church of. Rome. He was enraged at this
intelligence. He swore -that he would not be duped by such
hypocritical pretences; nor would he have desisted from his en¬
terprise but for more mighty reasons."
Thus the Pope, by his intriguing and hypocrisy, brought
about the submission, and caused both Kings to acknowledge his
supreme authority^ while he gained a complete victory , over the
King of England. And power was given him over all Kingdoms.
Jjoyr completely this was fulfilled in the power the. Pope as¬
sumed—he not only,assumed, hut really exercised fqlLand qospi-
plete power over kingdoms and nations. A similar case occurred
12
172 INCRESED STRENGTH OF THE BEAST
in England to that above—it was that of King John the weak,
the wicked Lack-Land. He attempted to oppose the Pope s
power, who had proceeded to set aside the election of John de
Gray to the see of Canterbury, and to appoint in spite of tbfc
King and the nation, Stephen Langton, Primate of England.;
Innocent laid John's Kingdom under the bann. A stop was put
to divine worship—the churches were shut in every parish—all
the sacraments, except baptism, suspended; the dead were bu¬
ried in the highways without any sacred rites. Several, how¬
ever, of the more learned Bishops, refused to comply. In 1209
he excommunicated John, and two years afterwards issued a
bull absolving all his subjects from their allegiance, and order¬
ing all persons to avoid him. The next year the Pope assem¬
bled a council of Cardinals and Bishops, deposed John, declared
the throne of England vacant, and ordered the King of France
to take it and add to his own. The French King being eager
to possess it, assembled an army for the purpose, and John as¬
sembled another to oppose him, but Randolph, the Pope's legate,
arriving in England, so far succeeded by his representations of
the power of the French King and the defections of the subjects
of the King of England, that his courage failed, and he submit¬
ted to the most degrading humility. He promised to submit tp
the authority of the Pope—that he would restore the exiled
clergy and all that had beenbanished during the contest—made
compensation for all damages, and instantly appropriated eight
thousand pounds in part payment; and those that were outlawed
or imprisoned for adhering to the Pope should immediately be
received or restored into favor. He did homage to the Pope—
resigned his crown to him, and again received it from him as a
gift, and bound himself to pay seven hundred marks annually
for England and three ^hundred Pr Ireland; and agreed that if
any of his successors should refuse to pay it they should forfeit
the crown of England. All this tbok place in a public assembly
in the House of the Templers of Dover, for the Pope and his
Priests always took" dare, that refractory Kings should suffer 'the
most public, and of course the most humiliating degradation
AND REIGN OF THE FALSE PROPHET.
173
that could he imposed. The Legate, after keeping the crown
and sceptre five whole days, returned them, as by special favor
of the Pope. John presented him a sum of money as a token
of his dependence, which the haughty prelate trod under his
feet by way of contempt.
"Unless to Peter's chair the viewless wind
Must come and ask permission where to blow.
What further Empire would it have—for now
A ghostly domination, unconfined
As that by dreaming bards to love assigned
Sets there in sable truths to raise the bow.
Perplex the wise—the strong to overthrow—
Through earth and heaven to bind and to unbind!
Resist—the thunder quails—the crouch rebuff
Shall be thy recompence! from land to land.
The ancient thrones of Christendom are stuff
For occupation of a magic wand.
And 'tis the Pope that wields it; whether rough
Or smooth his front, our world is in his hand!"—Wordsworth.
.Arrogance, cruelty and domination are prominent features in
the priestly character; and it might be supposed that instances
had been in various ages and nations, that could not be surpassed
in crime and atrocity; but if we consider the fierce and auda¬
cious character of the Romish teachers, the greatness and extent
of the kingdoms over which they exercised their authority and
committed their cruelties, and the mild and unassuming nature
of the religion which they professed to be the teachers of, it
must be acknowledged that there is no similar example in the
world.
In the twelfth century the Pope proclaimed himself Lord of
the Universe, and that neither Prince nor Bishop, nor any ope
else, possessed any power but what was derived from him. The
Pope, on one occasion, at a great dinner, ordered Dandolo, the
Venetian Ambassador, to be chained under the table like a dog.
In 1155 the Pope insisted on the celebrated Emperor Frederic
Barbarosa holding his stirrup at the Emperor's own coronation.
He at first refused with disdain, which led to contests of a des¬
perate character. Some historians affirm that his successor,
having compelled the Emperor to submit, trod upon his neck and
compelled Itim to kiss his foot while the proud prelate repeat sd
174 INCREASED STRENGTH OF THE BEAST
from Psalms xci: " Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the ad¬
der; the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample undei
foot. " Power began to concentrate at Rome, (and as I have
before shown,) first to a Bishop, an. Archbishop, Universal
Bishop, and lastly to a Pope, (which signifies father or head of
the Church,) and by degrees gained power over secular affairs,
having such universal influence (by their wealth) over the Priests,
and clergy, and they over the people, that it naturally brought
Kings and Emperors to a dependence upon the Popes, which de-.
pendence they naturally cherished or increased by every means,
in their power, until they gained universal ascendency over all
the world, as in our text. Professing himself to have the keys
of the Kingdom, that he not only had power to bind and un¬
loose all things in heaven, but upon earth, also, and so became
Potentate of the world and an earthly Monarch, "and think to
change times and laws,"' and until this.day reigns Monarch over
Rome or Popedom.
When I look into the testimony upon, this subject, it is so nu¬
merous that I scarcely know where to commence, or when to
leave off. It confirms me more and more in the prophecies of
Daniel, and of the Apostle St. Peter and John the Divine, and
of the wonderful fulfilment of the great mysteries as revealed
to his servants, and is a confirmation, not only of the prophecies,
but of the New Testament.
And power was given. Mm over all kindreds, and tongues and
nations. A few more quotations upon this universal power may"
suffice for the present. Orchard says;, on page 203: " The power
embodied at this period to support the beast, is enough to
make all stand amazed. Louis VII. of France and Henry II. of
England, became equerries to the Pope, holding the bridle of
his horse, and afterwards walking one on one side of him and
the other on the qtl|er as royal grooms to his holiness. Here the
submissive state of; things to the man of sin may be viewed, and;
the prevalence of his. Xbifie who was obeyed and feared morn
than God."
AND HEIGN OF THE FALSE PKOPHET. 175
"Innocent III. ascended the Pontifical throne in 1192. Many
Popes did "badly, but this man exceeded all in cruel turpitude.
The man of sin had been progressive in his character, actions
and inventions; but now, if his satanic majesty was ever incar¬
nate, or had one agent on earth that resembled him more in
spirit, design and executive mischief, there can be no doubt of
Innocent being the man. He appears matured in the mystery of
iniquity; he exhibits in full view the man fully grown in sin,
and in his public character, handed round to the Kings of the
earth the cup of abomination, from which they drank into the
same spirit and designs."
Gibbon says, Vol. iv. page 444: "I confess," said the Emperor
r>11 his knees, "I confess that the Pope is the Vicar of Christ,
the successor of St. Peter, and the Sovereign of the world. To
him I swear true obedience, and at his feet offer my person and
Kingdom. A similar oath was repeated by his son, his brother,
the clergy, the nobles, and even the ladies of the court-. "
Jones says, on page 249: "The army of the cross, as they
called it, themselves next fell upon Constantinople. They en¬
tered the city without much resistance, putting every one to the
sword who opposed them, and gave themselves up to all the ex¬
cess of avarice and fury. The booty of the French Lords was
valued at four hundred thousand marks of silver. One conse¬
quence of this was, that the Pope' gained, for a time, the whole
Eastern church; an acquisition of much greater consequence to
him than that of Palestine. "
Gibbon says, Vol, vi., page 72: "At the taking of the city of'
Constantinople, of some two millions of inhabitants, the gates
were thrown open to the ambassadors. The Latins, by the
mouth of their marshall, spoke like men, conscious of their own
merits. And the Emperor clearly understood that his son's en¬
gagements with Venus and the pilgrims must be ratified without
delay. Retiring into a private chamber with the Empress, a
chamberlain, an interpreter and the four ambassadors, the father
of young Alexius enquired with some anxiety into the nature of
his stipulations. The submission of the Eastern Empire to
176 INCREASED STRENGTH OF THE BEAST.
the Pope, the succour of the Holy Land, and a present contribu¬
tion of two hundred thousand marks of zilver. " The conditions
are weighty, " was his prudent reply. " They are hard to accept
and difficult to perform," but no condition can exceed the measure
of your services and deserts. "
By this conquest the Pope gained power over the Emperors of
the East as well as the West. He now had power over all na¬
tions. " These ten Kings have one mind, and shall give their
power and strength to the beast. "—Revelations xvii. 13.
Revelations xiii. 8: "And all that dwell upon the earth shall
worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of
the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world."
We see in the foregoing testimony, that all the world wor¬
shipped the beast, or paid adoration to him, (more than they did
their creator,) either from fear or from inclination, except those
whose "names were written in the Lamb's Book of Life." For
at the worst time there were a few (in comparison) that would not
worship the beast. " For they were called and chosen and faith¬
ful, and followed the Lamb whithersoever he went," but many
millions lost their lives and property by it. 9th verse: "If any
man have an ear let him hear. " Let him understand that if any
earthly potentate, kingdom or society, the head of which claims
universal dominion and adoration, that it is the fulfilment of this
prophecy, or the head of it is the man of sin the Antichrist. "
Verse 10: "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into cap¬
tivity; he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the
sword. Here >is the patience and faith of the saints. "
They had frequently led the Christians into captivity—some¬
times drove and sold them into captivity; they had led many into
captivity by deception and false doctrine. But now they are to be
led into captivity. Many of the crusaders were taken captive by
the Mahometans, and the Greeks were taken by the Latins,' and
then the Latins by the Greeks, aftei which the Greeks were taken
by the Turks or Mahometans. A part of the Greek church is in
captivity apxongst the Mahopxetans fo this day.
ASTD REIGN" OF THE FALSE PROPHET. 177
In Vol. vi. page 52, Mr. Gibbon says: "And some estimate
may' be formed of the slain from the clemency which sold above
four thousand Christians into perpetflal slavery to the Turks."—
(They were Greek Clmstians.) " The priests and monks were
the loudest and most active in the. destruction of the scismatics;
and they chanted a thanksgiving to the Lord, when the head of a
Roman cardinal, the Pope's legate, was severed from his body
and fastened to a dog's tail, and dragged with savage mockery
through the city."
And they that hilled with the sword must he hilled with the
moord. They had killed and slain millions of saints, for the per¬
secution under the establishment of Christianity was greater than
under Pa^an idolatrv, and was of a different character, for-the
C? v 7 '
dragon had given his power and seat to the beast, and they were
now persecuted by both; the Catholics and Pagans had blended
jheir forms of worship together.
As I have shown in a former proposition, the crusaders were
killed not only by the Mahometans, but the Latin church plun¬
dered and slew the Greek church, and then the Greeks killed the
Latins, all professing to be Christians.
Mr. Jones, in speaking of the crusaders at the taking of Con¬
stantinople, says: " It is related that the French officers danced
with the ladies of Constantinople in the church of St. Sophia af¬
ter having stripped the altar and drenched the city with blood.—
Thus was the city, the most flourishing in the Christian world,
for the first time taken and sacked by Christians who had made a
vow to fight only against infidels. "
Mr. Gibbon, in speaking of the retaking of Constantinople by
the Greeks, in Vol. vi, page 52, says: " During his reign and that
»)t his successor Alexus, they were exposed at Constantinople to
the reproaches of foreigners, (the Latins were,) heretics and fa¬
vorites; and this tripple guilt was severely expiated in the tumult
which announced the return and elevation of Andronicus. The
people rose in arms A. D. 1183. From the Asiatic shore the ty¬
rant dispatched his troops and galleys to assist the national re¬
venge, and the hopeless resistance of the si rangers served only to
178 INCREASED STRENGTH OF THE BEAST
justify the rage and sharpen the daggers of the assassins. Neither
age nor sex, nor ties of friendship or kindred, could save the vic¬
tims of national hatred, avarice and religious zeal. The Latins
were slaughtered in their houses and in tkg streets; their quarters
were reduced to ashes; the clergy were burnt in their churches
and the sick in the hospital. "
Mr. Gibbon, in speaking of the Turks taking the Eastern Em¬
pire, says, in Vol. vi. page 1>94: " The Turkish conqueror turned
his arms against the Kingdom of Hungary, the perpetual theatre
of the Turkish victories and defeats of the enemy. Sigismond,
the Hungarian King, was the son and brother of the Emperors ot
the West; his cause was that of Europe and the church, and, 011
the report of his danger, the bravest Knights of Franee and Ger¬
many were eager to march under liis standard and that of the
cross. In the battle of Nicapolis, A. H. 1396, Bajazet defeated
a confederate army of a hundred thousand Christians, who had
proudly boasted- that if the sky should fall they could uphold it
upon their lances; the far greater part were slain or driven into the
Danube. "
On page 196 he says: " In the speed and secrecy of his march,
in the order and evolutions of the battles, his enemies felt and ad¬
mired the military talents of Bajazet. They accuse his cruelty in
the use of victory. After reserving the Count of Nerves and four
and twenty Lords, whose birth and riches were attested by his
Latin interpreters, the remainder of the French captives, who had
survived-the slaughter of the day, were led before his throne, and
as they refused to abjure their faith, were successively beheaded in
Llis presence."
Thus they tlmt hill with the :sword shall he hilled loith the sword.
How just the retribution and the judgments of God.- They had
killed the saints because they would not abjure their faith, and
now the Catholics are beheaded by a Turkish conqueror because
they will not abjure their faith and embrace the Mahometan faith.
I have reserved for the last upon this subject, the most potent and
forcible cause of destruction, tlie domestic hostilities df the Ro-
themselves. Under the .dominion of the Greek and the
AND REIGN OF THE FALSE PROPHET.
179
'French Emperors, the peace of the city was destroyed by accident,
thorugh frequent seditions. It'is from the decline of Rome that
we may date the private war, which violated with impunity the
laws of the code, of humanity and of God, without respecting
the absent Sovereign," (who made his residence at Ravena,) "or the
presence of the Yicar of Christ. In a dark period of five hun¬
dred years, Rome was perpetually afflicted by the sanguinary
quarrels of the nobles and people. This is sufficient testimony to
prove that they were not only killed with the s word by others, but
it proves that they killed each other.
Next I shall speak of the false prophet, or Mahomet, who is
evidently the false prophet spoken of in the Scriptures, for he
claims to be the prophet of God.
Mahomet was born A. D. 570, in Arabia, of poor parents, and
was soon left an orphan, but was brought up by his grand father,
who taught him to be a merchant, by which means he afterwards
married a rich widow, Which raised him to affluence; and at the
age of about forty, which would be 610, he began to publish his
religion, which the superstition cf the times, the divided and dis¬
tracted state of religion, enabled him to do so successfully, that
he formed the scheme of establishing a new form of worship, or
as he expressed it, " of replanting the only true and ancient one
professed by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and all the
Prophets." By destroying the gross idolatry into which the gen¬
erality of his countrymen had fallen, and weeding out the corrup¬
tion and superstition which the later Jews and Christians had, as
he thought, introduced into religion, he reduced it to what he as-^
sumed to be its original purity, which consisted chiefly in the wor¬
ship of one God.
The Catholic church had so far degenerated, and various modes
and idolatrous worship had been introduced and practiced, which
induced him to set up one' God. He proposed a part of the Jew¬
ish and a part of the Christian form of worship, with some of his
own inventions blended together, which progressed slowly at first.
Some three years were silently spent in the conversion of fourteen
Proselytes, after which he began to teach more publicly, and com-
180
INCREASED STRENGTH OF THE BEAST
menced to spread his religion with the sword. Always holding
out that he was a Prophet, and 'connecting himself with Moses
and Christ—professing to have revelations from God, the last that
would ever be given, or that he held converse with God as Moses
did, and by offering Paradise to those that would fight for him,
and the booty taken from Caravans, he soon made converts and
soldiers. From this time Mahomet became a martial Apostle—lie
fought in person at nine battles or sieges, and fifty enterprises ot
war were achieved in ten years by himself or his Lieutenants.—
He continued to unite the profession of merchant and' robber.—
From all sides the roving Arabs were allured to the standard of
religion and plunder; the Apostle sanctified the license of embra¬
cing the female captives as their wives or concubines, and the en¬
joyment of wealth and beauty was their promised paradise. "The
sword," says Mahomet, "is the key of heaven and hell; a drop of
blood shed in the cause of God, a night spent in arms, is of more
avail than two months of fasting and prayer; whoever falls in
battle, his sins are forgiven," (so some believe now in the United
States,) "at the day of judgment his wounds shall be resplendent
as vermillion, and odoriferous as musk; and the loss of his limbs
shall be supplied by the wings of angels and cherubiins."
Mahomet was distinguished for the beauty of his person. Be¬
fore he spoke the orator engaged on his side the affections of his
audience, who applauded his commanding presence, his majestic
aspect, his piercing eye, his gracious smile, his flowing beard, his
countenance that painted every sensation of the soul, and his ges¬
tures that enforced every expression of the tongue. His religious
principles were: That there is only one God, and that Mahomet is
his Apostle. The Prophet of Mecca rejected the worship of idols
and men, of stars and planets, on the rational principle that what¬
ever lises must set; that whatever is born must die; that what¬
ever is corruptible must decay and perish. According to his own
account, or the tradition of his disciples, " the substance of the
Koran is uncreated and eternal, subsisting in the essence of the
Deity, and inscribed with a pen of light on the table of his ever¬
lasting decrees. " "A paper copy, in a volume of silk and gems,
AND REIGN OF THE FALSE PROPHET, 181
was brought down to the lowest heavens by the angel Gabrael,.
who successively revealed the chapters and verses to the Arabian
Prophet." (The Mormons are endeavoring to imitate Mahomet,)
He claimed t6 be a Prophet superior to Moses and Christ, and he
was frequently asked to confirm his mission by working miracles as
they did, but he declined; and notwithstanding this, his follow¬
ers believe, or affirm, that Trees went forth to meet him; that he
was saluted by stones; that water gushed from his fingers; that
he fed the hungry, cured the sick and raised the dead; that a lion
groaned to him; that a camel complained to him; that a shoulder
of mutton informed him of its being poisoned, and that both ani¬
mate and inanimate matter were alike subject to the Apostle of
God.
Prayer, fasting and alms are the religious duties of a Mahome¬
tan ; and he is encouraged to hope that prayer will carry him half
way to God—fasting will bring him to the door of his palace, and
alms will give him admittance.
President Edwards says, in his history of Redemption, page
329: "The Mahometan Kingdom is another of mighty power
and vast extent, set up by Satan against the Kingdom of Christ.
He set this up in the Eastern Empire, as he did Anti-Christ in
the Western. Mahomet was born in the year of Christ 570, in
Arabia. When he was about forty years of age he began to an¬
nounce that he was the great prophet of God, and proceeded to
teach his newly invented religion, of which he was to be wor¬
shiped as the head next unto God. He published his Alcoran,
which he pretended he received from the Angel Gabrael;" (so
did Joe Smith the Mormon prophet,) " and being a subtle, crafty
man, possessed of considerable wealth, and living among a people
who were very ignorant and greatly divided on religious matters,
he, by subtlety and fair promises of a sensual paradise, gained a
number to be his followers. He set himself up as their Prince,
propagated his religion by the sword, and made it meritorious of
paradise to fight for him. By such means his party grew, and
went on fighting till'they conquered and brought over the neigh-
132 INCREASED STRENGTH OF THE BEAST
boring countries, and so bis party increased till they overrun the
greater part of the world. "
He watched every pprportunity and resorted to every stratagem
to increase his strength and dominion in the divided state of the
East, and was raised up by the Almighty for the expiess pur¬
pose of chastising the Catholic church for their sins in persecuting
the church of Christ, as John had said, and I have already shown,
"He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity; he that
killeth with the sword shall be killed with the sword. "
So he went on killing'and capturing, he and his successors, un¬
til they captured Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Persia, the
Eastern Empire and part of Europe, and now actually occupy
Palestine, where our Saviour and his disciples were born, and
where they preached the Gospel and performed those wonderful
miracles that are recorded in the Scriptures.
I shall not say any thing more of Mahomet at present, only as
lie is the false Prophet, I shall have to notice him in a future
chapter or chapters in connection with the destruction of the
beast. As the beast was to continue forty and two months, and
as the Prophet commenced his religious course about the time
the man of sin (beast) came into full power, I suppose as it is
said that the beast and the false Prophet shall be cast into a lake
that burns with fire and brimstone together, that they will he
destroyed about the same time, although it is not said that the
false Prophet shall continue forty and two months; and the forty
and two months of the beast will expire, according to my calcula¬
tion, in 1866.
Having given a concise account of Mahomit's birth, his ap¬
pearance, his life, his religion, its progress and its wonderful
spread almost over the then religious world, by him and his suc¬
cessors, I leave him for the present.
To recapitulate: I have, in the first proposition in the sixth
chapter, shown the situation of the church in Thyatira, her works
and charity, service and faith. Nevertheless God has somewhat
against her, because she sutlers that woman Jezebel to teach. I
have shown who Jezebel was, what her doctrine was, or what she
AND REIGN OF THE FALSE PROPHET.
183
taught. " And I will cast them that commit adultery with her
into great tribulation except they repent of their deeds. " And
inasmuch as they did not repent, I have shown some of the tribu¬
lations into which she was cast, and what she suffered. " And I
will kill her Children with death, " while I have produced an abun¬
dance of testimony 'to prove that multiplied thousands of them
were killed.
" And all the churches shall know that I am, he which searches
the reigns and hearts.." His power and providence was sufficient
to convince all the churches, that he would not give his glory to
another, nor suffer sin to go unpunished.
2d. The opening the fourth seal. " And I looked and beheld
a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was death, and hell
followed with him; and power, &c. "
I have shown the great destruction of property,, of provisions,
of many cities and of life by famine and by sword, in the great
conquest by the Persians, and afterwards their overthrow; and
then the Eastern Empire overrun by the Turks, (Mahometans,)
causing famine and pestilence, which produced death, as well as
by the sword, to an alarming extent. Then I have shown the
overrunning of the Western Empire by the Barbarians and taking-
it in possession and. dividing it among themselves into ten. King¬
doms, which must necessarily have produced great slaughter by
famine and sword. And then I have last,, though not least,.shown
the famine and death, or killing by the sword, which, the figure of
the pale horse fully represents. By their blind zeal aqd fanaticism
they seemed to rush headlong into death. Emperors, kings,
queens, lords, peasants, criminals, robber and high-way men, all
mingled in the crusades. The horrid cruelties,, thefts—every
abomination and death was committed by them on each, other, as
well as on their enemies. Surely death and hell followed in their
train.
3d. The sounding of. the fourth trumpet. " And the third,
part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and
the third part of the stars, &c."
184 INCREASED STRENGTH OF THE BEAST, &0.
I have shown in this proposition that the sun was the church,
and also from the best authority, that this was the darkest time
since the Christian era, and it is referred to by historians as the
dark ages, and have shown that the Catholics also admit that it
was the darkest time. I have shown that the moon^was the gov¬
ernment, and it being a theocracy, and changing trorn the Romans
to the Barbarians, was necessarily very dark. And that the Stars
represented ministers of Church and State, and that they were
very ignorant, and of course very dark.
4th. " And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun;
and power Was given him to scorch men with fire."
I have produced an abundance of evidence in this proposition to
flhow how men were scorched with fire, both temporally and spir¬
itually—that this is similar to the former proposition, as the sun
here figuratively is the church—that they were heated to such a
degree that it produced such phrenzy that they acted like mad
men, and it drove them to desperation, so that they blasphemed
the name of Cod.
In the fifth and last proposition I have shown the increased
strength of the man]of sin, or Antichrist. Although the mystery
of iniquity had^been working, he never made an open appearance
until Constantine came to the throne; and he had been increasing
in strength, or becoming more powerful by degrees, until he ar¬
rived at the zenith, which continued from about one thousand to
fifteen hundred. His power during this period was almost unlim¬
ited, and fully represents all that is said of him in the Scriptures
with all his abominations. Then I have shown the rise and prck
gress of the false prophet. These all embrace the same period of
time.
THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
185
CHAPTER VII.
T£E WOMAN (OR CHURCH) IN THE WILDERNESS.
"And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God.
that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three score days."—Rev.
elations xii. 6.
I have shown in the first chapter that the church was set up
with the preaching of John, the forerunner of Jesus, but it will
not be amiss for me to say something more upon this important
subject. I shall again make the quotation from Daniel ii. 44:
" 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 shall stand, forever. "
An anonymous writer, styling himself " Arius," says that "it is
preposterous to suppose that this had reference to the setting up
of the Gospel Kingdom, but that it had reference to the United
States." To this I object, first because the United States is not
a Kingdom, and second, because Daniel had just given a descrip¬
tion of the great image and all the Kingdoms that it represented.
Then in the days of these Kings the God of Heaven shall set up
a Kingdom, which shall not be left to other people, and it is to
stand forever. No earthly Kingdom will stand forever. He then
shows in the 45th verse, that a stone cut out of the mountains
without hands should destroy all these Kingdoms, which stone is
the United States, as I shall show in its proper place. See Dan¬
iel's prophesy fulfilled in Matthew iii. 1-2: " In those days came
John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying
repent ye for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. " Luke xvi. 16:
" The law and the Prophets were until John; since that time the
Kingdom of God is preached and every man press into it." Mat¬
thew xi. 12-13: "And from the days of John the Baptist until
now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent
take it by force, for all the Prophets and the law prophsied
186
THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
until John. " Isaiah xl. 9: " The voice of him that crieth in the
wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord. " Matthew iii. 3, and
Luke iii. 4: "For this is he that was spoken of by the Prophet
Esaias, saying, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare
ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."
"Now in the days of these Kings," which is represented in the
image by the iron or the Roman government in the days of the
twelve Caesars. Luke iii. 1: "Now in the fifteenth year of the
reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being Governor of Ju-
dea, the word of God came unto John, the son of Zacharias, in
the wilderness, and he came into all the country about Jordan
preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins."
It is very evident that God had a spiritual kingdom fromthe
creation of the world, and that he set up a national kingdom (or
church) of the descendants of Abraham, to whom he committed
the lively oracles. But at the preaching of John he set up a visi¬
ble kingdom composed of spiritual subjects. Or to separate the
wheat from the chaff.
That it was set up is evident, or it never could have suffered
violence; nor could men press into it; and if not set up until the
day of Pentecost, then our Lord never entered the visible king¬
dom. That it was not set up with full power until after the as¬
cension is admitted, and • that all the ordinances were instituted
and practiced, and the keys of the Kingdom committed to Peter,,
with the promise " Whatsoever ye (Apostles) bind on earth shall,
be bound (or ratified) in Heaven. Isaiah xxxii. 1: "Behold a
King shall reign in righteousness, and Princes shall rule in judg¬
ment. " These Princes are the Apostles; and as "all scripture is-
given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine,,
they being divinely inspired, wrote the Hew Testament.. And:
"whose sins they remitted were remitted, and whose sins they re¬
tained were retained." That is, in church government and fiis-
cipline whatever they wrote was obligatory, or binding on. the
church through all time. And whenever any person or chprch
departs from any of the precepts and examples pf our Lord andjp^
Apostles, either in faith or practice, in the ordinances, or church
THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS. 187
discipline, they have departed from the only rule that is lawful,
and therefore have become Antichrist. It will be necessary for
me to make some remarks relative to the subjects of this kingdom,
for kingdom presupposes King and subjects. And as the God of
Heaven is the King and has set up his Kingdom, lie being spirit¬
ual, his subjects must of necessity be spiritual, for its true sub¬
jects are only those who are of the truth, and hear the voice of
Christ. John v. 25: "Verily, verily I say unto you, the hour is
coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son
of God, and they that hear shall live." No person can legally be
a subject unless he be born from above. . Nor has the world of
mankind, with all their wisdom and ingenuity, ever been able to
see the spirituality of the Kingdom. John iii. 6: " Verily, verily
I say unto thee, except a man be bom again he cannot see the
Kingdom of God." No person, we presume, will contend that a
man can be a subject of any earthly kingdom without being born
such, or adopted, for otherwise they would remain aliens, or stran¬
gers and foreigners. In like manner the subjects of the spiritual
kingdom must be born of the spirit—have a spiritual existence
before they can enter a spiritual kingdom. As its blessings and
immunities are not of this world, but such as are spiritual and
heavenly, they are all " spiritual blessings in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus." Ephesians i. 3: " Blessed be the God and father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ." Verse 4th: " According
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love."
1st Corinthians ii. 14: " But the natural man receiveth not the
things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him;
neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.'
Or translated out of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear son.
By the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy
Ghost, being baptized together into the same spirit, and such sub¬
jects are fit persons upon a profession of faith to enter by. the door
of baptism into the visible kingdom, or church. And that no
person has ever been a member of the visible kingdom without
13
1,88 THE%WOM^.N IN THE WILDERNESS.
submitting,to the ordinance of baptism by immersion, if ,*t is,,tjie
door as We believe it is, but there are hundreds and thousands
.j.hat have been born of the spirit and of course belong to the
spiritual kingdom, but have never entered by the door into the
visible kingdom.
Some of our brethren object to baptism being made the door
into the church and say that fellowship is the door, to the last of
which I agree. But what constitutes fellowship? I say faith in
Christ and baptism, for we may have heart fellowship for a person
that convinces us of a work of grace on the heart and have no
formal fellowship for him, because he is not baptized, and there¬
fore cannot allow him the privileges of the church, such as Com¬
munion, government and discipline. Then it is asked if baptism
is the door, how will you get him out, unbaptize him? I an¬
swer not; if he sins kill'him to all the privileges of the church.—
" For the sinner that sinneth, he shall die." Or let him be unto
you as a heathen man and a publican. That is, we separate him
from our fellowship, not for want of baptism, but for want of
christian conduct.
That natural men and women have imposed themselves upon
the church and entered by the door, is not only evident from
Scripture^ but also from church history, as well as our sad experi¬
ence upon the subject. Although such a subject may submit to
baptism it will not change his nature, (no more than it would
change the nature of a goat to enter the sheep fold.) He will
still retain his worldly nature and thereby bring worldly institu¬
tions into the church, to the dishonor of God our King, and the
disturbance of the church, John x. 2: " But he that entereth in
by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. " Verse 3: " To him
the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice, &c."
Here Jesus came to the porter, (John the Baptist,) for admit¬
tance into the sheep fold, (church.) Mark i. 9: "And it came
to.pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee,
and was baptized of John in Jordan." Verse 10; "And
straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heaygns
tfHB WtJMAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
189
opened, and the spirit like a dove, descending upon him." That
Jesus was baptised in Jordan there can he no doubt. Then to
constitute a legal member of the church he must have experi¬
enced all that is understood spiritually by regeneration and be¬
ing born again, and then submitted to the ordinance of baptism
by immersion in water, which must be administered by a legal
administrator, who has been baptised and comei under the im¬
position of hands. That such a kingdom was set up from the
preaching of John is very evident, and with the ordinances, as
Jesus instituted the sacrament of the supper on the night in
which he was betrayed; and immediately on his ascension .we
find about one hundred and twenty of them in church conference
doing business in the year 33; and in a few days more we find
them all together of one accord, when they received the miracu¬
lous gift of the Holy Ghost, and after Peter preached, there were
added unto them about three thousand. How could they have
been added to them, if they had not been organized before ?—
That this kingdom will continue in a visible state is evident
from the following scriptures. Luke i. 33: "And he shall reign
over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall
be no end." Matthew xvi. 18: " And I say also unto thee that
thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church; and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Hebrews i. 8:
"But of the son he saith, thy throne, 0 God! is forever and
ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom."
Daniel iv. 3: " His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his
dominion from generation to generation." 26th: "And his
kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. " Jesus said, John
xviii. 36: "My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom
were of this world, then would my subjects fight, that I should
not be delivered to the Jews, but now is my kingdom not from
hence."
To show the continuation of this kingdom since the comple¬
tion of the canon of the Scriptures we shall have to rely upon
history, which testimony is the stronger by coming, the most of
it, from the enemy. And as it is not of the world, the subjects
190 THE WOMAN IN THE WipiMSRNESS.
will not fight, and as they did not fight for their King they havp
never fought tor themselves. This will be the strongest testi¬
mony to prove the true church, and as it is not of the world
they will not endure worldly institutions to be brought into the
church. Hence, through the corruptions of the Bishops of
Borne, many extravagant notions were imposed upon the people
and church, which caused a minority to rend off for the sake of
preserving the faith and practice in its purity, (as many have
even in our time, which I shall show in the proper place,) and.
they were called by the majority Sismatics or heretics; as the
corrupt party had a majority, they claimed to be the orthodox
church, as they do to this day.
Mr. Daniel Webster, (the Secretary of State,) not long since,
said before the Historical Society of New York: " That religion
improved as the world advanced in knowledge, literature and
the arts and sciences, just like the governments. " This shows
his ignorance of the true church. That which is called the
church, or churches of every age have advanced in pomp and
show, or worldly wisdom, as the people advanced in civilization,
wealth and pride, which are the bane of religion. For instance,
when the Jews departed from the true worship and wished to be
like other nations, it originated from a principle of pride, and
when they adopted a portion of the idolatrous worship of the
age, and the Samaritans incorporated a portion of the Jewish
ceremonies with their idolatry, they lived together in harmony,
but when the J ews excluded idolatry and claimed to be the only
true church, then they were persecuted by the Samaritans and
Bomans. Mr. Webster ought to have recollected that He who
cannot err had said that "God's work is perfect, that man should
find nothing after him, nothing can be added to it or diminished
from it." Nor does it consist in the wisdom of this world. "I
thank thee, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent, and hath revealed them unto
babes, for even so, Father, hath it seemed good in thy sight. "—
Although the true church has at some per jod been very obscure,,
(and so at all times in the estimation of the world,) still she ha#.
THE "WO®AN IN THE "WILDERNESS, 191
remained the same in all ages and countries where she existed,
and will so continue, because Jesus said " the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it. "
When the church grew and multiplied, then corrupt men
■sought for a shelter under our mustard seed—an opportunity to
aggrandize themselves. And when the e'hurch was not peisecu-
ted she became more popular, and those corrupt men sought to
render her more popular in conforming, in some degree, to the
customs of the then fashionable religion of the day, which in
doctrine and practice, is always dishonoring to God and injuri¬
ous to the church, being so foreign from the manner of its first
institution by Christ and his Apostles. This departure perhaps
first took place at Rome and Carthage, or about those populous
cities, their Bishops and Elders departing by degrees from the
simplicity of the church, and assuming unjustifiable titles and
princely stations, became very annoying to true believers, and
caused a separation. I will give some extracts to prove their
Christian character and deportment. The first I shall give from
Gibbon, Vol. i. page 420: "When the Christians of Bithynia
were brought before the tribunal of the younger Pliny, they
assured the proconsul, that far from being engaged in any un¬
lawful conspiracy, they were bound by a solemn obligation to
abstain from the commission of those crimes which disturb the
private or public peace of society, from theft, robbery, adultery,
perjury and fraud. Nearly a century afterwards, Turtullian,
with an honest pride, could boast that, very few Christians had
suffered by the hand of the executioner, except on account of
their religion. Their serious and sequestered life, averse to the
gay luxury of the age, inured them to chastity, temperance?
economy and all sober domestic virtues. As a greater numberf
were of-some trade or profession, it was incumbent on them, by
the strictest integrity and the fairest dealings, to remove the sus¬
picions which the profane are too apt to conceive against the ap¬
pearance of sanctity. The contempt of the world exercised them
in the habit of humility, meeekness and patience. The more
they were persecuted the more closely they adhered to each
192 THE WOMAN IN THE yVTLDEBNESS.
other. Their mutual charity and unsuspecting confidence has
been remarked by infidels, and was too often abused by peifidi-
ous friends."
"Montanists were m a flourishing condition towards the latter
part of the second century. They began in Phrygia, and spread
abroad throughout Asia, Africa and a part of Europe. The se¬
verity of their doctrine, says Moshehn, gained them the esteem
and confidence of many who were far from being the lowest
order. With this party the famous Turtullian united, about
A. D. 200, and wrote many'books in defence of their sentiments.
It is proper here to remark that heresies in abundance were at¬
tributed to this people, relative both to their faith and practice;
but when we consider such a man as Turtullian, with many other
eminent characters, become their associates and defenders, it
seems to relieve, in a measure, the gloomy picture which may
have drawn off their ignorance and fanaticism.
The next extract I shall give will be from Mr. Robinson's Ec¬
clesiastical Researches of Hovatian, as being one of the first
great divisions that we have a particular account of, but no doubt
others had taken place previous to this, (as in the case of Tur¬
tullian just cited,) but not to such an extent, and as all their
writings and defences were destroyed, we have to rely entirely
upou their enemies; which makes the matter the more obscure.
Mr. Robinson says: "The history of Novotian is long, and, like
that of all others in his condition, beclouded with fables and
slander. The case in brief .was this: Novatian was an elder in
the church of Rome. He was a man of extensive learning, and
held the same doctrine that the church did, and published seve¬
ral treaties in defence of what he believed. His address was
elegant and insinuating, and his morals were irreproachbale. He
saw with extreme pain the intolerable depravity of the church.
Christians, within the space of a few years, were caressed by one-
Emperor and persecuted by. another. In seasons of prosperity,
many rushed into the church for base purposes. In times of
adversity they denied the faith and ran ffa,ck to idolatry again.
*Benedict's History, page. 4*
THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS. 193'
When the squall was over they1 came hack to the church, with
all their vices, to deprave others by their examples. -The Bish¬
ops, fond of proselytes, encouraged all this, and transferred the
attention of Christians from the old confederacy for virtue? to
vain shows at Esther, and other Jewish ceremonies, adulterated
too with Paganism. On the death of Bishop Fabian, Cornelius,
a brother elder, and a vehement partizan for taking in the multi¬
tude, was put in nomination. Novatian opposed him; but as
Cornelius carried his election, and he saw no prospect of repara¬
tion, but on the contrary a tide of immorality pouring into the
church, he withdrew, and a great many with him.
Novatian was the first anti-Pope, and yet, at that time, there
was no Pope in the modern sense of the word. They call Nova-
tian the author of the heresies of Puritanism; and yet they
know Turtullian had quitted the church near fifty years before
for the same reason; and Privatus, who was an old man in the
time of Novatian,* with several more, repeatedly remonstrated
against the alterations taking place; and, as they could get no
redress, had dissented and formed separate congregations. They
tax Novation with being the parent of an innumerable number
of congregations of Puritans all over the Empire, and yet he
had no other influence over any of them than what his good ex¬
ample gave liinx People saw every where the same cause of
complaint, and groaned for relief; and when one man made a
stand for virtue, the crisis had arrived; people saw the propriety
of the cure, and applied the same means to their relief." (Howr
much this resembles the course pursued within our own observa¬
tion, which I shall mention more fully in proper time.) ' ,
Mr. Orchard's account of the origin of the Novatians goes
more into detail. " When Deems came to the throne, in 249,
he required, by edicts, all persons in the Empire to conform to
Pagan worship. Forty year's toleration had greatly increased
professors, and they were found in every department of the
government. They had been so long unaccustomed to trials
that the lives of many were unsuited to suffering. Decius's
edicts rent asunder the churches—multitudes apostatized, and
194 THE WpMAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
many were maYtyred. In two years the trial abated, when many,
apostates applied for restoration to Christian fellowship. One
Novatian, a presbyter in the chrchu of Rome, strongly opposed
the readmission of apostates, but he was not successful. The
choice of a pastor in the same church fell on Cornelius, whose
election Novatian opposed from his readiness to readmit apos¬
tates. Novatian consequently separaced himself from the
church and from Cornelius's jurisdiction. "
"Novatian, with every considerate person, was disgusted with
the hasty admission of such apostate to communion, and with
the conduct of many pastors, who were more concerned about
iwmbers than purity of communion. Novatian was the first to
begin a separate interest with success, and which was known for
centuries by his name."
"It is evident that many persons were previously in such a
situation as to embrace the earliest opportunity of uniting with
churches whose communion was scriptural. «Novatian became
the first pastor of the new interest, and is accused of the crime
of giving birth to an innumerable multitude of congregations of
Puritans in every part of the Roman Empire; and yet, all the
influence he exercised was an upright example and moral sua¬
sion. These churches flourished until the fifth century."
" They considered," says Mosheim, "the Christian church as
a society where virtue and innocence reigned universally, and
none of its members, from their entrance into it, had defiled
themselves with any enormous crimes; and of course they looked
upon every society which readmitted heinous offenders to its
communion as unworthy of the title of a true Christian church.
On account of the church's severity of discipline, the example
'^hs followed by many, and churches of this order flourished in
jane greatest part of these Provinces which had received the
Gospel."
Dupin says: "Novatian's style is pure, clear and polite; his
expressions choice, his thoughts natural, and his way of reason¬
ing just; he is full of citations of texts of Scripture, that are
always to the purpose; and besides, there is a great deal of order,
THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
195
and method in those treaties of which we now have; and he
never speaks hut with a world of moderation and candour.
"Their manners," says Dr. Adam Clark, "were, in general,
simple and holy; indeed their rigid discipline is no mean proof of
this."
Besides the Novatians, there were a sect, or separation, that
took place at Carthage called Donatists, with this difference, that
the Novatians extended all over the Roman Empire, ,and the
Donatists were confined to Africa, their doctrinal sentiments and
discipline pretty nearly the same.
" These sentiments of the old Donatists relative to the union
of Church and State, and the interference of civil power in reli¬
gious concerns, are' precisely' those which the Baptists have al¬
ways maintained. In a number of other points a striking re¬
semblance appears between these African dissenters and the Bap¬
tists of the present day. The Donatists and Novatians very
much resemble each other in doctrine and discipline; indeed,
they were charged by Crispin, a French historian, with holding
together in the following things:
"First. For purity of church members, by asserting that
none ought to be admitetd into the church but such as are visi¬
bly true believers'and true saints.
Secondly. For purity of church discipline.
Thirdly. For the independence of each church. And,
Fourthly. They baptized again those whose first baptism they
had reason to doubt. They were consequently called rebaptizers
and anna-baptists. Osiander says our modern anna-baptists
were the same with the Donatists of old. "
" The Rovatian churches extended all over the Roman Empire,
while the Donatists were principally confined to Africa. As
both parties had abjured the established church, and uniformly
rebaptized all who came over to them from it, twis made them
obnoxious to the ruling party, by which they were'treated in a
most severe and unchristian manner. "*
*Ben edict's History, p-9-10,'
196 THE WOMAN IN" THE WFLWERNESS.
The preceding extracts prove sufficiently that there WeftS)' dftf
visions in the Church, both in the East and West of the' Robh&Ef*
Empire, which must have taken place soon after the Apostle's
day. Hence Paul said, "I know after my departure that
grievous wolves shall enter in, not sparing the flock, &c." "Meft
of corrupt minds shall rise up to draw away disciples after
them."
It is impossible at this distant day to give a correct account
of the separations, and the causes that led to them; the true
church being in the minority and the majority predominating *
over them, they made but little self defence, being content to
be separated from such pride, profligacy and unscriptural com¬
munion. They wrote but little in self-defence,-and what-they did
write being nearly all destroyed by their persecutors, by whom
they suffered, we have to rely upon their enemies for testi¬
mony of their character, doctrine, practice and the nature of
those divisions.
And those witnesses are constantly misrepresenting them, as • is
admitted by all historians of the present age, and is too clearly
demonstrated by the sad experience of this nineteenth century,
in the separations that have taken place in the Baptist denomi¬
nation, especially that which has taken place upon the Mis¬
sionary subject, that party constantly misrepresenting the views,
and stigmatizing them with anti-effort, Antinomians, and a mis¬
representation of their numbers, (which will more fully appeal
in their proper place.) Mr. Benedict little thought that he was
identifying the anti-effort (or Old School) Baptist with the an¬
cient church of Purita'rte, or Novatians, Donatists and Walden-
ses in his late history, when he says they (the ancient church)
.re-baptized all that came from the Catholic party to their com¬
munion, which greatly exasperated the Catholics—to think that
their authority should be questioned by such ignorant and ob¬
scure individuals. Just what the anties do- in this age, bapti-
'zing all that.come to their communion from all-denomination,
not re-baptizing, but believing their former baptism to be ille¬
gal, for want of the mode, the subject, or the administrator,, they
consider the Missionary Baptists in the same situation, andthfie--
TEE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
197
■fore baptize those *that come from their, communion, which
greatly perplexes them as it did the Catholics."
It seems then that the first grand separation, or the first worth
notice from their enemies,, was that of Novatianin A. D. 249.—
That there were others previous to this time is very clear, as
that of Turtullian took place some fifteen years before, with
others at Rome, who remonstrated against the pride and profli¬
gacy of the church at Rome, but had not been formidable
enough to attract much attention from the enemy, but there
were numbers who were dissatisfied and only waited an oppor¬
tunity, or some one to lead off and stand for the truth, who
found such an one in the person of Novatian, and then he is
charged (as has always been the case even in our day) with being
the cause of the division because he act^ed a prominent part,
when the true cause was first a departure from Apostolic princi¬
ples and oppression, or taking from them that freedom and inde¬
pendence of the Gospel church and imposing worldly institutions
which the Christians could not bear.
Mr. Benedict, Mr. Jones, Father Whitsett, together with,
other divines, think that the persecution of the Novatians by
Constantine was the cause of the true church (woman) flying
into the wilderness, from which principle I must beg leave to
differ,because the "woman fled from the dragon," which was
Pagan Rome or idolatry, and as I have shown before, that though
the dragon was cast out spiritually at the destruction of the
Jewish State, and the setting up of the Kingdom of Christ,
yet he continued politically, or was established by law until
Constantine in A. D. 325, at the Council of Nice, when he gave
his seat to the beast; and although he has continued until now,
still he has no lawful- existence.
I have said before that the woman fled from the dragon under
the persecution of Decius and Gallus, which would be about
the year A. D. 252, as that persecution is represented to be
the most awful and trying of any that had preceded it.
Mr. Jones says, on page 126: " No sooner had Decius ascend¬
ed the throne than a tempest was raised, in which the. fury of
198 THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS. .
persecution fell in a dreadful manner upon the church of Christ.
Whether it were from an ill-grounded fear of the Christians^ jir
from a violent zeal for the superstitions of his ancestors, does
not appear; hut it is certain that he issued edicts of the most
sanguinary kind, commanding the praetors, on pain of death,
either to extirpate the whole body of Christians without excep¬
tion, or force them by torments of various kinds to return to the
Pagan worship. Hence, in all the Provinces of the Empire,
during a space of two years, multitudes of Christians were put
to death by the most horrid punishments which an ingenious
barbarity could invent. This trying state of things was con¬
tinued, with more or less intermission, during the reigns of Gal-
lus, Valerian, Diocletian, and others'of the Roman Emperors.—
When the persecution arose under the Emperor Decius, or rather
as it is expressed by a late writer, " when the gates of hell were
once more opened, and merciless executioners were let loose upon
the defenceless churches, who deluged the earth with blood, A.
D. 249." (For a more full description see a former chapter.)—
The persecution being different now from any heretofore—the
church having had rest, or nearly so, for some forty years, multi¬
tudes of worldly minded individuals flocked into her communion,
and caused the divisions that I have just been speaking of, and
now the churches are persecuted both by the dragon and the
beast with seven heads and ten horns, for the dominant party
stigmatized them as well as that of the idolaters. And from
such persecution she, meek and humble, fled to the wilderness,
A. D. 252, for u she had two great wings as the wings of an
eagle given her, where she is to be fed for a thousand two hun-
lired and three score days," which, according to prophesy is twelve
hundred and sixty years. " And the earth opened her mouth
and helped the woman, while the dragon made war upon the
remnant of her seed." The church was organized before she
fled and.carried with her the Gospel and true Gospel order, where
she maintained it through all of the dark ages.
President Edwards says: " In every age of this dark time
there appeared particular persons in all parts of Christendom,
THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
199
who bdre testimony against the corruptions and tyranny of the
Church of Bome. Inhere is no age of Antichrist, even in the
darkest times, hut ecclesiastical historians mention many hy
name who manifested an abhorence of the Pope and his idola¬
trous worship, and pleaded for the ancient purity of doctrine
and worship."
" Besides these various individuals, there was a people called
the Waldenses, who lived separate from all the rest of the
world, and constantly bore testimony against the church of
Borne through all these dark times. The place where they
dwelt was the Yaudois, or the Five Valleys of Piedmont, a very
mountainous country between Italy and France; it was com¬
passed about with those exceeding high mountains, the Alps,
which were almost inaccessible. There this people lived for
many ages, in a state of separation from all the world, having
veiy little to do with any other people. And there they served
God in the ancient purity of his worship, and never submitted to
the church of Rome. "
It is contended by some historians, Mosheim among the num¬
ber, that the Waldenses received their name from Peter Waldo,
a merchant of Lyons, but it is contradicted by a number of oth¬
ers. I will give Mr. Robinson's definition of the term in hie
Ecclesiastical Researches. He says, page 302-303: "From the
Latin word Yallis comes the English word valley, the French and
Spanish valle, the Italian valdesi, the Low Dutch vallege, the
Provincial vaux, vaudois, the Ecclesiastical Valdense, Uldensis,
Waldenses. The word simply signifies valleys—inhabitants of
valleys, and no more. It happened that the inhabitants of the
valleys of the Pyrenees did not profess the Catholic faith; it fell
out, also, that the inhabitants of the valleys about the Alps did
not embrace it; it happened moreover, in the ninth century, that
one Yaldo, a friend and counsellor of Berengarus, and a man of
eminence, who had many followers, did not approve of the Pa¬
pal doctrine and discipline; and it came to pass about a hundred
and thirty years after, that a rich merchant of Lyons, who was
called Valdus or Yaldo, openly disavowed the Roman Catholic
200 *THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS,
religion, supported many to teach doctrines believed in the Val¬
leys, and became the instrument of the conversion of great
numbers. All these people were called Wctldenses. This view of
the matter which, to myself, appears indisputably the tiue one,
is also supported by the authority of their own historians Purre,
Grilles, Perrin, Leger, and by Sir S. Morland and Dr. Allix."
Mr. Jones says: " The Principality of Piedmont, from the
circumstance of its being situated at the foot, of the Alps—a
prodigious range of mountains, the highest indeed in Europe,
and which divided Italy from France, Switzerland and Germa¬
ny. It is bounded on the East by the Duchess Milan Montepe-
rat, on the South by the county of Nice and the territory of
Genoa, on the West by France, and on the North by Savoy. In
former times it constituted a part of Lombardy, but more re¬
cently has been subjected to the King of Sardinia, who takes up
his residence at Turin, the capital of the Province, and one of
the finest cities in Europe. It is an extensive tract of fich and
fruitful valleys, imbosomed in mountains which are encircled
again in mountains higher than they, intersected with deep and
rapid rivers, and exhibiting in strong contrast the beauty and
plenty of Paradise, in sight of frightful precipices, wide lakes
of ice and stupendous mountains of never-wasting snow. The
whole country is an interchange of hill and dale, mountain and
valley, traversed with four principal rivers, the Po, the Tanero,
the Stura and the Dora, besides about eight and twenty rivulets,
great and small, which, winding their course in different di¬
rections, contribute to the fertility of the valleys and make them
resemble a watered garden.
It is said in the Encyclopedia, speaking of the Alps, that
mountain rose above mountain in inestimable grandeur, tower¬
ing almost to the heavens, forming an almost inaccessible re¬
treat, as if God, in the creation, designed it for the deposit of
some inestimable jewel."
I have said enough for the present relative to the place of re¬
treat. I believe that God, in the original creation, formed it
expressly for the deposit of the most precious jewel that was
JCJP. W01&&N IN THE WILDERNESS.
?01
t}V$r in. the wpijld* which-was his church, his bride, which he
loved ,so wejl and esteemed so highly as to give his life for, and
,tq forego all the humiliation and persecution, to raise her from
a.state of degradation to a state of exaltation and glory; and as
she could not be glorified in this world he deposited her in the
valleys of Piedmont for the space of 1260 years, where she
might be preserved from the face of the dragon, and the perse¬
cution of the beast with seven heads and ten horns, and might
remain the light of the world, it being so created as io.be com¬
pletely adapted to their wants. It is true that there were
Christians in various parts of the world during all this time,
which I shall notice hereafter, especially the Albigences and the
crusades- against them. But they were not so well organized as
the Waldenses, who were not so liable to persecution and cor¬
ruption, for in their retreat many of them did not know any
thing about a Pope with all his train of idolatry and superstition.
Having the oracles of God, they preserved them and the pure
Apostolic worship through all the dark ages, thereby verifying
that "my kingdom is not of this world.
I shall next give some extracts relative to their ancient faith
and paactice, and also their manner of life, with their treatment
by their rulers, and as their writings are nearly all destroyed we
shall have to rely upon their enemies for testimony.
"It iscertaion," says Mr. Orchard, "these valleys, at an ear¬
ly period of the Christian era, became an asylum to the wor¬
shipers of the Redeemer, who, at the remotest period, were
known by the term Credenti believers. However remote their
antiquity, no* record exists as to any of theso churches being
Apostolical, and it is beyond all contradiction, that early and
late dissidents in religion were found in these valleys, and in
other Provinces, who were never in connection with the church
of Rome. "—Robinson's Researches p. 425-
D. Bethazar, Bap. Magazine, Vel. i. page 167, says: "Though
we have no document proving the Apostolical foundation of
these churches, yet it becomes evident that some communities
did exist here in the second century, since it is recorded, they
202
THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
practice believer's baptism by immersion. Whether these soci¬
eties were gathered by the Apostles or their successors, or wheth¬
er tliev originated with those emigrants who left the cities under
the persecuting edicts of Marcus Aurelius Antonius, we have
no means of deciding. "
I will here give some extracts from the three articles of faith
as recorded in Jones' Church History, pages 266, 267 and 278,
given by Jon Paul Per in:
"Article 2. We believe that there is one God, the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit.
3. We acknowledge for sacred canonical Scriptures the books
of the Holy Bible. (Here follows the title of each, exactly
comparable to our received canon, but which is deemed on that
account, quite unnecessary to particularize.)
4. The books above mentioned teach us, that there is one God,
almighty, unbounded in wisdom and infinite in goodness, and
who, in his goodness, has made all things; for he created Adam
after his own image and likeness, but through the enmity of the
devil and his own disobedience, Adam fell, sin entered into the
world, and we became transgressors in and by Adam.
6. That at the time appointed of the Father Christ was born
—a time when iniquity every where abounded, to make it man¬
ifest that it was not for the sake of any good in ourselves, for
all were sinners, but that Pie, who is true, might display his
grace and mercy towards us.
7. That Christ is our life, and truth, and peace, and righte¬
ousness—our shepherd and advocate, our sacrifice, and priest,
who died for the salvation of all who should believe, and rose
again for their justification.
8. We also firmly believe, that there is no other mediator or
advocate with God the Father, but Jesus Christ. And as to
the Virgin Mary, she was holy, humble, and full of grace; and
this we believe of all other saints, namely, that they are waiting
in heaven for the resurrection of their bodies at the day of judg¬
ment.
-THE "WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
203
10. Moreover,%e have ever regarded the inventions of men, (in
file affairs of our religion,) as an unspeakable abomination before
God; such as the festivals, days and vigils of saints, and what is
called holy water;: the abstaining from flesh on certain days, and
such like things, but,above all, the mass.
11. We hold, in-abhorrence all human inventions, as proceeding
from Anti-Christ,, which produces distress and are prejudicial to
the mind.
12. We consider the sacraments as signs of holy things, or as
the visible emblems of invisible blessings. We regard it as proper
and even necessary that believers use these symbols or visible
forms when it can be done. Notwithstanding which we main¬
tain that believers may be saved without these signs, when they
have neither place nor opportunity of observing them.*
13. We acknowledge no sacrament (as of divine appointment)
but baptism and the Lord's Supper
14. We honor the secular powers with subjection, obedience,
promptitude and payment."
Having given most of the first confession of faith, as their ene¬
mies charged them with every kind, of heresy and disorder, they
gave at different times three confessions of faith in justification of
their Conduct and doctrine. Sir Samuel Moreland has fixed the
date of the first of them. in. the year 1120, which would make it
732 years ago.
In consequence of the decree that went out against them in
the year 1540, they, in order to remove the prejudices that were
entertained against them and. to manifest their innocence, trans¬
mitted totthe King, in writing, 'the following confession of faith,
which is the third confession;
Article 1.. " We believe that there is but one God, who is a
spirit—the creator of all things—the father of all, and through
all, and in us all, who is to be worshiped in spirit and in truth—■
upon whom we are continually dependent, and to whom we as¬
cribe praise for our life, food, raiment, health, sickness, prosperity
and adversity. We love him as the source of all goodness, and
2Q4
THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
reverence him as that sublime being, who searches the reigns and
trieth the hearts of the children of men.
2. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son and image of the
Father—that in Him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells, and
that by Him alone we know the F a the v. He is our mediator and
advocate; nor is there any other name given under heaven by which
we can be saved. In his name alone we call upon the Father,
using no other prayers than those contained in the Holy Scriptures,
or such as are agreeable thereunto.
3. We believe in the Holy Spirit as the Creator, proceeding
from the Father and from the Son, by whose inspiration we are
taught to pray, being by him renewed in the spirit of our minds;
who creates us anew unto good works, and from whom we receive
the knowledge of the truth.
4. We believe that there is one holy church,, comprising the
whole assembly of the elect and faithful that have existed from
the beginning of the world, or that shall be to the end thereof.—
Of this church the Lord Jesus Christ is the head—it is governed
by his word and guided by the Holy Spirit. In the church it
behooves all Christians to have fellowship. For her he (Christ)
prays incessantly, and his prayer for it is most acceptable to God,
without which indeed there could be no salvation.
5. We hold that ministers of the church ought to be im-
blameable both in life and doctrine, and if found otherwise, that,
they ought to be deposed from their office and others substituted
in their stead; and that no person ought to presume to take that
honor unto himself hut ho who is called of God as was Aaron—
that the duties of such are to feed the flock of God, not for filthy
lucre's sake, or as having dominion over God's'heritage, but as be¬
ing examples to the flock, in word, in conversation, in charity, in
faith and in chastity.
6. We acknowledge that Kings, Princes and G»vernoic, are
the appointed and established ministers of God, whom we are
hound to obey, (in ail lawful and civil concerns,) for they bear the
sword for the defence of the innocent and the punishment of evil
doers; for which rgason we are bound to honor and pay them
THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS. 205
tribute. From this power and authority no man can exempt
himself, as is manifest from the example of the Lord Jesus
Christ, who voluntarily paid tribute, not taking upon himself any
jurisdiction of temporal power.
7. We believe that in the ordinance of baptism the water is
the visible and external sign, which represents to us that which,
by virtue of God's-invisible operation, is within us—namely, the
renovation of our minds, and the mortification of our members
through (the faith of) Jesus Christ. And by this ordinance we
are received into the holy congregation of God's people, previously
professing and declaring our faith and change of life.
8. We hold that the Lord's Supper is a commemoration of and
thanksgiving for the benefits which we have received by his suf¬
ferings and death, and that it is to be received in faith and love—
examining ourselves, that we may so eat of that bread and drink
of that cup, as it is written in the Holy Scriptures.
9. We maintain that marriage was instituted of God—that it
is holy and honorable and ought to be forbidden to none, provided
there be no obstacle from the divine word.
10. We contend that all those in whom the fear of God dwells,
will thereby be led to please him, and to abound with the good
works (of the Gospel) which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them—which are love, joy, peace, patience, kind¬
ness, goodness, gentleness, sobriety, and the other good works en¬
forced in the Holy Scriptures.
11. On the other hand, we confess that we consider it to be our
duty to beware of false teachers, whose object is to divert the
minds of men from the true worship of God, and to lead them to
place their confidence in the creature, as well as to depart from
the good works of the Gospel and to regard the inventions of men,
12. We take the Old and the New Testament for the rule of
our life, and we agree with the general confession of faith contain¬
ed in what is usually termed the; Apostle's creed. "
I have given part of the first, and the whole of the third . con¬
fession as it is important to understand their doctrine and prac¬
tice, so that we may'know who to identify with them, for it must
©6 THE WOM^N: IN THE "WILDERNESS.
be by this rule, as ngmes change so frequent. I shall now give'
some additional testimony of, their docfrine and practice, both by
themselves and their enemies.
Jones, page 277;>They say "in articles of faith, the authority
of the Holy Scriptures is the highest, and for that reason it is the
standard of judging;, so that whatsoever doth not agree with the
word of Grod, is deservedly to be rejltcted and avoided.
The decrees of fathers and councils are (only) so far to be ap¬
proved as they agree with the word, of good.
The knowledge and reading of the Holy Scriptures is open to
and is necessary for all, men, the laity as well as the clergy; and
moreover, the writings of the Prophets and Apostles are to be
read rather than the oomments oh men.
The sacraments of,, the Church,of Christ are two: baptism and
the Lord's Supper;; and in the latter, Christ has instituted the
receiving in both kinds, both for Priests and people.
This is the Church of Christ, which hears the pure doctrine of
Christ and observes the ordinances instituted by him, in whatso¬
ever place ifitexists."
Jones says, page 187: ".An ancient inquisitor, to whose writings
against the Waldenses I had occasion to refer in a former section,
thus describes them: These heretics are known by their manners
and conversation, for they are orderly and modest in their behavior'
and deportment. They avoid all appearance of pride in their dress
and finery, of attire, nor are they remarkable for being mean and
ragged. They avoid commerce, that they may be free from de¬
ceit and falsehood. They get their livelihood by manual labor, as
day laborers or mechanics; • and their teachers are weavers or
tailors. They are not anxious about amassing riches, but content
themselves with the necessaries of life. They are chaste, tempe¬
rate and sober. They abstain from anger. Even when they work,
they either learn or teach. In like manner also, their women are
very modest, avoiding backbiting, foolish jesting and levity of
speech; especially.abstaining from lies or swearing, not so much
as making use of the common assivqrations " in truth," " for cer¬
tain, " or the like, because they regard theSe as oaths, contenting
THE WOMAN IN "t?HE WILDERNESS.
207
themselves with-simply answering "yes" or "no." One of the
•Catholic writers says that "the heresy of the Waldenses was the
oldest heresy in the world. " Another of their Writers says that
" they never did belong to the Catholic church, and that then-
heresy existed for a.long time, even from the Apostle's day. "
Leubenslenius, a Dominican, speaking of the Waldenses, says:
" that in morale and life they are good; true in words and unani¬
mous in brotherly love. " Claudius admits " that in their lives
and morals they were perfect, and are reprehensible and without
reproach before men; addicting themselves with all their mights
to observe the commandments of God." Bibreia admits "that
they obtained the preference among the people for the excellency
of their doctrine." He acknowledges that they were so well in¬
structed in the Holy Scriptures, that he had seen peasants who
could recite the book of Job verbatim, and several others whp
could repeat all of the New .Testament."
Jones says, in his Church History, page 288: "In the time of
a great persecution of the Waldenses of Merindole and Province,
a certain monk was deputed by the Bishop of Cavilon, to hold a
conference with them, that they might be. convinced of their er¬
rors, and the effusion of blood prevented. But the monk re¬
turned in confusion, owning that in his whole ■ life he had never
•known so much of the Scriptures, as he had learned during these
few days that he had been conversing with the heretics. The
Bishop, however, sent among them a number of doctors, young
.men, who had lately come from the Sorbone, (Theological insti¬
tution,) which, at that time, was the very centre of Theological
subtlety at Paris. One of these publicly owned, that he under¬
stood more of the doctrine of salvation from the answers of little
children in their catechisms, than by all their disputations which
he had ever before heard."
Having shown the doctrine, manners and., great antiquity of the
Waldenses, ais. given and admitted by their enemies, in order to
-show their connection with the Apostolic Church at one view, I
*wUi.iiow<igive what Mr. -Orchard- -has - taken1 pains to group to-
zuo the woman in the wilderness.
gether, (in Benedict's History, page 47,) under one head, the
names of the different sects:
Names of the Parties.
Date or
Years. Authorities
Waldenses and Pickards
1450
Wall.
Hussites
1420
Crosby and Ivemv.
Waldo and his followers
1176
Jones.
Waldenses and Albigenses
1150
Collier.
Arnoldists
1140
Beilaimme.
Henricians
1135
Wall.
Petrobrussians
1110
Wall.
Beringarians
1049
MezEerov.
Grundulphiains
1025
J octin.
Paterians
945
Jones.
Vaudois, in France and Spain 714
Robinson.
Paulicians
653
Gibbon, Alix.
Donatists
311
Moslieim.
Novatianists
250
Brit. Ency.
This shows a connection from the Apostolic Church, as I have
stated before, that Novatian separated from the Church at Rome
011 account of heresies and church discipline and has continued
separate ever since. Although the Waldenses and their connec¬
tion was considered heretical, or looked upon by all denomina¬
tions as holding the most dangerous heresies, and 'was considered
contemptible, yet since the Reformation, they being considered
the true church during the dark ages, all of the Protestant de¬
nominations wish to claim a connection with them, although the
Protestants of all denominations had a connection with the Church
of Rome, but by reformation after reformation have produced the
present Protestant Churches, the most, if not all of them, hold¬
ing some of the superstitions of the Mother of Harlots, when it
is admitted by Roman Catholics and various historians that the
Waldenses never did (since Novatian's separation) belong to the
Church of Rome. Then to show a connection, or to identify any
denomination, it is not necessary to resort to names, as they chang¬
ed according to circumstances, countiies where they were situated,
or prominent men to whom they were attached, but we can best
THE * WOMAN/IN THE WILDERNESS. 200
identify their present existence as a church by their doctrine and
practice.
Their doctrine and practice as set forth in their confessions of
faith are precisely that of the Old School Baptists of the present
day. They believe in one God, or a trinity of parsons in-the
•Godhead. So does the Old School Baptists.
They believe in the fall of man., and that the whole human
family were united to Adam and became totally depraved in con¬
sequence of the sin or fall of Adam. So does the Baptist. They
believe in the atonement of Christ, and he being the only medi¬
ator between God and man, sufficient for the elect only, or all that
shall believe on him. So do the Old Baptists. They believed in
the operation of the Holy Spirit as the only means by which re¬
generation is produced. So do the Okl Baptists. They believed
that there was but one true church upon the earth and that is the
body of Christ, and that all true believers that ever did, nolv
does or ever shall live, compose that church or body, of which he
is the head, and there must be union and fellowship in that body
both in faith and practice. So do the Old School Baptists.
They believe that the. Scriptures should .be the only rule of
faith and practice. So do the Old School Baptists.
They " held in abhorrence all human inventions in the matter
of religious faith and practice, as unspeakable abomination before
Cod, and proceeding from Anti-Christ, which produces distresses
in the church aud ought to be discarded. " So do the Old School
Baptists. But what other denominations do, they also believe
in the resurrection of the dead. So does the Old School Bap¬
tist. They believe iu baptism by immersion, (from which infants
were excluded,) and that the subject must be a believer and the
administrator a legal one or else it would not constitute legal bap¬
tism, for which reason they re-haptizecl (or rather baptized) all
that came to their communion, which caused them to be called
Anna-Baptists, aad even continued it in Germany and after their
dispersion from the Valleys, and drew down upon them the
scorn, contempt and persecutiopof the Catholics for presuming to
dispute-the legality of their authority in administering, the ordi-
210 THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
nances, as well as persecution from . all other sects. So do the
Old School Baptists, and\cbntinue to exclude from their fellow¬
ship and communion, those coming from all other denominations,
until baptized by a proper administrator—even those coining
from the Free Will or Missionary Baptists, thereby incurring the
displeasure and contempt of all denominations, especially the
Missionary Baptist brethren, although we are compelled to do so
to keep the church free from the inventions of men. There is no
other denomination now that re-baptizes, not even our Missionary
brethren, when the persons had been immersed previous to their
coming to them.
They believe in a special call to the ministry, and that the
minister ought to be unblameable both in lite and doctrine; if
found otherwise, that they ought to be deposed from office and
others substituted in their stead; and that their duty was to feed
the flock of God, not for filthy lucre's sake or having dominion
over God's heritage. So do the Old School Baptists; but what
other denomination does? Their ministers were mechanics—wea¬
vers and tailors, who labored for a support. So do the Old School
Baptists.
Their preachers were missionaries after the Apostolic order—
they traveled very extensively without being sent by any Board
or Missionary Society, but went depending upon God for their
life, food and raiment, expecting that he would influence those
among whom their lot was cast to sustain them. As Mr. Bene¬
dict says, "they could travel all over Germany and lodge with
friends. " The Old School Baptists pursue the same course, trav¬
elling very extensively without being sent by any one except God
himself, or without any promise of support.from any quarter ex¬
cept what God has promised in his word, believing that if God
has sent them he will sustain them. Where is any other denomi¬
nation that is doing so?
They considered it to be their duty to beware of false teach¬
ers, " whose object it is to divert the minds of men from the true
worship of Gocl, and to lead them to place their , confidence in the
creature, as well as to depart from the good works, of the Gospql,
THE. WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
211
and to regard the inventions of men, " as dishonoring to God.—
This is just what the Old School Baptists contend for, and a
preacher that will teach any thing that can be done by man, or by
the invention of men, to produce justification before God, or will
in any way secure his salvation except by grace alone, should be
deposed from office. Do not all other denominations allow their
preachers greater liberty?
They taught that all those in whom the fear of God dwells
will theieby be led to please him and to abound in good works,
as enforced ; in the Holy Scriptures. So do the old School Bap¬
tists believe that good works follow justification—that it is not
the procuring cause, but that it is the sure fruit and effect that
follows after.
They were very benevolent to the poor although they did not
possess much property—they were willing to divide what they
had. The Old School Baptists consider the Church of Christ the
most (or should be) benevolent institution upon earth, and that
she ought to support her poor and be benevolent to others; and
for this reason they are opposed to forming benevolent institutions
out of the church, but no objections to their being formed out of
the world.
These people.had been permitted to occupy their retreat (not
without suffering persecution at times) for a long series of years,
as history abundantly proves, and as may be seen in Jones' Church
History, page 322: " While the demon of persecution was raging
with resistless fury against the Albigences in the Southern Pro¬
vinces of France, the inhabitants of the-valleys of Piedmont ap¬
peared to have enjoyed a large portion of external peace—their
churches had rest, and walking in the fear of the .Lord and the
comforts of the Holy Spirit, were edified and. multiplied. The
kind providence of God appeared in blessing them with a succes¬
sion of mild and tolerant Princes in the Dukes of Savoy, who,
continually receiving the most favorable reports of them as a peo¬
ple, simple in their manners, free from deceit and malice, upright
in their dealings, loyal to their Governors, and ever ready to yield
them a cheerful obedience in every thing but the concerns of reli-
212 THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS,
gion, turned a deaf ear to the repeated solicitations of Priests and
monks, and from the besinninsc of the thirteenth century until
' O ©
the year 1487, a period of nearly three hundred years, preempto-
rily refused to disturb or molest them, "
What a comment, or clear manifestation of the providence of
God in the preservation of his church in the wilderness during the
darkest and most trying time in the dark ages ot the world.-—
They enjoyed such peace that they increased and frequently
spread out to other countries where they suffered the most intol¬
erant persecutions, as for instance in the South of France.
Jones says, on page 365: "George Morrell, one of the pastors
of the churches of the Waldenses, published a memoir of the
history of their churches, in which he states, that at the time he
wrote, there were above eight hundred thousand persons pi of essing
the religion of the Waldenses. "
Their churches, we are informed by Reienveires the inquisitor,
" contained, many of them, from five to fifteen hundred members,
and were divided into sixteen compartmentslohicli answers ex¬
actly to our Associations. And he also admits that they flourished
five hundred years before Peter Waldo. This carries us back to
the year 606. This number, it will be seen, existed at the time
when the Reformation commenced.
The testimony of Reinerius Saccho, He had himself been one
of their number, and: consequently could speak of them from
personal knowledge. He had apostatized from their profession;
was raised to the bad eminence of an inquisitor in the Catholic
church, and of course he became their bitterest persecutor; "Of
all the sects that have risen up against the Church of Rome,"
says he, "the Waldenses have been the most prejudicial and per¬
nicious, inasmuch as their opposition has been of very long con¬
tinuation. Add to which, that this sect has become very general,
for there is scarcely a country to be found in which this heresy is
not planted; and in the third place, because, while all other sects
beget in people a dread and horror on account of their blasphemies
against God, this, on the contrary, hath great appearance of
Godliness; for they live righteously before men, believe rightly
IJIisE TOMAN -IN THE WILDERNESS.
213
concerning God in every particular, holding all of the articles con¬
tained in the Apostle's creed-^but hating and reviling the church
of Rome, and on this subject they are readily believed by the
pepple." In another place he says: "The first lesson that the
Waldenses teach those whom they bring over to their party, is to
instruct them what kind of persons the disciples of Christ ought
to he; and this they do by the doctrine of the Evangelists and
Apostles, saying that those only are followers of the Apostles who
imitate their manner of life." Thus they "follow the Lamb
whithersoever he goes."
This was written by Saccho in the year 1258, which would
make it two hundred and fifty-seven years before the Reformation.
He also adds, using their own words: "For our parts, they perse¬
cute us for righteousness sake. They do nothing but eat the
bread of idleness. We work with our own hands. Among them
you can hardly find a doctor that can repeat three chapters in the
Hew Testament by heart—but of us there is scarcely a man or
woman who doth not retain the whole. And because we are sin¬
cere believers in Christ, and all teach and enforce a holy life and
conversation, these Scribes and Pharisees persecute us to death,
astheirvpredecessors did Jesus Christ."
Luther, in the year, 1533, published the confession of the
Waldenses. In his preface he acknowledges, that in the days of
his Popery by had hated the Waldenses, as persons who were con¬
signed over to perdition. But having understood from their con¬
fessions and writings the purity of their faith, he perceived that
these good men had been greatly wronged whom the Pope had
condemned as heretics. He had found -one thing worthy of admi¬
ration, a thing unheard of in the Popish Church, that laying
aside the doctrines of men, they meditated in the law of God
day and night; and that they were expert, and even well versed
in the Scriptures; whereas, in the papacy, those who are called
masters wholly neglected the Scriptures, and some of them had
not so much as seen a Bible dt any time."
Theodore Beza, the cotemporary and jcolleague of Calvin, in
his " Treaties of the Famous Pillars of Learning and Religion,"
.214 THE'-WOMAN IN THE " WILDERNESS.
•says: "As for the-W aldenses, I may be permitted to call them
the very seed of the primitive and pure Christian chinch, si-nee
they are those that have been upheld, as is abundantly mani¬
fest, by the wonderful providence of God, so that neither those
endless storms and tempests by which the whole Christian world
has been shaken for-so many succeeding ages, and the western
part at length so miserably oppressed by tbe Bishops of Rome,
falsely so called, nor those horrible persecutions which have been
expressly raised against;them, - were ever able to force or to pre¬
vail so as to make them bend or yield a voluntary subjection to
the Roman tyranny and idolatry."
On another occasion, the same writer remarks, " that the
Waldenses, time out of mind, have opposed the abuses of the
church of .Rome, and have been persecuted after such a manner,
not by the sword of the word of vGrod, but by every species of
- cruelty, added to a milli®n of calumnies and false accusations,
that they , have been compelled to disperse themselves wherever
they could, wandering through the deserts like wild beasts. The
Lord, nevertheless, has so preserved the residue of them, that,
notwithstanding the.rage of the whole world, they still inhabit
three countries at a great distance from each other, viz: Calabria,
Bohemia and Piedmont, and the countries adjoining, where they
dispersed themselves from the quarters of the Province about
two hundred and seventy years ago. .And as to their religion,
they never adhered to Papal superstition, for which reason they
have been continually harrassedby the -BishojDS and inquisitors,
abusing the arm of secular justice, so that their continuance to
the present time is evidently miraculous. "
Although it is contended that the church was situated in dif¬
ferent countries by' different individuals, some contend that the
Welch Baptist was the church; sstill J think that the testimony
which I have produced (and it is only a small portion of what I
have) is sufficient to establish the.fact that the church was pre¬
served in the "Valleys of Piedmont, where they preserved the
• Scriptures and true Grospel order, and showing that they were
-•-sealed before they fled, as recorded in. Revelations vii. 3, . saying,
THE". WOMAN" EST THE WILDERNESS; 215*
"Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have
sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads" 4th verse:
" And I heard the number.of them which were sealed; and there
were sealed an hundred and:forty and four thousand of all the
tribes of the children of Israel." And also in Revelations xiv.
1: "And I looked, and lo,. a Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and
with him an hundred and. forty and four thousand, having his
Father's name written in their foreheads. " 4th verse: "These
are they which were not defiled with women;: for they are vir¬
gins." (" Not defiled with women. " They were not defiled
with the corruptions of either Pagan or Papal'Rome.) "These
are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever-he goeth. These
were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God,,
and to the Lamb."
"These follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth." They
follow him through suffering, they follow him in meekness, they
follow him fin his ways of poverty, and they follow him in his
word, in the order and ordinances of the Gospel. " They stood
with:him on Mount Zion," for mount Zion.is where the King
dwells, his bride, his church, his kingdom.
I have not only shown that this was the true church, but I
think I have sufficiently identified them with the Old School
Baptists imfaith and practice. Although all Protestant denomi¬
nations claim communion with them, yet they differ with all
others in, several particulars, while they agree in every particular
with the Old School Baptists, which I shall show more fully in
the prosecution of my subject.
They continued in their retreat which was to be " for a time
and times and half a time, where she was to be nourished from
the face of the serpent. " A time and times and half a time, is
just equal to forty and two months, and would be three years and
a half, counting each year at 360 days,'and each day for a year,
which would make the 1260 years. According to a former state¬
ment, the woman fled in A. D. 252, which would be full A.
D.1512, or about the time the Reformation commenced. About
that "time a portion of them were forcibly dispersed, but as I
216
THD WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
have stated in a former chapter, the dragon was not fully cast
out until Constantino established religion in 325 at the Couiicil
of Nice, when the man of sin first made his open appearance,
and at which time another portion fled to the Yalleys. To com¬
mence with 325 the twelve hundred and sixty years would end
in A. D. 1583, at which time the Waldenses were nearly en¬
tirely dispersed from the Valleys.
" In the fifteenth century new scenes of persecution hurst
forth suddenly on this suffering people by the influence of their
ever restless and implacable adversaries of the Catholic party.—
It was customary for these people to construct caves of great
capacity in the sides of the mountains, beyond, as they sup¬
posed, the reach of their adversaries, where they could repair on
the approach of danger. But on a certain occasion, notwith¬
standing all their precaution, their retreats were discovered.—
Yast "quantities of combustible matter were placed at the en¬
trance of the caves and set on fire. The consequence of this
inhuman conduct was, that four hundred children were found
suffocated in their cradles, or in the arms of their mothers, while
multitudes, to avoid death by suffocation, or being committed to
the flames, precipitated themselves headlong from their caverns
Upon the rock below, where they were dashed to pieces. If any
escaped death by the fall, they were immediately slaughtered by
the brutal soldiers. More than three thousand perished on this
occasion in the Yalley of Loyse. This was about the close of
the fifteenth century.
Jones says, in his Church History, pages' 361-362: 'iWhile
these mereiless proceedings wrere going on against the Waldenses
in France, Albert Capatineis had advanced in the year 1588, at
the head of eighteen, thousand soldiers, against the Valleys of
Piedmont, The invading army was also joined by many eff the
Piedmontees, Catholics, who hastened to it from all parts, allured
by the promise of obtaining the remission of their sins and the
hope of sharing in the sweets of plunder." *
^Benedict's Church History, p. p. 41-42.
THE WOMAN IN THE WlLDEltNESS*.
217
" The women and children on their knees during tlie conflict;,
entreating the Lord to protect his people. When information of
this affair was brought to the Duke of Savoy, his host was
touched with compassion towards his subjects. He was con¬
vinced they had always been a loyal and obedient people. But
having been informed that their children were born with black
throats—that they were hairy and had four rows of teeth, with
only one eye, and that placed in the middle of the forehead, he
commanded some of them to be brought before him to Pignerol,
where being satisfied by ocular, demonstration that the Wal-
denses were not monsters, be blamed himself for being so easily
imposed upon by the clergy of the Catholic church as to credit
such idle reports, and at the same time declared his determina¬
tion to protect them henceforward in the undisturbed possession
of those privileges which had been allowed their ancestors, and
which the rest of his subjects in Piedmont still enjoyed. "
"Butthough this declaration sufficiently manifested the kind
intentions of the Prince towards his subjects, he seems to want
the power necessary to carry them into execution. The inquisi¬
tors, who lay in ambush in a convent near Pignerol, issued their
processes daily against the Waldetises, and as often as they could
apprehend any of them, they were delivered over for punish¬
ment to the secular power. In this way they continued to har-
rass them in that quarter until the year 1532. And it appears
from their history, that by these means a visible impression 'was
made upon their public church meetings. The fear of the in¬
quisition had imperceptibly led them to study to avoid publicity,
and in process of time they assembled for worship in private. "
This seems sufficient to show how long' the true church had
enjoyed comparative peace, while in Prance and almost every
other Kingdom they had suffered continual persecution. But
now, when tli'e fulfilment pf the prophecy by John of her retfeat
o"f "a time and times and half a time," or the 1260 years was
accomplished, she must suffer persecution in order to her disper¬
sion throughout the world to carry the Gospel and true gospel
rder, as is abundantly proven in the foregoing extracts of her
218 THE "WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
persecution about tlie commencement of the sixteenth century,
which shows the time fulfilled, and.as I have stated.befoicr,.that
as the dragon was not entirely cast out until Constantine, m.325,1
put them down by law. and established the church, (beast,) dhe
Waldenses were not dispersed until 1585, which would make
the 1260 years from.the Council of Nice, which I shall. attempt
to prove by a few extracts presently.
Eobinson gives a singular description of the Waldenses in
" Ecclesiastical Researches, page 320: " Greece was the parent,
Spain and Navaree the nurse, France the step mother and Savoy
the jailor of this class of Christians, known afterwards by the
name of Waldenses. Amidst the diversity of speculative
opinions they all administered baptism, by immersion."
Greece was parent of the Paulicans, who afterwards- were
called Albigences, and others who wandered to the Westward,
and Spain and Navaree were the nurses. These countries, in.
early times, before they were brought under the cruel sceptre of.
the Pope, were the famous abodes of these people under the
names of Yandois, Paterines, &c. On the Saracenes invading
Spain near the middle of the eighth century, many thousands of
Spanish Yandois, with their wives, children and servants,- under
cover of a large army, emigrated over the Pyrenees from the
Spanish to the French foot of the mountains, and from there,
naturally sought refuge in Piedmont where they intermixed with
the* Waldenses.
"France the step mother." Because she had two sets-of chil¬
dren who now united together, and she showing that parental
affection towards them which is seen,in the care oft the Dukes of.
Savoy towards the Waldenses, entitles her to this appellation.-—
They were called Albigences in the South of France.
" Savoy was the jailor." This figure was earned out to the
letter for many ages, because they were kept within the precincts
of the valleys for the twelve hundred and sixty years.
In the year 1560 the Duke of Savoy, much against his will
and inclination, was drawn by the Pope to make war upon them.
In. the beginning of March, Jane de Carpuignan and one
THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS. 219
Mathurim and his wife were.apprehended and burnt,, and seve¬
ral of the neighboring valleys were plundered and many of the
inhabitants put to death. In October following, news being
brought that the Duke of Savoy was sending an army to de¬
stroy them, they resolved that it was not lawful to take up arms
against their Prince, but that they would take up what they
could carry away and betake themselves to the mountains, and
there wait the good pleasure of God, who never forsakes his
own and can turn the hearts of Princes which way he pleaseth."'
Thus they fled to the mountains and into various other coun¬
tries, not only on account of the war that was made upon them,
hut the numerous edicts that were passed against them.
But after the entire dispersion of the true church, which took
place in 1583, a people claiming the name of Waldenses being
mixed up with the Reformation and occupying the Valleys, were
persecuted by the Catholic party up to 1585. (Just one hun¬
dred years after the Waldenses were driven out.) They "were
miserably treated, but had become so corrupted as to take up
arms in self defence, which the true Waldenses never done.
Mr. Jones says that in after times they had pastors who
taught them otherwise, and told them that it was not their
Prince they resisted, but the Pope.
This being blended with the Waldenses has caused them to
be charged by the enemy with fighting. But Mr. Robinson, in
his Ecclesiastical Researches, says that the Waldenses never did
return after they were driven out in 1585, and that the people
occupying the valleys after that time and claiming the name
were an entire different people, in their maimers and in theii
faith and order of worship.
Here I will leave the church for the present, but shall con¬
tinue, or give a description of her through future chapters; for
the more I study this matter, and the more I read, the more I
am convinced that the ancient Waldenses were the true church"
Mr. Robinson thus recapitulates the history of the Boheinia
brethren: " Authentic records in France assure us, that a people
ol*' a certain description was driven from there in the twelfth cen-
220
THE CHURCH IN SARDI3.
tury. About three hundred and twenty years after, we find a
people in the same country living under the protection of law
and order on the estate of Prince Lichenstein, exactly like all
the former, and about forty or fifty thousand in number. The
religious character of this people is so very different from
all others, that the likeness is not easily mistaken. They had
110 priests, hut taught one another. They executed no offices,
and neither exacted or took oaths. They bore no arms, and
chose to suffer rather than resist wrong. They held everything
called religion in the church of Rome in abhoranee, and wor¬
shiped Grod only by adoring his perfections, and endeavoring
imitate His goodness. They thought Christianity wanted no
comment, and- professed their belief by being baptized, and
their love to Christ and one another by receiving the Lord's sup¬
per. -They aspired to neither wealth or power, and their plan
\yas industry."
CHAPTER VIII.
1
THE ANGEL POURING OUT THE FIFTH VIAL,
. Rbvhi.atioxs xri. 10, 11: '"Aircf the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat
the beast; and his kktgdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for
pain.
And blasphemed the God of heaven because et their pains and their seres, and re¬
peated. not of their deeds."
1st. The church in Sardis.
2&. The opening the fifth seal.
Sd. The sounding the fifth trumpet
4th. The pouring out the fifth vial.
»th. The man c£ sin,
lit. The church in SarcKs. Rev. hi. lj "And unto the a»-
g'<£ ef the church in Sardis write; fliese things saith he that
THE CHURCH IN SARDIS.
221
hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy
works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead." '
Sardis, now called Sart, a city of Asia Minor, formerly the
capitol of Croesus, king of the Lydians, is situate at the foot of
the famous Mount Timolus. It is now a very pitiful village,
but for the accommodation of travellers—it being the road for
caravans that come out of Persia to Smyrna with silk—there is
a large kahan built in it, as is usual in these towns. To the
southward of the town are very considerable ruins still remain¬
ing, which remind us of what Sardis was, before earthquakes
and the sword had caused those desolations which have visited
it. The Turks have a Mosque here, which was formerly a chris¬
tian church. Some few christians live amongst them, working
in gardens, or otherwise employed in drudgery."—Calmet
This letter is directed to be written to the angel (minister) of
the church in Sardis. Write these things, saith he that hath the
seven spirits of God. He commands it to be written as one
having authority, having the seven spirits of God, the seven
divine attributes of God; and though this is the Son of God
speaking, yet he possesses all the God-head bodily, has power
to send the Holy Spirit into the world and to withhold it at his
pleasure; and upon that great agent we are all depended for
true and vital religion, not only to produce regeneration, but to
perpetuate, and live in the enjoyment of it.
And the seven stars. As if he had said, I am walking among
the candlesticks (churches), and hold the'seven stars (ministers);
they are secure, for I have the spirit of wisdom aRd power; so
I know thy works, that thou hast a name, that thou livest and #rt
dead. Thou dost profess attachment to me and my cause.—
The word life is a word that is commonly used in the scriptures
to denote religion, to distinguish it from the natural state of
man, which is described as" death in sin. But here it Meapp
more particularly a state of inactivity, a lifeless appearance upon
the subject of religion; for this church represents the firqe just
•prior to the reformation, which time is called the dark ages, and.
t acknowledged by all to be a time when there was leas risible
222
THE CHURCH- IJ* SARMSi
appealartce of religion than, at any other time since the gospel
dispensation, commenced. For the church of Rome was sunk in.
the grossest conniption., idolatry and ignorance, scarcely showing
the least semblance of spiritual life in; the whole body, either in
faith or practice; while through their ignorance and superstition
they persecuted with such relentless fury all that would, live
godly, that there was less visible piety than at any other time.
It is true that the church was in. the wilderness, but nearly lost
sight of by the world at this, period of time.
Verse 2: "Re watchful and strengthen, the things which re-,
main that are ready to die;for I have not found thy works per¬
fect before God." Be careful and attentive, that the enemy do
not mislead you by his flatteries or his threats; but strengthen
that which is ready to die; be more vigilant and faithful in
your obedience, not to become conformed to the world or become
more luke-warm. For I have not found thy works 'perfect before
God. Thy works have not been in accordance with my word;,
for the man of God may be perfect in good works, when he per¬
forms all that is required in the word of God and no more; for
St. Paul says, "That the man of God may be perfect thoroughly
furnished unto all good works."'
Verse3: "Remember, therefore, how thou hast received and
heard, and hold fast and repent. If, therefore, thou shalt not
watch, I will come on thee as. a thief, and thou shalt not know
what hour I will come upon thee." Remember that thou hast
heard the preaching of the apostles, and received that pure
word which is able to save thee (save thee from error), if thou
keep in memory what I delivered unto you. Hold fast what
you have heard and received, and repent; turn from the errors
into which you have gone, hold fast what little truth and ani¬
mation you have, and turn, from your present course, or else /
will come upon thee as a thief. I will come suddenly and unex¬
pectedly as a thief. And so he did come in the reformation as
unexpectedly as a thief, and caused a goodly number of the
nhristions and some of the Waldenses. to fall in with it at first,
but they soon, found they would fiaye to give up their mode of
THE ''CHimCH 'IN SAfeDlS.
22a
baptism and the sacrament of the supper, if they continued
with them.
Verse 4: "Thou hast a few names even in Safdis, which have
not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in
white; for they are worthy." There are a few names even in
Sardis. Names mean persons, members. There are a few that
remained faithful through the dark and trying time, and at the
commencement of the reformation it seemed as if all would
unite with it, yet a few remained faithful. And they shall walk
with me in icliite, for they are worthy, To walk is to live a life
of obedience, to walk in the ordinances and commandments
blameless. "White is an emblem of purity, and here it means
that a few in the time Sardis represents kept themselves pure
fron the errors and abominations that were so common.
Verse 5: "He that overcometh shall be clothed in white rai¬
ment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life,
but will confess his name before my Father and before his an¬
gels." He that overcometh all the temptations and persecutions;
for John says, "This is the victory, even our faith, that we con¬
tinue steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of
the Lord." Shall he clothed in white raiment. White raiment,
primarily speaking, means to be clad in the righteousness of
Christ; but here it means that by faithful obedience it will
shine in this dark and trying time like white raiment; or in the
language of the Saviour, "Let your light so shine that others
seeing your good works may glorify your Father which is in
heaven." And I will not fyot out his name out of the hook of life.
It will not be put or scratched out—it shall never' be erased
from the hook of life. As he says in Rev. xiii. 8: "And all that
dwell upon the earth shall worship him (the beast), whose
names are not written in the hook of life of the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world." Because he has the hook
in which all the names of the redeemed are inscribed, and no
one can look into it; not even the angel dare pry into it. But
I will confess his, dec. Will acknowledge that they have been
faithfuL Will say to his Father, "these "are they that hgve
224
OPENING THE FIFTH SEAL.
eonre up out of great tribulation, and liave washed tbeir robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb; enter thou into
the joys of thy Lord."
Yerse 6: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches,"
Let him understand that the churches embrace the whole pek
riod of time, and that the commendations and threats to the
churches, are as binding now and as much addressed to us, as
they were to the churches when written.
2d. The opening f the fifth seal.
Revelations vi. 9: " And when he had opened the fifth seal",
I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the
word of God, and for the testimony which they hold. "
This is a mysterious and highly symbollic, or figurative ex¬
pression. That of seeing the souls under the altar; which signi¬
fies a place where offerings were made, or sacrifices were offered
to God. John saw the souls as if they were, not that they actu¬
ally were under the altar. There is no particular place mentioned
where the altar was. Mr. Barnes thinks that it was in heaven,
and actually the souls of the dead, or disembodied saints, which
I cannot believe, because they pray for God to revenge them
upon their enemies, which spirit certainly cannot exist in heaven.
He also thinks that it must be under some great persecution,
and refers to that under Diocletian for the time on account of
its severity, which I cannot believe, because that was before the
entire destruction of the red dragon, and of course before the
visible appearance of the beast with |pven heads and ten horns.
If the interpretations that I have heretofore given of the
seals be correct, I must make it at or just before the commence¬
ment of the Reformation. They are not actually dead, but
they had been shut out from the privileges of the world (so to
speak) for a long series of years, and as we have seen in the for¬
mer proposition, had become pretty numerous and began to sigh
for deliverance—no doubt prayed fervently for deliverance, arid
wherever the church is offering up prayers to God there is tfto
altar. There had been so many put to death for the last-thrcfe
OPENING THE FIFTH SEAL.
225
hundred years that it might well he said that they were under
the altar, for the confirmation of which sec Benedict, page 29:
**' And in this manner the crusading armies of the Pope went on
in the work of death, until the multitude of people now under
consideration were either put to the .sword or driven into exile.—
The war continued about twenty years, in which time, it has
been computed, that a million of persons bearing the name of
Albigenses were put to death. " Mr. Clark makes it double that
number. This is the same people, it will be recollected, only
with a different name, as they bore different names in different
countries, as those were in the South of France—they were
called Albigeneesu. The circumstances of the Waldenses were
always afflictive, but, at some periods and in some places am
countries more so than others, or more so when they increase(
and spread outside of the Valleys; for the church of Borne,
with ths aid of the inquisition and armies of crusaders, which
were always ready to lend their assistance for the suppression ot
heresy at any point where their forces were directed, was never
more active nor powerful than in the three centuries preceding
the Beformation."
Thus we see that they had been suffering for three hundred
years, not so much in the vallies as in other countries, which
caused them naturally to long for deliverance; and an opinion
pretty generally prevailed that Christ's second coming was at
hand, or the time of the thousand years reign. From tradition,
or an impression of the spirit of God, there has always been a
looking for, or desiring, a change prior to those great epochs tha.
mark the history of the church, although there has invariably
been enthusiasts and fanatics; yet there was a genuine impulse
that pervaded generally.
As an evidence of this, I will cite to the feeling among th:
people at the coming of Christ, and that of the destruction ot
Jerusalem; and I will give one quotation from Gibbon's Kome,
Vol. i. page 412, which took place just before Constantine como
to the throne. " The ancient and popular doctrine of the Mil¬
lenium was intimately connected with the second coming oI
226
OPENING THE FIFTH SISAL.
Christ. It was inferred that this long period of labor and con¬
tention, which was now almost elapsed, would be succeeded by ft
joyful Sabbath of a thousand years; and that Christ, with the
triumphant band of the saints and the elect who had escaped
death, or who had been miraculously revived, would reign upon
earth till the time appointed fpr the last and general resurrec¬
tion. "
We see that there was a great feeling or desire for deliverance
prevailing among the people (as well as those in the valleys)
prior to the Reformation, especially in France, Switzerland and
Germany.
10th verse: "And they cried with a loud voice, saying, how
long, 0 Lord! holy and true; dost thou not judge and avenge
our blood on them that dwell on the earth? "
As if they had said, how long before you will come to destroy
Babylon and reign for a thousand years, that the church may b*
relieved from this state of persecution, and that our blood may
be avenged upon our enemies. " Our blood." That is the
blood of our parents and children, our brethren in the faith.—
They not being permitted by the Scriptures, or their own Chris¬
tian spirit, to take revenge, it was natural for them to implore
him1 whose privilege alone it was to punish or avenge. ■ No
doubt they prayed day and night, as always is the case under
severe trials, and would be a good figure to represent them as
being under the altar saying—"How long, 0 Lord! &c."
11th verse: " And white robes tuere given unto every one of
them. " As white is an emblem of innocence and purity, it was
to manifest their innocence or justification before God and the
world, although they suffered such persecution and martyrdom.
And although so many base fabrications were published and
circulated against them, yet it is acknowledged by all honest his¬
torians, that their lives and conduct were irreproachable—that
they were peaceable citizens, loyal subjects and orderly, and God¬
like in-their deportment.
To show the purity of their character, I will only give one
extract, (out of many that might be given,) from their
OPENING THE FIFEH SEAL.
227
enemies. An inquisitor says, in Jones's Church History, page
"287: "These heretics are known by their manners and conversa¬
tion, for they are orderly and modest in their behaviour and de¬
portment. They avoid all appearance of pride in their dress;
they neither iudulge in finery of attire, nor are they remarkable
for being mean and ragged. They avoid commerce, that they
may be free from deceit and falsehood. They get their liveli¬
hood by manual industry, as day laborers or mechanics, and
their teachers are weavers or tailors. They are not anxious
about amassing riches, but content themselves with the necessa¬
ries of life. They are chaste, temperate and sober. They ab¬
stain from anger. Even when they work, they either learn, or
teach. In like manner also, their women are very modest, avoid¬
ing backbiting, foolish jestings and levity of speech, especially
abstaining from lies or swearing—not so much as making use of
the common asseverations " in truth, " " for certain, " or the
like, because they regard these as oaths—contenting themselves
with simply answering " yes," or "no. "
Noble testimony that, from such an enemy as an inquisitor.—
But white robes does not merely have reference' to the external
appearance, but also that their souls were clad in the righteous¬
ness of Christ, as Dr. Watts paraphrazes it—
"And lest the shadow of a spot
Should on my soul be found,
He took the robe the Saviour wrought
And cast it all around."
. And it teas said uuto them., that they should rest yet for a
little sew-on. Although the deliverance that they so much de¬
sired or anticipated was not to appear immediately, yet they are
assured that after a little space it would come. No definite or
specific time is given. But that persecution did gradually sub¬
side, and that full diliverance will come at the downfall or de¬
struction of . Babylon, which, according to my calculation, would
be but a short space, although it would be over three hundred
years.
Until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that s ould
be killed as iheywere, should be fulfilled." Until others suffered
228
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
martyrdom, as great numbers did, botli under the beast with
seven heads and ten horns and the beast with two horns, (as will
he shown in succeeding chapters,) not that it was actually ne¬
cessary that the saints should be killed, but that the iniquity oi
the beasts might be full in orcler to their complete destruction,
Bo the opening of this seal is not preceded by the coming of a
horse and rider, the emblem of destruction, because the saints
are finally to prevail over the beasts.
3d. The sounding of the fifth trumpet.
Kevelations ix. 1: "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."
The angel, in the close of the preceding chapter, says: wo!
wo! wo! to the inhabitants of. the earth by reason of the other
voices of the trumpet. As if something more terrible was about
to take place than had already been.
" And I saiv a star fall from heaven, &c. " This does not
mean actually a star or meteor, nor does it mean from the mate¬
rial heavens; but as I have said in some of the former chapters,
it means the church—some prominent person in the church.—
Mr. Barns thinks that it was Mahomet, but I cannot think so,
because he never was in heaven, (the church.) I consider it the
Pope, or a successor of the Pope, who fell from his original pu¬
rity or stand in the church to a worldly or earthly form of wor¬
ship or government; hence it is said " it fell to the earth, and
to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. " That is, to
him was given power to open, or let loose as it were, the very in¬
fernal regions. ' (Something so horrible that it is pronounced by
the angel "wo" to the inhabitants of the earth.) To somenottd
person this power was given—it does not say by whom it was
given, but undoubtedly it was given by the Almighty, or ad¬
mitted by him for the punishment of the Synagogue of Satan;
f>r Christ said: " All power in heaven and in earth is given unto
me. " And again after his ascension he said to John: " I am
alive forever more, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of
death, " Then that it must be given (or permitted) by him
SGUHHllfG THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
22S
that had the power to some notable person that he might sum¬
mon his whole forces. This is very applicable to the Pope, who
summonses all his forces in every country, and taxes all his in¬
genuity to hold to and perpetuate his power over all the world,
and to destroy all that would interpose, or as he might consider,
a hindrance to his ambitious designs. The bottomless pit means
the lower region where the wicked dwell.
2d verse: "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 air was darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. "
Here he uses the figure of a great pit as if it had been closed,
but now having the key he opens, and there comes an effusion of
smoke that darkens the sun, which would be a natural conse¬
quence in opening a great furnace. Now at the time we are de¬
scribing, tfat is in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the sun
(or church, or what was called the church,) seemed to be in per¬
fect darkness. In their ignorance, corruption and superstition,
from the Pope, the Priest or prelate down to the people, they
seemed to obscnre every vital principle of religion until it might
be truly said that 'darkness covered the earth and gross darkness
the people."
Verse 3: "And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the
earth; and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the
earth have power." It seems that out of the darkness there ap¬
peared something that is represented by the locusts, which 1
shall call the inquisition. In this dark time of which 1 have
been speaking, among other institutions, that of the court of
-the Inquision was the most diabolical and dreadful that was ever-
invented, which will appear more fully by the testimony that I
shall produce. They are like locusts because very numerous and
spread all over the earth, and the people have not the power to
prevent it.
This order was introduced by Dominick in the early part of
the thirteenth century. Mr. Jones says, page 12-15: "The
mother of this saint (for he has been canonized) during her
pregnancy, dreamed that she was with child of a pup, having in
230
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
its mouth a lighted torch; that after its birth it put the world
in an uproar by it fierce barkings, and at length it set the world
on fire by the torch\ which it carried in its mouth. His followers
have interpreted this dream to mean his doctrine by which hp
enlightened the world; while others think if dreams presage
anything, that the torch was an emblem of that fire and faggot
by which an infinite number of persons were burnt to ashes.
Jones, page 296": "This tribunal did not arrive at full maturity
until after the commencement of the Reformation in 1550'
when it was.revised."
President Edwards says, Reformation, page 29; "By the gen¬
eral council of Lateron A. D. 1215, it was enacted that every
member of the church should confess once a year. Thus a uni¬
versal control over the actions and purposes of men was secured
to the priesthood. The whole community was placed in their
hands and subjected to their power. Those who could grant or
refuse absolution, and who seemefi to have heaven or hell at their
disposal, would be feared by all men and obeyed without reserve.
Auricular confession was the rivet which fastened almost irrecov¬
erably the chain of Rome's tyranny upon the human conscience."
The confession at least once in the year to the priest by all the
people, high or low, rich or poor, with the secret assistance and
designs of the Franciscan and Dominican friars, completely plac¬
ed the opinions and designs of the community within the know¬
ledge of the tribunals, and hence fear held them in complete
subjection. But as I have already said the inquisition did not
continue on the same footing on which it was at first established.
The first inquisitors were only to search out heretics and hand
them over for punishment. They also were vested with the dou¬
ble capacity of preaching to convince the heretics by arguments;
and the other was that of persecutors, or to instigate magistrates
to employ every means to extirpare heresy. But on the final es¬
tablishment they obtained unlimited power over not only the
people, but even over kings, princes, and even emperors. They
no longer preached, but sat as the holy inquisition from whose
judgment there was no appeal.
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
231
Tlie Encyclopedia says: "This diabolical tribunal takes cogni¬
zance of heresy, Judaism, Mahometanism, Sodomy and polygamy;
and the people stand in so much fear of it, that parents deliver
up their children, husbands their wives, and masters their serv¬
ants, to its officers, without daring in the least to murmur. The
prisoners are kept for a long time, till they themselves turn their
own accusers, and declare the cause of their imprisonment, for
which they are neither told the crime nor confronted with the
witnesses. As soon as they are imprisoned their friends go into
mourning and speak of them as dead, not daring to solicit their
pardon, lest they should be brought in as accomplices. When
there is no shadow of proof against the pretended criminal, he is
discharged, after suffering the most cruel tortures, a tedious and
dreadful imprisonment' and the loss of his effects. The sentence
against criminals is pronounced publicly and with extraordinary
solemnity. In Portugal they erect a theatre capable of holding
three thousand persons, in which they place a rich altar, and raise
seats on each side, in form of an amphitheatre. There the pris-i
oners are placed, and over against them is a high chair, whither
they are called, one by one, to hear their doom from one of the
inquisitors. ■ These unhappy persons know what they are to suffer J
by the clothes they wear that day: those who appear in their own
clothes are discharged on paying a fine; those who have a santo
benito, or straight yellow coat without sleeves, charged with St.
Andrew's cross, have their lives, but forfeit all their effects; those
who have the resemblance of flames made of red serge sewed upon
their santo benito, without any cross, are pardoned but threatened
to be burnt if they ever relapse; but those who, besides those
flames, have on their santo benito their own picture surrounded
with devils, are condemned to expire in the flames."
Fox says, page 85; "He instituted an order which, from him,
was called the order of Dominican friars. Their power was un¬
limited; they brought charges against whom they pleased, with¬
out any consideration of age, sex, or rank. However infamous
the accusers, the accusation was deemed valid. The dearest
friends or kindred could not, without danger, serve any one who
232
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
was imprisoned on account of religion; to convey to tliose who
were confined, a little straw, or give them a cup of water, was
called favo.ing heretics; no lawyer dared to plead even for his own
brother."
Page 102: "When the reformed religion began to diffuse the
pure light of the gospel throughout Europe, the bigoted Roman
Catholics, fearing the exposure of the frauds and abuses of their
church, determined to leave nothing unattemptcd to crush the
Reformation in its infancy; the Pope therefore instituted a num¬
ber of inquisitors. Courts of inquisition were also erected in sev¬
eral countries; but the Spanish inquisition became the most pow¬
erful and the most dreadful of any. Even the kings of Spain
themselves, though arbitrary in all other respects, were taught to
dread its power; and the horrid cruelties exercised by the inqui¬
sition, compelled multitudes who differed in opinion from the
Catholics, to conceal their sentiments. The • Popes gave the in¬
quisition the most unlimited powers, as judges delegated by him,
and immediately representing his person. They were permitted
to excommunicate or sentence to death whom they thought pro¬
per, upon the slightest information of heresy; were [allowed to
publish crusades against all whom they deemed heretics, and, en¬
ter into leagues with sovereign princes, to join those crusades with
their forces."
" The officers of the inquisition are three inquisitors or judges,
a proctor fiscal, two secretaries, a magistrate, a messenger, a re¬
ceiver, a goaler, an "agent of confiscated possessions, and several
assessors, counsellors, executioners, physicians, surgeons, door¬
keepers, familiars and visitors, who are all sworn to profound se¬
crecy." Some of the crimes for which they are tried are "re¬
nouncing the Roman Catholic religion, and believing that person#
of any other religion may be saved, or even [admiting that tl»
tenets of any but papists are in the least reasonable. There a»
two other things which incur the most severe punishments, vis*
to disapprove of any action done by the inquisition, or disbelief
anything said by an inquisitor." "Deviating from the ordinarf
praetice of the the Rbmish church; letting a year pass wfthott
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET, 233
going to confession; eating meat on fast days; neglecting mass:
being present at a sermon preached by a heretic; not appearing
when summoned by the inquisition. All Roman Catholics are
commanded, under pain of excommunication, to give immediate
information, even of their nearest and dearest friends, if they
judge them to be heretics, or inclined to heresy." The inquisi¬
tion also takes cognizance of such as are accused of being magi¬
cians, witches, blasphemers, soothsayers, wizzards, common swear¬
ers, and of such who read or even posssesed the bible in the vulgar
tongues—the Talmud of the Jews, or the Alcoran of the Ma¬
hometans."
"A defence is of little use to the prisoner; for suspicion alone
Is deemed sufficient cause of condemnation, and the greater his
wealth the greater his danger. Most of the inquisitors' cruelties
are owing to their rapacity; they destroy life to possess the prop¬
erty, and under pretence of zeal, plunder individuals of their
rights." " If the jurisdiction of the inquisition be not fully al¬
lowed, vengeance is denounced against such as call it inquisition;
those who oppose them are almost certain to suffer for their te¬
merity; the maxim of the inquisition being to strike terror, and
awe those who are the objects of its power into obedience. High
birth, distinguished rank, or eminent employments, are no pro¬
tection from its severities, and its lowest officers can make the
exalted nobleman tremble at their authority."
"The inquisitors never forget nor forgive; length of time can-
lot efface their resentments, nor can the humblest concessions or
most liberal presents obtain a pardon. They carry the desire for
revenge 16 the grave, and wish to have both the property and the
lives of them that offended them. Hence when a person once
delivered to the inquisition, after escaping, is retaken, pardon is
next to impossible. If a positive accusation be given, the inqui¬
sition directs an order to the executioner, who takes a certain
lumber of families with him to assist in the execution. Father,
son, brother, sister, husband or wife, must quietly submit; non«
dare resist or even speak, as either would subject them to th«
234 SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
same punishment as the devoted victim. No respite is allowed,
hut the prisoner is instantaneously hurried away."
What could he more horrid and fiend-like! It could not have
originated from anywhere else than from the nethermost regions,
or as John says, "from the bottomless pit." Nothing could be
so terrific to the human family. No army could produce such
terror, because they, the inquisition, were dispersed or spread
among the people in every country where it was allowed to exist.
It wras not only spread among the people, but in every family
there was danger. So completely was it calculated to alienate
the feelings of a family, that one member was not secure from
another. Impelled from fear, from prejudice, or from fanatic zeal
by the promise of eternal happiness, the husband would deliver
up the wife of his bosom, the wife the husband, the father the
child, or the child the parent; and any idle or unguarded expres¬
sion spoke in the midst of the family circle (where mutual confi¬
dence and security ought to prevail), might, and frequently did
subject the unfortunate person to the cruelties of the inquisition.
And then they could not expect assistance from any quarter, no
power being sufficent to arrest the prosecution. The could not
expect friendship from the family (from whence they had the
greatest right to expect it), neither in acts, words, or gestures,
without the friends subjecting themselves to the same cruelties.
Even if the tenderest emotions were felt, they dare not express
even sympathy, because though it might be thought that he. or
she were speaking to a friend, yet it might be an enemy, or a
friend of the inquisition in disguise, as was often the case.
Fox says, page 105: "What disorders and confusion must such
conduct give rise to, in a tenderly affectionate family! An ex¬
pression innocent in itself, and, perhaps, but too true, shall, from
an indiscreet zeal or a panic of fear, give infinite uneasiness to a
family; shall ruin its peace entirely, and perhaps cause one or
more of its members to be thy unhappy victims of the most bar¬
barous of all tribunals. What destractions must necessarily
break forth in a house where the husband and wife are at vari¬
ance, or the children loose and wicked! Will such children scru-
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
235
pie to sacrifice a father who endeavors to restrain them by his
exhortations, by reproofs, or parental corrections ? Will they
not rather, after plundering his house to support their extrava¬
gance and riot, readily deliver up their unhappy parent to all
the horrors of a tribunal founded on the blackest injustice? A
riotous husband, or a loose wife has an easy opportunity, assisted
by means of the persecutions in question, to rid themselves of
one who is a check to their vices by delivering him, or her, up to
the rigor of the inquisition. "
" When the inquisitors have taken umbrage against an inno¬
cent person, all expedients are used to facilitate his condemna¬
tion; false oaths and testimonies are employed to prove the ac¬
cused to be guilty, and all laws and institutions are sacrificed
to the bigoted revenge of the Papacy. "
Mr. Gavin, in speaking of the number and authority of the in¬
quisition, page 133, says: " I can only speak of the inquisition
of ftaragosa; for as I am treating of matters of fact, I may tell
with confidence what I know of it, as an eye witness of several
tilings done there. This tribunal is composed of three inquisi¬
tors, who are absolute judges; for, from their judgment there is
no appeal, not even to the Pope himself, nor to a general coun¬
cil. "
" The inquisitors having a despotic power to command every
living soul, no excuse is to be given, nor contradiction to be
made to their orders; nay, the people have not liberty to-speak
nor complain in their misfortunes, and therefore there is a pro¬
verb which says, Con la inquisition chiton: Bo not meddle with
the inquisition; or as to the inquisition say nothing."
The number connected with them are very numerous, and in¬
deed like the swarms of locusts. In speaking of the Pamiliaries
and Qualificators, he says that the Familiares are not so nu¬
merous as the Qualificators: "For in a trial of the inquisition,
where all ought to be present, I once reckoned 160 and twice as
many Qualificators. I saw a list of them both, wherein are
Qualificators, of the secular Priests 243 and of the regular 406,
Familiaries208, " (these make a total of 857,) "besides other
16
236 SOUNDING THE FIFTH TftTTMPET.
officers, such as sheriffs, guards, secretaries, jailor, executioners,
surgeons and counsellors, with a number ot petty officers. And
all this number belong to one tribunal with three inquisitors to
go at their bidding. * Let us consider this number, a large pov
tion of them passing" through the country in disguise insinuating
themselves into the favor of the people (and especially the rich)
who frequently professed to be displeased with the inquisition,
or spoke against it, hoping to get some unguarded expression liy
which they might bring them before the inquisition and posses*
themselves of the estates of the accused.
Page 1.54: When the inquisitors receive information agabiM
any body, which is always in private and with such secrecy that
none can know who the informer is, (for all the informations an
given in the night,) they send their officers to the house of tin>
accused, most commonly at midnight, and in a coach—they
knock at the door, when all of the family are in bed, and
when some one asks from the windows who' is there, the officer
says, the holy inquisition. At this word he that answered, with¬
out any delay, or noise, or even the liberty of giving timely no¬
tice to the master of the house, comes clown to open the door.—
I say without the liberty of giving' timely notice, for when the
inquisitors send tine officers, they are assured by the spies that
the person is within, and if they do not find the accused within
they take up the whole family and carry them to the inquisition:
so the answerer is with good reason afraid to make any delay in
opening the street door. Then they go up stairs and arrest the
accused without telling a word- or hearing a word from the family,
and with great silence, putting him in the coadbq they drive to
the holy prison. If the neighbors by chance hear the noise of
the coach, they dare not go to the window, for it is well known
that no other coach but that of the inquisition is abroad at that
time of night; nay, they are so much afraid, that they dare not
even to ask their neighbors the next morning any thing about it,
for those that talk of any thing that the inquisition does, art*
liable to undergo the same punishment, and this may be the
night following. So if the accused be the daughter, son or fa-
SOUNBING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
237
tlier, &c.," and if some friends or relatives go in the morning
to see the family, and ask the occasion of their tears ond grief,
they answer that the daughter was stolen away the night before,
(or whichever the prisoner was,) and that they suspect she was
murdered, &c. This answer they give because they cannot tell
the truth without exposing themselves to the same misfortunes."
4th verse: " And it was commanded them, 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." u And it was commanded them." By him (I
conceive) who had the key of the bottomless pit. " That they
should not hurt the grass or any green thing. " Unlike an inva¬
ding army, they did not destroy the productions of the earth,
but appropriated it to their own use as far as they had it in
their power, but like the locusts they, with the Jesuits, sucked
all the substance',
Mr. Gavin says, page 65: "How it is high time to come to
say something as to their practice in confession, and I will only
speak of those I knew particularly well. First. The Reverend
Father Navasques, Professor of Divinity in their College, was
chosen confessor of the Countess of Fuenles, who was left a
widow at twenty-four years of ag'e. This lady, as well as other
persons of quality, kept a coach and servant for the Father Con¬
fessor. He was always a father companion to say 'mass to the
lady. She allows so much a year to the college, and so much to
her confessor and his companion. All persons have an oratory or
chapel in their houses, by dispensation from the Pope, for which
they pay a great deal of money. Thir way of living is this:
In the morning they send the coach and servant to the college,
most commonly at eleven o'clock—the father goes every day at
that time, and the lords arid ladies do not confess every day;
they have mass said at home, and after mass the Reverend stays
in the ladies company till dinner time; then he goes to the Col¬
lege till six in the evening, and at six goes again to see the lady
or lord till evening. • What are their discourses I do not know.
This I know—that nothing is done in the family without the
238 SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
Reverend's advice and approbation. So it was witli tlie Count( ss s
family, and wlien she died the College got four thousand pistoles
a year from her."
" The reverend father Muniessa, confessor of the Duchess of
Villahermora, in the same manner, got at her death thii ty thou¬
sand pistoles, and the reverend father Aranda, confessor to the
Countess of Aranda, got two thousand pistoles yearly rent from
her, all for the College. Now what means they make use of to
bewitch the people and to seek their substance, every body may
think, but no body may guess at. An ingenious politician was
asked how the Jesuits could be rightly described and defined,
and he gave this definition of them. " Cold friends and warm
enemies." And this is all I can write concerning then manners
and practices."
I have given one short extract to show how they consumed
every thing like the locusts, and yet did not hurt the grass or
any green thing. But they infested every country and every
city and town and insinuated themselves into every family, and
(especially the Jesuits,) wherever persons were wealthy. Al¬
though there is so much testimony , upon this subject in almost
every history that we look into, I shall not give any more at
present.
" But only those men that have not the seal of God in their
foreheads." That have not the seal, &c.. That is, according to
the notion of him that had power to turn them loose, then tliey
were to hurt all those that deviated in the least from the mark
established by the Pope. Or, if it had reference to the true
mark of the children of G-od in their foreheads, then they did
not suffer in proportion to apostates, for just previous to tliu
Reformation and at that time, so many became disgusted with
the corruptions of the church of Rome and insisted on a refor¬
mation; that it required not only the Jesuits and Orical confes¬
sion, but the inquisition to keep in subjection and punish not
only such as apostatized, b.ut such as uttered a word, or even in¬
sinuated any thing against the- Church, and especially against
the inquisition,
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
239
5th ve~se: "And to them it was' given that they should not
kill them, hut that they should he tormented five months; and
their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh
a man."
The object was not so much to kill, hut to overawe and keep
in subjection, that they might possess the power over the people
and thereby not only have the rule and government, hut to pos¬
sess themselves of their property. For if we look for an army,
(as Mr. Barnes has said that Mahomet and his army were the
locusts,) or any other society possessing the power, we will always
find that they killed. Perhaps the Jesuits killed fewer persons
than any other people having the same power. Then it does
not mean that they would not kill any, but they had a com¬
mandment not to kill—that was not their principal object.
Mr. Jones says, page 599: " The inquisitors at first had no
tribunals; they merely inquired after heretics, the number, their
strength and riches. When they detected them, they informed
the Bishops, who at that time had the sole power of judging in
ecclesiastical affairs, urging them to anathematize, banish, or
< taenvise chastise such heretical persons as were brought before
them. It is true, says Bishop Burnett, adverting to these times,
the church pretended that she would shed no blood; but all this
was unsufierable juggling."
And their torment teas as the torment of a scorpion when he
striketh a man." It was not like the sting of a scorpion, but the
torment was like it. Think what a man suffers in dread of the
sting of a scorpion. This serpent is mentioned in Dent. viii. 15;
1st Kings xii. 11-14; 2d Chronicles x. 11-14; Ezekiel ii. (j;
Kcclesiasticus xxvi. 7-30-39; Luke x. 19, ii. 12; Revelations ix.
33. Calmet remarks that " it fixes so violently on such persons
as it seizes upon that it cannot be plucked off without diffi¬
culty." The scorpion is generally two inches in length, and re¬
sembles the lobster so much in form that the Arabs call the
latter sea scorpion. The prison of these animals is in their tails,
at the end of which is a small, curved, sharp pointed sting.,—
When it strikes a man the pain soon rises high and rages, some-
240
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
times more, sometimes less. A sweating succeeds, attended by
sliivering and trembling; tlie extremities of the body become
cold; tlie groin swells; the hair stands on end; the visage bes
comes pale, and the skin feels throughout the s ensation of per¬
petual pricking as if by needles. "
This is a concise description of the animal and the torment
produced, which John says the locusts represent. I shall give
some testimony from authentic history to show how well the
inquisition fills the figure.
Messrs. Gavin, Fox and Jones all concur in saying that if a
person is once taken by the jnquisition, it is next to an impossi¬
bility ever to escape—innocence is no guaranty c^r security. How
well this corresponds with the figure, as Calmet says " that such
persons as it seizes upon, it cannot be plucked off without diffi¬
culty. " D'Aubigne, says, Yol. iii. page 152; "Fanaticism
grew fiercer every day. In Wurtemburg, an inquisitor named
Keichler caused the Lutlierians, and above all the preachers, to
be hanged upon trees. Barbarous ruffians were found who un¬
feelingly nailed the pastors by the tongues to a post, so that these
unhappy victims, tearing themselves violeptly from the wood to
which they were fastened, were horribly mutilated in attempting
to recover their liberty, and thus deprived of that right which
they had long used." Similar persecutions took place in other
States of the Catholic league. An evangelical minister in the
neighborhood of Salzburg was led to prison, where he was to
pass the rest of his days. "
This persecution was most violent in the States of the Duke
of Bavaria. Priests were deprived of their office; nobles driven
from their castles; spies filled the whole country; and in every
part reigned mistrust and alarm. There was no security in any
p>lace, not even in the bosom of a friend."
D'Aubigne, Yol iv. page 8, says; "Not one of these orders,
said Luther to the reader, thinks either of faith or charity. This
one wears the tonsure, the other a hood; this a cloak, that a
robe. One is white, another black, a third gray and a fourth
Uuc. Here is one holding a looking glass; there one with, a
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
*241
pair of scissors. Each has his play things. Ah! these are the
palmer worms, the locusts, the canker worms and the catterpil-
lars, which, as Joel saith, have eaten up all the earth. "
u And their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, Ac."—
Mr. Jones says on page 317: "The reader who has never had
an opportunity of exploring the history of that period, can
scarcely conceive of the scenes of baseness, perfidy, barbarity,
indecency and hypocrisy over which Pope Innocent III. and his
immediate successors presided. The hare reflection of three
hundred thousand men, actuated by the motives of avarice and
superstition, filling the country with carnage and confusion du¬
ring a period of twenty years, is, in itself, sufficient to harrow
up the soul; but to go into any thing like a circumstantial detail
«>f all the multifarious attrocities which belong to it, would only
be to impose upon the reader an obligation to throw aside the
look from a regard to his own feelings."
Page39: "'We excommunicate all heretics of both sexes and
<f whatsoever sect, with their favorers, receivers and defenders;
jtnl, moreover, all those who cause any edicts or customs, con¬
trary to the liberty of the church, to be observed, unless they
r miove them from their public records in two months after the
publication of this sentence. Also we excommunicate the ma¬
kers and writers of those statutes, and moreover all governors,
Miuncils rulers and counsellors of places where such statutes
shall be published and kept; all those who shall presume to
pass judgment, or to publish such judgments as shall he made
according to them.'"
Page321: "But independent of these that fell by the edge
"f the sword, the inquisition was constantly at work, from the
year 120G to 1228, and produced the most dreadful havoc among
the disciples of Christ. Of the effects occasioned by this infer¬
nal engine of cruelty and oppression, wc have some notion from
this circumstance—that in the last mentioned year the Arch¬
bishops of Aix-Aries and Norbone, found it necessary to inter¬
im ale with the monks of the inquisition, to defer a little the
P'ukof imprisonment, until the Pope could he apprized of the
242
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
immense numbers apprehended—numbers so great that it was
impossible to defray the charge of their subsistence, or even to
provide stone and mortar to build prisons for them. Their own
language, indeed, is so remarkable, that it deserves to be laid
before the reader, and here it is:
" It has come to our knowledge," say they, "that you have
apprehended so many of the Waldenses, that it is not only im¬
possible to defray the charges of their subsistence, but also to
provide stone and mortar to build prisons for them. We, theie-
fore, advise you to defer for a while augmenting their number,
until the Pope be apprized of the great multitudes that have
b,een apprehended, and until he notify what he please to have
done in this case. Nor is this any reason that you should take
offence thereat; for as to those who are altogether impenitent
and incorrigible, or concerning, whom you may doubt of their
relapse or escape, or that, being at large again, they would affect
others, you uiay condemn such without delay. "
In the council of Toulouse, held in the year 1229, a most se¬
vere and sanguinary inquisition was established against heretics.
One of its canons is, "it shall not be permitted to lay men to
have the books of the Old and the New Testament; only they
who out of devotion desire it, may have a Psalter, a Breviary,
and the Hours of the Virgin. But we absolutely forbid them
have the above named boohs translated into the vulgar tongue.v
An extract from the History of Priestcraft in all ages: " To
such gigantic strides of power did the inquisition attain, that no
one was safe from its fangs. The confiscation of the goods of
its victims "whetted the priestly avarice so keenly that a man to
be guilty only had to be rich. Lorent gives several cases of
English merchants, who were pounced upon by it in defiance of
the laws of nations. On one occasion Oliver Cromwell had to
intercede for one of his consuls whom they had got in one of
their dens. The King replied he had no power over the inqui¬
sition. So little power had the Spanish Kings over it, indeed,
that it did not hesitate to accuse them; and Lorente's lists are
full of Nobles, Privy Cousellors, Knights, Magistrates, Military
SpUNDIijTG THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
243
Commanders and ladies of the highest birth, on whom these dar¬
ing Priests laid their hands and loaded them with chains and in¬
famy. It seemed a delight to them to insult and degrade those
who had moved in the most distinguished spheres.
In countries where the inquisition has existed the bare idea of
its progress damped the most ardent mind. Formidable and
ferocious as the rapacious tiger, who from the gloomy thicket
surveys his unsuspecting prey until the favorable moment ar¬
rives in which he may plunge forward and consummate his de¬
struction, the inquisitor meditates in secret and in silence its
horrific projects. In the deepest seclusion the calumniator pro¬
pounds his charges; with anxious vigilance the creatures of its
power regard its unhappy victim. Not a whisper is heard, or
the least hint of insecurity given, until at the dead of night a
band of savage monsters surround the dwelling; they demand
an entrance;—upon the inquiry, by whom is this required? the
answer is, "the holy office/' In an instant all the ties of nature
appear as if dissolved, and either through the complete dominion
of superstition, or the conviction that resistance would be in
vain, the master, partner, or husband is resigned. From the bo¬
som of his family, and bereft of all worldly comforts, he enters
the inquisition house; its ponderous doors are closed and hope
excluded—perhads forever. Immersed in a noisome vault, sur¬
rounded by impenetrable walls, he is left alone, a prey to all the
sad reflections of a miserable outcast. If he ventures to inquire
the reason of his fate, he is told that silence and secrecy arc here
inviolable. Accustomed to the conveniences of social life, and
perhaps of a superior station, he is now reduced to the most mis¬
erable expedients.. The most menial now devolve upon him,
while the cruel reflection obtrudes itself upon his mind, that his
family may, ere long, be reduced to indigence by an act of in¬
quisitorial confiscation."
"And with such fiendish ingenuity is the punishment of con¬
fiscation aggravated, that it is followed, as of necessary conse¬
quence, by the person being rendered forever infamous—that is,
he is, incapable of holding,.office of any kind; his children are
244 SOUNDINGr THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
disinherited apd made infamous, or incapable to the second gener
ration by the father's side, and first by the mother's. All his re¬
lations are liberated from their obligations to him, or connexion
with him; his wife is liberated from her marriage vow;, his ser-r
rants or vassals are freed from.their seivitude; he is compelled to
answer inquiries of others on any affair, but no one need answer
him. He has no protection from the laws, and his very children,
brothers and sisters are taught to abandon him; and the only way
of a son escaping the infamy of his father, is by being the first to
accuse him at the tribunal of the inquisition."
It was to be as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a
man, and he was to be tormented for fiye months.
Now it could not be supposed that one persop could be tor¬
mented for five months, because according to prophecy it would
lie 150 years, and no man would live that long. I have not suffi¬
cient dates at hand to say how long the inquisition continued, but
I know to take it from the very first institution, that it continued
more than 150 years, but it might be considered during the time
of its greatest prosperity; while it was so terrific to the people
would not amount to more than f 50 years, as it was not allowed
jin some Kingdoms, and in others it was tolerated for a while (as
well as the Jesuits) apd then prohibited.
From the testimony that I have produced (and it is not a tithe,
qf what I have on hand) wfiat could be so terrifying or tormenting
as the inquisition in any country. There was no security for life
or property, for a man was insecure in the bosom of his own family
—for an unfaithful servant, or an undutiful son, when corrected for
their conduct, only had to inform the inquisition to get clear of a
father, a mother or master who would restrain or reprove them for
their imprudent or licentious conduct. Indeed a licentious or
wicked wife could inform against her husband to hide her dis¬
honesty, and it would never be kncwn who informed,' as the ac¬
cused never was allowed to know who gave the information. And
this naturally threw off all restraint from the wicked and deterred
parents from attempting to govern. But the inquisition had offi¬
cers and spies in all parts of the country, who, in disguise, entered
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
245
every house and family and entered into conversation as a friend,
and would even go so far as to speak against the monks or in qui-.,
sition in order to get some expressions that they might have some
pretext to seize them and their property, and especially if they
were rich. They would raise some pretext against young ladies
of the best families in order to, get them in their, possession for
their own hellish purpose; as for instance the inquisition in Spain,
when driven from their den by the French army, had 75 young
ladies divided between three of the principal inquisitors, and ac¬
cording to the statement of one of the young ladies, they had dis¬
appeared. about ten per year, while others were brought in to
keep up the number, and as they that disappeared were never seen
in the country, or by their friends, they must have been destroyed
when these ferocious beasts (for I cannot call them men only in
human shape) became tired of them to make room for others, or
lest they should inform against them. The description of the
places of torture and death, as given by those young ladies after
their release, which was intended to awe them into submission to
the brutal lust of these monsters, terrifies me and almost makes
my hair stand on end at this distance.
Nothing could be more terrifying than the institution of the
inquisition in the midst of a community. Not even an invading
army, pestilence or famine could so much terrify a community.
No wonder that it is said to be " as the torment of a scorpion
when he striketh a man. "
$
Chapter ix. verse 6: " And in those days shall men seek death,
and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee
from them."
In consequence of the tyranny of the inquisition, and the inse¬
curity of every person, or their liability to be taken by the inqui¬
sition from the bosoms of their own families, as I have already
shown and will show more fully by a few more extracts, men
wished to die rather than fall into the hands (for every person was
in their power every moment) of the inquisition and suffer all the
cruelties that could be inflicted by any demoiy
246
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
Mr. Jones says, page 299: "And because bishops were not per¬
haps all equally zealous and cruel, that bloody man Dominic took
this work to task, and his order has ever since furnished the world
with a set of inquisitors, compared to whom all that have ever
dealt in tortures, in any former times, were mere bunglers, " A
circumstance recorded in the Key to Popery by Mr. Bower, will
go more fully to show not only the cruelties practiced by them,
but how much it was dreaded—for really they were living in the
fear of death every day, or rather, I would say every night, for
they carried their hellish purposes into execution at night.
Key to Popery, page 231: "I never, (says Mr. Bower,) pre¬
tended that it was for the sake of religion alone that I left Italy,
but on the contrary, have often declared, as all my friends can
attest, that had I never belonged to the inquisition, I should
have gone on, as most Roman Catholics do, without ever ques¬
tioning the truth of the religion I was brought up in, or think of
any other. But the unheard of cruelties of that hellish tribunal
shocked me beyond all expression, and rendered me, as I was ob¬
liged by my office of Counsellor to be accessary to them, one of
the most unhappy men upon earth."
Mr. Bower says, as recorded on page 236, in arresting Count
Yicenzo de la Torre: "As we left the chamber, the Countess,
who had been conveyed out of the room, met us, and screaming
out in a most pitiful manner, upon seeing her husband with his
hands tied behind his back like a thief or robber, flew to embrace
him, and hanging on his neck, begged, with a flood of tears, that
we woulcf be so merciful as to put an end to her life, that she
might have the satisfaction she wished for in this world, of dying
in the besom of the man whom she had vowed never to part with.
The Count, overwhelmed with grief, never uttered a word. I
could not find in my heart, nor was I in a condition to interpose;
and indeed, a scene of greater distress was nevfer beheld by human
eyes. However, I gave the signal to the notary to part them,
which he did accordingly, quite unconcerned; but the Countess
fell into a swoon, and the Count was, in the mean time, carried
down stairs and out of the house,, amidst the loud lamentations
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
247
and sighs of his servants on all sides; for he was a man remarka¬
ble for the sweetness of his temper and his kindness to all about
him."
These eminent persons both died soon after, the Countess from
grief on account of the loss and sufferings of her husband, as
well as the confiscation of their wealth, and he from the tortures
inflicted upon him and a consciousness of his innocence. They
were both members of the Roman church; his only crime was his
saying that two friars were foolls for living as they did.
7th verse: " And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses
prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns
like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. "
Hear John, when he says in the Apocalypse " the shapes of the
locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle." Hot that
they were horses, as Mr. Barnes supposes, but like unto them.—
So determined and resolute were they that they are compared not
only to horses (that is so powerful) but even horses rushing to
battle. How every person that ever saw horses rushing to battle
knows how eager they are and how undaunted they rush upon an
enemy, regardless alike of fear or what may be the consequence,
which is a good representation of the inquisition, who had so much
power aud rushed on in such a manner as to strike teiror and con¬
fusion both to friend and foe.
And on their heads were as it were crowns like gold. Hot that
it was actually a crown of gold, but as it were. That the inquisi¬
tors wore turbans, or crowns, is admitted by all historians. And
as a crown is significant of power this was significant of their
power, for the inquisition or inquisitor generally possessed more
power than any other person—he possessed power over Kings and
Princes in every country wherever that tribunal was allowed or
tolerated. Indeed he possessed a power that the Pope himself
could not restrain.
And their faces were as the faces of men. Although they are
compared to locusts, and their shape to that of a horse, yet they
have crowns on their heads and faces as men. That is, externally
they appeared as men. In the 8th verse he says: "And they
248
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth
of lions." They not only resembled all these kinds of beasts but
had the faces of men and the hair of women, which represents
them as being effeminate as women- and then teeth like lions. I
shall show how they could represent all these characters by ma¬
king a quotation from the History of Priestcraft in all ages, which
will connect the Jesuits with the inquisition. He says:
"We have survived strange scenes of Priestly wickedness and
bloodshed, but of all tlie agents of the devil which were ever
spawned in the black dens of that earthly pandemonium, the Pa¬
pal church, none can compare with the Jesuits and inquisition.—
The Jesuits arose in the latter days of Pompei. Their doctrines
were those of Popery grown to thorough ripeness. They seemed
created to show to what lengths that system could be carried, and
to crown it, in conjunction with their fellow-demons of the inqui¬
sition, with that full measure of popular indignation which should
hasten its great immedicable wound from the hand of Luther.—
The Jesuits took up favorite dogmas with the Papal church: that
the end sanctifies the means—that evil may be done that good
may come of it—and pushed them to that degree which caused
the good and the simple to stand in astonishment at the daring
acts and adroit casuistry of "bold bad men. " All oaths, ail obli¬
gations, all morality, all religion, according to their creed, were to
be adopted or set aside, just as it suited the object they had in
view. They might cheat and lie, steal and kill, all for righteous¬
ness' sake.
Their founder, (that is of the Jesuits,) Ignatius Loyola, a
Spaniard—an ominous name when connected witli religion—was
a most acute and happy genius in his way. He saw the advanta¬
ges which the Popes had derived from their accommodating eccle¬
siastical logic, and he conceived the felicitous idea of creating a
Soft of second series of Popes, taught arid enlightened by the old
series. He adopted their peculiar code of morals, and he even
outwent them in the exquisite fineness of his policy. The head
of this system was to take the name of General of the Order; hifi
Emissaries were to go forth into all Kihgdoms; to insinuate then^-
SotrtfDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
iselves into all cities, houses^ secret hearts of the people. They
were to adopt all shapes$ to follow ail circumstances, to wear an
outside of peculiar mildness, and an inner man of subtle observ¬
ance—to have the exterior of the dove, but the interior of the
serpent. With all this sagacity, flexibility and disguise they suc ¬
ceeded wonderfully. Indeed what could resist them when they
came in all shapes arid with all pretences-—at the first glimpse of
their real designs, or of popular indignation, ready to eat up their
words and swear that they were any thing but what they really
were. But when they found themselves in any degree of strength
—when they were desirous of carrying some point that compliance
and duplicity could not carry, who so dogged arid insolent as they f
They bearded people, magistrates "Kings; and the Pope himself,
with the most immovable assurance. Tlie Popes, who regarded
them as active mairitainers of ignorance and obedience, were de¬
sirous of tolerating them as much as possible, but they often
found it a severe task for their patience. They were in the con¬
dition of a man that had tamed a serpent or a lion; they might
soofhe the beast by coaxing perhaps, but were in danger every
moment of raising its ferocity and of even falling before its rage.
When stnick at they stood and hissed, and fought with true snaky
pertinacity; but if they saw actual destruction coming, they
suddenly disappeared, only to raise their hideous heads in a thou¬
sand other places. Expelled from States in their own character of
Jesuits, they came back in all sorts of disguise; and, instead of
open enemies, the people and their Governors had to encounter
the secret influence of their poison and their stings which struck
in the dark. They insinuated themselves into colleges and schools
under false colors, until they could seize upon them and convert
them into engines of their designs. They became confessors es¬
pecially of women, that they might learn all the secrets of their
husbands-^-of Kings and Ministers, to learn those of States. All
thri intelligence thus gathered was regularly transmitted to the
General from every Kingdom, so that he and his counsellors knew
the condition and intentions of all nations; and, at a moment's no-
tipe, his creatures wrire ready to feeize upon Universities, churches.;
•250
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
governments, or whatever they desired. They entered into trade,
and were scattered all over the world, wearing no other outward
appearance than that of merchants, yet keeping up a secret cor¬
respondence with one another and with their general, and trans¬
mitting intelligence and wealth from all parts of the globe. They
were not satisfied with exercising their arts over the Christian
world; they proceeded into all pagan countries as missionaries, and
sought to bring the savages of Asia, Africa and America under
their dominion. They evidently had formed the bold design of
acquiring the spiritual and political sovereignty of the world; but
with all their subtlety, their ambition and their unprincipled
grasp at power so alarmed and'disgusted all people, that their
history is a continual alternation of their growing into numbers
'and strength, and of their expulsion from almost every Kingdom
that can be named. England, France, Spain, Germany, Poland,
Bohemia, Italy, the East and West Indies, America, Horth and
South, in all these countries their arts were repeatedly tried, and
they were as repeatedly expelled with ignominy and vengeance."
The foregoing extract, given from Hallan's History of Priest¬
craft in all Ages, shows*very clearly that they pqt on every kind of
appearance and transformed themselves into every kind of shape.
How well suited to the appearance or view that John had of them;
and although they were like unto horses, very powerful, yet they
had faces as men; and then they had hair as women to show that
effeminate appearance when they wished to beguile or succeed by
stratagem to accomplish their purposes. Even the inquisitor
general would profess and show great sympathy for those he had
got in his power, even to the shedding of tears; and yet they had
teeth like lions—so powerful and ferocious that nothing could re¬
sist them, for they were ready to devour every thing that came in
their way. Ho thing, or no figure could have been used better
calculated to represent them in their power than the lion, who is
the King of beasts, and is used in the Scriptures as a figure of
great power, as in Revelations v. 5: "And one of the elders said
unto me, weep not; behold the lion of .the tribe of Juda, the root
of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the sereia
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
251
seals thereof." It also is used in Scripture as a terror to the peo¬
ple, or as able to destroy. The name by which this noble animal
is designated in the Hebrew Scriptures, is translated to pluck or
tear off\ and has been supposed to have originated in his remarka¬
ble habit of tearing his prey to pieces.
Psalms vii. 2: " Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in
pieces while there is mane to deliver."
See a description of this beast (Anti-Christ) as recorded in
Daniel vii. 7: " After this I saw in the night vision, and, behold
a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and
it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and
stamped upon the residue with the feet of it, &c."
Revelations ix. 9: "And they had breastplates, as it were
breastplates of iron." Hard, horny, impenetrable as if they
were made of iron. The locust has a firm and hard cuticle on the
fore part of the breast, which serves for a shield or defence while
it moves in the thorny and furzy vegetation. Not that it was ac¬
tually a breast plate of iron, but only had the appearance of sol¬
diers with breast plates. Mr. Barns and other writers suppose
that it actually had reference to the Arabs and Turks who wore
breastplates in their wars against the Greeks, or Eastern Empire.
From this opinion I must differ, for I believe that it had reference
to the natural disposition, which had become so hardened as to
lose all that human sympathy which men ought to possess, as the
Apostle says: "Having their consciences seared as with an hot
iron; forbidding to marry, and to abstain from meats, which God
has commanded to be received with thanksgiving. " I think that
I have shown, and will show more fully, that the Roman Catholic
church, and especially the inquisition, came fully up to the de¬
scription here given, but will be more fully verified by giving
their own acts and doings.
Fox's Book of Martyrs, page 109: " The prisoner, on refusing
to comply with the iniquitous demands of the inquisition, by con¬
fessing all the crimes they charged him with, was immediately
conveyed to the torture room, which, to prevent the cries of the
suflferers from being heard by the other prisoners, is lined with a
iW 17
252
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TBUMFET.
kind of quilting, which covers all the crevasses and deadens the
sound. The prisoner's horror was extreme on entering this infer¬
nal place, where suddenly he was surrounded by six wretches,
who, after preparing the tortures, stripped him naked to his draw¬
ers. He was then laid upon his back on a kind of stand elevated
a few feet from the floor. They began by putting an iron collar
around his neck, and a ring to each foot, which fastened him to
the stand. His limbs being thus stretched out, they wound two
ropes round each- arm, and two round each thigh, which ropes be¬
ing passed under the scaffold through holes made for that purpose,
were all drawn tight at the same instant of time by four of the
men on a given signal. The pains which immediately followed
were intolerable; the ropes being of a small size cut through the
prisoner's flesh to the bone, making the blood gush out at eight
different places. As he persisted in not making a confession of
what the inquisitors required, the ropes were drawn in this manner
four times successively."
" During this extremity of anguish, while the tender frame is
being torn, as it. were, in pieces—-while at every pore it feels the
sharpest pangs of death, and the agonized soul is just ready to
burst forth and quit its wretched mansion, the ministers of the
inquisition have the. audacity to look on without emotion, and
calmly to advise the poor distracted creature to confess his guilt,
on doing which, they tell him he may obtain a free pardon and
receive absolution. All this, however, was ineffectual with the
prisoner, whose mind was strengthened by a sweet consciousness of
innocence and the divine consolation of religion. "
" While he was thus suffering, the physician and surgeon were
so barbarous as to declare, that if he died under the torture, he
would be guilty, by his Obstinacy, of self-murder. In short, at
the last time of the ropes being drawn tight, he grew so exceed¬
ingly weak, by the stoppage of the circulation of his blood and
the pains he endured, that he fainted away, upon which he wan
*aloosed and carried back to his dungeon,"
Oji page 111, after giving a description of the second and third
tortures, for they have three different inventions of torture, he says:
S0.UNBING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
253
u After some montlk or six weeks, with the aid of a surgeon
and physician, when he is sufficiently recovered, he is put to the
second, and in like manner to the third torture. " In closing his
remarks upon the third time of torture, he says:
" It may be judged from the before-mentioned relation, what
dreadful agony the sufferer must have endured. Most of his
limbs were disjointed; so much was he bruised and exhausted as to
he unable, for some weeks, to lift his hand to his mouth; and his
body became greatly swelled from the inflammations caused by
such frequent dislocations. After his release he felt the effects of
this cruelty for the remainder of his life, being frequently seized
with thrilling and excruciating pains, to which he had never been
subjected till after he had the misfortune to fall into the power of
the merciless and bloody inquisition."
" The unhappy females who fell into their hands, have not the
least favor shown them on aeeount of the softness of their sex,
but are tortured with as much severity as the male prisoners, with
the additional mortification of having the most shocking indecen¬
cies added to the most savage barbarities. "
It seems to me that what I have already said, ought to be suf¬
ficient to show that John, when he had a prophetic view of them,
judged right when he said they had as it were breast plates of
iron—so unfeeling and impenetrable, destitute alike of all human
sympathy to females as well as males.
I have one other transaction that I will here relate, a portion of
which will show more fully the enormity of their conduct and
hardness of heart. I would give the whole transaction but it is
too lengthy for insertion here. A small portion of it has already
been given. It is the narrative of Mr. Bower, who gives an ac¬
count of this court of inquisition, and of secrets hitherto unknown
relative to their proceedings against heretics, he himself having
been a counsellor:
" I never, (says Mr. Bower,) pretended that it was for the sake
of religion alone, that I left Italy; but on the contrary, have
often declared, as all my friends can attest, that had I never be-
to the inquisition, I should have gone on, as most Roman
254
SQUNDIBtG THE; FIFTH TTtUMPET.
Catholics do, without ever questioning the truth of the religion I
was brought up in, or thinking of. any other., But the unheard of
cruelties of that hellish tribunal shocked me beyond all expres¬
sion, and rendered me, as I was obliged by my office of counsel¬
lor to be accessary to them, one of the most unhappy men upon
earth."
Mr. Bower goes on. to say that on account of his feelings,he
thought of resigning his office;, but on account of him having
shown some weakness, as they termed it, that is human passion,
or humanity, and had on that account been reprimanded by the
inquisitor, he feared that his resignation would be attributed to his
disapprobation of the cruelties practiced in the holy office. In¬
deed he says it could have been attributed to no other cause; for
to be an officer in the inquisition was the sure road to preferment
and attended with great privileges and a considerable salary. In
this state he remained for twelve months; but as it was dangerous
to resign, he thought of leaving Italy, and this was hazardous in
the extreme, especially if he should fail in the attempt. In this,
mind, and in the most unhappy and tormenting situation that can
be imagined, I continued, (says he,) but I could not prevail on.
myself to execute the resolution, it would be so hazardous and
almost next to a miracle tp escape. B.ut while in this perplexity
of mind a circumstance occurred that forced him to a determina¬
tion. It was being compelled to arrest his best friend, the Count
Yicenzo de la Torre, descended from an illustrious family in Ger¬
many, and possessed of very considerable estate in the territory of
Macerata. He was one of my most particular friends, and had
lately married the daughter of Signor Constantino of Fermo, a,
lady no less famous for her good sense than her beauty. With her
family, too, I had contracted an intimate acquaintance, while
Professor of Rhetoric in Fermo, and had often attended the
Count during his courtship,, from Macerata to Fermo, but fifteen
miles distant. I therefore lived with both in the greatast friend¬
ship and intimacy; and the Count was the only person that lived,
with me after I was made counsellor of the inquisition, upon the
same free footing that he had done till that time, my other friends
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
255
laving grown shy of me and given me plainly to understand that
they no longer cared for my company. "
" "'As this unhappy young gentleman was one day walking with
another, he met two capuchin friars; and turning to his com¬
panion, when they wers passed, "what fools," said he, "are these,
to' think they will gain heaven hy wearing sackcloth and going
barefoot Fools indeed if they think so, or that there is any
merit in tormenting one's self; they might as well live as we do,
■and they would get to heaven quite as soon." Who informed
-against him is not known, for the inquisitors never tell the names
of the informers to the counsellors, nor the names of the witnesses,
lest they should except against them. It is to be observed, that
all who hear any proposition that appears to them repugnant to
or inconsistent with the doctrine of the holy mother church, is
bound to reveal it to the inquisitor, and likewise discover the per¬
son by whom it was uttered; and, in this affair, no regard is to be
had to any ties, however sacred, the brother being bound to accuse
the brother, the father to accuse the son, the son the father, the
wife the husband, and the husband his wife; and all bound 011
pain of eternal damnation, and of being deemed and treated as
an accomplice if they do not denounce' in a certain time; and no
confessor can absolve a person who has heard any thing said, in
jest or in earnest, against the belief or practice of the church till
that person has informed the inquisitor of it and given him all
the intelligence he can concerning the person by whom it was
said."
" The proposition (fools) being declared heretical, it was unani¬
mously agreed by the board, that the person who uttered it should
be apprehended and proceeded against agreeable to the laws of
the*inquisition. And now the person was named; for, till it is
determined whether the accused person shall or shall not be ap¬
prehended, his name is kept concealed from the counsellors, lest
they should be biassed, say the directory, in his favor or against
him.' For in many instances, they keep up the appearance of
jtMibe" and equity, at the same time that, in truth, they act in
direct opposition to all the known laws of justice and equity. No
25o
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TMOfflrET..
words can express the concern and astonishment ft gave me to
hear, on such an occasion, the name of a friend for whom I had
the greatest esteem and regard. The inquisitor was apprized 6t
it;, and, to give me an opportunity of practising what he had so
often recommended to me, that is, of conquering nature with the
assistance of grace,, he appointed me to apprehend the criminal,
as he styled him, and to lodge him safe, before day-light, in the
prison of the holy inquisition. I offered to excuse myself, hut
with the greatest submission, from being any way concerned in
executing the order; an order, 1 said, which I entirely approved of,
and only wished it might be put in. execution by some other per¬
son, for your lordship knows, I said, the connexion. But the in¬
quisitor was shocked at the word. "WhatI" said he, with a
stern look and angry tone of voice, " talk, of connexions where
the faith is concerned! there is your guard, (pointing to- the
Sbirri or baliffs in waiting,) let the criminal be secured in. St..
Luke's cell (one of the worst) before three in the morning.,y He
withdrew with the rest of the counsellors, and as he passed me
thus he said: "nature is conquered." I had betrayed some
weakness, or sense of humanity, not long before, in fainting away
while I attended the torture of one- who was racked with the-
utmost barbarity; and I had, on that occasion, been reprimanded
by the inquisitor for suffering mature to> get the better of grace;
it being an inexcusable weakness, as ho observed, to be any way
afflicted with the suffering of the- body, however great, when af¬
flicted, as they ever are in the holy inquisition for the good of the
soul And it was, I presume, to make trial of the effect this rep¬
rimand had upon me, that the execution of this cruel order was-
committed to nre. As I could by no possible means decline it, I
summoned all my resolution, after passing an hour by myself, I
may say in the agonies of death, and set out a little after two in
the morning for my unhappy friend's house, attended by a notary
of the inquisition and six armed Sbirri. We arrived at tlie house-
by different ways, and knocking at the door, a maid servant looked
out of the window, and inquiring who knocked, was answered the
holy inquisition, and at the same time .ordered to awake nobody,
SOUNDING the fifth trumpet.
25
l»ut to come down directly and open the door, on pain of excom¬
munication. At these words the servant hastened down, half
naked as she was, and having much ado in her great fright, at
last opened the door. She conducted us as she was ordered, pale
and trembling, to her master's bed chamber. She often looked
very,earnestly at me, as she knew me, and showed a great desire
of speaking to me; but of her I durst take no kind of notice.—
I entered the bed chamber with the notary, followed by the
Sbirri, when the lady awakening at the noise, and seeing the bed
surrounded by armed men, screamed out aloud, and continued
screaming, as if out of her senses, till one of the Sbirri, pro¬
voked at the noise, gave her a blow on the forehead, that made
the blood run down her face, and she swooned away. I rebuked
the fellow very severely, and ordered him to be whipped as soon
as I returned to the inquisition.
In the meantime, the husband awakening and seeing me with
my attendants, cried out in the utmost surprise, Mr. Bower!—
He said then no more; nor could I for some time utter a single
word; and it was with much ado that, in the end, I mastered
my grief so far as to be able to let my unfortunate friend know,
that he was a prisoner of the holy inquisition. "Of the holy
inquisition!" he replied, " alas! what have I done? My dear
friend, be my friend now." He said many affecting things; but
as I knew thnt it was not in my power to befriend him, I had not
the courage to look him in the face, but turning my back to
him, withdrew, while he dressed, to a corner of the room, to
give vent to my griefs there. The notary stood by him while be
dressed, and as I observed, quite unaffected. Indeed, to be void
of all humanity, to be able to behold one's fellow creatures
groaning and ready to expire in the most exquisite torments cru¬
elty can invent, without being the least affected by their suffer¬
ings, is one of the chief qualifications of an inquisitor, and what
a 1 who belong to the inquisition must strive to attain, to. It
often happens, at that important tribunal, that while an un¬
happy and perhaps innocent person is crying out in their pres¬
ence on the rack, and begging by all that is sacred for one mo-
258
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
merit's relief, in a manner one would think no human heart
could withstand; it often happens, I say,'that the inquisitor and
the rest of that inhuman crew, quite unaffected with his conn*
plaints and deaf to his groans, to his tears and entreaties, are
entertaining one another with the news of the town; nay, some-
times they even insult, with unheard of barbarity, the unhappy
wretches in the heighth of their torment.
To return to my unhappy prisoner; he was no sooner dressed
than I ordered the Bargetto, or head of the Shirri, to tic his
hands with a chord behind his back, as is practiced on such oc¬
casions, without distinction of persons, no more regard being
shown by the inquisition to men of the highest rank, when
charged with heresy, than to the meanest artificers. Heresy
dissolves all friendship; so that I durst no longer look upon the
man with whom I had lived in the greatest friendship and inti¬
macy as my friend, or show him, on that account, the least re¬
gard or indulgence.
As we left the chamber, the Countess, who had been conveyed
.out of the room, met us, and screaming out in the most pitiful
manner upon seeing her husband with his hands tied behind his
back like a thief or robber, flew to embrace him, and hanging
on his neck, begged with a flood of tears, we should be so merci¬
ful as to put an end to her life, that she might have the satis¬
faction, the only satisfaction she wished for in this world, of dy¬
ing in the bosom of the man whom she had vowed never to part
with. The Count, overwhelmed with grief, did not utter a sin¬
gle word. I could not find in my heart, nor was I in a condition
to interpose; and indeed, a scene of greater distress was never
beheld by human eyes. However, I gave signal to the notary .to
part them, which he did accordingly, quite unconcerned, but
the Countess fell into a swoon, and the Count was in the mean
time carried down stairs, and out of the house, amidst the loud
lamentations and sighs of his servants on all sides; for he was a
man remarkable for the sweetness of his temper, and his kind-*
ness to all about him.
SOt&DUfG THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
259
„ Being arrived at the, inquisition, I consigned my prisoner into
the .hands of the .jailor, a lay brother of St. Dominic, who shut
hirn up in the dungeon mentioned above, and delivered the key
to.me. Hay that night in the palace of the inquisition, where
every counsellor has a room, and returned next morning the key
to the inquisitor, telling him that his order had been punctually
complied with. The inquisitor had been already informed of
my whole conduct by the notary; and therefore, upon my deliv¬
ering the key to him, " you have acted, (said he,) like one who
is desirous at least to overcome with the assistance of grace the
inclinations of nature; that is, like one who is desirous, with the
assistance of grace, to metamorphose himself from a human
creature, into a brute or a devil.
In the inquisition, every person is kept the first week of his
imprisonment, in a dark narrow dungeon, so low that he cannot
stand upright in.it, without seeing any body but the jailor, who
brings him, every other day, his portion of bread and water, the
only food that is allowed him. This is done, they say, to tame
him, and render him, thus weakened, more sensible of the tor¬
ture and less able to bear it. At the end of the week, he is
brought in the night before the board to be examined; and on
that occasion, my friend appeared so altered in a week's time,
that had it not been for his dress I should not have known him.
He was examined, and. not recollecting what he had said, or
ackxoledging his guilt, he was remanded to his dungeon for
another week, at the end of which time he still did not recollect,
and earnestly entreatreated them to tell him what he had done,
which they refused to do. He was then put to the rack until ho
fainted several times. Then he was carried to his cell quite in¬
sensible, and expired of the torture three days afterwards."
Mr. Bower says " The inquisitor wrote a note to his widow,
desiring her to pray for the soul of her late husband, and warned
her not to complain of the holy inquisition as capable of any
injustice or cruelty. The estate was confiscated to the inqui¬
sitor,, and a small portion allowed out of it to the widow. As
thev had only been married six months, and a small part of the
260
SOUNDING THE EIFTH TRUMPET.
fortune was not yet paid, the inquisitor sent an order to the
Const ant ine family at Turmo, to pay to the holy office, and
without delay, what they owed to the late Count de la Torre;,.for
the effects of heretics are all Ipso facto confiscated to the inqui¬
sition, and confiscated from the very day, not of their conviction,
hut of their crime; so that all donations made after that time
are void; and whatever they have given is claimed by the inqui¬
sition, into whosoever hands it may have passed; even the for¬
tunes they have given their daughters in marriage, have been de¬
clared to belong to, and are claimed by the inquisition; nor can
it be doubted that the desire of these confiscations is one great
cause of the injustice and cruelty of that court.
The death of the unhappy Count de la Torre was soon pub¬
licly known, but no man dared to speak of it, not even his near¬
est relations, nor so much as to mention his name, lest some¬
thing should inadvertently escape them that might be construed
into a disapprobation of the proceedings of the most holy tribu¬
nal, so great is the awe all men live in of that jealous and mer¬
ciless court."
The Countess died of grief not long afterwards. I have given
this lengthy extract to show that they had breastplates of iron.
What could better represent the unfeeling, inhuman and fiend-
1 ike disposition of the inquisition, than that of breast plates of
iron.
u And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of
.many horses running to battle. " The sound of chariots of many
horses. As if he had said, with the fierceness and terror of
horses in battle, the very thoughts of the inquisition produced
such terror as deterred the friends of one taken by them from
even mentioning it, lest they should offend; and in addition to
that, they always conducted their victims (whom they wished to
punish, or the young ladies whom they took for tlieir own sen¬
sual gratification,) in gloomy carriages at the hour of midnight;
so when the citizens of a town heard the carriage at that time of
the night, they trembled with terrori knowing that it was: to
convey some victim to the inquisition, >and'not knowing who it
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
to be, and knowing that resistance was vain, made it more
te'irible and terrifying than charriots running to "battle, for there
is1 some satisfaction 'in knowing that you have the liberty of
fighting in self defence, even if you die in the act:
10th verse: "And they had tails like unto scorpions; and:
there were stings in their tails; and their power was to hurt men
five months. " Tails, as I have before said, nearly always repre¬
sent false teachers, and the sting is in the tail because of the
wounds inflicted by the false teachers, for they inflict the most
severe wounds of any and every thing else. All the divisions in
churches, all the heresies that have ever interrupted the church,
and all the persecutions that have ever arisen, were through the
influence of false teachers. And it is not only those wounds-
already enumerated, but " compass sea and land to make one
proselyte, and when they make him, they make him two-fold
more the child of hell than themselves," thereby inflicting a
wound upon the soul that will not be healed.
I cannot think here with Mr. Barnes and others, that tail in
this place means the Turks with horse's tails for their banners,
but I am inclined to the opinion that, politically speaking, it
had reference to the Turks and Moguls, to justify which opinion
I could give extracts, but this proposition is already too lengthy.
I will, however, give some short extracts trom Gibbon, YoLvL
pages 176, 177, 178 and 179:
" After considerable conquest in China the Emperor surren¬
dered his person and sceptre. The war was transferred from the
land to the sea. "When the fleet of Sorg was surrounded and
oppressed by* a superior armament, their last champion leaped
into the waves with his infant Emperor in his arms. " It is
more glorious, " he cried, " to die a prince than live a slave. "—
A hundred thousand Chinese imitated his example. And in at¬
tempting to take Japan they lost a hundred thousand more
Chinese and Moguls. And the whole Empire, from Tonkin to
the great wall, submitted to the dominion of Culai. Moguls
spread beyond the Tigris and Euphrates, pillaged Aleppo and
Damascus, and threatened to join the Franks in the deliverance'
262
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
of Jerusalem. From the permanent conquest of Russia, they
made a deadly, though transient inroad, into the heart of Po*
land, and as far as the borders of Germany. The whole country
North of the Danube was lost in a day and depopulated in a
summer; and the ruins of cities and churches were overspread
with the banners of the natives. "
" The Latin world was darkened by this cloud of savage hos¬
tility; a Russian fugitive carried the alarm to Sweden, and
the remote nations of the Baltic and the ocean trembled at the
approach of the Tartars, whom their fear and ignorance
were inclined to separate from the human species. Since 'the
invasion of the Arabs in the eighth century, Europe has never
been exposed to a similar calamity. "
" While China, Syria and Poland were invaded at the same
time by the Moguls and Tartars, the authors of the mighty
mischief were content with the knowledge and declaration that
their word was the sword of death. "
What could better represont politically the hordes of Tartars
than the clouds of locusts? As Gibbon says, "The Latin
world was darkened by this cloud of savages." They were bar¬
barous savages, uncivilized, and hence almost the tail end of so¬
ciety in the very country were the locusts make their appearance;
and the rapidity with which they spread over so many mighty
Empires and Kingdoms was similar to the locusts. Gibbon says
" I shall be content to observe that, from the Caspian to the In¬
dus, they ruined a tract of many hundred miles, which was
adorned with the habitations and labors of mankind, and that
five centuries have not been sufficient to repair tlie ravages of
four years. " The reason why I am inclined to think the Tartar
invasion is here meant, is because of the great numbers, their
ignorance, going in such clouds and with such rapidity; and
they commenced the conquest of China about the year 12fL0.-k
They had power to hurt five months, which Should be 150 yeark
and would close in 1'360. Gibbon says the' decline of the Mo-'
guls was in 1304, and the establishmeh# bf the' Ottoman's ift-'
Europe was in 1353, which brings it within a few years, as near
SOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
263
<as could be expebtecfoiPa historian at such a' distant'day as when
Gibbon wrote. ,,, The reason, why I cannot think it had reference
tp the, Turks is, that their reign continued too long, and I have
ano.ther place to assign to them at the proper time.,
I' have said religiously that the tail was. false teachers and had
reference to the inquisition, and that their power was in their
tail. There never was any set of false teachers that possessed
more power than did the inquisition; and their power was to
hurt men five months, 150 years, as I have already said, but 1
have not sufficient historical account of the inquisition to give
precisely the time, as the institution was established in some
countries long before it was in others, and then it was put down
in some Kingdoms before it was in others, and as it yet con¬
tinues in several Kingdoms to this day but not with that power
and terror to the people as it did for about the space of one hun¬
dred and fifty years.
Verse 11: "And they had a King over them, which is the
angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue
is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
"And they had a King over them." Mr. Gavin says; "The
inquisitors have a despotic power to command every living soul;
and no excuse is to be given, nor contradiction to be made to
their orders; nay, the people have not liberty to speak nor com¬
plain in their misfortunes. " Mr. Barns and others think that it
could not refer to any religious organization because they have
no King, but I beg leave to differ with them, because the In¬
quisitor General has more power than any King or any person
living, for the King or cardinals are liable to be taken by the
inquisition, and they have complete sovereignty over Kings. As
one writer says at an Auto de Fee, "the King is but a hang¬
man." He is compelled to be present, and is seated below the
Inquisitor General. " Which is the angel of the bottomless pit."
What could better represent them ? Ho men upon earth ever
possessed such a fiend-like spirit. Not only every kind oi cru¬
elty was practiced, but all kinds of vice and immorality. Mr.
Gavin gives a ease, or a trial of Father Joseph Sylvester, a Fran-
264
BOUNDING THE FIFTH TRUMPET.
ciscas Friar, and the Mother Mar}r of Jesus, abbess of a Mon¬
astery, at which trial he was present. He tells us that when
they had prostrated themselves at the feet of the inquisitor, Sor,"
{Sor signifies sister,) "Mary was in a flood of tears, but father
Joseph, who was a learned man, with great boldness and assu¬
rance said, "what, do you call yourselves holy fathers of pity and
compassion? I say unto you, that you are three devils on earth,
fathers of all manner of mischief, barbarity and lewdness*".—
The inquisitor ordered a gag, or bridle bit to be put in his
mouth, when he said, he despised all their torments, that he
was accountable to God and not to them. He- was ordered to
his dungeon while his sentence was being read, and he never was
heard of any more. This man knew what kind of men they
were and was not afraid to tell them, because he knew he would
have to suffer any how when he had fallen in their hands.—
These are the three inquisitors that had seventy young ladies of
the best families shut up for their own gratification, as I have
before stated.
What could better represent the angel of the bottomless pit?
Mr. Jones says, page 303: "Exclusive of the cruel punishments
inflicted by the holy office, says a late writer, it may be truly
affirmed that the inquisition is a school of vice. There the art¬
ful judge, grown old in the arts of subtlety, along with his se¬
crecy, practices his cunning in interrogating a prisoner to fix a
charge of heresy. Now he fawns, and then he frowns; now
soothes, and then looks dark and angry; sometimes affects to pity
and to pray, at other times insults and bullies, and talks of racks
and dungeons, flames and the damnation of hell. One while
he lays his hand upon his heart and sheds tears, and promises
and protests he desires not the death of a sinner Another while
he discovers himself deaf as a rock, false as the wind, and cruel
as the poison of asps."
" Whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in thi
OreeJi tongue hath his name Apollyan. " Both these names sig¬
nify the same, that is destroyer, or destruction, which well repre¬
sents the inquisition, for they not only destroyed the live& of the
PC)UIl|NG OUT THE FIFTH VlAL.
265
people but theif. property, by which they enriched themselves.
They destroyed the peace of society, of families and the arts and
sciences. In fine, ignorance and stupidity prevailed wherever
they reigned, which was in the West, while the Moguls and Tar¬
tars reigned in the North and East, and they had a King over
them whose power was absolute, and they seemed bent on de¬
struction as I have before said. And as Gibbon says,: "No
sooner had Octai subverted the Northern Empire of China, than
he resolved to visit with his arms the most remote countries of
the West. Fifteen hu dred thousand Moguls and Tartars were
inscribed on the military roll. " After the conquest of Russia,
they made a deadly, though transient, inroad into the heart of
Poland and as far as the borders of Germany. The cities of
Lublin and Cracow were obliterated; they approached the shores
of the Baltic, and in the battle of Lignitz, they defeated the
Dukes of Silisia, the Polish Palatines, and the great master of
the Teutonic order, and filled nine sacks with the right ears of
the slain." Thus he hath his name destroyer.
I have been more lengthy than usual in this proposition, be¬
cause it required more on account of the length of the text that
was to be explained. I have not said near all that I would like
to say, for I have endeavored to condense as much as possible,
but I trust I have said enough to be understood.-
12th verse: "One woe is past; and behold there comes two
more woes hereafter."
4th. The pouring out the fifth vial.
Revelations xvi. 10: " And the fifth angel poured out his vial
upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of dark¬
ness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain. "
And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast.
The previous judgment had been preparatory to this. They all
had a bearing on this, and were all preliminary to it; but th»
seat, the home, the centre of the power of the beast, had not
yet been reached. Here, however, there was a direct blow
aimed at the power, yet not such as to secure its final overthrow,
for that Preserved for the pouring out the last vial. All that is
266
POURING OUT THE FIFTH VIAL.
represented here is a heavy judgment which was merely pre¬
liminary to that final overthrow, hut which affected the very seat
of the beast. The phrase "the seat of the beast" means the
seat or throne which the representative of that powei occupied;
the central point of the Anti-Christian dominion. I understand
this as referring to the very seat of the Papal power—Rome the
Yatican. And his kingdom was full of darkness, discord, con¬
fusion, distress; for darkness is often the emblem of calamity.
. See Jeremiah xiii. 16 and Ezekiel xxxii. 7-8. This vial poured
upon the seat of the beast, undoubtedly must have reference to
the Reformation, and not to the war with Turkey as Mr. Barns,
and others have said, as I make the Reformation to commence in
the year 1512. I know that most writers date Luther's Refor¬
mation to commence in 1515, which would be three years later.
As I have shown before that the 1260 years ol the church in
the wilderness would close, according to my calculation, in 1512,
I date the first open appearance of the Reformation at that time,
although many prominent men had appeared and preached the
truth boldly previous to this time.
D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation, Yol. i. page 92:—
"Wickliff arose in England in 1360, and appealed from the
Pope to the Word of God; but the real internal wound in the
"body of the church was in their eyes only one of the numerous,
symptoms of the disease. John Huss preached in Bohemia a
century before Luther preached in Saxony. He seems to have
penetrated deeper than his predecessors into the essence of
Christian truth, but his attacks were directed less against the
errors of the Romish Church than the scandalous lives of the
clergy; yet he was, if we may be allowed the expression,, the
John the Baptist of the Reformation. The flames of his pile
kindled a fire in the Church that cast a brilliant light into the
surrounding darkness, and whose glimmerings are not so readily
extinguished."
"A century passed away, and the torch of the gospel, lighted,
up anew by the Reformers, illuminated indeed many nations,
that rejoiced in its brightness."
POTJBING OUT THB iTFTH VIAL.
267
Scarcely had the light of Huss and others, after their execution,
passed away, until an additional line of witnesses made their ap¬
pearance; some by the revival of literature, which dispelled the
darkness, and brought to light the corruptions of the Church oq
Eome, which broke the spell, in some degree, in which ignorance
had bound the people. Men of generous dispositions, shocked at
the abominations of. the papacy, arose like the Old Testament
prophets, whose fate they also shared, and uttered, like them,
their denunciations, in voices of thunder, against them.
"A Carmelite Friar appeared in Flanders. He declared that
the grossest abominations were practised at Borne : that the
church required a reformer; and that, so long as we serve God,
we should not fear the Pope's excommunications."—D'Aubigne,
vol. i, 96.
Cardinal Andrew, archbishop of Crayon, being sent to Eome,
jis the Emperor's ambassador, was struck with dismay, at discov¬
ering that the papal sanctity, in which he had devoutly believed,
was a mere fiction; and in his simplicity he addressed Sextus V.
in the language of evangelical remonstrance. Mockery and per¬
secution were his only answers. Upon this he endeavored, in
1482, to assemble a new council at Basle. " The whole church,"
said he, " is shaken by divisions, heresies, sins, vices, unrighteous¬
ness, errors, and countless evils, so. as to be nigh swallowed up by
the devouring abyss of damnation."
Page 98: "John Callier, doctor of the Sarbonnerie, stood forth
in 1484, against the tyrannical dominion of the hierarchy. " All
the clergy," said he, "have received equal power from Christ.
"The Eomish Church is not the head of other churches. You
should keep the commands of God and of the apostles; and as for
the commands of bishops and other lords of the church, they
are but straw! They have ruined the church by their crafty
devices. The priests of' the Eastern church sin not by mar¬
rying; and I believe, in the Western church, we should not sin,
were we also to marry. Since the times of Sylvester, the Romish
Church is no longer the church of Christ, but a state church, a
money-getting church. We are not bound to believe in the
18
268
POURING 0¥T THE FIFTH VIAL.
legends of the saints, any more than the churches of France.
Page 101: "Thus, in proportion as the Reformation drew nigh,
were the voices multiplied that proclaimed the truth. We might
be led to say that the church intended showing, l>y these means,
that the Reformation existed before Luther." "What could
Some oppose to all the witnesses we have just heard, at the time
when their voices re-echoed* through the earth ?—A few monks,
without learning or piety." " Nicholas Russ, at Rostock, began
in 1511 to preach openly against the Pope,"
I will next give a few instances of the corruption that prevailed
just prior to the Reformation. D'Aubigne, vol. i, 62: "What
humiliation did the house of a pastor in those days present I The
wretched man supported the woman and tire children she had
borne him, with the tithes and offerings. His conscience was
troubled; he blushed in the presence of the people, before his
domestics, and before God. The mother, fearing to come to want
if the priest should die, made provision against it before-hand,
and robbed her own house. Her honor was lost; her children
were ever a living accusation against her. Despised by all, they
plunged into quarrels apd debauchery. Such was the family of
the priest. These wTere frightful scenes." "The rural districts
were the scene of numerous disorders. The abodes of the clergy
were often deps of corruption. Priests, consorting with dissolute
characters, frequented the taverns, played at dice, and crowned
their orgies with quarrels and blasphemy."
In the archbishopric of Mentz, they scaled the walls by night,
and created all kinds of disorder and confusion in the inns and
taverns; and broke the doors and locks. In many places the
priests paid the bishops a regular tax for the women with whom
they lived, and for each child they had by them. A German
bishop said publicly one day, at a great entertainment, that in one
year eleven thousand priests had presented themselves before hi1*
for that purpose. It is Erasmus who relates this."
" If we go higher in the hierarchal order, we find the corruptiol
not less great. And what a spectacle was presented by the pom
tifical throne, in the times immediately preceding tie Refoira*-
POURING OUT THE FIFTH VIAL.
269
tionl! Borne, it must be acknowledged, had seldom witnessed
so much infamy. Kodrigo Borgia, after having lived with a
Iloman lady, had continued the same illicit connection with one
of her daughters, named Bosa Yanozza, by whom he had five
children. He was Cardinal and Archbishop, living at Borne with
Yanozza and other women; visiting the churches and the hospi¬
tals, when the death of Innocent YIII. created a vacancy in the
pontifical chair. He succeeded in obtaining it by bribing each
cardinal at a stipulated price. Four mules, loaded with cilver,
publicly entered the palace of Sfarza, one of the most influential
of the cardinals. Borgia became Pope, under the name of Alex¬
ander YI., and rejoiced in thus attaining the summit of earthly
felicity."
"On the day of his coronation, his son Caesar, a youth of
ferocious and dissolute habits, was created Archbishop of Yalencia
and Bishop of Pampeluna." " Caesar caused his brother to be
stabbed in the pontifical palace. He was carried bleeding to his
own apartments. His wife and sister did not leave him; and,
fearful that Caesar would employ poison, they prepared his meals
with their own hands. The Pope set a guard on the doois: but
Caesar ridiculed these precautions, and remarked, as the Pope
was about to pay a visit to his son-in-law, 'what is not done at
dinner, Will be done at supper.' Accordingly, one day he gained
admittance to the chamber of the convalescent, turned out the
wife and sister, and, calling in his executioner, the only man in
whom he placed any confidence, ordered his brother-in-law to be
strangled before his eyes. The Pope had a favorite, Perotto,
whose influence also offended the young duke. He rushed upon
him: Perotto took refuge under the pontifical mantle, and clasped
the Pope in his arms. Caesar stabbed him, and the blood of his
victim spirted in the face of the pontiff. 'The Pope,' adds a
contemporary and eye-witness of these scenes, 'loves the duke,
his son, and lives in great fear of him.' "
" Caesar was the handsomest and strongest man of his age.
.Six wild bulls fell easily beneath his blows, in single combat-
*J»yejy jnp^pipg some pew victim was found who had been assas«-
270
POURING OUT THE FIFTH VIAL.
nated during the night, in the Roman streets. Poison carried:
off those whom the dagger could not reach." The Pope had
prepared poisondn a box of sweetmeats, that was to be served il|>
after a sumptuous repast. The cardinal for whom it was intended,,
being forewarned, gained over the attendant, and the poison box
was set before the Pope. He ate.of it and died. The whole,
city ran together, and could, not satiate their eyes with gazing
on this dead viper."
" Such was the man who filled the papal chair at the begin-,
ning of the century in which the Reformation burst forth."
D'Aubigne, vol. iii, p. 330: "A new episode completed the
picture, by mingling a suspicion of criminal disorders with these
superstitions. There came up a young woman intent on other
devotions than those of the cross, carrying her infant wrapped in,
a cloth. The priest went up, took hold of the woman and child,
and led them into the chapel. I, may safely assert that never did
dancer take a woman and lead her out more lovingly than ditl
this priest. But such was our blindness that neither their looks
nor their gestures, even when they had behaved in an unseemly
manner before us, appeared otherwise than good and holy. It
was clear that the woman and my gallant of a priest, understood
the miracle thoroughly, and made it a cover to their intercourse."
" Such is a faithful picture of religion and morals, in France,
at the commencement of the Reformation. Morality and belief
were alike poisoned; and both required a powerful renovation..
The greater the value attached to external works, the farther
men were removed from sanctification of heart. Dead ordinances.,
had been everywhere submitted for a christian life; and a strange -
but not unnatural union had taken place between the most scan-,
dalous debauchery and the most superstitious devotion. Theft
had been committed before the altar; seduction practiced in the
confessional; poison mingled with the consecrated elements;
adultery perpetrated at the foot of the cross. Superstition; by-
destroying belief, had destroyed morality/'
The corruption of the Church of Rome was so great, that'ht
naturally forced her into a refbifhation, orjelse she-Would'h^
POURING OUT THE FIFTH VIAL.
271
'mpjk under-the weight of her own corruption, which frequently
makes sill punish itself, or tend to its own purification; as, by
"God's permission it is suffered to increase until it proves its own
destruction. This corruptidn had been accumulating for centu¬
ries, until it had arisen to its zenith: it must, of course, decline,
everything being ready. There were many attached to the
Roman Church that sighed for a reformation, and, consequently,
a deliverance; but could not tell by whom, nor from whence it
would come.
All was ready." God, who prepares his work through ages,
accomplishes it by the weakest instruments, when his time has
come. To effect great results by the smallest means: such is
the law of God. While he was preparing the minds of men by
the oppression and corruption that was fastened upon them, by
the Mother of Harlots, he was preparing Luther as the principal
instrument by which to perform this great work; although
Luther seems himself to be ignorant of any such intention, for
some time even after he had commenced. But he must belong-
to the Church of Rome; and he must also be influenced to take
a journey to Rome, to visit the Pope. He had seen corruptions
and disorders amongst the priests, the clergy and the monks,
greatly to his annoyance; but when he reached Rome, it was so
enormous—even in the Vatican itself, that he was no less aston¬
ished than disgusted with the course pursued. He boldly
declared the necessity for a reform: but When he set about it, he
only expected to reform some abuses. But it was pouring
directly upon the seat of the beast; for the corruptions of the
church had never been so directly attacked before. But it was
necessary to commence at the root of the matter; hence it must
commence at the point where so much power was concentrated—
that is, with the Pope, which constitutes the beast; and the
pouring upon the seat is pouring upon the point where that
power is, or upon the authority of him that holds that power-.
Which was to produce great torment, or pain and vexation:
insomuch that they will gnaw their tongues on account of their
authority being disregarded*.
272
POURING OUT THE FIFTH VIAL,
Luther had written a thesis on indulgences which had created*
great excitement. But, as truth had been' victorious over part
of the more inferior ministers of the papacy, she was now about
to enter upon a struggle with the chief, in person.
It was after Luther's return1 from Heidleburg that he took
this bold step. It was requisite'at once tO'challenge the decision
of Rome. He did not hesitate to send his explanations thither..
While he presented them with one hand to the enlightened and
impartial readers of his nation, with the other he laid them
before the throne of the pontiffs. He repeated once more, that
every truly penitent christian possesses remiss-ion of sins without
papal indulgences;' and that the Pope, like the meanest priest,,
can do no more than simply declare what God has already done.
He used this bold language:' "I care not for what pleases or
displeases the Pope: he is a man, like other men. There liava
been many Popes who loved not only errors and vices, but still
niore extraordinary things."
u Darkness filled the throne." These direct attacks were such
as to bring consternation and distress. Hitherto they had endeav¬
ored to pass it by unnoticed;- at one time saying that it was
some drunken German friai; and when the fumes passed off, lis
would talk very differently. But now it was a direct attack upon
tdie Pope. And thus, to let him alone, it will spread farther;,
and to summon him to Rome will be to give him an opportunity
to spread it by the way. And then, to investigate it here, will'
be only to give him an opportunity to publish it in the very city
of Rome; and, in presence of the P'ope, to spread the infection)
here.
First they threaten; then tliey fawn; and coax; and' use
flattery; then the Pope summons him to appear at Borne in»
sixty days. Then a few days before Luther had. time to go to
Rome, the bishop tries and condemns Luther, without his-
knowing anything ahout it. Then, the Pope, in a few days after
the first summons, (without waiting to see if Luther would
obey,) commissions the legate De Vio to repair to Germany and
summon Luther before liim. Pie was empowered to get him in-
POTJRINF OUT THE FIFTH VIAL,
273
custody and keep him secure, as he had already been declared a
heretic, by our dear brother Jerome, bishop of Ascoli."
He also had authority to " Invoke for this purpose the arm
and aid of our very dear son in Christ, Maximilian, and of the
other princes of Germany; and all of the communities, univer¬
sities, and potentates, ecclesiastical or secular."
Then the Pope uses more mild means, and says to his legate:
*' If he return to his duty, and beg forgiveness for so great a
misdeed, of his own accord, and without solicitation, we give
you power to receive him into the unity of our holy mother
el lurch.' #
Theft the Pope says to his legate: u If he persists in his
obstinacy, and you cannot secure bis person, we authorise you to
proscribe him in every part of Germany; to banish, curse, and
excommunicate all those who are attached to him; and to order
all christians to dee from their presence."
And in ord^r that this contagious disease may be the more
effectually eradicated," continued the Pope, "you* will excom¬
municate all prelates, religious orders, universities, communities,
omuls, dukes, and potentates, (the Emperor Maximilian always
excepted,) who shall not aid in securing the aforesaid l^Iartin
Luther, and his adherents, and send them to you under good
and safe guard. And if, which God forbid, that said princes,
communities, universities, and potentates, or any belonging to
them, shall in any manner offer an asylum to the said Martin
and his adherents, give him privately or publicly, by themselves
or others, succor and counsel, we lay under interdict all those
princes, communities, universities, and villages, as well as cities,
towns, counties, and villages in which the said Martin may take
refuge, so long as he may remain there; and three days after he
shall have quitted them."
When. Luther became acquainted with this brief, he thus ex¬
pressed his indignation: " This is the most remarkable part of
the affair: The brief was issued on the 23d August—I was sum¬
moned on the 7th—so that between the brief and the summo ns
sixteen clays' elapsed., blow, make the calculation, and you will
274 POURING OUT THE FJFtH "VIAU.
rind that ray Lord Jerome, Bisliip of Ascoli, proceeded against-
me, pronounced judgment, condemned me, and declared me a
heretic before the summons Peached me. Is- this the style and
fashion of the Roman court, which on the same day summons,
exhorts accuses, fudges, condemns, and declares a man guilty who
is so far from Rome, and knows nothing of all these things/—
what reply can they make to all this/ No doubt they forgot to
clear their brains with hellebore before having recourse to such
trickery. "
But the legate finally summoned him to appear at Augsburg,
which he determined to do, though it would be attended with
great danger. He was dissuaded from it by all his friends. He
said at one time: " I will go though there are as many devils in
Augsburg as there are tiles on the houses. " He set out on foot
and alone, and on his arrival the Legate had made his appearance
with great pomp, and expected Luther to submit at once, but he
remained very firm and bold, insomuch that the Legate and his
advisers were astonished. Some of them advisee! that he he cast
into j)rison, others that he should be confined and sent to Rome,
while others advised to take his life at once, but the Legate dis¬
dained to lay hands upon him at that time, considering that he
had hitn in his power if lie did not humble himself. All admire
the monk that had raised such an uproar in the land. He writes
to Melancthon; "Show yourself a man. 1 would rather die than
retract what I feel it my 'duty to teach. Italy, like Egypt in
times of old, is plunged in darkness so thick that it may he felt.
No one iiU that country knows any thing of Christ, or of what
belongs to him; and yet they are our lords and masters in faith
and in morals."
The darkness was so great, and had so completely covered the
seat of the beast, (Pope,) that he called councils and laid plans,
hut all failed. And to lay hands 011 Luther (as some of thein
advised and desired) would .not be prudent, because he had made
numerous friends, and some of them high in authority. So that
every effort they made to put a stop to the heresy only -had a
tendency to spread it farther.
POURING OUT THE FIFTH VIAL.
B'Aubigne, Vol. ii. page 60: " Luther had made a great stride
.in advance. In 1516 and 1517 he had only attacked the sermons
on indulgences, hawkers, and the scholastic doctors, but had re¬
spected the papal decrees. Somewhat later he had rejected these
decrees and had appealed to a council. Now he had thrown off
even this latter authority, declaring that the council could lay
down a new article of faith and claim to be infallible. Thus had
all'human authorities fallen successively before him. "
The Pope had called council after council but all had failed of
attaining the desired end. Then they meet Luther in debate
upon the truth of their doctrines of purgatory, of indulgences, of
faith, and of the supremacy of the Pope. He debated with Dr..
Eck at Leipsic for twenty days and made many converts to the
Reformation. ■
Luther writes a long letter to the Pope, (See D'Aubigne, Vol.
ii. page 139:) " It is true that I have attacked the court of Rome,
but neither you nor any man on earth can deny that it is more
corrupt than Sodom Gomorrah, and that the impiety prevailing;
there is past all hope of cure. "
" 0 Leo! you are the most unhappy of men, and you sit on
the most dangerous of thrones! I tell you the truth because I
mean you well. Is it not true that under the spreading firma¬
ment of heaven, there is nothing more corrupt or more detestable
than, the Romish court? It infinitely exceeds the Turks in vices
and corruption. Once it was the gate of heaven—now it is the
mouth of hell; a mouth which the wrath of God keeps open so
wide, that witnessing tho unhappy people rushing into it, I can¬
not but utter a warning cry, as in a tempest, that some at least
may be saved from the terrible gulpli."
D'Aubigne says, in Vol. ii. pages 178, 179 and 180: "An ob¬
scure individual, bearing in his hand the word of life, " (Word
of God,) " had stood firm before the mighty ones of the world,
>and they had shaken before him. He had wielded this arm of
the word of God, first against Tetzel and his numerous army; and
those greedy merchants, after a brief struggle, had fled away; he
next employed it against the Roman legate at Augsburg, and
pouring' out TUe fifth Vial.
the legate, in atnazemeirt, had allowed the prey to escape liipn.-^
Somewhat later, with its aid, he contended with the champions of
learning—-the hosts of Leipsic; and l-astly, with this single arm,
he had opposed the Pope, when the latter, disturbed in his slum¬
bers, had risen on his throne to blast the unfortunate monk with
bis thunders; and this same word had paralyzed all the power ol
this head of Christendom. A final struggle remained to be un¬
dergone. The word was destined to triumph over the Emperors
of the West—over the Kings and Princes of the earth; and
then, victorious overall the powers of the world, to uprise in the
church and reign as the very word of God. "
"The entire nation Was agitated. Princes and -Nobles,
Knights and citizen, clergy and laity, town and country—all
participated in the struggle. A mighty religious revolution, of
which God himself was the prime mover, but which was also
deeply rooted in the people, threatened to overthrow the long
venerated chief of the Roman hierarchy."
Amid this general excitement Charles V., of Spain, a'young
man, was elected Emperor of the West He was to convoke a
diet to meet at Worms on the 6th of January, 1521. It being
the first over which he had presided, great anxiety prevailed re¬
lative to the course he would pursue. D'Aubigne says:'
"But a much stronger motive inclined the Electors, f)hkes,
Archbishops, Landgraves, Margraves, Counts, Bishops, Barons,
and Lords of the Empire, as well as the deputies of towns and
the ambassadors- of the' Kings of Christendom, to throng with
their brilliant trains the roads that led to Worms."
" The Emperor had also mentioned in his letters of convoca¬
tion that of the Reformation. The great* interest of worldly
policy grew pale before the cause of the monk of Wurtemburg.
11 was this that formed the principal topic of conversation be¬
tween the noble personages who arrived at Worms."
" Every thing announced that the diet would be stormy and
difficult to manage. It might be.easily foreseen that the under¬
handed practices of parties would have a principal share, in th»
struggle."
PtNJRlNfr OUT THE FIFTH VIAL.
Hut o^er all these scenes of agitation hovered a terrible will—■
the Roman papacy, which, inflexible as the destiny of the ancients,
had unceasingly crashed for ages past every doctor, King or peo¬
ple- that had opposed its tyrannous progress. A letter written at
Rome in the month of January, 1521, and by a Roman citizen,
reveals its intentions. "If I am not mistaken, the only business
in your diet will be this affair of Luther's, which gives us much
more trouble than the Turk himself. We shall endeavor to gain
over the young Emperor by threats, by prayers and feigned ca¬
resses. We shall strive to win the Germans by extolling the pi¬
ety of their ancestors, and by making them rich presents, and by
lavish promises. If these methods do not succeed, we will depose-
the Emperor; absolve the people from their obedience; elect an¬
other (and he will be one that suits us) in his place; stir up civil
war among the Germans, as-w-e have just done in Spain, and sum¬
mon to our aid the armies of the Kings of France, England" and
all the nations of the Earth. Probity, honor, religion, Christ-—»
we shall make light of all, provided our tyranny be saved."
This is precisely w-liat Rome has always done. She would sac¬
rifice every principle that was honorable or sacred, to secure their
despotic rule over, not only their subjects, but their consciences,
and even Kings, Princes and Emperors, or else destroy them.—
But now the vial of the wrath of God is poured upon the seat of
the power that has been so terrible. Darkness covers the throne
and the whole nation is in great excitement, so they db not know
what to do. Pope, Archbishops,. Bishops, Priests, wit h the rulers'
of the people, are in great perplexity; for every effort to stay
that power that seems likely to destroy (or at least paralyze) the-
authority of the Pope, has thus far had a tendency to increase
its strength and cause greater alarm. How'easy for God to over¬
turn the wicked designs of men for the furtherance of his pur¬
poses and the promotion of his cause.
Charles V. summoned Luther to appear before tlie diet at
Worms. Numerous obstacles were thrown in the way, and'
although he had a safe conduct from the Emperor, yet he encoun¬
tered numerous dangers- by the way and when: he had arrived.!
278 POURING OUT THE FIFTH VIAE.
D'Aubigne says, Yol. ii. page 232: "The news of his arriv.il
filled, both the Elector of Saxony .and Alexander with alarm. »
Charles V. immediately summoned his council. The Emperor s
privy-counsellors hastily repaired to the palace, for the alarm had
reached them also. 'Luther is come,5 said Charles, what
must we do?'"
Modo, Bishop of Palermo and chancellor oi Elanders, replied,
if we may credit the testimony of Luther himself: We have
long consulted on this matter. Let your Imperial Majesty get
rid of this man at once. Did not Sigismuncl cause John Luss
to be burnt? We are not bound either to give or to observe the
safe conduct of a heretic. "No," said Charles, " we must keep
our promise." They submitted, therefore, to the Reformer's ap¬
pearance before the diet."
Page 237: "At length the doors of the hall were opened.—
Luther went in, and with him entered many persons who formed
no portion of the diet. Never had man appeared before so im¬
posing an assembly. The Emperor Charles V., whose sovereignty
extended over a great part of the old and new world; his brother,
the Archduke Feidinand; six Electors of the Empire, most oi
whose descendants now wear the kingly crown; twenty-four
Dukes, the majority of whom were independent sovereigns over
countries ynore or less extensive, and among whom were some
whose names afterwards became formidable to the Reformation;
the Duke of Alva and his two sons; eight Margraves; thirty
Archbishops, Bishops and Abbots; seven Ambassadors, inclu¬
ding, those from the Kings of France and England; the Deputies
of ten free cities; a great number of Princes, Counts, and sove¬
reign Barons and the papal nuncios—in all two hundred and four
persons. Such was the imposing court before which appeared
•Martin Luther."
This appearance was of itself a signal victory over the papacy.
The Pope had condemned the man, and he was now standing he-
fore a tribunal which, by this very act, set itself above the Pope.
The I3ope had laid him under an interdict, and cut him off from
all human society"; and yet he was summoned in respectful Ian-
POUEING OUT THE FIFTH VIAL.
279
guage and received before the most august assembly in the world.
The Pope had condemned him to perpetual silence, and he was-
now about to speak before thousands of attentive hearers, drawn
together from the farthest parts of Christendom. An immense
revolution had been effected through Luther's instrumentality.—
Rome was already descending from the throne, and it was the
voice of a monk that caused this humiliation. Or, rather, it was
the wrath of Almighty God poured upon the seat of the beast.
Luther had appeared before the diet, and had refused to re¬
tract, or renounce what that august assembly had been pleased to
consider heresy. And after he had refused to retract in the pres¬
ence of the Emperor and all the dignitaries of the Empire, as well
as the representatives of the Pope, and they not being able to
condemn him on account of divisions among themselves,, it was
resolved to bring about a reconciliation;, and when all their argu¬
ments had failed, they resorted to threat-sand all kinds of flattery
$nd deception, but Luther remained firm and unshaken. This
had a powerful influence over many of the members of the diet,
and also over a great portion of the community, in as much as it
gave them an opportunity of seeing and hearing him when he so
often appealed to the word of God, declaring his willingness that
his doctrine should be tried by it. Inasmuch as the Emperor
had given him a safe conduct to and from Worms, he did not
violate his word, although often requested by the Pope's Legate
to do so. The Emperor dismissed Luther from before the diet by
saying "seeing that all our persuasions and exhortations have
failed to produce repentance or submission, the Emperor finds
himself compelled to resort to other measures. He therefore
commands you to return home in twenty-one days, and forbids
you to disturb the public peace on your road, either by preaching
or writin°\" Just before Luther reached home, or his safe con-
O '
duct had expired, he was seized by five armed men (friends) in
mask, and carried in the mountains and put in prison, his name
and his dress changed, where he remained two years.
Mr. Barns and others are of opinion that the pouring of the
hffch vial had reference to. the French, Revolution. I must beg
280 BGiUifcLNG OUT THF FIFTH -VIAit..
leave to differ with them upon the subject., having a different
place to apply the French revolution; and believing that the
Reformation was a great deal more terrifying and annoying than
war, for war was the Pope's delight; baying kings and princes
under his dominion, he could control or set them at war with
■each other while he could profit by it; and if they should turn
Against him then, he would claim to be supreme head of th»
church.
While these things were going on in Germany, there was a
greater revolution going on in Switzerland, it being more imme¬
diately connected with Piedmont, where the true church was.
The Reformation there was a nearer approach to orthodox prin¬
ciples, because they were better informed in the Scriptures.
Zwingle, therefore, was more correct in his views than Luther;
for Luther held infant sprinkling, and that the actual body and
blood of Christ were present in the eucharist or sacrament,
while Zwingle held it in the spirit; that the bread and wine
were oiily figures of the body and blood of Christ—which subject
they afterward debated for three days. Zwingle became engaged
in the political struggles of Switzerland, which injured his useful¬
ness as a minister, and in the end cost him his life.
I have said that while these things were transpiring in Ger¬
many, a greater revolution was going 011 in Switzerland, becausw
it was politically as well as religiously.
D'Aubigne says, vol. ii, pp. 280 281: "At the moment when
the decree of the Diet of Worms appeared, a continually increas¬
ing movement began to disturb the quiet valleys of Switzerland.
The voices that resounded over the plains of Upper and Lower
Saxony, were re-echoed from the bosom of the Helvetic moun¬
tains, by the energetic voices of its priests, of its shepherds, and
of the inhabitants of its warlike cities. The partisans of Roms
were filled with apprehensions, and exclaimed that a wide and
terrible conspiracy was forming everywhere in the church against
the church. The exulting friends of the Gospel said that, as in
spring, the breath of life is felt from the shores of the sea to th»
jn©untain top, so the spirit of God was melting throughout
'POURING .OCT THE FIFTH VIAE,
Christendom, the ices of a lengthened winter, and covering it
with fresh flowers and verdure, from its lowest plains to its most
barren and its steepest rocks;''
"'It was not Germany that communicated the light of truth
to Switzerland., Switzerland to France, and France to England:
9.11 these countries received it from God; just as one part of the
world does not communicate the light of day to the other, but
the same brilliant orb imparts it direct to all the earth. Infinitely
exalted above men, Christ, the day-spring from on high, was at
the epoch of the reformation, as he had been at the establish¬
ment of Christianity, the Divine fire whence emanated the life
of the world. One sole and same doctrine was suddenly estab¬
lished in the sixteenth century, at the hearts and altars of the
most distant and dissimilar nations: it was everywhere the same
spirit, everywhere producing the same faith.
The Reformation in Germany and that of Switzerland demon¬
strate this truth: Zwingle had 110 communication with Luther.
There was, no doubt, a connecting link between these two men:
but we must not look for it upon earth: it was above. He who,
from heaven, gave the truth to Luther, gave it to Zwingle also.
Their bond of union was God. " I began to preach the Gospel,"
says Zwingle, " In the year of grace 1516; that is to say, at a
time when Luther's name had never been heard in this country.
It is not from Luther that I learned the doctrine of Christ, but
from the word of God. If Luther preaches Christ, he does what
I am doing; and that is all."
"We have already given an outline of the condition of Swiri
zerland at the epoch of the Reformation. We shall add but
little to what has been already said. In Germany the monar¬
chical principle predominated; in Switzerland, the democratic,
In Germany the Reformation had to struggle with the will of
the princes; in Switzerland, against the wishes of tho people.
An assembly of men—more easily carried away than a sringW
individual—is also more rapid in its decisions. The victory
•ver the papacy, which cost years of struggle beyond the Rhine^
-82 POURING OUT THE FIFTII VIAL.
required on this side but a few months, and sometimes onl) a
tew days."
The excitement was not only great, but so wide-spread as to
extend to almost every kingdom and principality in the whole
empire. This gave great alarm to the Pope and his adherents;
but such darkness (or ignorance) covered the throne, that it was
very annoying; for, turn which wray they would, they met with
the demand for a reformation; and do what they would to sup¬
press it, it only tended to its increase. This state of things
was brought about by the corruptions of the Roman Church,
•■especially that of the priests living with women unlawfully;
and that of selling indulgences.
D'Aubigne, volume iii, pp. 4, 5: " Germany was moved at
Luther's captivity. The most contradictory rumors were circu¬
lated in the province. The reformer's absence excited men's
minds more than his presence could have done.
" Luther's friends trembled with indignation, arid swore to
avenge his death. Women, children, men of peace, and the
aged, beheld with affright the prospect of new struggles.
Nothing could equal the alarm of the partizans of Rome.
The priests and monks, who at first had not been able to conceal
their exultation, thinking themselves secure of victory, because
one man was dead; and who had raised their heads with an
insulting air of triumph, would now have fled far from the
threatening anger of the people. Alexander, especially, wan-
astounded. ' The only remaining way of saving ourselves,'
wrote a Roman Catholic to the Archbishop of Mentz, "is to
light torches and hunt for Luther through the whole world, to
restore liim to the nation that is calling for him.' ' Luther's
death,' exclaimed some, ' will cause torrents of blood to la
shed.' "
When the Reformation first appeared in England it produced
great excitement. The Bishop of Rochester preached against
the heresy; after which Luther's book was borne in procession,
with great pomp, and then burned.
" But Henry would not stop here," says D'Aubigne, vol. iii>
POURING OUT THE FIFTH YIAL.
283
p. 88: tc This prince, whose hand was ever upraised against his
adversaries, his wives, of his favorites, wrote to the Elector
Palestine: ' It is the devil, who, by Luther's means, has kindled
this immense conflagration. If Luther will not be converted,
let him and his writings be burned together V And the world
beheld the publication of the defence of the seven sacraments,
against Martin Luther, by the most invincible King of England,
and France, Lord of Ireland, Henry, the eighth of that name."
" 'I will rush in front of the church to see her,' said the
King of England in this treatise: 11 will receive in my bosom
the poisoned arrows of her assailants. The present state of
things calls me to do so. Every servant of Christ should rise
up .against the common enemy of Christendom.' "
And Ms kingdom teas full of darkness. Confusion, disorder,
distress—for darkness is often the emblem of distress in the
Scriptures, as in Jeremiah, xiii, 16; Isa. is, 9, 10; Eze. xxx,
18, xxxii, 7, 8, xxxiv, 12. But I must hasten my remarks
upon this head to & close, lest I make it burdensome by being
too lengthy, although I have not inserted half the testimony in
my possession.
D'Aubigne says, vol. iv, p. 9: a A spirit t J blindness, similar
to that which, in foriper times, was stmt upon Saul add Herod,
then seized upon the great enemy of the Gospel: and thus was
it that Divine Providence saved the Keformhtion in its cradle."
Pope Leo X. being dead, Clement VIII. was the Pope. All the
States or Kingdoms being in a state of excitement, and just
ready to enter into a general war, Clement suddenly turned
against the Emperor Charles, hoping, bvv the aid of others, to
caiise Charles to submit more implicitly to uis authority.
Page 10: u Clement therefore hastened to have recourse to
political combinations. The Pope, the Venetians, and the
King of France, who had scarcely recovered his liberty, formed
a holy league, of which the King of England waS, by a bull,
nominated the preserver and protector. In June, 1526, caused
the most favorable propositions to be presented to the Pope ;
but his advances were ineffectual, and the Duke of SWat,
19
284 POURING OUT THE FIFTH VIAL.
Charles's Ambassador at Rome, returned on horseback from his
last audience ; placed a court fool behind liini, who, by a
thousand monkey tricks, gave the Roman people to understand
how little they cared for the Pope and his projects. Clement
responded to these bravadoes by a brief, in which he threatened
the Emperor with excommunication; and without loss of time
pushed his troops into Lombardy; whilst Milan, Florence, and
Piedmont declared for the holy league. Thus was Europe pre¬
paring to be avenged for the triumph of Pavia.
Charles did not hesitate. He wheeled to the right as quickly
as the Pope had done to the. left, and turned abruptly toward
the Evangelical princes. " Let us suspend the Edict of V^ornis,"
wrote he to his brother; " let us bring back Luther's partisans by
mildness; and by good counsel cause the triumph of evangelical
truth." At the same time he demanded that the Elector, the
Landgrave, and their allies should march with him against the
Turks—against Italy, for the common good of Christendom."
Thus, this haughty monarch, who had the decree at Worms
entered up against Luther and his adherents, (which had never
been executed by him or the Pope,) five years previous, having
held many councils since for the same purpose, now to suit his
own ends, washes to have the decree suspended, and become a
friend of the Reformation and an enemy to the Pope. Truly,
darkness covers the kingdom; and God overrules the wicked
designs of men, for the furtherance of his kingdom.
" And they gnawed their tongues for pain." This is a very
significant expression of the writhings of anguish: it is expressive
of the deep anguish that is felt by the Pope and his followers;
such as had never been felt since he had succeeded in wielding
both swords. Never had he before failed in some sort to execute
a decree or bull issued by him; but now, ten years had elapsed
since the first had issued, (and many had followed since,) none
of which had been executed.
The words " gnaived their tongues for pain," does not occw
anywhere else in the Scriptures.
TOURING X)UT THE FIFTH VIAL.
285
I -shall proceed to give some of their sayings and doings which
will be more expressive of their anguish.
After the death of Leo X. Adrian VIII. was elected Pope.
He frankly admitted that errors had crept into the court of
Rome. " That for many years certain abuses and abominations
have crept into the holy city. The contagion has spread from
the head to the members." The partisans of Rome blushed as
they heard this extraordinary language.
D'Aubigne, vol. iii, pp. 129, 1.30; " The reply of the Diet
showed how much the authority of the Sovereign Pontiff had
fallen in the empire. Luther's spirit -seems to have entered into
the hearts of the representatives of the nation. The Diet
resolved to collect in one body all the grievances that for ages
Germany had endured from Rome, and forward them to the
Rope."
'The Legate was frightened at this determination. He
entreated and threatened in turns. He insinuated that, under
a purely religious exterior, the reformer concealed great political
dangers. He asserted, like Adiian, that these children of iniquity
had no other end in view than to destroy all authority, and to
lend lOvery man to do as he pleased.
fi AH these declamations proved of no avail. The Diet
determined that a christian council should be assembled as quick
as possible, in which there should be laymen. The Legate
replied; "Laymen in a council! Laymen regulating the affairs
of the church in concert with priests J" The Diet " then pro¬
ceeded to draw up a catalogue of its grievances, which amounted
to the number of eighty. The abuses and arts of the Popes and
the Roman court to exact money from Germany; the scandals
and profanation of the clergy. If these grievances are not re¬
dressed within a limited time, we shall seek other means to
escape From so many oppressions and sufferings. Chieregate, the
Legate, foreseeing the terrible success that the Diet would draw
up, hastily left I^ewrpmbugh, that he might not have to deliver
this sad and insolent message." Page 231.
" The ipdignatjon at the Vatiean, among the papal minister,
283
POURING- OUT THE FIFTH VIAL.
was very great. What! is it not enough to have a Pope who
disappoints all the expectations of the Romans, and in whose
palace there is neither singing nor playing—hut, more than this,
secular princes are allowed to hold, a language that Rome detests,
and refuse to put the Wurtemburg heretic to, death.
Adrian himself was filled with indignation • at the events in
Germany; and it was on the head of the Elector of Saxony that
he discharged his anger. Never had the Roman Pontiffs uttered
a cry of alarm more energetic, more sincere, or, perhaps, more
affecting."
•'Wo have waited long—and perhaps too long," said the pious
Adrian, in the brief he addressed to the Elector—page 132.
Page 133: " Sawest thou not this sacrilegious man (Luther)
rending with his wicked hands and trampling under his impure
feet the images of the saints and even the holy cross of Christ?''
kCAnd what matters it, if the priests he assails are wicked
priests. Hast not the Lord said: Whatsoever they hid y u ob¬
serve, that observe and do; hut do not ye after their ivories; thus
showing tho honor that belongs to them, evpn when their lives are
blameworthy. Rebellious apostate! he is not ashamed to defile
the vessels consecrated to God; he drags from their sanctuaries
the holy virgins consecrated to Christ, and gives them over to the
devil; he takes the priests of the Lord and delivers them up to
infamous harlots. Awful profanation! which even the heathen
would have condemned with horror in the priests of their idols. "
" What punishment—what martyrdom dost thou think we
judge thee to deserve? Have pity on thy self; have pity on thy
wretched saxons; .for if you do not all return into the fold, God
will pour out his vengeance upon you. "
" In the name of Almighty God, and of our Lord Jesus Christ,
whose representative I am upon earth, I declare that thou shalt
be punished in this world, and plunged into everlasting fire in
that which is to come. Repent and be converted. Two swords
are suspended over thy head—dhe sword of the Empire and the
sword of the Church."
Page 145-6: " The diet bad determined to convoke a general
POURING OUT THE FIFTH VIAL.
287
or national assembly for the benefit of the people. On being ap¬
prized of this, the Pope could not restrain his wrath. What! do
they dare to set up a secular tribunal to decide on religious ques¬
tions in direct opposition to his authority! If this extraordinary
measure should be.carried out, Germany would doubtless be sav¬
ed, but Rome would be lost. A concistory was hastily convened,
and from the alarm of the Senators one might have thought the
Germans were marching against the capitol. " We jnust take
the electoral hat from Frederick's head," said Alexander. "The
King of England and Spain must threaten to break off all com¬
mercial intercourse with the free cities, "'said another cardinal.'—
The congregation decided that thy only means of safety would
be in moving heaven and earth to prevent the meeting at Spires. "
"The Pope immediately wrote to the Emperor: 'If 1 am tho
first to make head against the storm, it is not because I am the
only one the tempest threatens, but because I am at the helm.—
The rights of the Empire are yet more invaded than the dignity
of the court of Rome.'"—E'xlubigne, Vol. iy. page 110.
A wiser course was nevertheless proposed in a solemn confer¬
ence. " The church is torn in pieces, " said chancellor Gathinara.
" You (Charles) are the head of the Empire; you (the Pope)
the head of the Church. It is your duty to provide by common
accord against unprecedented wants. Assemble the pious men of
all nations, and let a free council deduce from the word of God
a scheme of such as may be received by every people. " A thun¬
derbolt falling at Clement's feet could not have startled him
more. The offspring of an illegitimate union, and having ob¬
tained the papacy by means far from honorable, and squandered
the treasure of the clmrch in an unjust war, this pontiff had a
thousand personal motives' for dreading an assemblage of Chris¬
tendom. " Large congregations;, " rejrlied he, " serve only to in¬
troduce popular opinions; It is not by the decrees.of councils,
but with the edge of the sword, that we should decide councils."
As Gathinary still persisted-, "What!" said the Pope, an¬
grily interrupting him, "you dare contradict me, and excite your
master against me?" Charles rose up—all the assembly prcr
288 I'ouiVing ow tffle fi?fth Vial.
served profound silence, and tlie Prince resuming; bur seat, so-'
conded his chancellor's request. Clement was content to say
that he would reflect upon it. He then began to work upon the
young Emperor in their private conferences, and Charles prom¬
ised at last to constrain the heretics by violence, while the Pope
should summon all other Princes to his aid. To overcome Ger^
many by force, and then erase it from the face of the earth, is
the sole object of the Italians, they wrote from Venice to the'
elector."
A diet is assembled at Augsburg'for the purpose of putting a'
stop to heresy, or heretics. In a private conversation with the
electors* of Saxony, and other Princes and Lords, the Emperor
requested that they should put a stop- to or discontinue the ser¬
mons of the Reformers. At length1 the landgrave said, "We
entreat your Majesty to withdraw'your'request, for our ministers
preach only the pure word of God."
He next requested that on to-morrow, as it was Corpus
Christi, all Princes and Deputies present should take part in the
procession and in) the Eucharist. He- proposed it by his brother
Fcrdinand who acted as interpreter.
D'Aubigne, Yol. iv. page 147: "Ferdinand therefore resumes,
and makes a weapon of the very refusal that he had just met
with. "Since the Emperor," said he, " cannot obtain from ton
the suspension of your assemblies, he begs at least that you will
accompany him to-morrow, according to custom, in the proces¬
sion of the holy sacrament. Do so, if not from regard to him,
at least for the honor of Almighty God." The Princes were
still more irritated and alarmed. " Christ," said they, " did not
institute his sacrament to he worshiped. " Charles persisted in
his demand, and the protestants in their refusal. Upon this the
Empeior declared that he would not accept their excuse, hut he
would give them time for reflection, and that they must he pre¬
pared to reply early on the morrow. "
"They separated in the greatest agitation. The Prince's elec¬
toral, who had waited for hjs. father in the first ball along with
other Lord's, sought, at the mpuicuf the Princes issued from tire
I ' , 1 . . .X . 41
POURING OUT THE FIFTH VIAL.
289
Emperor's chamber, to read 011 their countenances what had ta¬
ken place. Judging from the emotions depicted on their fea-
' tures that the struggle had been severe, he thought that his fa¬
ther was incurring the greatest dangers, and accordingly grasped
him by the hand and dragged him to the stair case of the pal¬
ace, exclaiming in affright, as if Charles' sattelites were already
at his heels, 1 Come, come quickly.' "
" Charles, who had expected no such resistance, was in truth
confounded, and the Legate endeavored to exasperate him still
more. Agitated, filled with anger and vexation, and uttering
the most terrible threats, the young Emperor hastily paced to
and fro the halls of his palace; and unable to wait for the answer
until to-morrow, he sent in the middle of the night to demand
the elector's final decision."
" At present we require sleep, " replied the latter, " to-mor¬
row we will let you know our determination. "
"We are told," said they, "that death awaits those who
shall persevere in sound doctrine. I am ready to suffer it." He
then presented the declaration of the Evangelical Princes to the
Emperor. "We will not countenance by our presence, " said
they, "these impious human traditions, which are opposed to
the word of Grod. We declare, on the contrary, without hesita¬
tion and with one .accord, that we must expel them from the
■ church, lest those of its membars that are still sound should he.
infected by this deadly poison." "If you will not accompany
his majesty for the love of Grod, " said Ferdinand, " do so at
least for love'of the Emperor, and as vassals of the Empire.—
His Majesty commands you." "An act of worship is in ques¬
tion," replied the Princes, "our conscience forbids it."—page 149.
"Charles, however, under an air of devotion, concealed a
wounded heart. The Legate was less able to command himself,
and said aloud that this obstinacy of the Princes would he the
cause of great mischief to the Pope. "
The Evangelical Princes had been allowed draw up their
confession to be read. Friday, the 24th June, was the day fixed
for reading; but in order to prevent it being read in public, t1 *
2$0 POURING OUT,.yHE , FIFTfl. ,yiAL.
sitting pf the diet did not commence until three in flip after¬
noon.—-(page 166.) The Legate was then announced, Charles
went to meet him as far as the top of the grand staircase, and
Campegic, taking his seat in front of the Emperor, in King Fer¬
dinand's place, delivered a harrangue in Ciceronian stylet,T—
"Never," said he, "has St. Peter's hark been so violently tossed
by such various waves, whirlwinds and abysses. The Holy Fa¬
ther has learned these things with pain, and desires to drag the
church from these frightful gulphs. For the love of Jesus
Christ, for the safety of your country, and for your own, 0
mighty Prince! get rid of these errors, deliver Germany and
save Christendom."
" In the collecting of the diet there was great anxiety to know
what would he the result. " All these heretics," said the Catliu-
lics, "will fall to the ground and crawl to the feet of the Pope."
Charles did not think so. He was, 011 the contrary, astonished
to see what power the Reformation had gained.
" Two parties divided the imperial court. The one, numerous
and active, called upon the Emperor to revive simply the edict
of Worms, and, without hearing the protestants, condemn their
cause. The Legate was at the head of this party. " Do not hes¬
itate, " said he to Charles; "confiscate their property, establish
the inquisition, and punish these obstinate heretics with fire and
sword. The Spaniards, who strongly seconded these exhorta¬
tions, gave way to their accustomed debauchery, and many of
them were arrested for seduction. This was a sad specimen of
the faith they washed to impose 011 Germany. Rome has always
thought lightly of morality."
"Every day the Gospel was announced in the churches of the
Dominicans, St. Catharine, and in the Cathedral, to immense
crowds. The partizans. of Rome were amazed. They expected,
to see criminals endeavoring to dissemble their faults, and thgy;
met with confessors of Christ with uplifted heads and words of
power."
The diet commenced collecting in May and continued until
the last of September, when it dispersed without having acQom-
owt; the jpifjfh vial.
291
pli^hed the object for which it was convoked. The Romanists
said that the object was to take into consideration the Turks
and the Reformation, the latter being the principal object. The
Reformation was greatly strengthened and promoted. The Elec¬
tors of the Evangelical party felt encouraged, although the Em¬
peror gave them six months to consider of the matter, and indi¬
cated his intention to compel them by force of arms if they did
not yield to his wishes. And yet, the Emperor Charles, and the
adherents of Rome, felt dispirited; because, instead of putting
down the Reformation, it was gaining strength, and was con¬
stantly producing divisions in their own ranks.
They continued diet after diet, and council after council, for
twenty-five years, but all failed. Truly "darkness covered the
throne." While they groped in darkness at noonday, and while
they were thus suffering, they "gnawed their tongues for pain. "
Indeed their political horizon was darkened as well as their reli¬
gious; for the Turks had, in 1453, taken Constantinople, and so
became masters of the Eastern Empire, which was a continual
annoyance and encroachment upon the dominions of the Pope.
11th. "And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their
pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. "
And they blasphemed the God of heaven.' They blasphemed
God on account of the judgments he had sent upon them for their
wickedness, their idolatry and their presumption.
D'Aubigne, in Yol. i. pages 241-2, says: " Come (says Tetzel)
and I will give you l'cen es, all properly sealed, by which even the
sins that you intend to commit, may be pardoned. "
"I would not change my privileges for those of St. Peter in
heaven; for I have saved more souls by my indulgences than
the Apostle by his sermons. "
"There is no sin so great that an indulgence cannot remit it;
and even if any one (which is doubtless impossible) had offered
violence to the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of God, let him pay
—only let him pay well, and all will be forgiven him."
Tetzel then passed to another subject..
292 FOUIHHG Off THE FIFTH VIAL.
" But more than this,- " said he, " Indulgences avail not only
for the living, hut for the dead/'
"For that repentance is not even necessary. "
"Priests! noble! merchant! wife! youth! widow! do you not
hear your parents and your other friends who are dead, and who
cry from the bottom of the abyss: We are suffering horrible tor¬
ments.! a trifling alms would deliver us; you can give it, and you
will not."
"At the very moment," continued Tetzel, "that the money
rattles at the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from purga¬
tory, and flies liberated to heaven. "
E'Aubigne, Vol. i. page 60: "In the Church of All Saints at
Wittemberg was shown a fragment of Noah's ark,' some soot
from the furnace of the three Hebrew children, a piece of wood
from the cradle of Jesus Christ, some hair from the beard of St.
Christopher, and nineteen thousand other relics of greater or
less value. At Schaffhausen was exhibited the breath of St. Jo¬
seph that Nichodemus had received in his glove."
"Thus a spirit of profanity had invaded religion, and the holi¬
est relations of the church, the seasons which more particularly
summoned the faithful to holy meditation and love, were dis¬
graced by buffoonery and heathen profanation. "
D'Aubigne, Vol. iii. p. 133: "In the name of Almighty God,
and of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose representative I am upon
earth, I declare that thou shalt be punished in this world and
plunged into everlasting fire in that which is to come. Eepent
and be converted."
After all the conferences had failed, they commenced persecu¬
tion, and the first martyr's were Escli and Voels, who, when they
were asked by the inquisitor to renounce, replied: " We will not
deny the word of God: we had rather die for the faith."
" Be converted—be converted, " cried the inquisitor, "or you
will die in the name of the devil. " " No, " replied the martyrs,
"we will die like Christians."
They continued their blasphemous worship more rigorously,
THE MAN OF Sift LOSING HIS POWER. 293
■tod thereby blasphemed the G-od of heaven. Their internal
division, together with the incursion of the Turks into Spain
and France, as well as the East, and an almost continual war'
between England and France, Italy and Switzerland, were all
plagues that produced their pains and their sores—that caused
them to gnaw their tongues. But still they repented not. Not¬
withstanding the light of the word of Clod had sprung \ up
among them, which had been obscured or kept from the people
for ages and centuries, they still persisted in their corruption of
morals and idolatrous worslifp.
5th. The man of sin losing his power.
The Pope, or papal power, which is the man of sin, had arisen
to the zenith of his power; and as he had arisen gradually, he
must decline gradually, or at certain periods, as' he was to con¬
tinue forty and two months, which would be 1260 years. •
The Apostle says:' u And that man of sin he revealed."—
u For the mystery of iniquity doth already ivork. " That if al¬
ready worked in the Apostle's day, but in a more secret or mys¬
terious way than at present, was because of a power that sup¬
pressed it, which power was the Roman Emperor, and its mystery
was its union with the church until the first separation took
place, or the first grand separation that is noticed by historians,
which took place at Rome about the year 250 by Novatian prin¬
cipally on the government of the church. Then this power
first made its open or visible appearance about the year 250, and
immediately united with the dragon to persecute the woman,
which caused her to flee into the wilderness in the year 252; for
every person knows that has been in divisions of the church that
the opposite party becomes the most bitter enemy. Then, to
the date of the first separation, 250, add the 1260 years, and
it brings us to- the year 1511, about the time the Reformation
began to make its appearance, or the pouring of the fifth vial,
. when he is only to-lose a portion of his power, as his final de¬
struction awaits the pouring the seventh vial. I shall now pro¬
ceed to make some extracts to show how much power he has lost.
By consulting history,- and especially the History of the Re-
294 THE HAN OF SIN LOSING HIS POWER.
formation, it will be seen that although he had issued his bull of
exclusion against Luther, yet he never could have it carried into
•effect. Such a circumstance had not happened before.
D'Aubigne says, Yol. iv. p. 13: "The Emperor immediately
reaped the fruits of his new policy. No longer having his hands
tied by Germany, he turned them against Home. The Refor¬
mation was to be exalted and the papacy abased. The blows
aimed at its pitiless enemy were about to open a new career to
the evangelical work."
"Thus the passionate Charles, instead of marching with the
Pope against the Reformation, as he had threatened at Seville,
marches with the Reformation against the Pope,. A few days
had sufficed to produce this change of direction—there are few
periods in history in which the hand of God is more plainly
manifested. Charles immediately assumed all the airs of a Re¬
former. On the 17th September, he addressed a manifesto to
the Pope, in which he reproaches him for behaving not like the
father of the faithful, but like an insolent and haughty man,
and declared his astonishment that he, Christ's Vicar, should dare
shed blood to acquire earthly possessions, which, added he, is
quite contrary to the evangelical doctrine. "
Page 14: "Now began the terrible campaign, during which
the storm burst on Rome and on the papacy that had been des¬
tined tc fall on Germany and the Gospel. By the violence of
the blows inflicted on the pontifical city, we may judge of the
severity of those that would have dashed in pieces the reformed
churches. While retracing such scenes of horror, we have con¬
stant need of calling to mind that the chastizement of the seven-
hilled city predicted in the Holy Scriptures."
Page 18: "Then began the famous "sack of Rome, " The
papacy had, for centuries, put Christendom in the press. Pre¬
bends, annates, jubilees, pilgrimages, ecclesiastical graces—she
had made money of them all. These greedy troops, that for
months had lived in wretchedness, determined to make her dis¬
gorge. No one was spared, the imperial not more than the ul¬
tramontane, the Gibblines not more than the 'Gulfs. Churches,
TEfii MAlT dF LOSING HlS POWER. 29$
palaceg, convents, private houses, castles, banks, tombs—every
'thing was pillaged, even the golden ring that the corpse of Ju¬
lius II. still wore on his finger."
"On every side," says Guicciardini, "the piteous shrieks of
the Roman women and of the nums whom the soldiers dragged
away by companies to satiate their lust."
Pages 19-20: "The Spaniards did npt let the Romans off so
easily. Clement VII. had called them moors, and had published
a plenary indulgence for whoever should kill any of them.—r
Nothing, therefore, could restrain their'fury. These faithful
Catholics put the prelates to death in the midst of horrible cru¬
elties, intended to extort their treasures from them—they spared
neither rank, sex nor age. It was not until the sack had lasted
ten days, and a booty of ten millions of golden crowns had been
collected and from five to eight thousand victims had perished,
that quiet began to be in some degree restored."
"Thus did the pontifical city decline in the midst of a long
and cruel pillage, and the splendor with which Rome, from the
beginning of the sixteenah century, had filled the world faded
in a few hours. Nothing could save this haughty capital from
chastisement; not even the prayers of its enemies. "I would not
have Rome burnt," Luther had exclaimed; " it would he a mon¬
strous deed." The fears of Melancthon were still keener. "I
tremble for the libraries," said he: "We know how hateful
hooks am to Mars. " But in despite of these wishes of the Re¬
formers, the city of Leo X. fell under the judgment of God. "
" Clement VII., besieged in the castle of St. Angelo, and fear¬
ful that the enemy would blow the asylum into the air with their
mines, at last capitulated. He renounced every .alliance against
Charles V., and bound himself to remain a prisoner until he had
paid the army four hundred thousand ducats. The evangelical
Christians gazed with astonishment on the judgment of the
Lord, "Such, " said they, "is the empire of Jesus Christ, that
the Emperor, pursuing Luther in behalf of the Pope, is con¬
strained. to ruin the Pope instead of Luther." All things min¬
ister unto the Lord and turn against'his adversaries."
jSTever had such a calamity happened to the Pope before.—.
296 THE MAN, OF SIN LOSING • FO$VEg,
Although through the restless disposition, of the Bourns he had
frequently been beset, and sometimes mobs had arisen and even
driven him from the Vatican, yet his authority was regarded
and obeyed in all the Kingdoms and Umpires over which he
reigned, for he had power to make Kings or dethrone them; he
could excommunicate them and absolve their subjects from all
allegiance to their King and even authorize them to kill him.
But now he is not only chastised and Borne sacked and pil¬
laged by the soldiers of the Emperor Charles V., but he loses
the secular power over France, Holland, Germany, Switzerland,
Bohemia, Poland and England, with other smaller powers.—
Although Henry VIII., of England, was a stern Catholic, yet
he became offended with the Pope about his wishing to be di¬
vorced by him from Queen Catharine, which the Pope neglected
to do. Henry then threw off his authority, for which the Pope
issued his bull of excommunication, but could not succeed.
Edwards' Reformation, p. 264: "The first blow was the sup¬
pression of the payment of annates. In 1532 these payments
were transferred from the Pope to the King. Two years afterward
the decisive step was taken. Appeals to the Pope' and remit¬
tances of money for bulls, dispensations, &c., had been already
forbidden. By an act of Parliament, passed March 20, 1534,
the King was declared supreme head of the church of England,
with full power to correct all abuses, root out all errors aud here-*
sies, and exercise all prerogatives in things spiritual, as the Popes
had done before him. But no change, as yet, was made in doe-
trinc or worship. Though Henry had thrust out the Pope, he
was as bigoted a papist as ever. "
D'Aubigne, in Vol. iv. p. 229, says: " The diet now entered
upon its third phasis, and as the time of tentatives had been
followed by menaces, now that of arguments was to succeed that
of threatnings. Hew and more formidable dangers were then
to be encountered by the Reformation. Rome, beholding the
sword torn from its grasp, had seized the net, and enlacing her
adversaries with " chords of humanity and love," was endeavor¬
ing to drag them gently into the abyss,"
Gibbon, Vol. vi. p. 335, writing about the year J4§Q, gays;—
TH© CHCTiOH; y»r PHIfcADELPHliW 297
"But the secretary of the Emperor, who compassed every epis¬
tle, and attended every meeting, Kneas Sylvius, a statesman
and orator, describes from his own experience the repugnant state
and spirit of Christendom. "It is a body," says he, "without
ahead;" a republic without laws or magistrates. The Pope
and the Emperor may shine as lofty titles, as splendid images;
but they are .unable to command, and none are willing to obey;
every State has a separate Prince, and every Prince has a sepa¬
rate interest."
Thus it will be seen that the man of sin has lost considerable
power, and I might multiply testimony to the same subject, but
I feel that a sufficiency lias already been given. I have already
protracted this chapter beyond the length of any of the former,
because it was more important and required more space and
there were more points to prove, or more prophesies to explain.
CHAPTER IX.
THE ANGEL POURING OUT THE SIXTH VIAL.
Revelations xvi, 12: " And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great
river Euphrates; and the waters thereof were dried up,, that the way of the Knigst
of the East might be prepared."
1st. The Church in Philadelphia.
2d. The opening of the sixth seal.
3d. The sounding of the sixth trumpet,
4th. The pouring of the sixth vial.
5th. The man of sin losing his power,
Revelation iii, 7. The first proposition.
" And to the ang®l of the church in Philadelphia write : These
things gaith be that is holy; he that is true; he that hath th©
208 THlf'tfkftiidfl: IN pfciLAififehihffA.
key of David; he that openeth and ho man shutteth; and shtff-
teth and'no man openeth.
8th. " I know thy works ; hehold I have set before thee ah
open door, and no man can shut it; for thou hast a little
strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my
name."
The church of Philadelphia, or city in which it was situated,
about twenty-five miles south-east from Sardis, in the plain of
Hermos, was the second city of Lydia. He that holds the
keys of death and hell, can open or shut at pleasure, and none
can prevent. It says, " I know thy works." He knew their
works and labor of love in their retreat, as set forth in the pre¬
ceding chapter. < And then he says : " Behold 1 I have set
before thee an open door, and no man can shut it." He
commences this declaration with a note of attention, to call our
attention to behold what he had done. And although the
woman (or church,) had been shut up in the wilderness for twelve
hundred and sixty years, the time, according to our calculation,
had expired in the year fifteen hundred and twelve, at the com¬
mencement of the Reformation, in which he opens the door so
that they may emerge from their retreat, and spread all over
the world. In consequence of the Reformation, the attention of
the beast with seven heads and ten horns was directed to the
beast with two horns, which was the Reformation, which I shall
show presently. Thus: "he sett before them an open door."
Bomc three hundred years previous to the Reformation, a portion
of the Waldenses were driven from the South of France into
Bohemia; after which they were called Bohemians, or United
Brethren. And just one hundred years bqfore the Reformation
by Luther, they were persecuted, and liuss and Jerome were
burned, with a number of their followers, as heretics. Mr. Bene¬
dict, page 45, quotes from Mosheim. He says: "It may bfe
observed, in the first place, that the Mennonites are not entirely
mistaken when they boast of" their descent from the Waldenses,
Petrasbrussians, and other ancient sects, who were usually Con¬
sidered as witnesses for the truth in times of universal darkness
THE IN
md superstition. Before the rise of Luther and Calvin,j there
lay concealed in almost all the countries of Europe* particularly
in Bohemia, Moravia, Switzerland, and Germany, many persons
who adhered tenaciously to the following doctrines, which the
Waldenses, WicklifEtes, and Hussites had maintained, some in
a more disguised, and others in a more open and public manner,
viz ; That the kingdom *o£ Christ, or the visible church he had
established upon earth, was an assembly of true and real saints*
and ought, therefore, to be inaccessible, to the wicked and un¬
righteous ; and also exempt from all those institutions which
human prudence suggests, to oppose iniquity, or to correct and
transform transgressors."
The "drooping spirits of these people, who had- been dispersed
through many countries, and persecuted everywhere with the
greatest severity, were revived when they were informed that
Luther, seconded by several persons of eminent piety, had suc¬
cessfully attempted the reformation of the church. Then they
sppke with openness and freedom ; and the enthusiasm of the
fanatical, as well as the prudence of the wise, discovered them¬
selves in their natural colors. In this sense of the word an open
door was set before them, and they were encouraged to travel
more extensively, and speak more boldly in the name of Jesus
Christ. k
The Reformation was progressing, althqugh Luther was shut
up in a castle. He wrote to the chaplain, D'Aubigne, vol. jii,
23, 24; " But, irritated at his friend's temerity, he wrote to the
chaplain : The Lord lives and reigns ; that Lord in whom, you
coqrt folks do not believe. He then resolved to write direct tcv
the Cardinal." *
"It is the whole body of Romish Bishops that Luther thus
brings to the bar, in the person of the Roman Primate., His
words are those of a bold man, ardent in zeal for the truth, and
whe feels that he is speaking in the name of God himself."
" Your Electoral Highness," wrote be, from the depth pf the
retreat in which he was hidden, " has set up again in the Ilalle^ i
the idol that swallows the money and souls of j?oor christians \
20
300
THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA.
You think, perhaps, that I am disabled, and that the Lmpeior
will easily stifle the cries of a poor monk. But know, that I
shall discharge the duties that christirn charity has imposed upon
me, without fearing the gates of hell, and much less the Pope,
his Bishops and Cardinals.''
Again, in page 9G : "A great movement was going on. The
Reformation, which, after the Diet of Worms, had been thought
to be confined with its first teachers in the narrow chambers ol a
strong castle, was breaking forth in every part of the empire,
and, so to speak, through Christendom. The two classes, hith¬
erto mixed up together, were now beginning to separate ; and the
partisans of a monk, whose only defence was his tongue, now
took their stands fearlessly in the lace of the servants of Charles
Y. and Leo X. Luther had secretly left the walls of the Wart-
burg. The Pope had excommunicated all his adherents. The
Imperial Diet had just condemned his doctrine. The Princes
were endeavoring to crush it in most of the German States. The
ministers of Rome were lowering it in the eyes of the people, by
their violent invectives. The other States of Christendom were
calling upon Germany to sacrifice a man whose assaults they
feared even at a distance; and yet this new sect, few in numbers,
and among whose members there was no organization, no bond
of union ; nothing, in short, that concentrated tlicir common
power, was already frightening the vast, ancient, and powerful
sovereignty of Rome, by the energy of its faith and the rapidity
of its conquests. On all sides—as in the first warm days of
spring—the seed was bursting forth from the earth spontaneously
and without effort. Every day shewed some new progress. In¬
dividuals, villages, towns, whole cities, joiped in this new con¬
fession of the name of Jesus Christ. There was unpitying oppo¬
sition ; there were terrible persecutions ; hut the mysterious
power that urged forward all these people was irresistible ; and
the persecuted quickened their steps, going forward through
exile, imprisonment, and the burning pile, everywhere prevailed
over their persecutors."
This is what is said by D'Aufcign#, the historian of the Refer-
THE' CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA.
301
Nation ;• and shows veiy clearly that an open door was set that
could not he closed ; and that the time had come that God had
intended to restrain the power of Antichrist, and extend his
glorious kingdom, by opening the way for the Gospel to be
preached, sending his servants forth by persecution ; dispersing
them in every direction.
D'Aubigne's History of the Keformation, vol. iii, p. 100 : "A
word of power, proceeding from God, was at that time regenera¬
ting society. The people, or their leaders, would frequently in¬
vite some man celebrated for his faith, to come and enlighten
them ; and instantly, for love of the Gospel, he abandons his
interest and his family ; his country and his friends. The
persecution often compelled the partisans of the Keformation to
leave their homes : they reached some spot where it was yet
unkown ; here they would enter a house that offered an asylum
to poor travelers ; there they would speak of the Gospel ; read
a chapter to the attentive hearers ; and, perhaps, at the iequest
of their new friends, obtain liberty to preach once publicly in
their church. Upon this a vast uproar would break out in the
city, and the greatest exertions were not able to quench it."
We will see that he set an open door before them, by reading
the following from D'Aubigne's history, vol. iii, p. 131 : After
speaking of the assembling of the Diet of Nuremberg, in 1522,
and the opposition of the Pope's Legate to it, shows that the
Sovereign Pontiff had lost his influence, and that Luther's spirit
(or rather the spirit by which he was actuated,) " seemed to
have entered into the hearts of the representatives of the nation
The moment was favorable : Adrian's year seemed to be Open :
the Emperor was absent; the Diet resolved to collect into one
body all the grievances that, for ages, Germany had endured from
Rome, and forward them to the Pope. The Legate was fright¬
ened at this determination. They drew up grievances to the
number of eighty."—" Yet was there not reason to fear that th«
Di&t would seek to make amends for its boldness, by sacrificing
Luther ? People thought so at first, but a spirit of justice and
trttth had descended on the - assembly. It demanded, as Luther
302 THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA.
had done, the convocation of a free council in, the empire ; an^
added, that, in the meanwhile, the pure Gospel, alone should "be
preached; arid nothing should be printed without the approbation,
of a certain number of pious and learned men. These resolutions
furnish us with the means of calculating the immense progress
the Reformation had made subsequent to the Diet-of Worms;
and yet the Knight of Feilitsch, the Saxon Envoy, solemnly pro¬
tested againt this censorship, moderate as it was, which the Diet
prescribed. The decree was regarded as the first triumph of the.
Reformation, which would be followed by other more decisive
victories. The Swiss themselves, in the midst of their mountains,
thrilled with delight. ' The Roman Pontiff is vanquished in
Germany,' said Zwingle. 'We have nothing more to do than
deprive him of his weapons. This is the battle we have now to
fight, and a furious one it will be. But Christ is the umpire of
the conflict. Luther said publicly that God himself had inspired
the princes to draw up this Diet."
- "The indignation at the Vatican, among the papal ministers,
was very great. What! is it not enough to have a Pope who.
disappoints all the expectations of the Romans, and in whose
palace there is neither singing nor playing ; but, more than this,
secular princes are allowed toliold a language that Rome detests,
and refuse to put the Wurtemberg heretic to death !"
D'AubigneV History, vol iii, p. 172 : "The Rector and ten
Counselors waited on the Dean, and entreated him to. correct the
abuses in the masc against the majesty of God. They admitted
the abuses that had been pointed out, and published a new order
of church service, which began to be observed on Christmas day,
1524.
" Thus fell the mass in this renowned sanctuary, where it had
so long resisted the reiterated attacks of the reformers. The
Elector Frederick, suffering from gout, and rapidly drawing to his
end, could not, in spite of all his exertions, prevent this great,
victory of the Reformation. He saw in it a manifestation of ihe
Divine will, and gave way.
" The fall of the - Romish observances in the Church of All
i'HE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA, 3^
faints, hastened the abolition in a great number of churches
throughout Christendom: everywhere the same resistance was
offered—everywhere there was the same triumph. In vain did
the priests, and even the princes, in many places, try to interpose
obstacles ; they could not succeed/'
Page 216 : Here we see several powerful Princes combining
together, pledging their property, their soldiers, and their lives,
for the furtherance of the Reformation and the word of God.
" The Evangelical Alliance was thus formed : but the perils
that it was intended to avert, became every day more threat¬
ening.
The Clergy and the Princes friendly to Rome, had seen the
Reformation, which they had thought stifled, suddenly growing
up before them in a formidable shape. Already the partizans of
the Reformation were almost as powerful as those of the Pope.
If they had a majority in the Diet, the consequences to the
Ecclesiastical States might easily he imagined. Now or never !
It is no longer a question of refuting a heresy ; they have to
contend against a powerful party. Other victories than those of
Doctor Eck are required to save Christendom,"
Page 230 : u Thus, the greater the resistance the higher
soared the Reformation ; and the more it Was compressed, the
more energetically did it spring forward, and threaten to over¬
throw all that withstood it."
Page 309 : "After the Council at llantz, in the Gray League,
had been disputing for seven days upon the mass or sacrament,
" The Abbot of St. Luke's made a long speech on the eucharist,
which closed the conference. Seven priests embraced the Evan¬
gelical doctrine. Complete religious liberty was proclaimed, and
the Romish worship was abolished in several churches. ' Christ,'
to use the language of Salandronius, 'grew up everywhere in
these mountains, as the tender grass of spring ; and the pastors
were the living fountains watering the lofty valleys.' "
Page 320 : " Zwingle said, everything here below has its
course. The rude north wind is followed by the gentle breeze i
after the scorching heat of summer, autumn pears forth its
304 THE CHUHCH IN PHILADELPHIA.
treasures : and now, after severe contests, tlie Creator 6f Ml
things, whom we serve, has opened a way for us into the cairip
of our adversaries. At last we may welcome among us the Chris¬
tian doctrine, that dove so long repulsed, and which ceased not to
watch for the hour of her return."
Paere 348 ; " The work commenced at the same time in
o
different countries, without any communication one with the
other.; as in a battle, all the divisions begin to move at the same
moment, although one has not told the other to march, but be¬
cause one and the same command, issuing from a higher pow^r,
lias been heard by all. The time had come ; the nations were
prepared, and God was everywhere beginning the revival of his
church at the same time. Such facts demonstrate that the great
revolution of the sixteenth century was a work of God."
Page 377 : " The truth was making a deep impression at Meaux.
Private meetings took place at first ; then conferences, "and at
last the Gospel was preached in the churches. But a new effort
inflicted a still more formidable blow against Kome."
Page 473 : " While men were thus putting to death the first
confessors of Jesus Christ in France, God was preparing mightier
ones to fill their place. Beda hurried to the stake an unassuming
scholar and humble hermit, and thought he was dragging almost
the whole of the reform along with him. But Providence has
resources that are unknown to the world. The Gospel, like the
fabulous Phoenix, contains a principle of life within itself, which
the flames cannot consume : and it springs up again from its
own ashes."
I have made a sufficient number of extracts from tlie"History
of the Reformation, to show that a door was open ; or that men's
minds had been enslaved by the ignorance, superstition, tyranny,
and corruption of the Church of Rome, and corruptions of the
Whore of Babylon, until they longed for deliverance; and
whenever any one was bold enough to declare it, others were
eager to embrace the opportunity : although I do not consider
the Reformation the true church, by any means. 1 •
It will be seen that the Reformation commences in the Smith
TH? CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA.
305
of France, in, Switzerland, and in Germany, about the same time,
those places beii^g nearly connected, and having intercourse with
the church in her retreat in the valleys of Piedmont, they (the
Waldenses,) having increased, and the time of their retreat
nearly fulfilled, according to the prophecy, they would, many of
them, leave their retreat and travel throug the adjacent countries,
and converse upon the subject, or preach from house to house,
carrying the word of God with them, which the people had been
prohibited from reading by the Church of Rome, except the
Priests ; and they had taught the Fathers and fables, until the
people, and a large portion of the clergy were entirely ignorant
of what the word of God taught. Men more immediately con¬
nected, or having more intercourse with the true church, and
the liberty that the Gospel taught, became more and more en¬
lightened, until men of learning and ability embraced the word,
and translated it into the mother tongue, so that all could read ;
and having been so. long enslaved, seeing the freedom that tho
. • #
Gospel taught, for which they had so long groaned, they were
aston.ish.ed at their former ignorance and superstifion. And
hence many thousands embraced it ; some for the freedom it
gave from Roman tyranny, others on account of that salvation
that was taught by grace through a crucified and risen Saviour,
and not by penance and pilgrimage.
Many eminent men and women about the Royal courts—Elec¬
tors, Kings and Princes, favored the Reformation, which embol¬
dened and protected the teachers of religion, or the humble fol¬
lowers of tire meek and lowly Jesus. The ignorance and cor¬
ruption of the Church of Rome being so great, all honest well
informed men looked upon a reformation as absolutely necessary.
Thus sin and corruption work their own destruction. Although
Rome and her friends made every effort to repress and destroy the
word of God, still it produced in the people a greater desire to
hear and read, until it became .so alarming that they commenced
the persecution; and not satisfied with persecuting the Re¬
formers, they extent it to the Waldenses, which was continued
e-Witil they had.destroyed and drove out every inhabitant of thv
30& THS ' Ilf PlilfialE^LPHlA,
valleys:' Hotv long they would have remained I cannot
perhaps until now; hut the twelve hundred and sixty years' wa»
accomplished and they must be dispersed, and God suffers them
to be driven out by persecution, thus dispersing in every direction
carrying the Gospel and gospel.order with them. Thus the very
means resorted toby the enemy to suppress the spread of the
Gospel only tended to its furtherance, showing that God overrules
the wicked designs of the enemy to the promotion of his King¬
dom. The impression that the Reformation had made in various
counties caused these people (the Waldenses) to be welcomed
in many families, places and countries, into which they would not
otherwise have been received, which is "setting an open door he-
fore them that no man can shut. "
D'Aubigne, Vol. iii. pp. 326-7: " The Alps, which beheld bold
and Christian men spring up in every canton, and in, almost every
valley of Switzerland, were destined in France also to cover with
their lengthened shadows the infancy of some of the first Re¬
formers. For ages they had regarded the treasure more or less
pure in their high valleys, among the inhabitants of the Pied-
montese districts of Luzerne, Angrogore and La Peyrouse. The
truth, which Rome could not reach there, had spread from these
valleys to the other side of the mountains and along their bases
to Province and Dauphanv. "
There was at that time on all the slopes of the Daupinees
Alps, and along the bank of the Durance, a new growth of the
old Waidensian opinions. "The roots,'' says an old chronicler,
"were continually putting forth new shoots in every direction. "
Bold men called the Roman church the church of devils, and
maintained that it was as profitable to pray in a stable as in a
church.
The Priests, the Bishops and the Roman Legates uttered a
cry of alarm, and on the 5;h calender of May (27th of April)
1487, Innoceut VIII., the father of the Romans, issued' a-bull
against these bumble Christians. "To arms'." said the Pontiff^
" and trample these heretics under foot as Venomous sperpents/'
At the approach of the-Legate, followed by an asmy df eigh*'
THE CH'U'KGH IN PHILADELPHIA.
307
teen thousand nleii and a number of volunteers who wished to
share the spoils of the Waldenses, the latter abandoned their
houses and took refuge in the mountains, caverns and cleffs of
the rocks, as the birds fly for shelter when the storm begins to
lower. Not a valley, nor a wood, nor a rock escaped their perse¬
cutors; every where on this part of the Alps, and particularly on
the Italian side, these poor disciples of Christ were hunted down
like beasts of prey. At last the Pope's sattelites were worn out:
their strength was exhausted, their feet could no longer scale the
steep retreats of the heretics, "and their arms refused to strike.'
While the persecution raged against the Waldenses (or Albi-
gencesin the South of France, almost to their entire destruction
or dispersion, in 1488, Voltair says there were eighteen thousand
of them who were settled in thirty small towns besides Hamlets.
The Waldences in the valleys enjoyed peace and quiet until,
about the time the Reformation commenced.
Mr. Jones says, page 365: "In the year 1530, George Morel,
one of the Pastors of the church of the Waldenses, published a
memoirs of the history of their churches, in which he states, that
at the time he wrote, there were above eight hundred thousand
persons professing the religion of the Waldenses; nor will this
appear an exaggerated statement, if we consider the view that
was given in the last section of their dispersion throughout almost
every country in Europe—the immense number that suffered
martyrdom, and what was formerly mentioned, that in the year
1315 nearly two centuries before this time, there were eight}"
thousand of them in the small Kingdom of Bohemia."
If I am not mistaken in my views (and I think I am not) of
the seven churches representing the seven periods. How abun¬
dant the testimony that I have produced, (besides the thousand
others that might be produced,) of the time of which I have
been speaking fairly representing the church at Philadelphia, as
he says in the 3d chapter and 7th verse: " Be that hath the key
of-David." This expression is taken from Isaiah xxii. 22:
" And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoul¬
der. " The language is that which properly denotes authority
30S THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA.
or control as when one has the key of the house, and has un-
limited access to it; and the meaning here is, as David is repre¬
sented as King of Israel residing in a palace, so he who had the
key held regal authority. "He that openeth, and no man shit-
feth," &c. He has free and unrestrained access to the house, see¬
ing that he has the keys and has the power of admitting or ex¬
cluding any one. Applied here to the Saviour, as King in Zion,
this means that he has absolute control of all things, and in his
Kingdom he has the right of admission or exclusion of any one.
He can prescribe the terms; he can invite whom he chooses. A
reference to this absolute control was every way proper when lie
was addressing a church.
u Behold I have set before thee an open door. " Referring to
his authority as stated above. Open door. Hot only was the
door opened by the Reformation and the dispersing of the Wal-
denses, but/Columbus discovered America in 1492; and when
persecution became intolerable, many found their way to America.
Soon after the Reformation, in 1620, the pilgrims landed at
Plymouth. This opened a door that never has been shut.
There is 110 objection, it seems to me, to suppose that the lan¬
guage here may be used in the largest sense, as denoting that in
regard to the church at Philadelphia there was no restraint. He
had given them almost unlimited privileges, in comparison with
what had been the situation for twelve hundred and sixty years
previous. The temple of salvation was open to them. The
whole world was before them as a field of usefulness, and any
where and every where they might do good, and at all times
they might have access to the Kingdom of God. But more par¬
ticularly it had reference to the spirit that now prevailed,—that
instead of being compelled to worship God secretly they now
could do it openly; and instead of being confined in their retreat,
they were driven out and dispersed in every direction.
" And no man can shut it. " No one has the power of pre¬
venting this, for he who has control over all thing concedes these
privileges to you. For any one that will look into the history of
the times, especially the history of the Reformation, and sec the
THE ' ®HUEr<3IEi IN' PHILADELPHIA;. 30f)
efforts of the Pope> and his followers to shut the door, will find
that every effort was made and every alternative resorted to that
could he to stop the progress or close the door, hut all failed.
" For thou hast a little strength." This would mean that they
did not possess a great deal of strength; that is, they had no sec¬
ular power; yet, according to Morland, as already cited, there
were eight hundred thousand when the Reformation commenced.
Being in almost every Kingdom, hut secretly in a good degree
holding the doctrines, until the time of the Reformation, when
they came out more openly, they far exceeded in numbers the
expectations of their friends, and to the great astonishment of
their enemies, which strength they are not willing to admit to
this day.
u And hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name."—
They had kept the word of God pure from the traditions of men.
"And hast not denied my name." When Christians were
brought before heathen magistrates in times of persecution, they
were required to renounce the name of Christ and to disown him
in a public manner. This was often tried by the enemies of the
Waldenses, who, with a few exceptions, always preferred death
rather than deny Christ.
" Behold I will make them of the Synagoge of Satan which
say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie: Behold I will come
and make them worship at thy feet." I will cause them who pro¬
fess to compose the church of Christ, (but are not, for they are
of Satan,) to come and worship at thy feet. So far as the word
is concerned, it may refer cither to spiritual homage, that is the
worship of God, or it may mean respect as shown to superiors.—
It it is used in the sense of divine worship, properly so called, it-
means that they would be constrained to come and worship the
Redeemer before them, or in their very presence; but if it is
usqd in a more general signification, it means that they would be
constrained to show them honor and respect, which I believe to
be-the true meaning; that is, that they would be constrained to
acknowledge that they were the children of God, or that God
regarded them with his favor. It does not necessarily mean that
310
THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA.
they themselves would he converted to the Christian religion; hilt
as they had been accustomed to revile and oppose those who were
true Christians, they would be constrained to come and render
them respect. This was clearly proven—that after the Reforma¬
tion many showed them great respect who had been in the habit
of reviling them.
" And to know that I have loved thee." This is manifest in
their wonderful preservation, and has often been acknowledged.
" Because thou hast kept the word of my patience." My word
commanding patience; that is, thou hast manifested the patience
that I require. They had shown this in the trials which they had
experienced in the twelve hundred and sixty years. The promise
now is that he will keep them in the future trials that shall come
upon the world. One of the highest rewards of patience in our
trials, is the grace that Cod gives us to bear others. "I will
keep thee. " That is, I will so keep you that you shall not sink
under the trials that will be so severe to many.
This does not mean that they would actually be kept from ca¬
lamities of all kinds, but that they would be sustained while ma¬
ny would sink under them. "The hour of temptation." The
season, the time, the period of temptation. You shall be so
kept that that which will prove to be a time of temptation to so
many and cause them to fall, you shall not : though you may be
afflicted with others, yet you shall have grace to sustain you.
Which shall come upon all the world." Here, perhaps, all
that is implied is, that the trials would be very extensive, or gen¬
eral—so much so as to embrace the world, as the word was un¬
derstood by those to whom the epistle was addressed; and at the
time of which we are speaking, perhaps it was more universal
than it ever had been before or since; for the man of sin (or the
Pope) had attained to greater power than at anjr other period, and
of course the opposition was greater and more universal. ,•
"To try them that dwell upon the earth." This shows that it
was not only to be very extensive, but to try them very severely,
or to test their sincerity, to make manifest who was of the true
church and who the synagogue of satan.
THE QHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA. 311
a Hold.that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown."
This does not mean, as Mr. Barnes and others suppose, that un¬
less they continue faithful they would lose or forfeit their crowns
in heaven, hut it means that they should wear the .crown or
honor of being the true church through all the dark ages. And
little did the poor Waldenses think, in their retreat and dowg
trodden situation, that they were to wear the palm of being the
true church, and that all denominations, even their persecutors,
would claim a connection or succession with them. They are
exhorted to hold fast lest some man take their crown, after hav¬
ing continued the 1260 years.
There is more danger now than before, because the temptations
are of a different nature, for others will seek to unite with you
and thereby take from you your crown; be diligent, therefore,
and watch not to unite with any worldly made churches, for u He
that overcometh I imll make a pillar in the temple of my God. "
That is for their stability they are comparable to pillars, like the
pillars in Solomon's porch, one on the right hand and the other
on the left, which represented the Apostles lor their stability or
strength. As St. Paul says in Gallatians: "James, Cephas and
John, who seemed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the
right hand of fellowship." And he shall go no more out," be¬
cause he is permanent like a pillar in the temple. This expres¬
sion is in accordance with what has gone before, that is, I will
keep him from temptation. It does not here have reference alone
to heaven, as some suppose, but has reference to the church with¬
out, for he says, " And I will ivrite upon him the name of my
God." Considered as a pillar or colume in the temple, the name
of G-od vvould he conspicuously recorded on it to show that he
belonged to God, as he caused -the man with the ink horn to mark
or seal all of God's people. That is, their conduct and stability
would be so visible that even those of the synagogue of satan
would acknowledge it and come and worship at their feet, which
is true of the Waldenses from the Reformation until now.
But I have said enough upon this proposition, and will close
it by saying, that the door that was opened and no man could
312
OPENING THE SIXTH SEAt.
shut, now remains open, as it has been for three hundred &nd
forty years.
2d. Opening the sixth seal.
Revelations vi. 12: "And I beheld, when he had opened the
sixth seal, and,- lo! there was a great earthquake; and the sun
became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as
blood." •
I shall first proceed to give a description of the symbols in
connexion with the opening of the sixth seal before I undertake
to give what they represent.
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo! there
was a great earthquake.
All the symbols represented in the opening of this seal, de¬
note, consternation, commotion, changes; but still they are all
significant, and we are not to suppose that the things here de¬
scribed were represented on the roll or volume that was now un¬
folding in any other way, than that they were impressions that
John represents by pictures or figures—as the heaving of the
earth, the agitated forest, the trembling hills, the falling cities
and houses, the sun blackened and the moon turned to blood.—
Literally, an earthquake means a shaking or agitation of the
earth. The effect, when violent, is to produce important changes
—opening chasms in the eaith—throwing down housos and tem¬
ples—sinking hills and elevating planes—causing ponds and lakes
to dry up, or forming them where none existed—elevating the
ocean from its bed—rending rocks, &c. For the fulfilment of
this we are not to look for a literal earthquake, but for such agi¬
tations and changes in the world as would properly be sym¬
bolized by this. As in Haggai ii. 6-7: "Yet once, it is a little
time, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, and the sea,
and the dry land, and I will shake all nations, and the desire of
all nations shall come; and I will fill the house with glory, saith
the Lord of hosts." There are a number of other texts which
refer to the agitation of nations, and ivould signify great agitatioiP
a«id commontion, as if States and Empires were tumbling^®
ruin.
OPENING THE SIXTH SE4L.
' ^Arkd'tfa sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon
became as blood. Sackcloth was a coarse black cloth, commonly
made of hair. It was used for sacks, for streamers and for
mourning garments; and as thus worn, it was a fit emblem of
sadness and distress. It would be an appropriate emblem to
represent such calamities as political convulsions and revolution^
The idea here is, that the sun put on a dark, dingy, doleful ap¬
pearance. The general image, then, in this emblem, is that of
calamity—as if' the very sun should put on the robes of mourn¬
ing.
And the moon became as blood. Red like blood, as smoke
from an earthquake makes the moon look red. This .also would
betoken calamity, and I think a fit symbol to represent war, for
that \vould be the most natural from the color being red. Now
as to, the time and the events, religiously and politically, that
these symbols were intended to represent, I need not say that a
great diversity of opinion exists, as in all the other figures of tin.'
Revelations. Gfrotius applied it to the wars between the Jews
and Romans under Ne'ro and Yespasion. Dr. Hammond supposed
it referred to the defeat of the Jewish leaders. Mr. Brightman
thinks it pointed to the persecution under Diocletian. Mr. Meed,
Dr. Cressner, Dr. Moore, Mr. Whitson, Mr. Jarien, Mr. Danbez,
Mr. Cowmax, Bishop Newton, Mr. Elliott and others, are of the
opinion that it related to the defeat of the Pagan powers.
There are a great number of others of different opinions—-some
think it referred to the destruction of Jerusalem, some to that
of the Roman Empire, and others that it had reference to the
end of the world—Mr. Barnes that of the Goths and Yandals.
But I must beg leave, in my humble capacity, to differ from all
these views; and, indeed, to differ with all the opinions that I
have ever seen upon this subject. In giving my opinion, I do not
do it for the purpose of differing with all others, but because I
conceive it to be founded more upon the Scriptures and in accor¬
dance with historical events.
As I have before stated^ I think that the opening the sixth
314
OPENING THE SIXTH SEAL.
seal, tlie sounding the sixth trumpet and pouring out the sixth
vial, all refer to the same period of time, using different symbols,
hut all having reference to the religious and political world. I
shall necessarily have to occupy some of the same ground, and
perhaps some of the same testimony in explanation of these
three. I have said that the sun nearly always (if not always)
has reference to the church, or her head, Christ, and that the
moon represents governments, and the stars represent great men
or those in srtitliority—Kings, Princes and Lords. I believe these
symbols have reference to the Revolution in Europe, or indeed to
the whole world, but more particularly to the Revolution in
France.
And lo there was a great earthquake. The first thing that
claims our attention is the earthquake. The whole world had.
been convulsed for years, by which many a Kingdom fell, until it
came to what is called the Revilution of Europe, which over- '
turned many of the smaller Kingdoms and greatly convulsed
the larger Empires and Kingdoms, until in 1788, in Paris, this
earthquake began to be more sensibly felt. The public mind
had long been agitated, but in July it commenced by the ringing
of bells as a signal to arms.
Grimshaw, in his History of France, p. 271, says: " The in¬
telligence of his (Keeker's) departure filled Paris with consterna¬
tion. The people regarded his exit as the first step towards the
subversion of their freedom. The bells were sounded as signals
for the citizens to arm. The regiment of French guards ranged
itself on the side of the populace. The crowd attacked the ho¬
tel of invalids, and having there got possession of thirty thou¬
sand fussees, they pressed forward to the Baslilee. " "'After a
siege of near five hours, each avenue being forced, do Lanney (the
commander) a prisoner, loaded with insults, was dragged to the
place of execution, and his head being severed from his body, was
carried in triumph through the streets." The walls of the Bas¬
lilee were levelled to the ground by the populace."
"If the state of the capital was deplorable, that of the army
OPENING THE SIXTH SEAL.
315
fsas not less critical. " " The example of Paris and Marseilles
prevailed throughout the Kigndom. The national, or tri-col-
ored eockade was universally displayed, and the voice of the
people was every where.predominant. Two millions of peasants
in arms, severely avenged the wrongs they had formerly suffered.
The rich edifices of the church and the lofty castles of the no¬
bles, were confounded in one general ruin; the archives of the
great—the titles of the ancient possessions were, in a moment,
destroyed, and those owners deemed themselves happy, who could
escape by hasty flight." At Marseilles, a body of young men
seized upon a fort, in which the military were posted, expelled
tlie garrison and demolished it, together with the two fortresses
of St. Nicholas and St. John. "
This looks like the convulsions of an earthquake truly, but we
shall see more of it before we ha^e done.
History of France, p. 283: "Deeply interesting .events fol¬
lowed each other with the rapidity of thought. On the twenti¬
eth, a multitude of men, women and children, numbering at
least twenty thousand, traversed the hall of the assembly with a
petition, displaying banners of a revolutionary character, and
singing the famous national air of ca era. Thence they pro¬
ceeded to the royal palace. There was a strong military guard
for the protection of the King, but Louis would not allow them
to be repelled by force. At four o'clock the populace were com¬
puted at forty thousand.
Page 285: "Almost every species of enormity was perpetra¬
ted upon this occasion except pillage. "
286: "One band after another, of the ruthless violators of the
royal mansion, their faces blackened with powder, their hands
and weapons streaming with blood, came to invoke the vengeance
of the assembly on the head of the King and Royal family, and
expressed, in the presence of their victims, whom they claimed,
their expectations and commands, as the manner in which they
wished them to be treated."
The King being deposed and imprisoned, caused a consterna¬
tion and trembling, like that produced by an earthquake, all
21
316
OPENING THE SIXTH SEAL.
over Europe, for fear of the downfall of all Kingdoms, or crown*
ed heads.
History of France, p. 282: "While the Emperor of Austria
was making preparations against the French nation, in a clan¬
destine manner, the northern powers were more open and deci¬
ded. Prussia, Sweden and Russia entered into strict engage¬
ments for the restoration of the ancient despotism of France.
Page 294: "England did not contemplate, "with indifference,
the events of the Revolution. Incidents were early given, of
the part she intended to act. "
Alison's History of Europe, vol. i. p. 20. In reference to
Buonaparte and the revolution, he'says: "It seemed rather as if
some higher powers had been engaged in a strife in which man
was the visible instrument; as if tire demon of hell had been let
loose to scourge mankind, and the protection of heaven for a
time withdrawn from virtue to subject it to the severest test.—
The fancy of antiquity would have j>eopled the scene with hosts
of deities, supporting unseen the contest of armies."
•"It was not the ripple of the minute stream that burst upon
the shore, but the long swell of the Atlantic, wafted from dis¬
tant realms, and heaved on the bosom of remote antiquity."
The earthquake produces a change in nature as well as con¬
sternation and despair.
Alison, in vol. i. p. 318, says: " Such was the state of internal
changes in property produced by the Revolution, when the over¬
throw of Robespierre arrested its course. Never before, since the
beginning of the world, had so great an experiment been made;
and never had the disasterous consequences of giving up the reins
to popular ambition been so fully exemplified."
I have said enough upon this point, as language would fail to
describe the consternation, dismay and destruction, both of hu¬
man life and property, and my limits forbid my making lengthy
extracts.
And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair. I have already
said that the sun represents the church, and she put on mourn¬
ing, black as (not really) sackcloth. And well she might in this
OPENING THE SIXTH SEAL.
3X7
great revolution, as France had so often persecuted the true
-church, as well as all other denominations to support the Catho¬
lic faith; hut now she (France) turns against that also.
Alison's History, vol. i. p. 224: "The leaders of the munici¬
pality publicly expressed their determination to dethrone the
King of Heaven as well as monarchs of the earth. To accom¬
plish this they prevailed on Gabet, the apostate Bishop of Paris,
to appear at the bar of the assembly and there abjure the Chris¬
tian faith. He declared that no other religion was now required
than that of liberty, equality and morality.
Page 546: "Hot only the churches but the palaces of the
cardinals and of the nobility were laid waste, and they stripped
the eternal city, (Rome,) which had survived the Gothic fire,
but by the rapacious hands of the Spanish soldiers, the whole
sacerdotal habits of the Pope and cardinals were burned iii order
to collect from the flames the gold with which they were adorned.
The Yatican was stripped to its naked walls. "
History of France, p. 274: "The amazing wealth, possessed
by nineteen Archbishops and one hundred and twenty-two Bish¬
ops—the immense revenues belonging to twelve hundred and
eighty-eight abbeys, twelve thousand four hundred friars, and
fourteen thousand seveu hundred and eighty convents, might
well excite the surprise and envy also of the people."
Well might the church that was known by the law (the Cath¬
olic) shroud herself in sackcloth when so despoiled of her wealth
and power-, the Pope dethroned, and his immense riches and
robes taken into France, Italy and Borne, to support the army.
But well might the true church put on a dark and doleful ap¬
pearance, when the puny municipality of Paris spoke publicly of
dethroning God, and a pretended Bishop of the church comes
forward before the council of the nation and abjures the faith,
and declares that " no other religion is now required than that of
liberty, equality and morality," and this becomes the law of the.
land. Knowing what persecution she had suffered for centuries,
and knowing the disposition of the French people, well might
the church clothe herself in sackcloth. The rocks might rend
3l8
"sixth
and the ehrth quake at such daring blasphemy. N6 ddtibt Jrilfoy
were the prayers offered up by the church iri various KiiaAdoihs
that God would save from destruction.
And the vioou became as blood. It was not blood but became
as such, red. I have said before thai the moon represents "the
government j and the government of France being destroyed and
a constitutional government instituted, the people or populace
soon became excited, and having gained some liberty, they de¬
termined to dethrone the King and throw off all restraint. Ac¬
cordingly on the 10th of August, 1788, he was solemnly deposed
a t the bar of the assembly and then imprisoned. He was con¬
demned at the bar of the assembly on the 14th of January,
1793, for conspiring against the nation, and was executed or be¬
headed on the 21st.
Thus it may be said that this bloody catastrophe had fairly
commenced, and when we consider all the blood that was shed by
execution, and in war, for the space of about twenty years, well
might John in the symbol say that the moon became as blood.
I shall now introduce some testimony to show some of the
bloody acts that followed.
History of France, p. 294: "The massacre, on the second
and third days of September, of more than two thousand persons,
imprisoned on a charge of conspiracy against the nation, by tha
instigation chiefly of Danton, Robespierre and Marat, filled
the whole civil world with horror, as surpassing, in relentless
cruelty, the attrocious slaughters of the bloodiest days of ancient
Rome."
" The murderers proceeded with a kind of method, in their
crimes. They impannelled a jury, nine of whom, it is said,
were Italians, and the other three French. The watch-word that
pronounced the accused guilty was " II faut largir," (he must be
set at liberty,) when the victim was hurried from the door of
the prison to pass through a defile of miscreants, differently
armed, and was cut to pieces with sabres, or pierced through'the
body with a hundred pikes." ' '
" The jurors and the executioners often exchanged'places; the
OPENING THE SIXTH SEAL,
319
jurors going out to take the executioner's duty, the executioners,
with their reeking hands, sitting as jurors in their turn. "
Mr. Alison says: " The executions by the guillotine, (besides
the two thousand above mentioned,) were so numerous that they
dug a ditch and conveyed the blood into a pool."
Again, he says, vol. i. p. 224: "The history of the world has
no parallel to the horrors of that long night of darkness and suf¬
fering, because it has none to the guilt which preceded it. Ty¬
ranny never assumed so hideous a form, because licentiousness
never required so severe a punishment. So terrible was the spec¬
tacle, so vehement the agitation of the multitude, that numbers
compared it to the awful spectacle that awaits the world at the day
of judgment."
Alison's History, vol. i. p. 272: "Fifteen thousand persons
perished at Lavendeer under the hands of the executioners, cr of
disease, in one month. The total of victims at that place ex¬
ceeds thirty thousand. "
Page 309: "Thus terminated the reign of terror-—a period
fraught with greater political insurrection than any period of •
equal duration since th&beginning of the world. In the short
space of four years there was destroyed, of both sexes and of all
ages, in battle, with the sword, by shooting, and with the guillo¬
tine, at least two millions of persons in France alone, besides
what died of disease and famine. "
When we consider this political event as extending from the
destruction and downfall of Constantinople or the Eastern Em¬
pire in 1453 to the close of the French revolution in 1815, with
all its wars and bloodshed, well might John view the moon as
being turned into blood; for during that period, I believe even in.
Europe, the longest interval without war was seven years.
Mr. Allison says, History of Europe, vol. i. p. 492: "Such
was the campaign of 1796; glorious to the French arms, memo¬
rable in the history of the world. Certainly, on no former occa¬
sion, had success so great been achieved in so short a time, or
powers so vast been vanquished by powers so inconsiderable. "
Page 461; "The following is aq address by Napoleon, on the
320
OPENING FHE SIXTH SEAL.
9th of March, to his army: Soldiers! the fall of Mantua has ter¬
minated the war in Italy, which has given you eternal titles to
the gratitude of your country. You have been victorious in four¬
teen pitched battles and seventy combats. You have made 100,-
000 prisoners, taken 500 pieces of field artillery and 2,000 of
heavier calibria."
" This defeat was a mortal stroke to the "V endeas cause. Of
the eighty thousand followers who had crossed the Lowrie six
weeks before, scarcely three thousand returned in detached
bodies."
While the French, (having marched in sixty days one hun¬
dred and fifty leagues without magazines or provisions, surround¬
ed by three hostile armies,) took possession of twelve cities,
gained seven battles and killed twenty thousand of the enemy,
they, (the enemy,) when they got possession, put to death men,
women and children. Thus were consigned to the grave whole
generations at once; "the armament of the present and hope of
the future."
Amid the 48 pitched battles of Napoleon, and some hundreds
of combats, besides those fought by othefs, I deem it unnecessary
and inexpedient to quote from them all; but the amount of
blood that flowed no one can tell, nor could any person even be¬
lieve it without reading the history of the whole affair. I will
here give a short extract in relation to the battle of Austerlitz.
Alison's History, vol. ii. p. 371: "Thus terminated the battle
of Austerlitz—the most glorious of all the victories of Napoleon,
that in which his military genius shone forth with the brightest
lustre, and the battle which at once re-established his affairs and
prostrated Europe was most clearly owing to the manifest supe¬
riority of his manoeuvres. The loss of the allies was immense.
Thirty thousand men were killed, wounded or made prisoners;
one hundred and eighty pieces of cannon, four hundred caissons
and forty-five standards, remained the trophies of the victor's
triumph, and the disorganization of the combined force was com¬
plete.
It is t~ue these advantages had been dearly, purchased; twelve
OPENING THE SIXTH SEAL.
321
thousand French had been killed or wounded in the struggle;
but the allies had been cut off from the road to Almietz, and
their line of retreat towards Hungary exposed them to be har-
rassedby Davoust in dank, while Napoleon's victorious legions
thundered in his rear.
Such was the consternation produced by this disaster that, at a
council held at midnight at the Emperor's lodgings, it was re¬
solved by a great majority that the farther prolongation of hostili¬
ties was hopeless. They proposed an armistice.
A few more extracts on this point will be sufficient to show
the bloody character of the (Moon) government.
Bourrine says, p. 337, in reference to the battle of Eylau :
" This was at ten o'clock at night. So ended the longest and
by far the severest battle in which Buonaparte had as yet been
engaged. The French are supposed to have had ninety thou¬
sand men under arms at its commencement; the Russians not
more than sixty thousand. After fourteen hours' fighting, either'
army occupied the same position as in the morning. Twelve of
Napoleon's eagles rvere in the hands of Bennigsen, (the Russian
general,) and the field between was covered with fifty thousand
corpses, of whom at least half were French."
"Speaking of the same battle, Allison says, vol. ii, p. 483 :
Never, in the history of war, did two armies pass a night under
more awful and impressive circumstances than the the rival hosts
who now lay, without tent or covering, on the snowy expanse of
the field of Eylau. The close vicinity of the two armies ; the
vast multitude assembled in so narrow a space, intent only on
n.ut lal destruction ; the vital interest to the lives and fortunes
of all which were at stake ; the wintry wildness of the scene,
cheered only by watchfires, which threw a partial glow on the
snow-clad bights around ; the shivering groups who, in either
army lay around the blazing fires, chilled by the impenetrable
girdle of ice ; the stern resolution of the soldiers in the one army,
and the enthusiasm of those in the other ; the liberty of Europe,
now brought to the issue of one dread combat ; the glory of
Russia and France dependent on the efforts of the mightiest
322
OPENING THE SIXTH SEAL.
armament that either yet had sent forth—all contributed to
impress a feeling of extraordinary solemnity, which reached the
most inconsiderate breast, oppressed the mind with a feeling ot
anxious thought, and kept unclosed many a weary eyelid ia both
camps, notwithstanding the extraordinary fatigue of the preceding
days." " The two armies were within half cannon shot of each
other, and their immense masses disposed in close array, on a
space not exceeding a league in breadth. The field of battle was
an open expanse of unclosed ground, rising into swells, or small
hills, interspersed with many lakes ; hut, as the whole surface
was covered with snow, and the lakes so thoroughly frozen as to
bear the weight either of cavalry or artillery, the whole surface
<
was accessible to military operations."
'' A snow storm at the same time set in, and darkened the
atmosphere so that neither army conld see its opponent; but,
nevertheless, the deadly storm o-f bullets continued to tear the
massy calms of Augerau ; and the fire was so violent as to pre¬
vent Soult from rendering him any effectual support."
" Such was the terrible battle of lilylan, fought in the depth of
winter, amid ice and snow, under circumstances of unexampled
horror : the most bloody and obstinately-contested that had yet
occurred during the war."
" Never was a spectacle so dreadful as the field of battle
presented on the following morning. About fifty thousand men
lay in the space of two leagues, weltering in blood. The wounds,
for the most part, of the severest kind, from the extraordinary
(juantity of cannon balls which had been discharged during the
action. Though stretched on the . cold snow, and exposed to an
arctic winter, they were burning with thirst, and piteous cries
were heard on all sides for water, or assistance to extricate the
wounded men from beneath the heaps of slain, or load of horses,
by which they were crushed : six thousand of the noble animals
encumbered the field."
Connected with this bloody scene may be taken in considera¬
tion a number of the battles fought for several days in succession
previous to this awful tragedy, in which a great many were slain.
©PEiNINGr • T'HEi SIXTH SEAL.
323
I»may tsafely aayl®ne hundred ^thousand—including soldiers from
France, Italy^ Prussia, Austria, Russia, and the smaller States,
which, indeed, is a "bloody scene of itse'.f, beside all the other
battles that were fought during twenty years.
Well might John say, and the moon was turned to bloody
when one hundred thousand were sent to eternity in fifteen days.
Yerse 13 : "And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even
as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a
mighty wind."
This is also figurative, and is derived from the poetic idea that
the sky seems to be a solid, in which the stars are set. If the
expanse be rolled up, the stars, having nothing to support them,
must fall. Stars, in the Scriptures, are symbols of Princes and
rulers. See Daniel viii, 10 : " And it waxed great, even to the
hosts of heaven ; and it cast down some of the host, and of the
stars, to the ground, and stamped upon them."
The natural meaning of this symbol is, that there would he
commotions which would unsettle Princes, and bring them down
from their thrones, like stars falling from the sky. Even as a
fig tree casteth her untimely figs. As a fig tree is frequently used
as a symbol, in casting her untimely figs ; which, it is thought,
means winter figs, or such as grow under the leaves, and do not
ripen at the proper season, hut hang upon the trees during the
winter. This fruit seldom matures, and easily falls off in the
spring of the year. A violent wind to pass over an orchard of
fig trees, would, of course, cast many such figs to the ground.
The comparison is to show with what ease the stars (or figs,)
would be shaken from their places ; and, hence, the ease with
which, in these commotions, princes would be dethroned.
It seems to me that a more fit figure could not have been used,
to represent the dethronement of Kings and Princes during the
revolution of Europe. For so many Kings and Princes never fell
in the same length of time, either before or since. For it was a
mighty convulsion that convulsed all Europe and part of Asia :
and well might it be compared to an earthquake or a mighty
wind.
324' OBEfc®®*© THE -SISJTH SE^k.,
To commence with .the fallmf the ;K.ing and royal
France^ of Spain, of Italy, of Austria, of Prussia, and of all, thar
smaller kingdoms .or Princes, as well as the dethronement.of .tte
Pope: and how easily it was.accomplished, and in so shorten
time.
Verse 14: "And the heaven departed, as a scroll when it
is rolled together ; and every mountain and island were moved
out of their place."
The departing of the heavens. And the heavens departed cts a
scroll.
That is as a book or volume rolled up. The heavens are here
described as spread out, and their passing away, as if they might
pass away or be rolled up, and disappear : or, as St. Paul says,
As a vesture shalt thou fold them up." This is figurative,
and we are not to expect it to be literally fulfilled. The plain
meaning is, that there would be great changes ; and that the
heavens from which the stars fell, would pass away. That is,
that such a revolution would occur, in the high places of the
earth, and among those in power, as if the stars should fall, and
the very heavens be swept away. That is, as if the firmament,
or power in which the Kings and Princes were fixed, should be
removed.
This is the natural meaning of the symbol, and this accords
with the usage of language elsewhere, and so completely corres¬
ponds with what I have already described in the passing away of
the powers that existed at the commencement of the revolution
of Europe, that I am obliged to believe that is what was sym¬
bolized by John, in the heavens passing away.
And every mountain and island ivere moved out of their place.
This would denote convulsions in the political or moral world, as
great as would occur in the physical world, if the very mountains
were removed. We are not to expect this to occur literally, but
we are authorized from this, to expect that, in regard to those
things which seemed to be as permanently fixed on thiGr basis
the mountains, that there would be violent and important
changes; which changes I have sufficiently shown in the preee-
Oftfoiftl# TtfKE -8IKTH SEAL.
3,25
ding extracts, did' • take place, both in the political and moral
world, in the revolution of Europe; as so many Kings and Em¬
perors were not only shaken, but absolutely removed : and th^ir
pretended religion (and of course morality,) was denied and de¬
nounced, more particularly in France.
But it was almost fulfilled to the letter ; not really removing
mountains and islands, but in overcoming the difficulty that was
supposed to exist heretofore in crossing, or in conducting an
army across the Alps, in the midst of the snow. See Napoleon
crossing the great St. Bernard, St. Gothard, St. Cenis, and little
St. Bernard with his army and artillery, in the snow, and'de¬
scending the south side, into Italy. Bourrienne's history, p. 162.
See the warfare that was carried on in the mountainous country
of Switzerland.
I will give an extract or two from Alison, vol. ii, pp. 48, 49,
of the retreat of Suwarrow, the Russian Marshal, after fighting
for several days in the Alps, on St. Gothard, being taken and re¬
taken, he is compelled to retreat. " There was now, however, no
alternative, and Suwarrow, with troops exhausted and fatigued,
and a heart boiling with indignation, was compelled to commence
the perilous journey.
"No words can do adequate justice to the difficulties experienced
by the Russians in this terrible march, or the heroism of the
brave men engaged in it. Obliged to abandon their artillery
and baggage, the whole army advanced in single file, dragging
the beasts of burden after them, up rocky paths, where even an
active traveler could with difficulty find, a footing. Numbers
slipped down the precipices, and perished miserably ; others,
worn out with fatigue, lay down on the track and were trodden'
under foot by the multitude who followed after them, or fell into
the hands of the enemy. The precipices below the path, were
covered with horses, equipages, arms, and soldiers unable to
continue the dangerous ascent. At length the Marshal reached
Multon, where the troops, in a hospitable valley, hoped for some
respite from their fatigues.
But it was now too late, for he soon became nearly surrounded
326
OPENING THE SIXTH SEAL.
by the French army; and in three days he was obliged to ascend
Mount Bragali.
" With incredible difficulty the head of the column, on the
following day (Oct. 6, 1799,) at length reached, amid colossal
rocks, the summit of the ridge—being two days ; but it was not
the smiling plains of Italy that there met the view, but a sea of
mountains wrapped in the snowy mantle, which seemed the
windingsheet of the army, interspersed with cold, gray clouds,
which floated around their higher peaks. The Alps of Tyrol,
and the Grisons, whose summits stretched as far as the eye
could reach, in every direction, presented a vast wilderness, in the
solitudes of which the army appeared about to be lost, while not
a fire or column of smoke was to be seen in the vast expanse, to
cheer the spirits of the soldiers. The path along, hardly visible,
now totally disappeared, by the falling snow : not a shrub or
dbush was to be met with; the naked tops of the rocks were now
buried in the snow. On the southern descent, the difficulties
were still greater : the snow, hardened by a sharp, freezing wind,
was so slippery that it became impossible for the men to keep
their footing ; whole companies slipped together into the abyss
below, and numbers of them were crushed by the beasts of bur¬
den rolling down upon them from the upper part of the ascent,
or the masses of snow which became loosened from the incessant
marching of the army, and fell down with irresistible force upon
those beneath. All the day was passed in struggling with these
difficulties ; and with the utmost exertions the advanced guards
reached the village of Panix, in the Grison, at night. The
whole remainder of the army slept upon the snow, where the
darkness enveloped them, without fire or covering."
This is sufficient to show that every mountain was moved out
of its place, or the greatest difficulties overcome, and the moun¬
tains crossed, and battles fought, as if the mountains had been
entirely reihoved.
And every mountain and island were moved out of their place.
The same circumstance would refer to the moving of the islands,
as well as that of the mountains.
OPENING THE SIXTH SEAL.
327
If a new order of things should rise in the political world, the
meaning of the symbol, so far as language is concerned, would
he fulfilled. But as, in the former case, it is almost literally
fulfilled; for all of the islands almost underwent a change. The
West India Islands, most of them, changed governors or rulers :
Malta was taken by Buonaparte, on his way to Alexandria, in
Egypt, and retaken by the English. Grimshaw says, History of
France, pp. 293, 294 : " The affairs of the colonies, at this pe¬
riod, must not be passed over unnoticed. The commotions that
agitated the mother country were trifling, when compared with
the animosities in the West Indies. The liberal designs of the
national assembly, which had for their object the amelioration of
the condition of the slaves, and the admission of free people of
color into the colonial assemblies, kindled the whole of the
French islands into a flame. The negroes of St. Domingo seized
the opportunity thus afforded, to break their chains. In the
northern districts alone, one hundred thousand of the African
race revolted ; and wherever they were opposed, carried death
and destruction into the fields of their oppressors."
" This almost brought entire destruction to the beautiful Island
of St. Domingo: its government changed, its productiveness and
prosperity no longer existed ; and from which it has not yet
recovered."
Bourena's History of Buonaparte, p. 99: "During the struggles
of the revolution, the Island of St. Domingo had declared itself
independent of the mother country. However, it pow determined
to send out an expedition to reduce it to dependence."
But this expedition failed, and it still remains under the
government of the negroes.
Yerse 16 : " And the Kings of the earth, and the great men,
and every bond man and every free man hid themselves in the
dens, and in the rocks of the mountains."
Yerse 15 : " And said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us
and hide us from the face of Him that eitteth upon the throne,
-and from Ihe wrath of the Lamb."
328
OPENING THE SIXTH SEAL.
Verse 17 : " For tlie great day of his wrath is come ; 'and
Who shall he able to stand
I shall consider the three verses together, pretty much as they
relate to the same circumstance ; or they are all produced from
the same great calamity. The design of these verses, in the va¬
ried language used, is evidently to denote universal consternation
and alarm ; as if the earth should he convulsed, and the stars
should fall, and the earth should pass away. This consternation
would extend to all classes of men, and fill the world with alarm,
as if the end of all things was coming. And the Kings of the
earth. Rulers, men who occupied thrones. Every King and
Emperor in Europe trembled, and a great portion of them fled
before Napoleon.
To commence with the revolution in France, and the behead¬
ing of the King, which made the kings of Europe tremble.
And no wonder they trembled and fled before Buonaparte, when
he conquered Spain, Italy, Austria, Prussia, Switzerland, with
all the smaller kingdoms. And on one occasion he ran over
Italy and Austria ; met and conquered their armies, and met
and conquered the armies of Russia ; fought some of the most
important battles that were fought during the revolution; made
peace, and returned again to France, all in three months. Here
is a short extract from his proclamation : " Soldiers ! in fifteen
days we have finished our campaign. What we proposed to do,
has been done. We have chased the Austrian troops from Ba¬
varia, and restored our ally to his dominions. That army which,
with so much presumption and impudence, inarched upon our
frontier, is annihilated. Of a hundred thousand men that com¬
posed that army, sixty thousand are prisoners ! they will supply
our conscripts in the labor of husbandry. Two hundred pieces of
cannon, ninety flags, and all their generals are in our power*
Not more than fifteen thausand have escaped. But we will not
stop here. You are impatient to commence a second campaign.
The Russian army, which the gold of England has brought from
the extremity of the world, we have to serve in the same Plan¬
ner."—Bourrenne's history, p. 287.
OPENING- THE SIXTH SE AL.
329
And they did meet, and serve them in the same manner, and
worse, at Austerlitz.
And the great men, and. the rich men. Great men are high
officers of State. Such general consternation ensued, that the
officers of state seeing their kings flying, felt greatly alarmed,
and trembled for their own, and the safety of the country.
And rich men. Their wealth would not save them, but only
attracted more particularly the attention of those in power :
those heavy contributions that were levied from time to time,
must necessarily come from the rich ; and many a fortune was
lost during the revolution : for, many times it was necessary to
have some charge against them for misdemeanors or treason,
(without the shadow of truth,) in order that their wealth might
be taken and confiscated.
And the chief captains. Generals who have command of
armies, the chief commanders, who tremble like other men, at
any great calamity ; for instance, as in the surrender of Ulm.
The formal evacuation of Ulm took place on the twentieth.
" Twenty thousand soldiers filed off and laid down their arms,
before Nap'oleon and his staff. Eighteen generals were dismissed
on parol ; an immense quantity of ammunition of all sorts fell
into the hands of the victors ; and a wagon, filled with Austrian
standards was sent to gratify the vanity of the Parisians."—
Family Library. Bourrenne's history, p. 287.
Alison says that many of these western officers, who had fought
many a hard battle, were so dejected and cast down that they
wept freely, while others broke their swords in despair.
And the mighty men. Men of great courage in battle, but who.
when they see such awful calamities, have no power to withstand
God's judgments : they, too, hide in the rocks and caves of the
mountains.
And bondmen. This shows that there would of necessity bo
bondmen, or servants; but it is not necessary for us to look for
those bondmen at the time of the prediction, but at the time of
the calamity, or the fulfilment of the prophecy. I have already
330
OPENING TEH SIXTH SEAL.
shown that during the time of the Revolution, servants did exist
and the great disturbance took place in the West India Islands,
and especially in the Island of St. Domingo,, ill coiisequeiic^bf
there being servants in them.
And every freeman. Whether a master of slaves or not.' The
idea is, whether master or servant, great or small, rich or poor,
that all will be filled with alarm.
Hid themselves in the dens. In caves, or caverns in the moun¬
tains. These places were resorted to for safety in time of dan¬
ger. Compare 1st Samuel, xiii. 6, xx. 4.; Judges vi. 2.; Jer.
xli. 9. and a number of other places in the Old Testament,
which goes to show that the rocks and crags of the mountains
were resorted to—also natural places of refuge in times of hostile
invasion or danger.
And said roclcs and mountains fall on us, and hide us, &c.—
This language is found in Hos. x. 8: " And they shall say to the
mountains, cover us, and to the hills, fall on us. " It is also used
by the Saviour as denoting the consternation that would occur
at his coming. "Then shall they begin to say to the mountains,
fall on us, and to the hills cover us."—Luke xxiii. 30. It is
language denoting great fear and consternation, on account of
the awful threatnings of impending wrath. The state of mind
is an apprehension that God himself is coming forth with the
direct instruments of his wrath and vengeance; and where the
awful tragedy is so great, they would prefer to be crushed by the
falling rocks and mountains rather than by the wrath of the
Almighty.
Mr. Alison, in his History of Europe, vol. i. pp. 20-21, says:
"It seemed rather as if some higher power had been engaged in
a strife in which man was the visible instrument; as if the de¬
mons of hell had been let loose to scourge mankind, and the pro¬
tection of heaven withdrawn for a time from virtue to subject its
firmness to the severest test. "And the Kings of the earth, and
the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captainsy^nd
the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, 'hid
OBEYING /THE SIXTH SEAL,
331
themselves,in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and
said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from him
that sitteth upon the throne."
I will make an extract from Headley's Napoleon and his Mar¬
shals, at Moscow, which will show the fulfilment'of the text:
"At length* Moscow, with its domes, and towers, and palaces
appeared in sight, and Napoleon who had joined the advance
guard, gazed long and thoughtful on that goal of his wishes.—
Murat went forward and entered the gates with his splendid cav¬
alry, hut as he passed through the streets he was struck with the
solitude that surrounded him. Nothing was heard but the heavy
tramp of his squadron as he passed along, for a deserted and
abandoned city was the meagre prize for which such unparalleled
efforts had been made. As night drew its curtains over the
splendid capitol, Napoleon entered the gates, and immediately
appointed Mortier Governor, In his directions, he commanded
liim to abstain from all pillage. "For this," said he, "you
shall he answerable with your life. Defend Moscow against all,
whether friend or foe." The bright moon rose over the city,
tipping with silver the domes of more than two hundred churches,
and pouring a flood of light over a thousand palaces, and tho
dwellings of over three hundred thousand inhabitants. The
weary army sunk into rest; but there was no sleep for Mortier's
eyes. Not the gorgeous and variegated palaces and their rich
ornaments, nor the parks and gardens, and oriental magnificence
that everywhere surrounded him, kept him wakeful, but the omi¬
nous foreboding that some dire calamit}^ was hanging over the
silent capitol.
As he entered it, scarce a living soul met his gaze as he looked
down the long streets; and when he broke open the buildings he
found parlors, and bed rooms, and chambers, all furnished and in
• order, but no occupants. The sudden abandonment of their
homes betokened some secret purpose yet to be fulfilled. The
midnight moon was sailing over the city, when the cry of fire
reached the ears of Mortier; and the first light over Napoleon's
falling Empire was kindled, and that most wonderous scene i*
332
OPENING THE SIXTH SEAL.
modern times, the burning of Moscow. Mortier, as Governor of
the city, immediately issued orders and was putting forth every
exertion, when, at day-light, Napoleon hastened to him. Affect¬
ing to disbelieve the reports, that the inhabitants were firing
their own city, he gave more rigid orders to Mortier, to keep the
soldiers from the work of destruction. The ifrarshal simply
pointed to some iron covered houses that had not yet been opened,
from every crevace of whieh smoke was issuing like steam from
the sides of a pent up volcano. Sad and thonghtful, Napoleon
turned towards the Kremlin, the ancient palace of the Czars,
whose huge structure rose high above the surrounding edifices.
In the morning, Mortier, by great exertions, was enabled to sub¬
due the fire. The next night, Sept. 15, at»midnight, the senti¬
nels on march upon the lofty Kremlin, saw below them the
flames bursting through the houses and palaces, and the cry of
fire, fire, fire, passed through the city.
The dread scene had now fairly opened. Fiery balloons were
seen dropping from the air and lighting upon the houses; dull
explosions were heard on every side from the sheet dwellings, and
the'next moment a bright light burst forth, and the flames were
raging through the apartments. All was uproar and confusion.
The serene air and moonlight of the night before had: givea way
to driving clouds and wild tempest, that swept with the roar of
the sea over the city. Flames rose on every side, blazing and
crackling in the storm, while clouds of smoke and sparks, in an
incessant shower, went driving towards the Kremlim. The
clouds themselves seemed turned into fire, rolling in wrath over
the devoted Moscow. Mortier, crushed with responsibility thus
thrown upon his shoulders, moved his young guard amid this
desolation, blowing up the houses and facing the tempest and
flames, struggling nobly to arrest the conflagration. He hastened
from place to place amid the blazing ruins, his face blackened
with smoke, and his hair and eyebrows singed with the fierce
heat. At length the day dawned—a day of tempest and flames
—and Mortier, who had strained every nerve for thirty-six hours,
entered a palace and dropped from fatigue. The manly arm and
OPENING .THE SIXTH SEAL. 333
stalwart arm that so 'often carried death into the ranks of the
enemy at length gave way, and the gloomy Marshal lay and
panted" in utter exhaustion. But the night of tempest had heen
succeeded by a day of tempest, and when night again enveloped
the city it was one broad flame, waving to and fro in the blast.—
The wind had increased to a perfect hurricane, and shifted from
quarter to quarter as if on purpose to swell the sea of fire and
extinguish the last hope.
The fire was approaching the Kremlin, and already the roar of
the flames and [crash of the falling houses, and the crackling of
burning timbers, were borne to the ears of the startled Emperor.
He arose and walked to and fro, stopping continually and gazing
on the terrific scene. Murat, Eugena and Berthier rushed into
his presence, and on their knees besought him to flee, but he
still hung to the hot palace as if it .was his Empire. But at
length the shout, "the Kremlin is on fire!" was heard above the
roar of the conflagration, and Napoleon reluctantly consented to
leave. He descended to the street with his staff, and looked
about for a way of egress, but the flames blackened every pas¬
sage. At length they discovered a posterior gate leading to the
Maskwa and entered it, but they had only entered lurther into
danger. As Napoleon cast his eyes around the open space, gir¬
dled and arched with fire, smoke and cinders, he saw one single
street still open, but all on fire. Into this he rushed, and, amid
the crush of falling houses and raging of the flames, over burn¬
ing ruins, through clouds of rolling smoke and between walls of
fire, he pressed on, and at length, half suffocated, emerged in
safety into the imperial palace of Petrowsky, nearly three miles
distant. Mortier, relieved of his anxiety for the Emperor, re¬
doubled his efforts to arrest the conflagration. His men fear¬
lessly rushed into every danger. Breathing nothing but smoke
and ashes—compassed by flames, smoke and cinders—surrounded
by walls of fire that rocked to and fro and fell with a crash amid
the blazing ruins, carrying down with them red hot roofs of iron,
he struggled against an enemy that no boldness could awe or
ccftirage overcome. These brave troops had heard the tramp of
334
OPENING THE SIXTH SEAL.
thousands of cavalry sweeping to battle without fear, Ibnt now
they stood in still terror before the march of the conflagration,
under whose burning footsteps was the incessant crush of falling
houses, palaces and churches. The continuous roar of the flames
was more terrible than the sound of artillery, and before this
new foe, in the midst of the elements, the awe-struclc army
stood powerless and affrighted.
When night again descended on the eity, it presented a spec¬
tacle, the like of which was never seen before, and which baf¬
fled all description. The streets were streets of fire, the heavens
a canopy of fire, and the entire body of the city a mass of fire,
fed by the hurricane that whirled the blazing fragments in a con¬
stant stream through the air. Incessant explosions from the
blowing up of stores of oil, tar and spirits, shook the very foun¬
dation of the city, and' sent vast volumes of smoke and fire roll¬
ing furiously towards the skies. Huge sheets of canvass on fire
came floating like messengers of death through the flames—the
towers and domes- of the churches and palaces glowed with red
hot heat over' the wild sea below, then tottering a moment on
then bases, were hurled by the tempest into the common ruin.—
Thousands of wretches, before unseen, were driven by the heat
from the cellars aad hovels, and streamed in an incessant throng
in the streets. Children were seen carrying their parents—the
strong the weak, while thousands more were trudging under the
loads of plunder they had snatched from the flames.. This, too,
would frequently take fire in the falling shower,, and the misera¬
ble creatures would be compelled to drop it and flee for their
lives. Oh! it was a scene of fear and woe inconceivable and in¬
describable. A mighty and close built city of houses and churches
and palaces, wrapped from limit to limit in flames which are fed
by a whirling hurricane, is a sight this world will seldom see.
But this was all within the city. To Napoleon without the
spectacle was still more sublime and terrific. When the flame*
had overcome all obstacles, and had wrapped every thing in their
red mantle, that great city looked like a sea of rolling fire, swept
by a tempest that drove it into vast billow's. Hugo domes ami
OPENING THE SIXTH SEAL;
335
towers, throwing off sparks like Mazing fire "brands, now tower¬
ed above the waves, and disappeared in their maddening flow as
they broke high over the tops, scattering their spray of fire
against the clouds. The heavens themselves seemed to have
caught the conflagration, and the angry masses that swept it
rolled over a basin of fire. Columns of flames would rise and
sink along the surface of this sea, and huge volumes of black
smoke suddenly shoot into the air, as if volcanoes were working
below. The black form of the Kremlin alone towered above the
chaos, now wrapped in flame and smoke, and then began merg¬
ing into view—standing in the midst of desolation and terror,
like virtue in the midst of a burning world, enveloped but un¬
scathed by the devouring elements. Napoleon stood and gazed
on this scene in silent awe. Though nearly three miles distant,
the windows and walls of his apartment were so hot that he could
scarcely bear his hand against them. Said he, years afterwards:
1 It was the spectacle of the sea and billows of fire3 sky and clouds
of flames, mountains of red rolling flames, like immense waves
of the sea, alternately bursting forth, and elevating themselves
to the skies of fire, and then sinking into the ocean below. Oh!
it was the most naked, the most sublime, and the most terrific
sight that the world ever beheld.'"
The fancy of antiquity would have peopled the scene with
hostile deities, supporting, unseen, the contest of armies; the se¬
rene genius of Christianity beheld in it the visible interposition
of Almighty power to punish the sins of a corrupt world. The
last source of freedom is to be found in the sequestered situation
and independent habits of mountaineers and the solitude of the
Alps.
How exactly the testimony of Mr. Alison corresponds with
the vision or view John had of the human family at the time
the prophetic vision was to be fulfilled.
And hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne.
It seems by this language that they would, ih some degree, be
sensible that the -judgments' were inflicted upon them by him
that sitteth upon the throne. The threatening judgments would
m
OPENING THE SIXTH SEAL.
be so severe and awful that they would -suppose that the ,end of
the word was coming.
Mr. Alison says also, vol. i. p. 348: " The impartial justice of
Providence apparently made that terrific period the means of
punishing the sins of both national parties." Page 373: " But
the hand of fate was on the curtain; a new cry was about to
open upon human affairs, and a resistless impulse to be given for
a period to French ambition, by the genius of that wonderful
man, who has since chained the history of Europe to his Own
biography." Page 380: " We all had arrived at such a state of
depression, that death, if unattended by pain, would have' been
wished for, even by the youngest human being, because it offered
the only prospect of repose, and every one panted for that bles¬
sing at any price. But it was ordained that many days, months
and years should continue in that state of horrible agitation, the
true foretaste of the torments of hell. "
The testimony on this important and mysterious prophesy,
seems to me to be amply sufficient to convince almost any per¬
son that the revolution of Europe is the time pointed to, if they
will give themselves the trouble to read and compare. It seems
almost useless for me here, again to state the great varieties of
opinion that exist upon this important point, scarcely any two
agreeing, as it is in reference to the rest of the Book of Revela-
tions. Several. persons supposed that it had reference to the
wars between the Jews and Romans, and others to the overthrow
of the Jewish leaders, while some believed that it had reference
to the destruction of Jerusalem, all of which must be erroneous,
because these events transpired previous to the vision of John in
the Island. Of course his vision must refer to the future.
How tfie reason why I think these men have missed the true
meaning is, that they try to make it first symbolize seven dif¬
ferent periods-rr-that is, opening the seven seals in succession—
then the sounding the seven trumpets representing seven other
periods, and then the seven vials following in succession, making
twenty-one periods as ^presented by the symbols.
I feel satisfied that the number .seven, so frequently ^enjtione#
SOUNDING THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
337
in scripture, is significant, as it is tlie number of the Divine at¬
tributes, and is designed to represent the whole period of time;
that is, one of the seven churches, one of the seven seals, one of
the seven trumpets and one of the seven vials, all refer to the
same period of time, religiously, anti-religiously, (or Antichrist,)
and politically, using different language to convey the same idea
of things at the same period of time, as you will see a similarity
by comparing them as I have done. It is also thought, (and so
quoted by ministers,) that this language or calamity prefigures
the consternation and awful conflagration that awaits the end of
the world, but this cannot be true, because in the next chapter
he says, " And after these things I beheld, &c.
But it symbolizes "some awful calamity, or tragedy, that in
some sense is similar to the destruction at the end of the world,
which likeness I think we find in the revolution in Europe, it
being more awful and terrific than any that preceded it, in con¬
sequence of the more visible appearance of the providence of
God, as if seated ^pon his throne to inflict a punishment upon a
sinful world. And the better knowledge of the use of fire arms
and gun powder all added to the terror of. the inhabitants in that
awful crisis.
3d. The sounding of the sixth trumpet.
Rev. ix. 13: "And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a
voie# from the four horns of the golden altar which is before
God."
Verse 14th: "Saying to the sixth angel which had the trum¬
pet, loose the four angels which are bound in the great river •
Euphrates."
Here the language is figurative when he says, And I heard a,
voice from the four horns of the c, olden altar which is before God,
because it is evident that the language refers to the temple at
Jerusalem, and John was on the Island. But there can be no
doubt that the temple was intended to represent heaven. The
golden altar stood in the holy place between the table of shew-
bread and the golden candlesticks. This altar, made of shittim
wo >d, was ornamented at the four corners, and overlaid through-
338
souxding the sixth tkcsifet.
out with pure gold. Hence it was called the "golden altar/ irs
contradistinction from the other of sacrifice, which was made of
stone. On its four corners it had projections which were called
horns, which horns signify the power or authority of (Bod.—
When it is said that this Was before God, the meaning is, that
it was directly before or in front of the symbol of the divine
presence in the most holy place. This image, m the vision of
John,, is. transformed to heaven. The voice seemed to come from
the very presence, and with the power and authority of God—
from the place where offerings are made to God.
Loose, &c. This is represented as if power was given to the
sixth angel, not only to sound the trumpet, hut to loose the an¬
gels that were bound. All this was figurative, as well as literally
fulfilled. The meaning is, that the effect of this blowing the
trumpet would be the same as if angels that had been bound
should be suddenly loosed and suffered to go forth over the earth:
that is, some event would occur which would be properly sym¬
bolized by such an act. God's servants, instruments, or messen¬
gers, to accomplish those great events of his will, or providence,
both politically and religiously, are termed angels. The general
meaning here is, that in the vicinity of the river Euphrates, there
were mighty powers that had been long restrained by a visible,
as well as invisible hand, which was now to be loosed to inflict a
chastisement upon an ungodly and idolatrous world who*had
shed so much of the blood of the saints, and had so long tyrra-
nized over the church of Christ.
The specific number four, would seem to indicate some four
special instruments, or men, that would have great influence
over some mighty powers in the vicinity of the great river Eu¬
phrates: or, whether great in themselves or not, they will prow
to be so as the rod of God that is to go f >rth to chastise the
whole world and destroy one-third part of the human family, as
I shall show before I have done.
Which are hound. That is, they seemed to be bound. There
was something that held them and the force under them in checb,
until they were thus commanded to go forth. In the fulflllment
SOUNDING THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
339
®f this, it will be necessary to look for something in the nature
of a check or restraint on these forces, until they were commis-
ioned to go forth to the work of destruction.
In the great river Euphrates. It cannot be considered that
they were actually in the river, but in the vicinity of the river.—
The great river (as it is called in Scripture) Euphrates is on the
East of Palestine; and the language here used naturally denotes
that the power here spoken of must come from the East. The
fair interpretation is that there were forces in the vicinity of the
Euphrates which were, up to the period, bound or restraid, but'
were now let loose and conducted by some master spirit so as to
spread destruction and misery over a great portion of the world.
Not that the same persons would accomplish this wonderful re¬
sult, as it was to last three hundred and ninety-one years, but
that the same spirit would be infused into others.
That a power had been long forming and preparing in the vi¬
cinity of the Euphrates, whose object and design was the conquest
Of Canstantinople, the capitol of the Eastern Empire, is very
evident from all the history upon the subject. Mr. Barns thinks
that the date should commence with the Turks when they first
c:ossed the Euphrates and close with the destruction of Constan¬
tinople, to which I cannot agree for several reasons. First, because
they had not sufficient power and combination, nor was the use of
fire-arms and'powder invented, which has proved such a destroyer
o? the human family. And second, the conduct and disposition <
of their leaders in the conquest of Asia, of Persia, Arabia and a
part of Europe, or of the Greek Empire, and then retreating
again, shows them to be (as I have shown in the preceding chap¬
ter) the locusts, politically, that spread over a great portion of the
Eastern world. We should look to a later period for the com¬
mencement of the fulfilment of the symbol.
They had been preparing all this time, by conquering other
nations or tribes and enlisting them into their service, and the
Mahometan religion, until the rise of Mahomet the second, while
the Byzantine Einpiie was becoming weaker and ready to tumble
to decay by its own intestine divisions and weakness.
340
SO^iflE^G vT-HE /SIX^H TBP^^T.
This gr^t po^er. was becoming stronger np,t only.by snbsJliihg
the numerous hordes of Asia, but by a portion o,£ Europe n-wh©
were to assist in their own downfall and destruction. Amu-rath,
says. Mr. Gibbon, vol. vi. p. 192, postponed,for a while the easy
conquest of Constantinople. " He marched against the Soiayo-
nian, nations between the Danube and the Adriatic, the Bulgar
rians, Servians, Bosnians and Albians; and these war-like tribes,
who had so often insulted the majesty of the Emperor, were re¬
peatedly broken by his destructive inroads."
" The vicar of Amurath reminded his sovereign that, accor¬
ding to the Mahometan law, he was entitled to the fifth part of
the spoils and captives; and the duty might easily be levied, if
vigilant officers were stationed at Gallipoli, to watch the passage,
and to select for his own use the stoutest and most beautiful of
the Christian youth. The advice was followed and the edict was
proclaimed; many thousands of the European captives were edu¬
cated in religion and in arms; the militia was consecrated by. a
celebrated Dervish. Standing in front of the ranks, he stretched
the sleeve of his gown over the head of the foremost soldier, and
his blessing was delivered in these words; "Let them be called
Janizaries, ( Yenge chere," or new soldiers,)—may their counte¬
nance be ever bright—their hand victorious—their sword keen;—
may their sword always hang over their enemies! and whitherso¬
ever they go, may they return with white faces. " ,Such was the
origin of these haughty troops, the terror of the nations, and
sometimes of the Sultans themselves."
While this power was preparing in the year 1055, "there was
a union formed between the Turkish power and the Caliphite of
Arabia, in such a way that the Sultan was regarded as temporal
Lieutenant of the Vicar of the Prophets." But the power was
not sufficient at that time for the loosing of the angels,, .until
they had formed a connection with the Moguls, or Tartars, and
Janizarians, which constituted the four powers. Gibbon says,
vol. vi, p. 228: " But a Mussulman who carried into Georgia, ffie
sword of persecution, and respected the holy warfare of Bajazet,
was not disposed to pity or succor the idolaters of .Europe.4iT.k©
T5E ? SIXTH TRUMPET.
341
'followed'the-.,impulsex>f ambition^ and the deliverance of
Constantinople was the accidental consequence." Manuel, the
Etnperor of Constantinople, expected the destruction of the city
every day, for he was at Modon. " On a sudden he was aston¬
ished and rejoiced, by the intelligence of the retreat, the over¬
throw, and captivity of the Ottoman." " The ambassadors of
the son of Bajazet were soon introduced to his presence ; but
their pride was fallen, their tone was modest: they were awed
by the just apprehension lest the Greeks should open to the Mo¬
guls the gates of Europe." It will be seen by this that the
Moguls and Turks had not yet united so as to feel the same
interest. The Emperor of Constantinople formed an alliance
with Solomon, the successor of Timour, and gave him Romania;
which alliance exposed the Emperor to the enmity and revenge
of Mousa. " The Turks appeared in arms before the gates of
Constantinople ; but they were repulsed by sea and land ; and
unless the city was guarded by some foreign emissaries, the
Greeks must have wondered at their own triumph. But instead
of prolonging the division of the Ottoman powers, the policy or
passions of Manuel, (the Greek Emperor,) he was tempted to as¬
sist the most formidable of the sons of Bajazet. He concluded a
treaty with Mahomet, whose progress was checked by the insu¬
perable barrier of Gallipoli. The Sultan and his troops were
transported over the Bosphoras ; he was hospitably entertained
in the capital; and his successful sally was the first step to the
conquest of Romania. The ruin was suspended by the prudence
and moderation of the Emperor : he faithfully discharged his
own obligations and those of Solomon, respected the laws of
gratitude and peace, and left the Emperor guardian of his two
younger sons, in the vain hope of saving them from the jealous
cruelty of their brother, Amurath. But the execution of his last
testament would have offended the national honor and religion ;
and the Divan unanimously decided that the royal youths should
never be abandoned to the custody and education of a Christian
dog. On this refusal, the Byzantine councils were divided; but
-the age and caution of Manuel yielded to the presentations of his
342 SOU^DINQ THE SIXTH TRUMPET,.
son John, and they unsheathed a dangerous weapon of revenge,
by dismissing the true or false Mustapha, who had long been
detained as a captive or hostage, and for whose maintenance they
received an annual pension of three hundred thousand aspers. At
the door of his prison Mustapha subscribed to ev-ery proposal;
and the kings of Gallipoli, or rather of Europe, were stipulated
as the price of his deliverance. But no sooner was he seated on
the throne of Romania, than he dismissed the Greek ambassa¬
dors with a smile of contempt, declaring, in a pious tone, that, at
the day of judgment, he would rather answer for the violation of
an oath, than for the surrender of a Mussulman city into the
hands of infidels. The Emperor was at once the enemy of the
two rivals, from whom he had sustained, and to whom he had
offered an injury ; and the victory of Amurath was followed, in
the ensuing spring, by the siege of Constantinople.
" The religious merit of subduing the city of the Cassars,
attracted from ^ia a crowd of volunteers who aspired to the
crown of maityrdom : their military , ardor was inflamed by the
promise of rich spoils and beautiful females ; and the Sultan's
ambition was consecrated by the presents and prediction of Seid
Bechar, a descendant of the prophet, who arrived in the camp on
a mule, with a venerable train of five hundred disciples. But he
might blush—if a fanatic could blush—at the failure of his assu¬
rances. Th'e strength of the walls resisted an army of two hun¬
dred thousand Turks : their assaults were repelled by the sallies
of the Greeks and their foreign mercenaries ; the old resources of
defence were opposed to the new engines of attack. After a siege
of two months, Amurath was recalled to Bourda, by a domestic
revolt, which had been kindled by Greek treachery, and was soon
extinguished by the death of an innocent brother. While he led
his Janisarians to new conquests in Europe and Asia, the Byzan¬
tine empire was indulged in a servile and precarious respite of
thirty years. Manuel (the Greek Emperor,) sunk into his grave;
and John Pakeologus was permitted to reign, for an annual .tribute
of three hundred thousand aspers."
I have given this long extract from Gibbon, in order to show
SOUNMNG THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
343
the coincidence between history and the vision of John in the
island. Though Gibbon is mysterious in his history of the down¬
fall, and hard to be comprehended, and infidel in principle, though
inclined to the Catholic religion, yet if he had been a Christian
writer, he could not have corroborated the vision in the Bevela-
tions better. The Emperor had two of the royal youths as hos¬
tages ; and Gibbon says, in their release. " They unsheathed a
dangerous weapon of revenge, by dismissing the true or false
Mustapha." Then here are the four angels loosed—the father
and three sons. It may be asked, how were they all released,
Seeing that he only held two as hostages. In answer—because
the father had made an attempt on Constantinople, and failed ;
lie then formed a treaty with the Emperor, and left his sons as a
pledge for the fulfilment of the treaty ; and on their release he
felt released from his oath. They felt that they had suffered an
injury, for which they felt at liberty to take revenge.
Kev. ix, 15 : "And the four angels were loosed, which were
prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to
slay the third part of men."
The time here given them, according to prophecy—a year for
every day, would make, counting the month at thirty days, three
hundred and ninety-one years and fifteen days. Gibbon says, (in
the extract that I have read,) " The Byzantine empire was in¬
dulged in a servile and precarious respite for thirty years." As
Constantinople was taken in 1453, now take thirty years from
that, and we have 1423; now add three hundred and ninety-one
years and fifteen days, and we have 1814. Now Buonaparte ab¬
dicated the throne of France, Apiil 2, 1814, coming within
forty-seven days of the exact time, which is coming as close as
could be expected, considering the difficulty of chronology at this
distance from the tiipe. I have calculated the whole year. Gib¬
bon says just thjrty years, but does not tell what month of the
year. But he says in the besieging'of Constantinople, it com-'
menced April the 6th, which would bring it within eleven days.
It is true that Napoleon returned from Elba and fought several
battles during the ninety days.
344
SOUNDING THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
They were prepared for an hour, &c. They had never been*
prepared until now, for several reasons. As the Greek empire;
had some strength up to this time, and her sins had not yet come *
to the full, she was suffered to linger on until the time appointed.
The Turks had not become sufficiently powerful, until they re¬
ceived accessions from other nations ; and powder and firearms
had not been in use until now, the Janizarians were not fully
prepared until now. ■f ■
Gibbon, vol. vi, p. 300 : " In the first summer of his reign he
visited, with an army, the Asiatic provinces; but, after humbling
the pride, Mahomet accepted the submission of the Caramaniah,
that he might not be diverted by the smallest obstacle from the
execution of his great design.
" The Mahometan, and especially the Turkish casuists have
pronounced that no promise can bind the faithful against the
interest and duty of their religion ; and that the Sultan may
abrogate his own treaties, and those of his predecessor."
Orchan had married a daughter of the Roman or Greek Em¬
peror, who was the father of Amurath I., and that must be
removed before they would be prepared. In addition to this, in
order to a firm union, they must be indoctrinated into the politics
and religion of Mahomet.
Then the constant decline of the Roman Empire made it an
easy prey. Gibbon, in vol. vi. p. 247, says: " The wall was over¬
thrown by the first blast of the Ottomans: the fertile peninsula
might have been sufficient for the four younger brothers, Theo¬
dore, Constantine, Dematris and Thomas, but they wasted, in do¬
mestic contests, the remains of their strength, and the last suc¬
cessors of the rivals were reduced to a life of dependence in the
Byzantine palace."
They were now prepared for an hour to begin at a certain hour,
and continue for an hour, and a day, and a month, and <x year,
which would make, as before stated, three hundred and ninety-
one years and fifteen days. For to slay the third part of men.
Which would give them ample time to" slay' the third part of
men, and I think, when I have produced testimony upon this'
SOUNDING THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
345
point in as condensed a manner as possible, that every perscln will
agree with me that the third part must have been slain, though
it is impossible to ascertain accurately what proportion was slain
in nearly four hundred years, but I have no doubt that it was
completely and accurately fulfilled to a man. I will first give
some extracts from Gibbon on the seige and overthrow of the Ro¬
mans, from vol. vi. p. 299: "But it cannot be denied that his
(Mahomet II.) passions were at once furious and inexorable; that
in. the palace, as on the field, a torrent of blood was spilt on
the slightest provocation, and that the noblest of the captive
youth were often dishonored by his unnatural lust. In the Al¬
banian war he studied the lessons, and soon surpassed the exam¬
ple of his father; and in the conquest of two Empires, twelve
Kingdoms and two hundred cities, a vain and flattering account
is ascribed to his invincible sword. "
Page 316: "His loud reproaches and the clamors of the camp,
urged the Ottomans to a third attack more fatal and bloody than
the former; and I must repeat, that they lost above twelve thou¬
sand men in the slaughter of the day. "
Page 321: " The common impulse drove them onward to the
wall; the most audacious to climb were instantly precipitated,
and not a dart nor a bullet of fhe Christians was idly wasted on
the accumulating throng. But their strength and ammunition
was exhausted in this barbarous defence—the ditch was filled
with the bodies of the slain. "
As the historian has not given the number of the slain, though
it must be very great, I shall only say that every person must
know that the calamity was certainly very great in the siege and
sack of so great a city. And besides the slain, among whom
was the Emperor, there were sixty thousand prisioners taken, who
were transported to the camp of the Turks and sold as slaves or
slain. The Turks overspread a great portion of Europe, and
spread consternation and destruction in their way. During the
period above described, the Tartars overran China and dethroned
the ruling Emperor, and placed one of their own nation upon the
throne.
346
SOUNDING THE SIXTH TBtlMPET.
The London Times says: " The present reigning house.of
China is of foreign extraction. In the year 1644 the Montehoo
Tartars succeeded in subduing the country and in establishing a
dynasty of their own on the Chinese throne. " .
This dynasty continues until now, 1853-4, although a revolu¬
tion has been going on for the last year, which will, in all proba¬
bility, overthrow the reign of the Tartar power.
During the 391 years, South America and Mexico was discov¬
ered and visited by the Spaniards, and any one at all acquainted
with their history, knows how much the South and the Indians
suffered, while nearly the whole of the original Mexicans were
destroyed by Cortez.
North America also had many bloody wars with the Indians
while a colony, and then, when she declared her independence,
had a revolution that lasted seven years, and there were a great
many slain.
Then the war of 1812, with many Indian wars, were included
in the time of the sounding of the sixth trumpet: Then, to
turn to Europe, Mr. Edwards, in his History of the Reformation,
on page 35, says: ''The principal potentates of that period were
Charles V. of Spain, Francis I. of France, and Henry VIII, of
England. Charles and Francis were rivals. Tens of thousands
were slain in their quarrels. Spain at that time occupied a more
commanding position than she has attained at any subsequent
period of her history. The character of Henry VIII. is well
known."
" Cotemporary with these sovereigns were Maximilian I. Em¬
peror of Germany, Emanuel the Great, King of Portugal, James
V. of Scotland, Christian II. of Denmark and Sweden, and Si-
gismund of Poland."
All these had " one mind, and gave their power and strength"
to Rome, (to the beast.) Rev. xvii. 13: " They stood in awe o.f
the Pope, as a slave dreads his task-master, and were prompt t®
do his pleasure*" ,
Passing oyer all the wars of Europe, which were very numer¬
ous and destructive—the crusades against the Waldenses and
SOUNDING THE SIXTH TRUMPET. 347
Albigenses, all the persecutions of the protestants, and' of the
destruction of the Hugenauts, we ccme to the great revolution of
Europe, which lasted for twenty-two years, and was so awful and
destructive to the human family. In looking over the histories
of the various wars, can any one doubt that the third* part of
the human family was slain during the three hundred and ninety-
one years that the angels were let loose. I have given so many
detailed accounts of several of the most disasterous battles in
the destruction of the human family in the former proposition,
that .1 think it unnecessary here to enter into detailed accounts,
as it would be but recording the same events over, or something
similar, and it is impossible for me to give any thing like a full
history of all the battles that were fought, as Buonaparte him¬
self fought sixty great battles, besides all the skirmishes he .had
and the battles his Generals fought when he was not present.
That Buonaparte was an instrument in the hands of God to
chastize these guilty nations, is too clear to admit of a doubt.—
Mr. Alison says, in his History of Europe, vol. i. p. 318:—
" Such wasHhe state of internal changes on property produced
fey the revolution, when the overthrow of Robespierre arrested
its course. Never before, since the beginning of the world, had
so great an experiment been made, and never had the disastrous
consequences of giving the reins to popular ambition been so fully
exemplified."
.Page 471: " The French troops were conducted by Venetian-
boats to Venice and St. Marks, where a foreign standard had not
been seen for fifteen hundred years."
Page 495: " Two hundred thousand persons at once fell un¬
der these severe enactments, (of banishment.) The effect upon
France was to the last degree disastrous. "
Page 492: " A long and terrible retribution awaited the sins of
this great and guilty country; its own passions were made the
ministers of the justice of heaven; its own desires the means of
bringing upon itself a righteous punishment. Cotemporarieous
with the conquests of Napoleon, his triumphant car rolled over
the world, crushing generations beneath its wheels, plowing, like
23
348
SOUNDING ^THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
the charriot of Juggernaut, through human flesh. Let us dis¬
cover in it the government of an overruling Providence punish¬
ing the sins of a guilty age, extending to nations with severe,
hut merciless hand, the consequences of their transgressions."
Thus spake Mr. Alison, though not writing in defence of reli¬
gion, or of the great symbol that related to these awful tragedies,
but an enemy perhaps of both, and also of Buonaparte: fo~ al¬
though he is compelled occasionally to speak of him in the high¬
est terms, yet he seeks every opportunity to disparage him if pos¬
sible.
See Buonaparte's extraordinary campaign to Egypt in the
capture of Alexandria, of Cairo, of his march through the de¬
serts of Arabia and into Syria and Greece—the capture of Jaffa
and a long siege at St. D' Acre, and his return to Alexandria.
Yerse 16: "And the number of the army of the horsemen
were two hundred thousand thousand; and I heard the number of
them."
This is a vast multitude and set down in round numbers,
which would make two hundred millions,' as it is impossible to
arrive at the precise number during so long a period as three
hundred and ninety-one years. To begin with the numerous ar¬
mies of the Turks or the Turkish cavalry, and then in all the
various Kingdoms of the world up, to include the revolution in
Europe, as I have shown before, would doubtless make the num¬
ber.
Mr. Alison, in his History of Europe, vol. ii. p. 575, says:—
" The army of France alone, in ten years, under the reign of
Buonaparte, was 3,006,000. When we consider that it was
only about half of the time the revolution lasted, and that there
were seven other important Kingdoms and Empires in opposition
to France, what an immense number of men it must have required.
Yerse 17: "And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them
that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth and
brimstone; and the heads of the horses were as the heads of li-
cum; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke qnd brimstone/'
Their aemarhable appearance; leaving brmttjplaki of fire, md
SOUNDING THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
349
0/ jacinth and brimstone. Mr. Elliot says that the Turkish cav¬
alry wore a uniform of red, and "blue, and yellow.; but as the
vision lasted for so long a period, it could not have reference to
the Turks alone, but to other armies. Not only the Turks wore
a bleastplate and uniform, bnt other European armies wore breast
plates and brilliant uniforms. As for instance, the British wore
a scarlet color, which to the vision, would look very much like
fire.
And the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions. Not
that their heads were like lions, but as lions; that is, as fierce as
lions. The Turkish cavalry, as nearly all of their army con-^
sisted of cavalry, were fierce, terrible and undaunted in a charge;
so also were the cavalry of Europe. To see in a vision, or in re¬
ality, all the cavalry of Europe making a desperate charge bring¬
ing death and carnage on every field of battle—what could better
represent them than the power and fierceness of the lion. And
sixty thousand were slain in the battle at Eylaw.
And out of their mouths issued fire and smolce and brimstone,
Nothing could have more the appearance of fire and smoke issu¬
ing out of their mouths than a brigade of horse iu full charge.—
Whoever may have seen them charge knows that they do it with
all the fierceness of a lion, and with their nostrils distended and
their mouths open; and when the riders are firing at each other,
it would have the appearance, to a person at a distance who.
never saw any thing like it before, of issuing from their mouths.
As I have stated before, I disagree with Mr. Barnes and a
number of others, in reference to the beginning of the time or
the commencement of the vision, and gave some of my reasons
for so doing. I will now give some further reasons in support of
my position. And first, the Turks and Arabs, at the time Mr.
Barnes describes them, as I have repeatedly said, represented the
locusts politically, as they repeatedly came from their nativity
into many parts of Europe, doing great mischief, and returning
without making a permanent establishment as they did afterwards.
And secondly, it is evident that John was looking at the Roman
Empire us the place whore this great transaction was to be ae-
350
SOUNDING THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
complished; it is true that the first power was to commence, or
come from the Eastern side of the great Euphrates, hut it must
have time to be made ready to enter Europe, or take Constanti¬
nople and make a permanent settlement, for which preparation
was going on for a long time. It was necessary that they should
have a united action in view, and that the angels should be let
loose—that the Romans should be divided among themselves.
Mr. Gibbon says, vol. vi. p. 227: "A new war was kindled in
Europe by the prince or imposter, Mustaplia," (one of the angels
that had been long detained in Constantinople and turned loose
as I have before shown.) "Thefirst vizar lost his army and his
head; but the more fortunate Ibrahim, whose name and family
are still revered, extinguished the pretender to the throne of
Bajazet, and closed domestic hostility. In these conflicts, the
wisest Turks, and indeed the body of the nation, were strongly
attached to the unity of the Empire; Romania and Anatolia, so
often torn asunder by private ambition, were animated by a
strong and invincible tendency to cohesion. "
This, Mr. Gibbon says, was in the year 1421. And, as I have
shown before, while the Romans were so divided by intestine dis¬
sensions, and especially the last heirs apparent to the throne of
Constantinople, the Turks were not only uniting the Ottoman
power, but were forming a most powerful force in the Janerza-
rlans out of Greek subjects, which was reducing the Greek
strength and increasing the power of the Turks.
And thirdly, it must be later than Mr. Barnes says, because
in the former war the Turks had nothing to resemble fire and
smoke, their implements of war being spears and lances, or bat¬
tle axes. It must, (to fully represent the vision,) be after the
invention of gun powder and fire arms.
Gibbon says, vol. vi. p. 233: "The precise period of the in¬
dention and application of gun powder is involved in doubtful
traditions and equivocal language; yet we may clearly discern
that it was known before the middle of the fourteenth century,
and that before the end of the same, the use of artillery in sie¬
ges, by sea and land, was familiar to the States of Germany,
SOUNDIN-G THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
351
Italy, Spain, France and England." "Nor was it possible to
circumscribe the secret within the pale of the Church; it was
disclosed to the Turks by the treachery of a postate and the sel¬
fish policy of rivals; and the Sultans had sense to adopt, and
wealth to reward, the talents of a Christian engineer. "
This representation, it will be seen,- was necessary for the ac¬
complishment, or fulfilment of the vision and prophecy of John;
because, with the ordinary implements of warfare, it was im¬
possible to demolish the walls of Constantinople, and there must
be a new invention, which was found in the introduction of can¬
non. Gibbon says, vol. vi, p. 305: "Among the implements of
destruction, he studied with peculiar care the recent and tremen¬
dous discovery of the Latins, and his artillery surpassed what¬
ever had yet appeared in the world. A founder of cannon, a
Dane, or Hungarian, who had beenl almost starved in the Greek
service, deserted to the Moslems, and was liberally entertained
by the Turkish Sultan. Mahomet was satisfied with the answer
to his first question, which he eagerly pressed on the artist. "Am
I able to cast a cannon capable of throwing u ball or stone of
sufficient size to battle the walls of Constantinople?" "I am not
ignorant of their strength, but were they more solid than Baby¬
lon, I could oppose an engine of superior power." " On this as¬
surance a foundry was established at Adrianople; the metal was
prepared; at the end of three months, Urban produced a piece
of brass ordinance of stupendous, and almost incredible magni¬
tude; a measure of twelve palms is assigned to the bore, and the
stone bullet weighed above six hundred pounds."
Being thus prepared, they are released from all hindrances to
accomplish the downfall of the last of the Komans, or the East-
mi Empire. Gibbon says, vol. vi. pp. 321-2: "The foremost
ranks consisted of the refuse of the host, a volunteer crowd,
who fought without order or command. Under their respective
bashaws and sanjaks, the troops of Anatola and Bomania were
successfully led to the charge; their progress was various and
doubtful; but after a conflict of two hours, in that fatal moment,
352
SOUNDING THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
the Janizaries arose, fresh vigorous and invincible. The Sultan?
himself on horseback, with an iron mace in his hand, was specta-*
tor and judge of their valor."
Here are the four powers distinct even in the siege, and yet
united in the grand object of conquering Constantinople, and the
Janizaries made of the Greek subjects, were the most efficient
of all. '
"From the lines, the galleries and the bridge, the Ottoman
artillery thundered on all sides; and the camp and the city, the
Greeks and the Turks, were involved in a cloud of smoke, which
could be dispelled by the final deliverance or destruction of the
Eoman Empire. But in the uniform'and odious practice of a
general assault, all is blood, horror and confusion; nor shall I
strive, at the distance of three centuries, and a thousand miles,
to delineate a scene, of which there could be no spectators, and
of which the actors themselves were incapable of forming any
just or adequate idea. "
That is an excellent description of the vision of John. It
seems that if John had been actually present he could not have
given a more accurate description of the fire, and smoke, and
brimstone; seeing it in the vision of something that was yet to
take place; and not having been accustomed to see any thing
like tt, (as powfier was not in use in his time,) and to see the
whole at one view, must have looked grand and awful beyond de¬
scription.
Yerse 18th: " By these three was the third part of men killed,
by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which is¬
sued out of their mouths."
This is in substance the same as the last part of the preceding
verse, but I will give a few more extracts in support of the third
part of men being hilled.
Alison, vol. ii. p. 575: "The following is a summary of the
men levied and destroyed in France during the ten years of the
Emperor's reign; the most extraordinary instance of the destruc-
SOUNDING THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
353
tion of tlie human species by the operation of regular govern¬
ment that exists in the annals of the world:
The whole amount'levied in ten years, 3,006,000
Remained alive in arms, or prisoners, 802,600
Destroyed in ten years, • 2,200,400
This number, it will be recollected, was only half the time the
revolution lasted. Add that many more for the other half of the
time, and we have 4,400,800 killed, which I think is not an ex¬
travagant calculation, if we take into consideration those who
were slain during the reign of terror, as well as all that died
from the plague and banishment. And then there were six other
great powers opposed to France, besides all the lesser powers;,
and counting them to have lost half, -while some of them lost
equally as many, we have the number of slain to be 16,604,400,
almost a million a year in Europe alone.
There are four great powers, even in Europe, that would rep¬
resent in some degree the four angels that were loosed to slay the
third part of men. These powers are England, Russia and Aus¬
tria, who enter into an alliance offensive and defensive against
Franee, which they never departed from during the war. True,
Spain, Prussia and Italy fought sometimes on one side and some¬
times on the other; but these four seem to be the principal act¬
ors, and they fought as if their principal object was to kill men;
and indeed most of the time it was hard to tell what else they
fought for. But G-od frequently causes sin to punish itself.—
The passions and the ambitions of France commenced the revo¬
lution, by which she suffered most, and indeed deserved most, as
she had shed more blood by persecution than any other nation.—
She is but receiving her just reward for her cruel and inhuman
treatment of the Waldenses and Albigences, who were the true
church of Christ. All those powers engaged in the revolution
had persecuted the church of Christ, and they served and gave<
their strength to the beast. God no doubt intended their chas¬
tisement, and, as I have said before, raised up Buonaparte as a
rod, or instrument in his hands, for that purpose; for no man,
picrely ps a man, could have accomplished what he did with the
354
SOUNDING THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
means he had, unless lie was guided by some superior power, al¬
ways succeeding, as he did, in all the- battles that he fought, let
the circumstances be as they might, until he had fulfilled his
mission—then his downfall and overthrow was complete and
very speedy.
By the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone that issued
out of their mouths. How little the Turkish war would resem¬
ble this vision until the invention of gunpowder, which was
about the'time of loosing the four angels, as I have said before,
and was used by them in the downfall of the Eastern Empire;
and how beautifully it represents the period that I have de¬
scribed, especially in the revolution in Europe, where the forces
were so large and so much powder used, the armies on each side
frequently numbering one hundred thousand men, and, as Mr.
Alison says, the fire rolling in a continual sheet from one end of
the line to the other. Ho person can arrive at any just concep¬
tion of how awfully grand it is, unless he has seen something
similar. I have seen battles fought upon a small scale, where
there were a few thousand engaged at once, and even then it far
exceeded any thunder storm that I ever saw, for it is like a con¬
tinual stream of electricity and rolling thunder, especially when
it occurs at night; then how awfully grand and terrific it must
appear when two or three hundred thousand are engaged at
once with several hundred large pieces of artillery. Then when
one battle is so awful, what must it have been to John's vision
when he had a view of them all at once. It must have been al¬
most equally awful and grand as the great day of God Almighty.
No wonder then that he said by the fire, and smoke, and brim¬
stone. For if you just think for a moment how much smoke and
brimstone must be in such a battle, those who have had any ex¬
perience in the matter, know how sulphurious it is and what a
thirst it produces.
But then he says that it issued out of the horses mouths. It
had that appearance when regiment after regiment came up in
front and charged each other. It would have the appearance, to
an observer at a distance, of issuing out of their mouths. Bee
SOUNDING THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
355
the numerous cavalry that were used on both sides in the revolu¬
tion, (as well as among the Turks,) and they often decided the
fate of the day. See Kellerman with 800 horse at Ulm charge
through the Austrian brigade. See them also at Austerlitz, and
indeed in all the battles—also at Euylow where sixty thousand
were slain.
Verse 19: "For their power is in their mouth and in their
tails; for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and
with them they do hurt."
For their poioer is in their mouth. That is, as described—in
the tire, smoke and brimstone that proceeded out of their mouths.
What seemed to strike John as very remarkable, on looking on
the symbal, was that this immense destruction seemed to proceed
out of their mouths. It was not that they trampled down their
enemies, nor that they destroyed them with the sword, the bow,
or the spear; it was some new and remarkable power in waif are,
in which the destruction seemed to proceed from fire and smoke
and sulphur issuing from the horses mouths. This evidently must
have been after the invention of gunpowder, as I have said before.
Mr. Barnes very coerectly says that the cavalry charging with
sword and spear could never have the appearance of fire, smoke
and brimstone issuing out of their mouths, until after the in¬
vention of gunpowder. And yet, he will have the vision to close
at the downfall of Constantinople in 1453, and of course to
commence in the year 1052. And then he quotes Gibbon to
prove the invention of powder to be about the middle of the foui-
teentli century; so, according to his showing, about three-fourths
of the4 vision, or three hundred years, would be without powder.
I make the vision to commence with the destruction of Con¬
stantinople, or the Eastern Empire, and close with the termina¬
tion of the revolution of Europe, in which all the Roman world
had been engaged. The invention having been made nearly one
hundred years prior to the commencement of the vision, it would
naturally take some time to perfect such a discovery as that and
for it to come into general use. There is not much said about
S56
SOUNDING THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
the use of powder or artillery among the Turks until just before
the siege of Constantinople. See Gibbon vol, vi.
Then to commence with the Turkish cavalry in the use of fire
arms and powder in subduing the Eastern Empire, how beauti¬
fully it is described as issuing from their mouths, or seeming* to
issue out" of their mouths—that is, it was breathed forth in
front of the host, as if the horses emitted it from their mouths.
The exact idea would be conveyed by the discharge of musketry,
or any other fire arms when two large armies of cavalry are com¬
ing: together in battle. Then take the whole time of the vision
O O
commencing with the siege of Constantinople and down to the
close of the revolution, during which time fire arms and gun¬
powder had been greatly improved and more generally used.—
For John to see in the vision the whole period at one time, how
sublime and awfully grand it must have appeared. No wonder
that he would say that their power was in their mouths.
And in their tails; for their tails are like. serpents, and hav&
heads; and with them they do hurt.
This is not to be taken literally, as the horse has no power in
his tail, to kill or destroy ; but it is figurative. Although the
Turkish standard is a horse's tail, or tails, to which they would
rally, as we would to the eagle, yet it does not have the influence
over them that their fanatical views of religion do. Hence, as I
have said before, the tail, in Scripture represents a false prophet;
and here it is said they are like serpents, and have heads. Then
Mahomet and his successors is the false prophet, spoken of in
the Revelations, and possessed of all the venom of the serpent,
even of the boa constrictor, or the deadly upsa ; because it not
only destroys the natural life, as the serpent, but leads the soul
in ignorance to eternal death. Thus the prophet could induce
his subjects to fight like mad fanatics, by the promise of rewards,
if successful; and if they should fall in battle, eternal life -in
heaven, which would induce them to fight like tigers. Justisuoh
happened in the Crimea, before the battle on the 5 th of Ne%f.
the Priest, in the name of the Czar,, promised the Russian s$ldi$ss
SOUNDING THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
357
great rewards in case they were successful; and in case of death,
a reward in heaven, by which the poor creatures were deluded,
and nine thousand of them hurried into eternity in a few hours.
And voi h these they dp hurt. They were not only like serpents;
that is, not only ambitious and venomous, but cunning and deadly,
but they had heads ; that is, they had more than one head, for
there were the four angels that were loosed in the Mahometan
wars. And in the revolution in Europe there was the Pope of
Home, or Latin Church, as one head, and Infidel France as a,
second, with the Established Church of England for the third,
and the Greek Church for the fourth.
And with these they do hurt.
Yerse 20 : " And the rest of the men which were not killed,
by these plagues, yet repented not of the works of their hands,
that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver,
and brass, and stone, and wood, which can neither see, nor hear,
nor walk."
Notwithstanding the carnage was so great, and a third part of
men were slain, it seemed not to have the effect to produce
repentance, or cause them to turn from the worship of idols, the
Work of their own hands ; which is literally fulfilled, for the
same course is pursued until this present time. Even in France,
where the worship was prohibited by law, under the reign of
terror, and the idols destroyed in many places—it being restored
again under the reign of Buonaparte—they are as idolatrous as
before.
The statement that they worshiped devils; that is, as explained,
demons, or the deified souls of men. Homage rendered to the
spirits of departed men, and substituted in the place of the wor¬
ship of the true God, would meet all that is properly applied
here. That the Catholic had worshiped canonized saints, and
idols, from the decrees of the seventh general council, known
as the second council of Nice, A. D. 787, is well known, I sup¬
pose. And, nothwithstanding the just judgments of God upon
the guilty nations of Europe, which is acknowledged by many.
3S8 SOTO©MGf THE' SIXTH TRUMPET.
yet they* still continue to worship devils, and idols^ the worksffi$
their own hands, without repentance.
Yerse 21 : "Neither repented they of their murders, nor of
their sorceries, nor of their fornications, nor of their thefts."' 1
It is scarcely necessary for me to say that the Catholic Churchy
or beast, continued to persecute unto death : not only were great
murders committed, and very repeatedly, hut the great number
that was murdered in war. But this must have more special
reference to the murders committed by religious bigots, for pre¬
tended heresy, such as the crusades against the Waldenses and
Albigences ; or the persecution by the Inquisition and Jesuits,'
which extended to the community at large, as well as true Chris¬
tians ; for many of the Catholics themselves were murdered by
them. As well as the persecutions by the Church of England.
And they repented not of their murders.
Nor of their sorceries. This means to deceive by false miracles.
It is hardly necessary to go into detail to prove that this practice1
prevailed, and still continues : false and pretended miracles ;
arts adapted to deceive, through the imagination ; the supposed
efficacy and virtue of relics, and frauds calculated to impose on
mankind, prevails not only among the Catholic, but among5
nearly all Protestant sects, in that through the excitement of
the animal passions they impose it upon the people for religion,
it is a kind of witchcraft.
Nor of their fornication. This has abounded everywhere in1
the world, both before and after the fulfilment of the vision.
But there is something more meant than merely common forni¬
cation : it is something connected with religion. That fornica¬
tion was very common with all the ecclesiastics of the Catholic
Church during all the middle ages, will not be denied by any*
candid person, even from the Pope down. Nearly every bishop
had his mistress ; and some lived with them openly. The celi- ;
bacy enjoined on them would naturally lead to this course. And -
also the Inquisitors had a number of virgins brought to themy
that they kept concealed ; some a greater, and some a less nuH£±<1
SOUNDING THE SIXTH TRUMPET.
-359
bcr : some had as many as seventy-five at one time. It would
be imprudent to go into a full discussion here, but I will give a
few extracts from the Key to Popery, p. 174 : " The secretary
of Monsier De Legal, according to liis orders, opened the doors of
all the prisons, and then the wickedness of the Inquisitors was
detected, for four hundred prisoners got 'liberty that day, and
among them sixty young women were found, well dressed, who
were, in all human appearance, the number of three inquisitors."
I will give a case recorded, being proposed in the academy of a
private confession, p. 34 : " Most learned and reverend Fatheis,
I have thought fit not to trouble you with the methodical way
of private confession I heard last Sunday, but to give you only
an account of the difficult case in it. The case is this : a woman
of thirty-three years of age came to confess, and told me, that
from sixteen years of age till twenty-four, she had committed all
sorts of lewdness, only with ecclesiastical persons, having, in
every convent a friar, who, under the name of cousin did use to
visit her."
It is useless to add further testimony upon this subject, as I.
have given sufficient to show that it was a common practice in
the Catholic Church, and that the destruction has not caused
them to cease from their fornication.
Nor of their thefts. This does not mean so much that they
were thieves or highway robbers, but, by pretended miracles and
selling indulgences, or other false means to get money ; as saying
ihasses ftr the dead, to relieve their souls out of purgatory : as,
for instance, a friar preaching a sermon upon the subject of souls
in purgatory, made use of brimstone and burned it in the pulpit,
saying that such flames were like those of the fire of purgatory ;
and then said, what a pity that there were a number of his dear
hearers who had friends whose souls were in purgatory, for he
had a list of them, and that their friends would not do anything
to relieve them : and then told a story of the father of a rich
merchant who was present, having appeared to a holy Father in
the shape of a pig, and said that he had been in purgatory for
ten years, and that his son was so unnatural that he would not
3G0
POURING THE SIXTH VIAL.
relieve him. Upon wliicli the merchant immediately gave tlm
friar a thousand pistoles to say masses for the release of his
father.
Key to Popery, p. 161 : "Nay, of late, the old nuns, those
that, to their grief, the world despises, have undertaken the
trade of publishing revelations and apparitions of souls in pur¬
gatory ; and give out that such a soul is, and shall be in it,
until the father, or mother, or sister, go to such a friar and give
him so many masses, which he is to say, and no other. And the
result is, that, by agreement between the old skeleton and tire
covetous Father, he is to give her one-third of all the masses
that he receives by her means and applications."
This is theft, as it is extracting from persons fraudulently, by
false stories or revelations. And indeed it is not confined to the
dark ages of error and superstition, nor to the Church of Rome,
but to Protestants, and even in the United States, in the nine¬
teenth century. For instance, by false representations; telling
the people that thousands of the Heathen are going (not to pur¬
gatory,) but to hell, for want of the gospel; and that it cannot
go there, or be preached, without money : and that, if you will
give them money sufficient, they (benevolent societies and
preachers,) will Christianise the world ! And all kinds of false
and fictitious stories resorted to, for the purpose of getting
money.
And a great many lotteries and fairs are gotten up, for the
purpose of cheating the people out of their money : for %stanoe,
the grab-box or fictitious post office. These pretended Gospel
preachers use all their influence over the women, by flattering
their pride, and inflaming their zeal, by which means they can
reach the purses of the men. No wonder John said, Nor of
their thefts.
4th. The Pouring of the Sixth Yial.
Revelations, chap, xvi, verse 12: " And the sixth angel poured
®ut his vial upon the great river Euphrates ; and the water
thereof was dried up, that the way of th« Kings of th«
might be prepared."
POURING THE SIXTH VIAL.
This is highly figurative, and the great river is used as a figure :
and the waters being dried up has reference to nations, and
people, and multitudes.
These must have been in the vicinity of the Euphrates ; and
have reference to the same time that I have noticed in the pre¬
ceding proposition—the loosing of the four angels that wer®
bound in the great river Euphrates.
The vial was poured upon the river to dry it up, as it seemed
in the way, or a hinderance to the Kings of the east passing west,
or into Europe, which must apply to the Turkish nation, as
they came originally from the east of the great river Euphrates ;
and the drying up of that portioii of the Greek (or Roman) em¬
pire, so as to establish their kingdom, or power, at Constonti-
nople, in the West, which was done by destroying the nations, as
I have shown by the testimony in the preceding proposition.
But I shall give a few additional condensed facts, to show how
the nations were dried up ; for any person of even moderate his¬
torical reading, must know that the Turkish empire in Europe
and western Asia, occupies the primitive seat of Christianity.
A very instructive volume might be written to show how they
came in possession of those ancient Christian countries, and
placed from ten to twelve millions of Christians (or Greek) sub¬
jects under Mahomedan rule. To write that history at length
here, would be imprudent, as it would be too lengthy, and does
not come within my purpose.
The question may be asked, how did the Turks come in
possession of them ? The answer is—at the advent of Mahome¬
tan! srn the Christians (so called,) were divided into hostile sects,
and even worse, nationally, as into an irreconcilable hatred. The
principal fanaticisms were Greek and Latin. A Greek gave a title
to the world, by saying he would rather see the turban of the
Turk, than the Pope's tiara, on the Steeple of St. Sophia.
1294 (A. D.) First Turkish empire within the Christian world
was formed at Iconkim, in Lesser Asia, by Orchan.
1299 Othman I. removed the seat of his empire to Prusse, in
Boihania.
362
POUKING THE SIXTH VIAI«.
1326 The Sultan Orchan was the first that assumed the title
of Sultan; fixed Prussia as his capital; defeated the Gfrqek
Emperor Andronicus ; took Nicomedia, 1327, and Nice 1333.
In 1359 Solyman, son of Orchan, made the first intrusion of
the Turks into Europe, and took Gfalloppoli, and laid the foun¬
dation of the Turkish empire in Europe. Orchan formed and estab¬
lished the corps of Janizaries, which was more regularly formed
by succeeding reigns, and continued for two centuries the most
formidable infantry then knowm in the woild.
1360 Amuratli I. removed the seat of the empire from Prus¬
sia to Adrianople.
1389 Bajazet I. (Ilderim, or the Thunderer,) in 1393 defeated
Sigismund, King of Hungary, in Bulgaria, but was himself de¬
feated in 1400, by Tamerlaine, at Angara, in Gfallicia, and died
in captivity.
1420 Amurath II. took Thessalonica, in 1444, at Varna, in
Bulgaria ; defeated the Poles and Hungarians ; and among the
slain was Ladislaus, King of Poland and Hungary.
1453. On the 29th of May Constantinople was taken by
storm, and the primitive Christian capital became the Turkish,
and remains such. The Turks in 1456 were repulsed at Bel¬
grade, by Hunmiade. The whole Morea was, however, overrun
in 1458 ; Trebizond fell 1361 ; Lesbos, in 1462 ; Carmania, in
1464 ; Negropont, in 1470 ; Albania, in 1500. Italy was in¬
vaded in 1499, and, though no permanent conquest was made by
the Turks in that country, the people of it were kept in constant
terror for two centuries.
This short sketch would seem to be sufficient to show the,
drying up of the great river Euphrates. And add to this the,
revolution in Europe, which produced such vast destruction of
men and Kings, and the decrease of the power of the Beast,
(Pope,) to make way for the second beast; with the coming of
the Kings to the west, which, combined, produced the four
unclean spirits, like frogs.
At the close of the Revolution, in 1818, an alliance w&§..win¬
tered into, called the holy alliance, to put down republican goi$
THE DECLINE OF THE BEAST.
363
^rameat in Europe: In October, 1822, in conformity with what
had been agreed upon by the holy alliance at Laybach, a Con¬
gress of sovereigns of Europe was held at .Verona. The Empe¬
ror and Empress of Austria, the Kings of Prussia and Sardinia,
and the Emperor of Russia, were present in person. France was
represented by the yiscounts Montmorency and Chataubraind.—
Among the eminent persons who participated in the proceedings
of the Congress were Prince Mertinich and the Chevalier de
Gentz, Count Nesselrod, Count Pazzo de Borgo, the Senator
Tatischeff, and Cardinal Spina, the Representative of the Pope.
The Conference lasted till the middle of December, and was con¬
ducted with the greatest secrecy. Thus it will be seen that this
August assembly of crowned heads, of Counts and Lords, con-
tinned in session for nearly three months, the object of which was
to regulate the affairs of Europe, but more particularly that of
Spain without her having any representation in the matter, as
she was governed by the Cortese and seemed to be tending too
much towards a liberal, or republican government, which was
considered dangerous to the crowned heads of Europe.
5th. The decline of the power of the beast or man of sin.
As I have said elsewhere, the man of sin not coming into full
power at once, so he will decline gradually until he comes to the
time of his final destruction—then it will be suddenly.
D'Aubigne says, in his History of the Reformation, vol. iii.
page 145: " It was agreed that a diet, a secular assembly, should
meet at Spires, in the month of November, to regulate all reli¬
gious questions. Each Province drew up its memorial, and never
had Rome been threatened with a more terrible explosion. Fran-
conia, Brandenburg, Henneburg, Windsheim, Wertheim and
Nuremburg declared in favor of the Gospel and against the seven
sacraments, the abuse of mass, the adoration of Saints and the
papal supremacy. On being apprized of this the Pope could not
restrain his wrath. What! dare they set up a secular tribunal
to decide on religious questions in direct opposition to his au¬
thority! "
History of France, page 274: The amazing wealth possessed
24
364
THE DECLINE OF THE BEAST.
by nineteen Archbishops and one hundred and twenty-dwo Bish¬
ops; the immense revenues belonging to twelve hundred apd
eighty-eight abbeys, twelve thousand four hundred friars, and
fourteen thousand sevSn hundred and eighty convents, might
well excite the surprise,-and envy also, of the people.77
Page 281-2: "Amongst the calamities which, at this time,
agitated the nation, the dissensions incited by the clergy were
not the less grievous and important. They were increased by
the presumptuous interference of the court of Rome. The Pope
had prohibited the clergy, under the most terrifie anathemas,
from conforming to the decrees of the French Legislature, and
from subscribing to the civic oath, in consequence of which, a
decree was passed, which expelled from their benefices all who,
paying obedience to a foreign authority, should be so disregardful
of their duty to their country, as to oppose its laws.77
Henry VIII. King of England, (although a Catholic,) made
several laws to extinguish all foreign power, and for the restora¬
tion of the crown of his realm—the ancient rights and jurisdic¬
tion of the same, denying the authority of the Pope. In the
revolution in France, the power of the Pope was denied, and his
cardixals, with many ecclesiastics, were banished from the realm
by the Assembly.
When Buonaparte became Emperor, many more were banished
and imprisoned. Alison says, in his History, vol. ii. p. 574;—
" All who in any way, or from any motive, had excited either
the displeasure or the fear of the Emperor, were sent in captivity
—-hut the greater portion were ecclesiastics, among whom was
the intrepid and able Cardinal Paca, who had, in a special man¬
ner. roused his indignation by his bold counsels to the Pope,
with some of the companions of his captivity, to resist the im¬
perial aggression on the holy see.77
The ecclesiastics were sentenced to unlimited imprisonment
for the most trifling causes. Nineteen were imprisoned along
with Cardinal Paca in the fortress of Frenestrittes. The Jesuit*,
were suppressed in 1773. They had continued two hundred apd
thirty-three years.
THE DECLINE OF THE BEAST.
When Napoleon entered the Papal dominions and had defeat¬
ed the army, Boreany says, page 58: "The panic which the
French advance had by this time spread was such that the Pope
had no hope but in submission. The peasants, lately transformed
into soldiers, abandoned every where their arms and fled in strag¬
gling groups to their native villages. The alarm in Home itself
recalled the days of Alaric."
In 1797 the Pope conceded formally (for the first time) his
ancient territory of Avignon; he resigned the legations of France,
Bologna and Bomagna, and the port of Aneona; agreed to pay
about a million and a half sterling, and to execute to the utmost
O 7
the provisions of Bologna with respect to the works of art. On
these terms Pius was to remain nominal master of some shreds
of the patrimony of St. Peter."
D'Aubigne, vol. iii. p. 44: " Thus fell the mass—the principal
bulwark of Borne; thus the Beformation passed from simple
teaching into public worship."
"The splendid festivals that used to amuse the people—the
worship of the Virgin, the pride of the Priesthood, the authority
of the Pope—all tottered with the mass. The glory was with¬
drawn from the Priests to return to Jesus Christ, and the Be¬
formation took an immense stride in advance."
The Pope having claimed, and in some degree exercised a uni¬
versal sceptre, both politically and ecclesiastically, over the whole
world, it will be seen, by the foregoing quotations, that his power
is greatly diminished; for at the commencement of the Befor¬
mation, his power began to decline and has been gradually de¬
clining ever since. In England, through the instrumentality of
King Henry VIII., he lost his power politically, and in some de¬
gree religiously, although Henry did not so intend it, (for he was
a Catholic,) Such is the wisdom and overruling power of the
Almighty that he accomplishes his purposes in spite of the
wicked devices of men and devils. He also lost his power over
several of the principalities of the German Confederacy.
In France, his ecclesiastics were not only imprisoned and ban-
366
THE PEAST COMING W
iphed, but the Assembly declared by law that there was no Cfod
or religion, and Buonaparte actually dethroned him.
Alison, vol. i. p. 545: " The Pope being ordered to dispossess
himself of all temporal authority, replied with firmness that he
was prepared for every species of disgrace. Force was soon em>
ployed to dispossess him of his authority in the year 1798."
He was afterwards restored, in some degree, to his ecclesiastical
power in France, without restoring the Jesuits and inquisition,
but his political power was not restored; neither has it been to.
thp present time, nor will it ever be, because the time of his con-,
tinuance draws to a close, for he is actually kept upon his throve
now by the presence of a French regiment.
CHAPTER X.
THE BEAST COMING UP OUT OP THE EARTH.
"And I beheld another beast coming up out ot the earth; and he had two horns
like a lamb, and he spak$ as a dragon."—Revelations xiii. 11.
Coming up out of the earth. This beast was so distinct from
thfe first that its characteristics could be described, though in.
many points there was a strong resemblance between them.—
There are only two beasts spoken of, yet the dragon existed (andi
still exists) before either of the beasts. The first beast is said to
have arisen out of the sea. It may be, and it is said, that it
represents an unsettled or disturbed state, like the ocean—*
That is, the unsettled state of -the Roman Empire at the tim®
of the rise of the first beast. But I incline to the opinion that*
"WT THE
367
it arose but 6f the Roman see, which claimed to be Universal, in
the unsettled affairs of religion at the time of the Pope or Bishop
claiming to he the head of the church at Rome, Which claim
was made long before he gained secular power, notwithstanding
Mr. Barnes says to the contrary.
Came Up out of the earth. That is, by the inventions or wis¬
dom of men, of a worldly interest, conforming to the world, and
will be destroyed, as all the plans and wisdom of this world will
come to nought. Here I wish to remark, that I shall be com¬
pelled to differ from all the interpretations that I have ever seen,
and am approaching a point that I shall have to say things about
others that I would rather avoid ; but justice and my conscience
compells me to state my honest convictions—and though I shall
differ widely from many, especially on the Reformation, yet I do
not wish to disparage others, or to set down aught in malice
against any, but in my own humble way to give my views, leaving
others to judge.
And he had tioo horns like a lamb. In some respects he re¬
sembled a lamb; that is, he seemed to be a mild and inoffensive
animal in comparison with the first beast, professing to have that
lamb-like disposition of our Saviour, but still exercising the
power of the first beast.
But he had two horns. Horns, as I have said before, nearly
always, if not always, represent power or governments. These
governments must, in some sense, be connected with a worldly
religion. Mr. Barnes makes it the Pope in his double capacity
of reigning religiously and politically, notwithstanding John, in
his vision, distinctly said it was another beast, separate from the
first, and not two beasts in one, or that the exercise of the two¬
fold power made him two. The coming up out of the earth
may also be considered, as aforesaid, the sea, as the sea and earth
include the world. So this beast came from that part of the
world not covered by the sea, as the sea covered the greater pro¬
portion.- So this last one came from that part as far as the two
horns had dominion; and this must be a portion of the Roman
Empire,, and be of Roman character as well as origin.
368
THE BEAST COMING UP
And here I must say that this beast, or the horns, represents
Great Britain and Germany. Mr. Baldwin says that it repre¬
sents Great Britain alone. This will not hold good, as this would
be but one horn.
My reason for this opinion is, that in the Reformation.,
Luther and Calvin commenced preaching near the same timer
and just at the close of the 1260 years from the flight of the
woman into the wilderness. Although they both preached up
the Reformation, still they did not agree in doctrine. And I
readily admit that they were great men, and that God raised
them up for this purpose; yet it must be remembered that they
were only reforming some of the grossest errors of the mother of
harlots. (Think of mother—there must be daughters.) And
they never did belong to the church of Christ, as it, the church,
existed through all the dark ages, and never was united with the
Roman church, since the separation that took place at Rome by
Novation. Nor did they, as a body, ever unite with the Reforma¬
tion. They (the Waldensesor church) were greatly pleased that
there was a power raised up of the Pope's own subjects to expose
the gross errors of the see of Rome, for the Pope had been their
greatest enemy. Still, as a body, they stood separate and dis¬
tinct from the Reformation, both in doctrine and practice, and so
she has remained until the present time.
Calvin, it is true, commenced and preached most of the tim«
in France, but it did not prevail there for any length of time,
for the Catholic religion triumphed again. But Luther preached
in Germany where it greatly prevailed, and many of the rulen
threw off the yoke of the church of Rome and embraced the
Reformation. Although Reformers had appeared at different
periods, still none ever succeeded for any length of time, because
the time had not fully come for the appearing of this second
beast.
It will be seen by refering to history, that Henry VIII., King
of England, about the commencement of the Reformation, de¬
nied the power of the Pope in his Kingdom (for which he wai
excommunicated) and claimed to he head of the Church him-
OUT OF THE EARTH.
369
Self, although he was opposed to the Reformation. This is the
first appearance of one horn of this beast.
"He had two horns like a lamb, and he sjkke as a dragon. "
In this Empire, the characters of a lion and a lamb were to be
blended together. A horn, we have said, represents a govern¬
ment, and these two horns, therefore, must represent two gov¬
ernments growing out of the head or impeiial power of this Enl-
pire. These two governments, or horns, were to be like a lamb.
A lamb is an emblem of innocence, and we have seen that a
lamb symbolizes Christianity, or the true church of Jesus Christ.
These two horns,, therefore, must represent two ecclesiastical gov¬
ernments, very like to the true church of Christ, but only like
it, resemblance being all. Ho other interpretation can be put
upon these two horns like a lamb and be correct.
The two governments were to be like a lamb; that is, they
were to have some likeness of the Christian church. Luther and
Calvin professed to take the word of God for their guide, which
had the appearance of a lamb, hut did they follow its precepts?
See Luther's contention with many of the Reformers, and espe¬
cially with Zwingle, upon the Eucharist, contending all the time
that it was the actual body and blood of Christ. Also continu¬
ing the baptism of infants, when the word on all occasions says
believers. "Believe and be baptized." He also retained many
of the abuses of the mother church. But more of this at the
proper time.
This shows the lamb-like appearance, but to represent horns
there must be a political or supreme government to support it.
As the Roman power must be removed before this beast can be
fully developed, I have said before that King Henry VIII. had
removed that power.
History of England, p. 110: "Henry, having now thrown off
$11 dependence upon the see of Rome, resolved to abolish en¬
tirely the Papal authority in England, and Parliament conferred
on him a new title—supreme head, on earth, of the church of
England."
This was in the year 1533. The head now made its appear-
370
THE BEAST COMIKG VP
ance before tbe horn is fully developed, for although i he had
thrown off the Papal power, yet he did not embrace the Refor¬
mation, nor was hi established by law.
"Edward VI. embraced and established the reformed, religion^
but as his reign was short, Bloody Mary coming to the throne,
revived and established the Catholic faith, and persecuted the Re¬
formers as well as the true church.. So desperately did she per*
secute and put to death that she acquired the title of " Bloody
Mary." But her reign was only six years,
Elizabeth commenced her reign in 1585. She delayed the en*
tire change until the meeting of Parliament. Immediately on
its assembling, the statutes of Edward VI, with regard to reli¬
gion were confirmed. Many fresh innovations were made, and
the Protestant religion was again established throughout the en¬
tire Kingdom in 1562, It was not thought sufficient to prohibit,
by severe penalties, the celebration of the mass. The Roman
Catholics, and all other sects, without distinction, were even
compelled to partake in the Liturgy of the Court."—Grimshaw's
England p. 119.
This is a full development of one horn, as it is established by
law and united with the imperial power, and so continues to tho
present time.
Let us now see if we can find the other horn, as there must be
two to fill the vision.
Mr. Grimshaw says: "The extensive field in which the.Ro¬
man Pontiff had been so freely practiced, began, at this time, to
contract its limits. From the diffusion of polemical essays,,
caused by the means of printing, a new era had arisen, and Mar*
tin Luther, an Augustine friar, Professor in the University of
Wurtemburg, was, by that means, enabled to oppose with up-,
usual effect, the influence of the Pope and the prevailing doc¬
trine; and hence proceeded that important change called the
Reformation. The Lutheran Princes of Germany, finding .tl^
liberty of conscience was denied them, combined for, their qwi^
defence,"
"During these transactions, Elizabeth was engaged in sucpj}f*
OUT OF THE EARTH.
371
mg the Protestants in France and the Low Countries. In the
latter, the infamous Philip of Spain, aided by the equally attro-
cious Duke Alva, had driven the followers of Luther to so great
a pitch of desperation, that they flew to arms; and in a few days
the Provinces of Holland and Zeland shook of his authority.—
William, Prince of Orange, by uniting the revolted districts into
a league, laid the foundation of the Dutch Commonwealth."
I will now give one extract more, which will be sufficient upon
this horn, until I come to treat upon the image of the beast,
which will more fully establish it.
D'Aubigne's Reformation, vol. ii. p. 357: "It was in 1520
that the civil authority thus interfered for the first time in the
work of the Reformation, acting as a Christian magistrate, (in
"the opinion of some,) since it is the primary duty of the magis¬
trate to defend the word of God and to protect the dearest inter¬
est of the citizens—depriving the church of its liberty, (in the
opinion of others,) subjecting it to the secular power, and giving
the signal of that long train of evils which the union of church
apd State has since engendered."
This seems to me fully to establish the two horned beast.
But he spake as a dra on. Grimshaw, in speaking of Eliza¬
beth, says: "She was overbearing in council; her ministers
feared her as a tiger. Imperious in the palace, her servants
dreaded her approach."
To speak as a dragon means that he spake in a harsh, haughty,
proud, arrogant tone. The general sense is, that while this beast
had, in some respects, the resemblance of the lamb—the appear¬
ance of great gentleness, meekness and kindness—it had, in other
respects, a haughty, imperious and arrogant spirit, speaking with
the authority of law. How appropropriate when applied to Eng¬
land and Germany as the two horns, which will more fully appear
in the sequel. A dragon represents an imperial power, and
speaking as a dragon represents the exercise of great imperial,
authority and power of command. Here is a portion of one of
the decrees of the Reformers in Germany.
Benedict, p. 86: "We therefore ordain and require, that here-
372
THE BEAST Il'ISING UP
after all men, women, boys and girls, forsake rebaptizing, and
■shall not. make use of it hereafter, and they shall let infants be
baptized. We, therefore, determinately command all citizens of
this land, and all those who are the least connected therewith,
namely, the chief and under officers, town councils, judges, and
deacons and deaconesses, that if they meet with any Anabaptist
they will report such to us, according to their oath—not to
suffer them any where, nor let them increase, but to imprison
them and to deliver them to us; for we will, according to law,
punish with death all the Anabaptists and those that adhere to
them."
This is sufficient to prove for the present that he spake as a
dragon, when he speaks and commands not only his officers of
every grade, but commands the deacons and deaconesses of the
pretended or established church also. This indeed is blending the
lamb with the dragon, for they also profess great meekness and
abundance of zeal for religion as well as reverence for the bible or
word of God, and complain greatly when persecuted by the.
Catholics. The dragon, as I have said before, gave his seatfto
the beast, and great power. The dragon was Pagan Rome, as
that religion (or Pagan idolatry) was established by law and per¬
secuted all others in so much that he was called the great red
dragon, and so continued up to the time of Constantine the
Great in A. D. 325, when he gave his seat to the beast, and great
power. That is, the beast, religion became established by law,
and has remained so ever since; so he had great power, and occu¬
pied the identical seat (Rome) that the dragon had occupied so
long, for which the dragon was very wroth : and though he lost
his seat he did not lose his existence, far we find him occupying
all countries, though not supported by law as the established jc-
ligion, and he will continue until he shall be cast into hell with
the beast and the false prophet.
These views, I know, are contrary to all other expositions that
I have ever seen, but it is because all expositors are more or hess
connected with the beasts, and of course look at them,differently
from what I do; consequently most of them apply it to the literal
OUT OF THE EARTH.
373
governments instead of the spiritual, when the spiritual is the
great leading feature in the vision—while the literal governments
are connected with false religion to bring about these great events.
• Verse 12: " And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast
before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein
to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed."
That is, he exercised clearly and unequivocally the power of
the first beast, as far as his dominion extended—the same amours':
of power—the same kind of power. This shows a remarkable
likeness between the two beasts, and proves that it was intended
to refer to the same power substantially, though manifest in a
different place or country. In this is represented the same gov¬
ernment contended for, which was absolute and arrogant in its
character, for this is the power attributed to the first beast.
Benedict's History, p. 81: "The tones of authority assumed
by Luther, and his magesterial conduct towards those who differed
from him, made it evident that he would be head of the Reform¬
ers. He and his colleagues had now to dispute their way with
hosts of Baptists all over Germany, Saxony, Thiringia, Switzer¬
land and other Kingdoms for several years."
Benedict, p. 2 : " The Lutheran Church takes its name from
that of the distinguished man by whom it was founded, a little
more than three hundred years ago. This body embraces many
millions, and is the established religion of a number of European
Kingdoms and States."
" The churches of England, Scotland, Holland, Switzerland^
■or the Helvetic Church, and the Reformed Church of Germany,
or Calvinists—-all come under the head of national churches ;
they all seek protection and support from the eivil power, and
are zealous advocates for the old doctrine of Church and State,
which the Baptists, in all ages, have reprobated and condemned,
as fraught with absurdity and harm."
They exercised the same power, because established by law.
And in England the Bishops and Prelates are entitled to seats
in Parliament; and, besides this, they preside in judicial tribuh
*374 THE BEAST RISING UP
nals, possessing a power superior to other judges of the court#
of law.
And causeth the earth, and them that dwell thereon, to worship
the first beast. That is, causes all that are within their jurisdic¬
tion, as the first beast did ; neither could go out of his bounds:
so he causeth the earth, and those who dwell thereon, to worship,
to pay adoration to the first beast, by incorporating in their
liturgy many of the prevailing errors of the Catholics, such as
the supreme power of the Bishops. There are two Archbishops,
and twenty-four Bishops, all of whom have a seat in the Peers.
Whose deadly wound was healed.
In the 3d verse, " And I saw one of his heads, as it wete,
wounded to death ; and his deadly wound was healed : and all
the world wandered after the beast."
I shall here give my views upon this wounded head, as I have
not done so before. I am half inclined to think that this
wounded head was England, by the sword or power of King
Henry VIII. and Edward VI, which was afterwards restored by
Queen Mary. But as the seven hills, where the woman's seat
was, and the hills are called heads, I shall have to look for some
event connected with the city of Rome. One head being wound¬
ed, one-seventh part, or one of the seven mountains; and he also
says there were seven kings. Baldwin gives a condensed history,
p. 333 : " In the war between the papal and imperial powers for
supremacy, or that of investures ; or of the Guelphs and Ghebe-
lines, Henry of Germany degraded Gregory VII., defeated and
Hew Rodolf, whom the Pope had declared Emperor : he entered
Italy, laid siege to Rome for two years, and carried it by assault;
deposed Gregory, and reduced the papal empire, by the sword, to
the brink of ruin." Thus was one of the great imperial heads of
the beast, or one of the prophetic empires, wounded to death,
Gregory VII. was the founder of the papal empire.
Gibbon, vol. vi, p. 342 : " Since the primitive times, the
wealth of the Popes was exposed to envy, their power to oppo¬
sition, and their persons to violence. But the long hostility of
OUT OF THE EARTH.
375
the mitre and the crown, increased the numbers, and inflamed
the passions of their enemies. The deadly factions of the Guelphs
and Ghibelines, so fatal to Italy, could never be embraced with
truth or constancy by the Romans, the subject and adversary
both of the Bishop and the Emperor; but they were solicited by
both parties : and they alternately displayed on their banners,
the Keys of St. Peter and the German Eagle. Gregory VII.,
who may be adored or detested as the founder of the Papal
Monarchy, was driven from Rome, and died in exile at Salerno.
Six-and-thirty of his successors, till their retreat to Avignon,
maintained an unequal contest with the Romans ; their age and
dignity were often violated ; and the churches, in the solemn
sites of religion, were polluted with sedition and murder. The
scenes that followed the election of Gelasius II., were still more
scandalous to the Church and city. Cencio Erangipani, a potent
and factious baron, burst into the assembly, furious and in arms;
the Cardinals were stripped, beaten, and trampled under foot;
and he seized, without pity or respect, the Vicar of Christ, by
the throat. Gelasius was dragged by his hair along the ground,
buffeted with blows, wounded with spurs, and bound with an
iron chain, in the house of his brutal tyrant."
This is enough to show the nature of the wound, without
attempting to go through, in detail, the long historical accounts
of the times, to show; what th,e see of Rome was subjected to.
But it was a deadly wound, and well nigh proved fatal to the
government, both secular and ecclesiastical; and would have
done so, had it not been healed.
And his deadly wound was healed. It will be our next busi¬
ness to show how it was healed.
Gibbon, vol. vi, p. 350: "In the revolution of the twelfth
century, which gave a new existence and era to Rome, we may
observe the real and important events that confirmed her political,
independence. The Capitoline Hill, one of her seven eminences^
is about four hundred yards in length, and two hundred in
breadth. A flight of a hundred steps lead to the summit of the
Terrapaean Rock; and far steeper was the ascent before the
376
THE BEAST RISING UP
declivities had been smoothed, and the precipices filled by th<
fallen edifices. From the earliest ages the Capitol had been used
as a temple in peace, a fortress in war. After the loss of the
city, it maintained a siege against the victorious Gauls. It was
the first act of the Romans—an act of freedom—to restore the
■strength, though not the beauty, of the Capitol; to fortify the
seat of their arms and councils. And as often as they ascended
the hill, the coldest minds must have glowed with the remem¬
brance of their ancestors."
After the restoration of Capitol Hill, in some degree, the
Popes preside again at Rome, after a long absence. The Senate
is restored. Gibbon, vol. vi, p. 351 : "After an abdication of
eight hundred years, (of coining gold and silver,) the Roman
Senate asserted this honorable and lucrative privilege." Page
352: "About fifty years after this event, Innocent III. delivered
the Romans and himself from the badge of foreign. dominion:
he invested the prefect with a banner instead of a sword, and
absolved him from all dependence of oaths or service to the Ger¬
man Emperors. In his place, an ecclesiastic, a present or future
cardinal was named by the Pope to the civil government of
Rome."
In the long absence of the Popes, and the constant factions of
the citizens of Rome, they naturally became impoverished and
depopulated; so that the Holy See was scarcely able to shpport
itself, and the Pope resorted to stratagem to revive, enrich and
increase the population and wealth of both Rome and the Vatican,
which succeeded well, as will be seen.
Gibbon, vol. vi. p. 367: " And proclaimed a plenary absolution
to all Catholics who, in the course of that year, (the Jubilee,)
and at every simeral period, should respectfully visit the apostolie
churches'of St. Peter and St. Paul. The welcome sound was
propagated throughout Christendom; and at first from the neat¬
est provinces of Italy, and at length from the remote Kingdom*
of Hungary and Britain, the highways were thronged with a
swarm of pilgrims, who sought to extirpate their sins in a jour¬
ney, however costly or laborious, which was exempt from th*
OUT OF* THE EARTH.
377
perils of Military service... All exceptions of rank or sex, of age
or infirmity, were torgotten in the common transport; and in the
streets and churches many persons were trampled to death by the
eagerness of devotion. The calculation of their numbers could
not be easy or accurate, yet we are informed by a judicious histo¬
rian, who assisted in the ceremony, that Rome was never replen¬
ished with less than two hundred thousand strangers, and another
spectator has fixed at two millions the total concourse of the year.
A trifling oblation from each individual would accumulate the
royal treasure; and two priests stood night and day, with rakes
in their hands, to collect without counting, the heaps of gold and
silver that were found upon the altar of St. Paul."
Page 431: " But the clouds of barbarism were gradually dis¬
pelled, and the peaceful authority of Martin Y. and his successors
restored the armaments of the city as well as the order of the
ecclesiastical state."
I have abridged as well as I could, (from Gibbon, who is the
most mysterious and complicated historian that I ever read after,)
the evidence necessary to prove the restoration of Rome or the.
healing the wounded head. As the Pope was compelled to sanc¬
tion the Senate to satisfy the citizens of Rome, the two govern¬
ments seemed dependent upon each other for their existence.—
After she became revived, the beast became more potent and
powerful than he had ever been before, extending his jurisdiction
far and wide. Wielding his sceptre, both secular and ecclesias¬
tical, made his power and influence to be felt to the remotest
bounds of his dominions—making and dethroning Kings at hie
pleasure. On one occasion, excommunicating the King of
Prance and absolving his subjects from their allegiance to him.
Caused King Henry to come bare footed and stand three days at
the gate of his palace before he would give him admittance; and
after being fully humbled and degraded, he (the Pope) consented
to let the penitent King prostrate himself and kiss his great toe.
And all the world wandered after the beast. Mr. Barnes say#
they were astonished at his power and grandeur, but I am satisfied
that the true meaning, is that all the world (of his dominion) rua#
578 the beast coming up
after him, or was led or deluded so as to follow after his perni¬
cious ways, and not only follow, hut eagerly run after him, he-
cause they did not know the true worship, heing prevented from
reading the word of G-od. And the external appearance of the
beast's worship was magnificent and suited to please the deprav¬
ity of human nature. See the two millions, (on the preceding
page,) going up to Rome and the numerous crusades to Jeru¬
salem.
Yerse 13: " And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh
Are come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men."
It was wonderful and astonishing to see what these reformers
could do, who had ever dared to oppose the power and expose the
corruptions of the Pope in such a hold manner before.
D'Aubigne, vol. ii. p, 98: " He passes in review all the corrup¬
tions of Rome. He sets forth, in an eminently popular style of
eloquence, the evils that had been pointed olit for centuries past.
Never had a nobler protest been heard. The assembly before
which Luther spoke was the church; the power whose corrup¬
tions he attacked was that papacy which for ages had oppressed
all nations with its weight, and the reformation he so loudly
called for was destined to exercise its powerful influence over all
Christendom—in all the world—so long as the human race shall
endure.
He begins with the Pope: " It is a horrible thing, " says he,
" to behold a man who styles himself Christ's Yice-gerant, dis¬
playing a magnificence that no Emperor can equal. Is this be¬
ing like the poor Jesus, or the humble Peter?" This boldness
was a great wonder to the people—to think that an humble friar
would dare openly attack him who was feared by Kings and Em¬
perors. And it is also said in this xiii. chapter, " Who is able
to make war with him."
He maketh fire coyne down from heaven on the earth in the
sight of men. It is not really, or literally fire, but has a figu¬
rative meaning—of a powerful influence so as to create great ex¬
citement. The phrase, in the sight of men, implies that this
would be done publicly, designed for show and ostentation.
OUT OF THE EARTH-
379
D'Aubigne, vol. ii. p. 105: " The appeal to the German no^
bility was published on the 26th June, 1520. In a short time
four thousand copies were sold, a number unprecedented in those
days. The astonishment was universal. This writing produced
a powerful sensation among the people."
Bage 106: " In the palaces and castles—in the houses of the
citizens and the cottages of the peasants.' All Germany was, on,
fire. Let the bull arrive! not by such means will the conflagra- .
tion be extinguished."
D'Aubigne, vol. iii. p. 88;."Henry, King of England wrote
to the elector Palatine: (It is the devil, who by Luther's means,
has kindled this immense conflagration, If Luther "will not' be
converted let him and his writings be burnt together.'"
The people having for so, long a time been prevented from
reading the word of God, or hearing it expounded, it seemed like
electricity, and flew with rapidity from house to house, and from
kingdom to kingdom until all was excitement-—some with joy,
some with fear and others with indignation, until all was ex-
• «
citement. They not only created excitement that had the ap¬
pearance of fire, but- when they obtained the arm or secular
power, they actually brought literal fire, by which many of the
lambs of the fold of Christ were consumed. Of the Anabaptists,
as they were called in Germany, in England, France, and even
in the United States.
But have ' we. not often, in onr day, heard, in thq£e great ex¬
citements, persons cry out aloud, "Fire! fire! fire! Lord God,
send down more fire," when it was only the excitement' of the
animal passions, whieh has too often proved to be the case with
those professing under such excitement—turning again to im¬
moral conduct or dissipation, proving what Christ said, " The
last state of that man is worse than the first." -
" But they compass themselves with sparks of their own
kindling." • On one occasion, when Luther was on a journey, he
stopped for a short time at Levickau. The news of his arrival
quickly spread abroad in the neighboring towns, and the people
hastened to Levickau to hear the reformer preach. No building1
25
380
THE BEAST COMING UP
would contain the throng. When Luther appeared in the bal¬
cony of the hotel, from which he addressed the immense, con¬
gregation, it was computed, that twenty-five thousand persons
were present. So effective was his discourse that the monks,
who had hitherto controlled the public mind, had to leave tho
place. President Edwards says: " This was causing fire to come
down in the sight of the people, and was sufficient to drive the
monks off. "
Verse 14: "And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by
the means of those miracles which 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 a wound by
the sword, and did live."
Deceiveth the people by means of miracles or wonders. The
people had long been groaning and sighing for deliverance from
their Roman Catholic bondage. But its power was so great it
was a matter of wonder and astonishment, amounting to a mira¬
cle, that any one would attempt to oppose, and especially to be
successful. And as the people had hitherto been prohibited from
reading the word of God, or from hearing it read and expounded,
it seemed marvelous to them, and so it would to any people that
had been taught such an absurd system of religion as the Ro¬
man Catholic, and then hear What the Lord and his disciples had
taught. But the deception was, that many taught and believed
that it was only necessary to renounce the Catholic faith and
unite with the reformation in opposition to Rome, or to believe
the written word, without experiencing regeneration and renew¬
ing of the Holy Ghost, which was very-clearly seen in the
established church of England, both in the ministry and laity—
in Europe and America. And many of the denominations of the
reformers continue to believe and practice the same until this
time.
The Reformation in England, p. 223: " But upwards of nine
thousand beneficed clergy, yielded to the times and retained their
livings. Many of them, we have just reasons to believe, were
men of no religious principles. Papist in heart, they had sub-
OUT THE EARTH.
381
toitted to the refdMnation of King Edward. Under Mary they
resumed their first profession. Now they became protestants
again—in name only—not in reality. Truth and godliness suf¬
fered much from the continuance of such men in their stations.
Few of them could preach.
Which he had power to do in sight of the beast. That is, it
was done in the presence of the agents of this monster beast; in
the presence of the Pope's Nuncio—of his Archbishops and car¬
dinals. Indeed in presence of his council. He had power to do.
He had power given him, for although many good men had at¬
tempted, none had ever succeeded'entirely, because the time had
not come for diminishing the power of the .first beast. And as
he had gained great power at the period of the flight of the wo¬
man into the wilderness, when he joined in with the dragon in
the persecution of the woman as she became separated from him
in A. D. 250, then he made his first separate, visible appearance.
And before the year 260 she fled from the two-fold persecution;
and as she was to remain there 1260 years, it would expire at
the commencement of the Reformation, at which time she was
to be "driven out that the Gospel might spread in every country.
And as the first beast was to continue forty and two months,
which is 1260 years, and as he has received his power at different
stated periods, so it will be diminished at stated periods until he
loses his entire power. So the first period of 1260 years would
expire at the commencement of the Reformation. Hence the
second beast had power to do these wonders in his presence.—
The first beast received great additional power about the close of
the third century—especially when it was established by law by
Constantine in 325. Then the full development of the first
beast would be 1260 years from the third century. And as
he became universal Bishop, or wielded the two swords in
A. D. 606, his final close of forty and t^o months will close in
A. I). 1866.
Saying to them that they should make an image to the beast that
had a wound by the sword and did live. That is, something that
would represent the beast and that might be an object of wor-
382
THE BEAST COMING pP
ship. The word propeily means a likeness, a figure, resemblance,
similitude, or statue. Saying to them that they should make
such an image shows that the power and authority would be ex*
ercised for that purpose. This second beast, I havosaid, was the
Reformation connected with the Kings of England. We must
now look to that quarter for the testimony. Did the first beast
claim infallibility? So docs the second,, for the law says that
the Kin"- cannot do wron<?. Did the first beast claim to be head
O O
of the church? So the parliament enacted that the King was
the supreme head of the church of England, with full power to
correct all abuses, root out all' errors and heresies, and exercise all
prerogatives in things spiritual, as the Popes had done befora
him.
Did the first beast require uniformity and an establishment by
law? So did the second. The reformation was permanently
settled by law. The liturgy and offices used in the time of Ed¬
ward VI. and the royal supremacy in things ecclesiastical was re-
enacted, and an oath of submission to it required. The articles
were reduced in number to 39, and to take effect in May 1,
1559, but fully established in I5S2. Many became protestants
again in name only, not in reality. And as the act of uniformity
required full obedience to the prescribed forms, without allowing
any discrepancy or alteration in the least particular, many excel¬
lent men, whose conscientious scruples forbid such subjection,
were kept out of the church "—Reformation of England.
Let us now look for some testimony relative to the other horn.
Reformation of England, p. 11G: "A confession of faith had
been prepared as the manifesto of the protestant party. It is
now known in history as tho confession of Augsburg.. Melano¬
tic n was its principal author, hut it received the approval and
sanction of Luther and other divines. Great care had been ta¬
ken in preparing it, so as not needlessly to shock the prejudices
of the Romanists."
Page 133: " Throughout the whole of Germany, from East to
West and from North to South, protestanism decidedly predomi¬
nated. The nobles were inclined to it at first; the official func-
• OUT OF THE EARTH,
383
tionaries—even then a numerous and influential body were edu¬
cated in the new belief; the common would hear no more of
certain articles of faith. The first place belongs unquestionably
to Melancthon. Next to Luther. During Luther's life he was
consulted on all occasions, and the greatest deference was paid to
his advice. After the death of the great reformer, he was by
general consent considered the ecclesiastical chief (head) of the
protestants."
Encyclopedia: " The Lutheran, however, of all protestants,
differ less from the Romish church, as they affirm that the body
and blood of Christ are materially present in the sacrament of
the Lord's Supper, though in an incomprehensible manner, and
likewise represent some religious rites and institutions—such as
images in churches, the distinguishing vestments of the clergy,
the private confession of sins, the use of wafers in the adminis¬
tration of the Lord's Supper, the form of exorcism in the cele¬
bration of baptism and other ceremonies of the like nature as
tolerable, and some of them as useful. In Sweden, the Lutheran
church is Episcopal—in Norway the same. In Denmark, the
Episcopal authority is retained, and the name of bishop re-ad¬
opted instead of superintendent, which still maintains in most
parts of Germany, though the superior power is vested in a con¬
sistory, over which there is a president, with a distinction of rank
and privileges, and a subordination of inferior clergy to their
mperiors."
Confession obtains also in the Lutheran church, only with this
difference; that while the Catholic church requires from the pen¬
itent the avowal of his particular and single crimes, the Lu¬
therans require only a general acknowledgment, leaving it, how¬
ever, at the option of its members to reveal their particular sins
to the confessoi, and to relieve the conscience by such an avowal
-—for which reason protectant clergymen, as well as Catholic
priests, are bound to keep, under seal of secrecy, whatever may
be entrusted to them in the confessional.
Ecclesiastical confirmation is a rite whereby a person, arrived
to the years of discretion, undertakes the performance of every
384 THE BEAST COMING UP
•
part of tlie baptismal vow made for him by bis god fathers and
god mothers, It is administered only by bishops, and consists
in the imposition of hands on the head of the person confirmed.
Seven years is the stated time for confirmation; however, they
are sometimes after that age. The person confirmed has a god
father and god mother as in baptism. In England, the age of
the person to be confirmed is not fixed. "
Calvanism originally subsisted in its greatest purity in the city
of Geneva; from which place it was first propagated in Germany,
France, the United Provinces and Briton. In France it was
abolished by the edict of Nanetz. It has been the prevailing
religion of the United Provinces ever since 1571. The theolo¬
gical system of Calvin was adopted and made the public rule of
faith in England under the reign of Edward YI.
The government of the church of England is Episcopal. The
King is the supreme head. There are two Archbishops and
twenty-four bishops. The benefices of the bishops were com>
verted, by William the Conqueror, into temporal barroncies; so
every prelate has a seat and a vote in the house of Peers.
His grace of Canterbury is the first peer of England, and next
to the royal family. Having precedent of all the Dukes and the
great officers of the crown, it is his privilege, by .custom, to
crown the Kings and Queens of England. The Archbishop of
York has precedent of all Dukes not of the royal blood/'
I have given this lengthy history, from the best authority, to
show the likeness between the two, as one is to be the image of
the other, and it seems to me that the likeness is so striking that
no person can help seeing it; but lest they should not, I have a
host of others, of which I will give a portion.
The likeness or image in persecution. Orchard's Church His¬
tory, p. 351: "And it was further declared, that those who
openly opposed this order, (the Reformers,) should be more se¬
verely treated. This beiug insufficient to check immersion, the
Senate decreed, that s&U ^persons who professed Anabaptism, or
harbored the professors of the doctrine, should be punished with
death by drowning. It hadbQQh death to,refuse baptism," (t<i
OUT OF THE EARTH.
385
children,) " and now it was death to be baptized. Such is the
weathercock certainty of State religion. In defiance of this law
the Baptists persevered in their discipline, and some ministers of
learned celebrity realized the severity of the sentence. Many
Baptists were drowned and burnt. These severe measures, which
continued for years, had the consent of the reformers, which in¬
jured greatly the Lutheran cause."
Page 371; " About this time,' a severe decree was issued
against the Baptists. In this instrument it was forbidden to
unite with them. In 1560 this prohibition was put in force in
Hamburg."
Benedict, p. 116: "But twenty years after, the authorities of
Berne, another strong-hold of the Presbyterian party, published,
in 1659, an edict exceedingly severe against the Anabaptists.—
The article is a very long one,.and its enactments and its syllo¬
gisms were much like those employed.by the persecuting puri¬
tans of this country about the same time, In their way of rea¬
soning, they made it out to a demonstration, that their victims
deserved all the punishment they inflicted on them, for remain¬
ing so obstinate, and so very unaccommodating, as not to see the
beauty of their church discipline, .feel the force of their argu¬
ments and become converted."
The following passage is a fair specimen of the whole docu¬
ment:
" The Anabaptists act contrary to necessary and beneficial reg¬
ulation of the government and transgress in the following ways:
1st. They preach without the calling and ratification of the
magistracy.
2d. They baptize in their churches, without the calling and
command of the authorities.
3d. They pervert the church discipline, or have other church
•ordinances, contrary to the.public ordinances or authorities.
4th. They attend no meetings of the. church that are held on
Sundays or fast days; therefore, as they will not submit, as faith¬
ful subjects,-to such ordinances and regulations as are in accord¬
ance with the word of God, but hold them in contempt, " (that
386
THE BEAST COMING HP
is, our established definition of the word of God,) " they are,
therefore, not worthy of residence in our country."
" For these multifarious and vitally important reasons, we have
unanimously resolved, and it is our earnest wish, that all should
reflect upon this, that they constantly and without delay, prac¬
tice said banishment and penalties, hereunto perfuming, against
all who belong to" this corrupted and extremely dangerous and
wicked sect, that they make no further progress, much less ac¬
quire an increase- but that we much rather they be expelled at
once, by all possible means, and the country be freed from them
—upon which in grace we rely."
What was the offence of these Anabaptists, that they were to
be banished. Nothing—only they would not conform to the es¬
tablished form of worship; for they are pronounced by their ene¬
mies as being peaceable and innocent subjects, always subject to
the authorities in all things except religion.
Benedict, p. 113: "These people at all hazards, nolens volenti.
willing or unwilling, must be converted to the crepd of the dom¬
inant party, attend their churches, give up anabaptism, adopt
the infant system, and conform in all things to their faith and
forms. The prison, - with bread and water, the lash, the stocks,
dines of different graduation, and other light punishments, were
provided for the first offence, banishment for the second, death
for the third."
Benedict, p. 361: "The evils which were allowed to remain
in the Lutheran church by its founders, have, by their disastrous
results, which they have worked out, come to appear in their
true character. Luther and Melancthon were often urged to
abandon entirely that corrupt and unholy church in which they
had been bred, and to form one altogether distinct from it, after
the model of that founded by Christ and his Apostles. But
their undue veneration for an ancient'and widely extended nomi¬
nal church, and their mistaken views of policy, led them to cher¬
ish many usages which ought to have been done away, and to
adopt some principles which are radically defective, and which
have well nigh proved the ruin of their own church.
OUT OP THE EARTH.
387
By refusing to make any distinction between the converted
and unconverted, tlius rendering it impracticable even to aim
directly at making tbeir church " an assembly of the saints, "
they laid the foundation for the system of rationalism, which
their unconverted successors in the Universities and in the min¬
istry reared, and which has at length come to be dreaded by
Christians almost as the papacy itself."
" By identifying themselves with the cause of an intolerant
State religion, and by relying on the civil arm to enforce religion®
convictions, they. array themseles against God—not less against
humanity."
Edwards' History of Redemption, p. 353: "There is very
little appearance of zeal for the mysterious and spiritual doc¬
trines of Christianity; and they never were held in contempt a#
they are in the present'age; and especially in England, the
principal Kingdom of the Reformation. In this Kingdom, thosa
principles upon which the power of godliness depends are in a
great measure exploded, and Arianism, Socenianism and Deism
prevail."
Orchard's Church History, pp. 349-50: " Luther only in¬
tended to free the priests from obedience to the Pope, and to en¬
able the officers of the State to tyrannize over the people in the
name of the civil magistrates. "
Page 353: " These several measures, which continued for
years, had the consent of the reformers, which injured greatly
The Lutheran cause. It was the cruel policy of the papacy in¬
flicted by brethren. Wherever the Baptists settled, Luther
played the part of universal bishop, and wrote to princes and
senators to engage them to expel such dangerous men; but it
was their refusal to own his authority and submit to his exposi¬
tion of the Scriptures, that led him to preach and publish books
against them, taxing them with disturbing the peace. " We
have recorded that the Baptists were the common objects of
aversion to Catholics, Lutherans and Calvanists, whose united
.zeal was directed to their destruction. So deeply were the pre-
3SS
THE BEAST COMIHQ UP
judices interwoven with that party, that the knights, on oath,
were to declare their abhorrence of Anabaptists."
Luther was not satisfied to persecute the Anabaptists, (as he
was pleased to call them,) but he persecuted some of the Re¬
formers—Zwingle and Carolstadt.
Page 351: " What Luther had said and censured about the
Pope's usurpation, he now practiced towards other good men.—
Carolstadt he followed from place to place, and' got him ex¬
pelled wherever he settled."
About this time the united persecution of Catholics, Luther¬
ans and Calvanists against the Anabaptists of Germany, caused
a large number to emigrate, • or rather to flee from persecution
to England, and a large company settled in London, with the
hope of escaping persecution. But while quietly pursuing their
vocations in life, they were followed and persecuted even unto
■death. . Some thirty of them became martyrs about the same
time. Their sufferings were great—not by Catholics, but by
protestants, which any one may see.by examining the histories of
the time. Luther and Calvin persecuted. See Encyclopedia—
[Life of Calvin.] " Calvin is accused of having, at this time,
acted with a tyrannical and persecuting spirit towards the hereti¬
cal Servetus. With him Calvin was once intimate, and also
corresponded."
His friends deny his persecuting Servetus.
" It cannot, however, be denied, that it was at the instigation
of Calvin he was prosecuted, as his secretary was his accuser at
Geneva and exhibited articles against him. By the council of
Geneva, Servetus was condemed to be burnt to death; and, on
the 27th of October, the punishment was inflicted. The impro¬
priety of that punishment is admitted by ail the friends of civil
and religious liberty, and the apologists for Calvin alike con¬
demn it."
I will give one other extract here, which may suffice for the
present, as regards the image of the beast in Europe.
D'Aubigne, vol. iv, p. 22: " They could, while suppressing
OUT OF THE EARTH.
the Pope, preserve the Episcopal order: it was the form nearest
approximating that which was on the point of being destroyed.
This was done in England, where we have an Episcopal church;
hut, as we have just,observed, it could not be realized on the con¬
tinent. There were no Latemeres, nor Cranmers, among the
continental bishops."
"It was not from Germany, however, that such a system
could proceed. If aristocratic England was destined to cling to
the Episcopal form, docile Germany was destined the rather to
stand in a governmental medium. The democratic extreme issued
from Switzerland and France. One of Calvins predecessors now
hoisted the flag which the powerful arm of the Genevive reform¬
ers was to lift again in after years and plant in France, Switzer¬
land, Holland, Scotland, and even in England, when it was, a
century later, to cross the Atlantic and summon North America
to take its rank among the nations."
As the closing quotation has brought us to the United States,
I will undertake to show the image of the beast even here, and to
do so will commence with the landing of the Pilgrims or Puri¬
tans, who are so often hailed with joy. The Puritans in Eng¬
land, and in the United States, it will be recollected, are mostly
Presbyterians. The Pilgrims were Congregationalist..
Benedict's Church History, p. 368: "And but for the grand
mistake of forming the monstrous and dangerous union of church
o ZD
and State, and transferring to the civil arm the punishment of
religious offenders."
"On the 23d of August, 1630, on board the ship Arabella,
before they landed, at the first meeting of the court of Assist¬
ants, the first dangerous act was performed by the rulers of this
insipient government, which led to innumerable evils, hardships
and privations to all who had the misfortune to dissent from th#
ruling powers in after times."
The first question propounded was, How shall the ministry be
maintained. It was ordered, that houses be built for them with
convenient speed at the public charge, and their salaries were
tetablished. This was the viper in embryo; here was an impor-
29G
THE BEAST COMING UP
tant establishment in the outset, of the settlement of the odiuu?
doctrine of church and State, which had thrown Europe in con¬
fusion—had caused rivers of blood to be shed—had crowded pris¬
ons with innocent victims, and had driven the pilgrims thein-
(^Ives, who were now engaged in this mistaken legislation, from
all that was dear in their native homes. From these resolutions,
on board this floating vessel, which by subsequent acts became a
permanent law, subjecting every citizen, whatever was his reli¬
gious belief, to support the ministry of the established church,
and to pay ail the taxes which the dominant party might impose,
for their houses of worship, their ordinations, anl all ecclesias¬
tical affairs, proceed the great mistake of the puritan fathers.—
And from the same incipient measure grew all the unrighteous
tithes and taxes—the vexatious and ruinous lawsuits—the im¬
prisonment and stripes of multitudes who refused to support a
system of worship which they did not approve. "
" The first principles of the early settlers laid the foundation
for an infant hierarchy, the evils of which ran through all th«
Hew England States, except the little repudiated Territory of
Rhode Island."
In consequence of the foregoing laws being put into execution,
many of the most valuable citizens were publicly whipped, im¬
prisoned, banished, put to death by drowning, burning and hang¬
ing, in the New England States. I need not descend to particu¬
lar or individual suffering, as it is well known and will not bs
denied by any one at all acquainted with the history of th«
times. Suffice it to say that most of the sufferers were Qua¬
kers and Baptists for denying infant baptism.
I shall next show the same state of things existed in the Stats,
of Virginia by the Episcopalians.
Benedict's History of the Baptists, pp. 652-3: " The first set¬
tlers of this country were emigrants from England of the Eng¬
lish church, just at the point of time when it was flushed with
complete victory over the religions of all other persuasions.—
Possessed, as they became, of the power of making, administer¬
ing and executing the laws, they showed equal intolerance iu
OUT OF TIIE EARTH.
301
flfis country with their Presbyterian brethren, who had emigra-r
ted to the northern government. "
" The first care of the early legislature was to proyide for the
church. By the first act of 1623, it was provided that in every
plantation or settlement there shall be a house or room set apart
for the worship of God, according to the canons of the church of
England, to which a strict uniformity was enjoined. "
To preserve the purity of the doctrine and unity of the church,
it was enacted, in 1643, that all ministers should be conformable
to the orders and constitution of the church of England, and
that no others be permitted to teach or preach, publicly or pri¬
vately. It was further provided, that tho Governor and council
should take care that all non-conformists depart from the colony
with all convenience."
Persecution and imprisonment followed these enactments, as
oveiy one knows.
Persccu i n, whipping and imprisonment continued in Virginia
until after the declaration of independence was ratified. The
last imprisonment- of Baptist ministers was in Virginia after the
Itevolution, when Patrick Henry, the orator and statesman, vol¬
unteered his services in their hehalf and in behalf of religious
liberty, although he was raised up a churchman. He made his
first speech in court against the established religion, and of tax¬
ing the people of other denominations to support a dissipated,
profligate and idle clergy. He^ went fifty miles without being
solicited by any one, to defend two Baptist ministers who had
been imprisoned for preaching. And when he entered the court
room he was unknown to any except the court and tho bar.—
When the prisoners were brought to' the bar and the jury im-
pannelled, the prosecuting Attorney for the commonwealth of
Virginia read the indictment. Henry arose, reached his hand
taking the indictment, and said: " May it please your Honor—
did I distinctly hear read that these men are indicted by the
commonwealth of Virginia as disturbers of the peace for preach¬
ing the Gospel of the Son o-f God? " thfen waving the indict¬
ment around his head, (By this time his gestures, his counts-
:892
THE BEAST COMING UP
nance and his eloquence had gained the attention of all in th£
court room, which was filled to overflowing to hear the decision
of the matter.) and exclaimed "Great God!" (pausing,) and
then said, " Or am I mistaken—was it for preaching the Gospel
of the Son of God?" Then waving the indictment around
again, exclaiming in an astonished tone, "Great God!"—-
" Then," said he, " let us read. " He read " indicted for preach^
ing the Gospel of the Son of God. " Then waving the indict¬
ment the third time. exclaimed "Great God!—Men who had
fled from persecution to find a country where they might have lib¬
erty of conscience—men who had fought and hied for freedom
to he indicted and imprisoned, in the commonwealth of Virginia,
for preaching the Gospel of the Son of God! " By this time
all were in tears and intense anxiety felt; and after a short pause
the Judge said: "Mr. Clerk, enter a nole prosequi, and let the
prisoners he discharged. " This was the last imprisonment for
preaching in the United States. I make this quotation from
recollection—if these are not Henry's precise words, they are in
substance.
From the testimony that I have produced, it will he seen that
the two horned heast and image is even in the United States;
and yet I have not given one tenth part of the testimony that I
had noted; hpt it seems to me to he sufficient to show, or to me
at least it is very clear, that the reformation was the two horned
heast connecting it with the establishment hy law. As I am
the first to give this view, (so far as I know,) it will be necessary
for me'to give my reasons for so doing. The first heast was (as
I have said before) established hy Constantine in 325, and the
people hailed it (and some do to the present) as a great relief to
the church, hut we must admit that it proved far otherwise,
though the original design might have been good—(hut that 1"
doubt)—yet it was made use of. for persecution and cruelty.
So in the reformation—it was hailed by thousands and mill¬
ions as one of the greatest and best events in the Christian world.
So it is yet hy many good men. But what was the consequence.
It caused the first heast, (the church of Home,) to persecute tb«
OUT OF THE EAETH.
393
true church, the Waldenses and Albigenses in the South of
France. They had been in some degree, through the lenity of
the Dukes of Savoy, enjoying repose in their retreat, but now
they were looked upon as being of the reformers, although they
never, as a body, united with them, because they differed widely
in the ordinances and in the government and discipline of the
church. But they were highly pleased that a portion of the
Catholics (and such "a respectable portion) stood up in opposition
to the corruptions oi the church of Rome. They became embol¬
dened by it, (the reformation,) so that they came out more openly
and travelled and preached publicly, while heretofore, in their
retreat, they taught in caves in the valleys of Piedmont. But
the time of their 1260 years having expired, (for they had been
there 1260 years,) they were, according to the prophesy, to leave
their retreat, which they never would have done if they had not
been driven out. So they were considered or classed as reform¬
ers. The Pope, having lost some of his dominions, and coming
well nigh loosing France, influenced and made use of Louis XJV.
King of France, as an instrument to persecute a peaceable and
inoffensive people. Louis commanded the Duke of Savoy to
punish them, which he at first refused to do, stating " that they
were his best subjects—that they were industrious, quiet and
peaceable, always observing the laws except in their forms of
religion. " But Louis finally compelled him by threats. The
Duke issued his proclamation commanding all to return to the
Roman church, or leave the country within three weeks, upon
pain of death and the confiscation of their property. Great
numbers left, but many supposing that they might make terms,
and others not hearing of the proclamation, the Catholics, anxious
and thirsting for blood, went upon these innocent people (who
were unarmed) before the time of the proclamation had expired.
This persecution continued for a number of years. This procla¬
mation was made January 31, 1686.
Mr. Jones says: "The armies of France and Savoy, having
■inhumanely butchered a multitude of the Waldenses, committed
■more than twelve thousand of .them to prison, and dispersed two
134
THE BEAST COMING TJP
thousand of their children among the Catholics. Concluding
that their work was accomplished, they caused all their property
to ho confiscated. Thus were the valleys of Piedmont depopu¬
lated of their ancient inhabitants, and the light of the glorious
gospel extinguished in a country where, for many preceding cen¬
turies, it had shone with resplendent lustre."
This was the last suffering of the Waldenses in the Yallies as
they have never inhabited them since. This, it will be seen,
was in the midst of winter. In the Alps thousands perished in
the snow. From the commencement of the Reformation until
this time it is believed that a million of them suffered death;
and in twenty years as many Albigences. (True the Hugenauts
or Presbyterians suffered persecution a3 reformers in France.)—
But many of the Waldenses migrated to various countries, car¬
rying the Gospel and ordinances, with true church discipline
with them; and because they refused to baptize (sprinkle or
pour) infants, and would not receive into their union and com¬
munion without baptizing by immersion, they were called Ana¬
baptists, and were persecuted alike by Reformers and Catholics.
So they fled wherever there was any hope of quiet, while many
thousands suffered martyrdom. The same spirit followed them
to the United States, where they were (and still are) persecuted
because they could not conscientiously baptize infants, or would
rebaptize them as it was called, when received into their fellow¬
ship. Thus we see how God overrules the wicked designs of
men for the spread of the Gospel. Here I will give one more
extract, lest what I have said may be disputed, from Dyer's Life
Calvin:
"The most trifling slight and insult, such as most men would
have overlooked with contempt, Calvin pursued with bitterness
tnd acrimony. The registers in Geneva abound with instances
which grew more severe as his power became more consolidated.
In 1551, we find Berthelier excommunicated by the consistory
because he would not allow he had done wrong in asserting that
he was as good a man as Calvin. Three men who had laughed
during a sermon of his, were imprisoned for three days and con-
of run e-vkth.
dwimed fo ask pardon of the -consistory. Such, proceedings are
teo numerous that, in. two years only, four hundred Cpd fourteen of
therh are recorded. To impugn. Calvin's "doctrines or the pro¬
ceedings of the consistory endangered life- For such an offence
n Ferrarese lady, named Capa, was condemned in 1550, to ]beg
pardon of God and his magistrates, and to leave the city in twen¬
ty-four hours on pain of. being* beheaded.
The Image of the beast. Benedict, p. 934: " ^Vjth, the
Catholics it was the mass or the musket. The full sacraments of
the Chtirch, or tortures, jibbets—and plain Conformity or death,"
" With the church of England it, was, the prayer book op tfie
prison, The whole service of her rubric, or the severest penalties
of her laws. Submission, or Smithfield."
" With the puritans it was, the meeting house worship, or the
Custody of the jailor. Parish rates, or stakes, stripes and -con¬
fiscations' The seal of the covenant, or the statute of exile."
But it will he said; are there no ajood people among the Re-J
formers? to which we answer yesT verily, hundreds and thousands
-'—and I may say millions—whose heart was right, hut the head
was Wrong from tuition, or tradition. That is, the heart had
been changed by grace, but as the Holy Ghost does not force us
into Correct obedience, but leaves us with the wqrd of God. A
great deal depends on^ the kind of tuition we receive. If it is
tocorrect, then we are misled; and we sometimes are so preju¬
diced that we will not listen to Uny other instruction. %Then
when we act out our principles it will be in accordance with the
impressions we have received; and then human nature is proud and
easily persuaded to pursue more fashionable worship than tlpat
recommended by Christ and his ApOstles, which, is to deny self,
td> he humble, to possess meekness and humility, to count all
things, loss* for the Kingdom of Christ. I have said before tlpt
these great reformers never did belong to the visible, Kingdom, or
it rue church ot Jesus Christ, But, I have not said that, they did
not belong to the spiritual Kingdom, for I do not know whether
they did or ®6t. They preached many good things, hut they h,eld
manly errors p-und it must be remembered that they only reformed
26
396
THE BEAST COMING UP
some of the grossest abuses of the Catholic church. And whea
that church was (and is) radically wrong and Anti-Christian
she never can be reformed into the church of Christ, as it is im¬
possible to reform a falsehood jnto a truth.
Then for them to have been in the trpe church of Christ, they
should [have forsaken Anti-Christi and submitted to the order
and ordinances in the same manner as if they had never be¬
longed to any church. For you may take an illegal act and re¬
form it as often as you will, and it never can make it a legal or a
legitimate act; take an illegal child, and if she is illegally born
all her children will be in the same situation.
I have been thus lengthy and particular, that I might be under¬
stood, if any one should ever see this, as I do not wish to give
offence to any if I can avoid it, but to write ^what I believe
plainly and simply. Believing that hundreds and thousands are
doing the very best they know, because they listen to others in¬
stead of examining the word of God and following its precepts;
but they should remember that to be sincere does not make a
false system true. To be Anti-Christ, then, is to practice in the
worship of God any thing that he has not enjoined in his word,
i- which men and wopaen that have experienced regenerating grace
may do and be in Babylon. And for this reason God, by the
mouth of his servant John, has said, " Come out of her, my
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive
not of her plagues."
But to recapitulate and show the likeness or image of the first
heist, whose deadly wound was healed.
Likeness 1st. • The first beast had seven heads and ten horns.
So the second had one head and two horns, which means to be
• established by law.
Likeness 2d. The first beast was established by law first in
the Empire of Rome and afterwards in all the kingdoms wher¬
ever it spread. So was the second in all the governments whet-
ever it prevailed—even in America.
Likeness 3d. The first beast exercised secular and ecdeii-
asticai power, wielding two swerdi. Se dees the second, as Judg-
OUT OF THE EARTH.
397
1 ©s of the courts, 'as members of Parliament and as ecclesiastical
Bishops.
Likeness 4th. The first beast kept his subjects in subjection;
even Kings and Emperors—he would endeavor to awe them into
\subjection by threats and bulls. So does the second until now,
even in the United States, and that since the repeal of the law
establishing religion. See the remonstrance of three thousand of
the New England clergy, "lo the Honorable, the Senate and
* House of Representatives, in Congress assembled'. The under¬
signed clergymen, of different denominations in New England,
hereby, in the name of the Almighty God and in his presence, do
solemnly protest against what is known as the Nebraska bill.-^-
As a measure full of danger to the peace of our beloved Union,
and exposing us to the righteous judgments of the Almighty,"
&c. Dated, Boston, March 1st, 1854. '
I have given a portion of this remonstrance, to' show how
strictly it imitates that of Rome.' And yet it is said, by Mr.
Houston,' in the Senate of the United States, as the voice of
- God himself, uttered by his vice gerant on earth. Mr. Houston,
a wicked and dissipated man, defended these clergy, using the
precise term and claiming the same authority for them that is
claimed by the Pop6. This remonstrance was after the hill had
'absolutely passed the Senate. These clergymen descended from
the pilgrim fathers, and claim seats in many of the New Eng¬
land State Legislatures, sixty-fire of them being in the lower
house of Massachusetts last session, and one of them being
Speaker of the lower house.
Likeness 5th. The first beast claimed infallibility, So does
•the second---that the King of England can do no wrong—and
many of the subjects claim to arrive at a state of perfection hi
religion. ' '
Likeness 6th. The first beast claimed universal obedience
•nd conformity so far as his dominion extended. ' So does the
■econd demand uniformity within his dominion.
Likeness 7th. The first beast changed the ordinance of bap¬
tism, about the close of the third century, from believers bapti-
398
THE BEAST RISIN3 UP
zed by immeiBion, first to wetting, moistening, and afterwards t( -
sprinkling and pouring infants. Becapse he claimed to hold tlio
keys of the kingdom. So the second continues to sprinkle and
pour infants and claim that the church, has the keys-.
Likeness 8th. The first beast persecuted all that refused to
conform to their form of worship, or refused to sprinkle or pour
infants and call it baptism. So does the second require strict
conformity and persecute all who refuse, even unto death. See
in Massachusetts.
Likeness 9th. The first beast persecuted all who dared to re-
baptize, as they called it, and those who submitted to be re-bap¬
tized, thereby invalidating their baptism. So has the second,,
from Luther and Calvin to the present time.
Likeness 10th. The first beast had legalized salaries and taxes,
and thereby gained a great deal of wealth. So does the second.
See Westminster Review for 1832. (It has greatly increased
since.) Archbishop of Canterbury, £27,000 a year, Arch¬
bishop of York, £10,000 a year, Bishop of Durham £17,000
a year, Bishop of London.£14,000 a year, Bishop of Winchester
£14,000 a year, Bishop of Ely £12,000 a year. Nine others on
an average of £5,000 a year. " I am afraid, " says he, " we can
never prove the church to be poor, or to have been at any time
indifferent to the doctrine that " godliness is great gain." There
is nothing in which the spirit of priestcraft has shown itself so
grossly in the English clergy, &c." They also had established
salaries in the United States. And they still continue to claim a
fixed salary, although there is no law to force all persons to pay it.
* Likeness 11th. The first beast had stately edifices and Cathe¬
drals, calling them churches, after the names of the Apostles.—
So does the second, even in the United States, and rent out pews
at large prices to the rich, and thus exclude the poor.
Likeness 12th, The first beast admitted unbelievers into then
churches and communion. So does the second.
Likeness 13th. The first beast believed in transnbstantiation
—that is, that the bread and wine was the real body and blot >d
of Christ. So docs the second believe in consubstantiation—
■ CTJJJ jgy vjjgj. ^JAR^E(1 399<
•
•that is, that .the body and blood of Christ is in the "wine and
bread.
Likeness 14. The first beast professed to have power to for¬
give sins by c'onfession and absolution. So does the second. See
Liturgy and Church Discipline.
Likeness 15th. The first beast believed that no person could
be saved without baptism, and hence came infant sprinkling. So
does the second. See Liturgy and Church Discipline.
Likeness 16th. The first beast taught that any one could re¬
lieve their friends from purgatory by giving money and other ar¬
ticles for mass. So does the second teach that they can save from
hell by giving money and other valuable things to the clergy.—
See Dr. Judson's Letter to American Ladies, A. D. 1832. How
easy to conceive, from many known events, that the single fact of
a lady divesting herself of a necklace for Christ's sake, may in¬
volve consequences which shall be felt in the remotest parts of
the earth, and in all future generations to the end of time; yea,
-reach into boundless eternity, and be a subject of praise millions
of ages after this world and all its ornaments are burned up.
Likeness 17. The first beast sent hired missionaries to con¬
vert the heathen idolaters and heretics of every kind. So does
the second.
Likeness 18th. The first beast used musical instruments in
their devotional exercises. So does the second.
Likeness 19th. The first beast held their Popes, Archbish¬
ops, Bishops and Prelates to be looked up to and considered su¬
perior. So does the second.
Likeness 20th. The government of th'e first beast was des¬
potic and ruled by the clergy. So is the second. But the gov-
•emment of the'church of Christ is purely republican; no supe¬
riors, but perfect equality in every sense of the word.
I have drawn twenty likenesses in this recapitulation in which
no one that is not blinded by prejudice 'can help seeing the image,
with the testimony that I have produced; and it might be ex¬
tended to almost any length, hut I deem it unnecessary to pur¬
sue this subject further at the .present,, for I have already been
the tjeast coming trp
lengthy, ^ to which' I was necessarily compelled that? I might' be-
fully understood, as I deem it an important subject.
Verse 15: "And he had power to give life unto the image of»
the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak *and
cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to
be killed."
He had power, that is, the beast had power to give the image
life, or vital force. The horns like a lamb would h^ve had'no
power of itself, had it not been for its establishment by the au*
thority of the secular government, which established that form
of worship that was like the first beast. Then life and power to
speak—speak with authority—to speak like a dragon though he
had horns like a lamb. They were not a lamb's horns; they
were only like unto them—that's all.
That as many as would not worship the image of the beast
should be killed. That as many as would not pay particular re¬
gard to all the regulations of the image. (Reformed or estab¬
lished religion.) That is, there should be uniformity—they
should pay the taxes and tithes to the established church—should
baptize their infants; and that no one should be allowed to
teach or preach publicly; or privately, only such as were author¬
ized by the magistracy; nor shall they solemnize the rites of mat¬
rimony, and they shall not be allowed to rebaptize any one upon
pain of death. He would give that power to kill, which is fully
proven by the testimony I have given on the preceding verse in
reference to the image.
Verse 16: "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich
and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, of
in their foreheads."
Both small and great. That is, he claims universal jurisdic¬
tion over all, of every condition of men in the bounds of his au¬
thority, great and small, the full grown, the old person, th»
young and the infant, the rich and the poor. Those that a'r&
wealthy, no matter how great—if they are Kings and prihe'C^
possessed of an abundance of wealth; or how small in''the hurfr-'
ble cottage and nearly destitute of the necessaries of life:4' Tlfii
OUT OF THE EARTH.
401
k one expression to show their universal dominion is claimed.—
Bond* and free. This is another manner of expression to include
all, for bond and free includes all the human family. To receive
the mark in their right hand or in their forehead. It was once
the custom to mark servants so that they could not escape with¬
out detection. It has been the practice for a long time, and still
is, to mark or number soldiers so as to know to what company or
regiment they belong. This means something by which they
were distinguished from others—something to imitate Christ, as
St. Paul says, " Ye are sealed with the holy spirit of promise, "
or again, " Having this seal the Lord knoweth them that are
his." And, as Antichrist has always tried to imitate Christ, so
he puts a mark upon his so that he may know them% And as
Christ's image is, in some degree enstamped upon his disciples,
so these are to receive the impression or image of the beast—some
in ore concealed, as if in the hand, so their true character was not
to be seen by every person; others more openly or bold, as if em¬
blazoned in the forehead.
The thing which is here said to have been engraven in the
hand or forehead, was the name of the beast or the number of
his name. That as, the name or number was so indellibly in¬
scribed, either in the hand or on the forehead, as to show that he
who bore it appertained to the beast, and was subject to his au¬
thority—as a slave is to his master, or a soldier is to his com¬
mander. But there must be some visible mark that distinguishes
them, that the beast enjoins upon all.
In 313, when Cons tan tine professed, he said that it was by the
sign of the cross—by it he conquered. So ever since in baptism
they are signed with the cross, and supposed to hold the spear in
the hand, as it was by these Cons tan tine overcame his enemies.—
So the established religion that enjoins on all its subjects infant
baptism with the sign of the cross, (the sign which the beast or
Pope wore on his forehead,) considers its subjects as holding the
spear (or sword) in the hand. That is, they have the authority
of the law, and will compel (have frequently) them to receive
the mark at the point of the bayonet or writh the sword.
402
THE BEAST COMIHO UF
Orchard's Church History, p. 315: "The Vaudois did nut
practice pedobaptism, nor receive the sign of the cross: this they
called the work of the .beast, It was the grand model of their
sanctuaries, to ornament within and without : it was placed on
the forehead in baptism, and, by various digitary notions, con¬
ferred upon every part of the body; it was worn on the clothes,
or carried in the hand; it was the ensign of peace, or the signal
of war. It was the Pope's signet, and the peasant's security; it
was the talisman in private, andr the palladium of the public in¬
terest; the pontiff's tiara;" (that is,, jdaced on Iris forehead,)
''the church's confidence, and the community's glory and dread.
This mark the Waldenses did not receive, and there was no bap¬
tism conferred on infants without it."
Then it was infant baptism, as they always received the sign of
the cross in the forehead, which was the mark of the beast.
Luther, after dwelling at some length upon the subject
of the baptism of believers, then quotes the words of our Lord,
" He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved." Then ho
says, in D'Aubigne, vol, ii. p. 123: "Perhaps to what; I have
said on the necessity of faith, the baptism of little children'may
he objected. But as the word of God is mighty to change the
heart of a wicked man, who is not less helpless nor less deaf"
than an infant, so the prayers of the church, to which all things
are possible, change the little child, by the faith it pleased God to
place in his heart, and thus purifies and renews it."
It will he seen by this that Luther believed that the word of
God and baptism was sufficient to save a wicked man, or merely
the belief of the word of God, not so much as once mentioning
the Holy Ghost, and baptism and the prayers of the church, to
which all things arc possible, is sufficient to save little children.
"And he caused all to receive the mark," or to worship the
beast, except a few, " whose names are written in the book of
life of the Lamb slain." If the law had been fully complied
with, all classes would have received the mark, because it was
enjoined upon all parents to baptize their infants upon pain of
death' But there were some who refused, and in consequence
"OUT OF THE EARTH, 403
v80me seventy thousand suffered' death in .about one hundred
years, In England alone, after the Reformation. I will now give
a short extract, in their own language., of the persecuted Ger¬
mans in London, who had fled there for safety.
Benedict, p. 313: "We are also accused of not being subject
to the magistracy, because we do not baptize our infants. To
this we reply, we desire to submit to the magistracy in all things
notf contrary to the word of God. That we do not suffer our
children to be baptized by the priest, is'not done out of temerity,
but we do it out of fear to God, because Christ commanded be¬
lievers to be boptized; for Christ's Apostles did not baptize in¬
fants, but adults only, and those on their faith and confession of
their sins."
This was part of their defence before the Bishop. These had
not received the mark of the beast, for which they suffered death
in the most shocking manner, at the stake,"' in Sinithfield. •
I will now close this subject of the mark of the beast, by giv¬
ing a short extract or two, relative to the mark in the United
States.
Benedict, p.. 370: In 1644, a poor man by the name of Pain¬
ter vVas suddenly turned Anabaptist, and for refusing to have his
children baptized, he was complained of to the court, who,
with judicial dignity, interposed their authority in the case in
favor of the child. And because the poor man gave it as his
opinion-that infant baptism was an anti-christian ordinance, he
was tied up and whipped." This was in Massachusetts.
Benedict, p. 643: " Several acts of the "Virginia Assembly^
from 1659 to 1663, had made it penal for the parents-not to have
their children baptized; and against the Quakers, who were fly¬
ing from persecution at home," (from England,) "the laws of
this country were alarmingly severe; afad if no executions took
place here, as in New England, it was not owing to the modera¬
tion of the church or the spirit of the Legislature, as may be in¬
ferred from the law itself." t
Verse 17; " And that no man might buy or sell, save he that
404
THE BEAST RISING UP
had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his
name."
This was one of the devices of the Pope to force all into the
Catholic ehurch, as he was wont to rule the whole world, that no
privilege should be granted to any only by his permission—that
they should not even, be allowed to trade—either to buy or sell,
unless they receive his mark; so that he forbade to have any in¬
tercourse with any, especially these heretics (and Baptist Wa!-
denses) which had refused to receive his mark, or the name, or
the numder of his name; because their names were not written in
the Lamb's Book of Life," and hence they refused his mark to
the beasts. His prohibition was not only to punish them and in-»
duce them to come under his jurisdiction, but if intercourse was
allowed, his subjects might be convinced (as many were) of the
falsehoods and corruptions of the church .of Rome and turn to
the Anabaptists.
And, in like manner, the Reformation, after it had attained to
the power, commanded all to receive the mark ef the beast, as
they wished to have a universal church, or they should not be
allowed to buy or sell—toot to be allowed the liberty of citizen¬
ship, but should be persecuted, imprisoned, whipped, banished
and killed, lest they should convert some of the established
church over to their faith, and where the law is not in force they
cannot prohibit their members by law from hearing these here-i
tics, yet they resort to every stratagem in their power to pre¬
vent it. t
Orchard, p. 315: "The Vaudois did not. practice Pedobap-
tism, nor receive the sign of the cross: this they called the mark
of the beast. . This is evident from the laws enacted to regulate-
commercial affairs, and which excluded those from any advantages
ia trade, who refused this shibboleth."
Page 271: "In 1560, this prohibition was put in force in Ham¬
burgh, with this further injunction, " that no re-baptized person
should be taken into employment, or exercise any profession."
Benedict, p. 113: "An edict against Anabaptists.
OUT OF THE EARTH.
405
Article 3. No person was allowed to harbor the Anabaptists, or
afford them any comfort, or to suffer their meetings in their
houses or on their estates. "
4th. " All unbaptised chilred should be hindered from being
heirs at law of property, which would falkto them if they were
under seal" (mark of the beast) "of the covenant. And chil*
dren whose parents had died, or fled the country, should be dealt
With in the same manner, so far as property is concerned, as to
tines, confiscations, &c., in the same manner their parents would
have been."
5th.. "No teacher shall exercise any of the functions of th«
ministry, especially shall not administer any religious ordinance,
without a license from the civil authority."
7th. "To close the whole, we ordain that the exercises of all
other religions but the reformed, is hereby prohibited."
Orchard, p. 358: "But they are oppressed by all other sects.
When Frederick, in 1532, conferred privileges on the German
protestants, he excepted the Baptists.
" In 1533, a reward of twelve guilders was promised to any
person who should apprehend any Anabaptistical teacher, and all*
harboring them was forbidden."
In Sweden, for any person to embrace or profess, any religion,
other than the Lutheran, subjects him to a legal delinquency,
and disinherits a son from his father's estate. 1854.
I will now give a quotation from Jones, page 306: "Accord¬
ingly we find that in the same year (1163) a synod was convened
at Tours, a city of France, at which all the bishops and priests,
in the country of Toulouse were strictly enjoined to take care,
and to forbid, under pain of excommunication, every person from
presuming to give reception or the least assistance to the follow*
brs of this heresy; to have no dealings with them in buying and
selling, that thus being deprived of the common necessaries of
life, they might be compelled to repent of the evil of their way."
They are not ^only prohibited from holding any office in the
government, either of honor or profit, or from .buying or selling
in worldly goods, but they shall not buy or sell in religion—hava
406
THE HEA.ST COMING HT
tno religions liberties—they shall not receive any legal salaries a?
ministers, nor administer any of the functions of the office of a
bishop or teacher, unless they receive the mark, the name, or olif
of the number of the names of the beast, which are all human
inventions. And even in the United States they have no liberty
or privilege in the human-made institutions called religious, un¬
less they receive one of the number of the names, or buy lite
membership.
Yerse 18: "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understand¬
ing count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a
man; and his number is six hundred, threescore and six'" ,
This wisdom means not worldly, but that wisdom that Comes
down from above; that wisdom that understands the mark, and
can number his name; that is, reckon it up so as to identify the
number with the beast.
The phrase, Tlte number of the beast, means that somehow this
number was so connected with the beast, or would so represent
his name or character, that the beast would be identified by its
proper application. The meaning in verse 17, of "the name of
the beast, and the number of his name.," shows that this number
■is somehow connected with his proper designation, so that by
this he would be identified. The plain meaning is, that the
number G6G would be so connected with his name, or with that
which would properly designate him, that it could be determined
who was meant. Though it was in some degree mysterious and
all could not count or number the name, yet some could. Such
.as had the right kind of wisdom could understand.
There has been a great variety of speculative views upon this •
• 1 9
mysterious name, both by ancient and modern writers and ex¬
positors, endeavoring to fix some definite number of initials or
letters in the Greek language that would apply to Rome, some
definite government, or to some particular person. Most of these
views arc erronious, as I conceive, because most of these expos¬
itors are in some way or other connected with the beast, his
mark, name, or the number of his name. I shall, therefore,
as in most other cases, have to differ from every thing that I
OUT Of THE EARTH,.
407
have seen upon the .subject; not for the sake' of differing, or that
X would appear wiser than all the learned divines that have writ¬
ten upon the subject, but from an honest conviction that what
I have written is true.
Let Mm that has wisdom. Let him that has moral courage
to count it in opposition, to all others, do so. Let him have un¬
derstanding to know the mark or the number of the name, so as
not to be taken in by it, nor to receive any one of the number of
the name. To have the name or mark is in some sense to have
the image or likeness.. Peter said on the day of Pentecost.
"The number of names together were about one hundred and
twenty." That is the number of disciples who had the name of
Christ, the image of Christ; and as it is said of Peter and John
by the elders and rulers at Jerusalem, when they had healed the
lame man,, that they (the rulers) took knowledge of them that
they had been with Jesus, that although they were his (Christ's)
enemies, yet they could see his mark' his image. #So with the
beast, They must have his likeness in some sense of the word;
in conversation, in conduct, in worship, doctrine.or ordinances.
They must practice some of the institutions of men that were
not practiced by Christ and the apostles, which would m^st
clearly make them anti-Christ.
Then to be short, I conceive that there will be six hundred
and®sixty-six denominations of worshipers, all claiming to be the
church [of Christ, but partaking more or less of anti-Christ.—
These are the kingdoms that the devil showed our Lord on the
mount, and proffered to give him all of them if he would fall
down and worship him;, for if he had done that, he (the devil)
would have had him and his kingdom both. But Christ said,
"Get behind me, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." It will not do
to profess to worship me and then, add something else, or else
these plagues will be added. Christ afterwards said before Pi¬
late, "My kingdom is not of this world." My bride is but one
—she is the only one of her mother. Then he has but one that
he will own. as his,, and it wlil be wisdom indeed, if we can discern
408
THE BEAST COMING UP, &C.
which that is; and though it is in the world, it does not partake
of the world or the authority of the world. If we can find the
church that has never been established by law, that has never
persecuted others to prison and death, that has never sought to
fight with the sword for her doctrine, that is the church of
Christ. For he says that "if it was- of this world my subjects
would fight; but my kingdom is not from hence." But Anti-
Christ has six hundred and sixty-six, a sufficient variety to please
all classes and conditions of men; and when that number is com¬
pletely full then shall the end come; that is, the end of Anti-
Christ.
How near that number is Bull I cannot say, as I have no sta¬
tistics that I can rely upon. The last statement that I saw some
ten years since, made the number six hundred and forty-six.r—
There has been a goodly number added since, within my know¬
ledge. His number, however, will be full (as he is spotted like
the leopard) by the close of the forty-two months, which will be
completed, According to my calculation, in the year 1866,
I have been more lengthy in this chapter than I had antici¬
pated; but as I have taken a course different from the beaten
path that has so long been travelled, it was necessary that I
should be somewhat particular, that I might not be misunder¬
stood. If I have made myself understood, then I shall be con¬
tent with the length of the chapter.
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS,
409
CHAPTER XI.
THE THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come ont of the mouth of the dragon.,
and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet."—Rev¬
elations xvi. 13.
Here it will be seen the dragon is first in order, as his reign
was first. So the beast is second as his was the second reign,
O ?
although he is the first beast with all that sprang from him, or
has his mark, or the number of his name. The false prophet is
third or last as he arose last, and the spirits of these three are
noticed because they represent all the false systems in the world;
and although we frequently find them killing each other, yet
they partake of the same nature in a certain degree, as we shall
show before we are done; and hence they each send out unclean
spirits like frogs. A'spirit is a doctrine, and an unclean spirit is
auti-Christian or false doctrine, (spirit of devils.) The language
here is intended to represent some such power or influence as
would at the time designated proceed from the dragon, the beast
and the false prophet. According to Bockhart, a frog is charac-
acterized as a symbol, first, for its rough, harsh, coarse voice.
Second, as complaining or reproaching. Third, as a symbol of
©f empty loquacity. Fourth, as a symbol of heretics and philoso¬
phers. Fifth, because the frOg has its origin in mud, and lives in
mud, as a symbol of those who are born in sin and live in pollu¬
tion. Sixth, a symbol of impudence, because the frog swells his
size and distends his cheeks a3 a symbol of pride.
We may suppose that the spirit referred to would be charac¬
terized by pride, arrogance, impudence, assumption of authority
—perhaps impurity and vileness; for all these ideas enter into
the meaning of the symbol. They are here, perhaps, not sym¬
bol* of any persons, hut of influences and doctrine* that would b©
spread abroad, and would characterize the spirit of the time r§-
410
THE UHCLEA'H SPIRITS:
ferred to, and sliows what the dragon, the Least and the false
prophet would do at the time in opposing the truth and preparing
the world for the battle.
In addition to what has already been said, it may be added that
the frog is amphibious—he can live in the water or out of it.—
He makes a harsh, croaking sound—a perfect jargon, without
uniformity, while some sounds one thing and some another at the
same time, each making sufficient noise for two or three. They
are very prolific, and that too at a time when they make most
noise, and that is when Providence favors most, only in the good
part of the season of the year. They were sent on Pharaoh as
a curse, but they are short lived. This may suffice for the de¬
scription at prespent. Then let us endeavor to find-out what
they symbolize.
When we consult all the expositions of them, they differ so
widely that it would be impossible to reconcile the different opin¬
ions, for most of them apply it to political influence of King¬
doms. Mr. Thomas says that it represents Prance, as it was a
low country'T but this will not fill the symbol, as they were to
go throughout the whole world. Mr. Baldwin says that it was
the holy alliance intered into after the battle of Waterloo. He
also makes England, first the two horned beast, (which is cor¬
rect,) and then the false prophet, which I must dissent from,
as it will more fully appear presently.. As I have done hitherto,
I must take a different position from any that I have yet seen.
In the preceding verse, " It was poured upon the river Eu¬
phrates that the way of the Kings of the East might be pre¬
pared, " The drying means destroying multitudes which was
done in the revolution, in Europe. This was to prepare the way
of the Kings for their entering upon the holy alliance, as it is
called, because they were to sustain each other upon religious
principles. And. this, gave them time to prepare for the great
battle that was to be the last great battle, according to John,
that ever will be fought, and they have made great advancements
-and preparations since then. But this is- not the prime mean*-
ing of the subject, for there must be a spirit of religion con-
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
411
nected with it. It is to be a spiritual battle as well as literal,
for tbe symbol means a combination of three unclean religious
spirits in opposition to truth; then this was preparing the Kings
of the East for this purpose, to open up the way for the more free
diffusion of the spirit of error, so as to gather together the com¬
bined influence of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet.—
I have said before that the dragon was Pagan Rome—the estab¬
lished idolatrous worship, connected with the secular power of
Rome, nntil Constantine, when he gave his seat and great power
to the first beast—that is, the first beast now became the estab¬
lished form of worship, retained a great deal of the idolatry of
the dragon and was called papal Rome, out of whose dominions
the second beast made his appearance and spake as a dragon.—
Mahomed made his appearance, possessing some power, about
May 11, A. D. 628. He first preached to his wife in A. D.
609, and he most evidently is the false prophet here alluded to,
for he claimed to be the prophet of God—to be sent of God,
which was false. . Then a combination of these three, or a spirit
issuing from each of them, and possessing the same likeness, in¬
cludes all the false forms of worship in the world, under whatever
name or country they may be found.
A spirit of propagandise! prevailed, and hence the missionary
spirit sprang up to a wonderful extent, because they were pre¬
pared, so that men could go to the Kingdoms of the earth and
preach what they call the Gospel, but it is another gospel, "which
is money and means to christianize the world. It is not only the
missionary spirit, but all the kindred institutions called benevo¬
lent, which are unauthorized by the word of God and have no
precept or example from Christ or his Apostles. It will be ask¬
ed if the missionaries do not preach the Gospel. Let them an¬
swer the question themselves, and they shall be the judges who
shall decide the matter. Ask the Protestants of every grade if
the Catholics preach the Gospel, and they will decide that they
do not. Well, do not the Catholics send out Missionaries? Cer¬
tainly, and they are very zealous too to convert the heathen even
in the United States, for they call all others heretics and infidels.
27
412
THE UNCLEAN SPIBIT&
Ask the Catholics if the Protestant missionaries preach the
Gospel, and you will be told that they teach the most abomina¬
ble heresies that ever was preached, and they use all their power,
both secular and ecclesiastical, to counteract its influence, for they
frequently both labor in the same missionary field at the same
time. And. these are both striving to convert the subjects of the
dragon. Then ask him if they preach the Gospel, and he will
tell you that they do not, only in part, for so far as they preach
idolatry they preach his doctrine; and it does not matter what
the idolatry consists in; but they all contend for money and
means, and say that it depends on the church whether the hea¬
then are saved or not.
Then ask Mahomed if either of them preach the Gospel, and
he will tell you that they are infidels and christian dogs and
ought to be killed, for there is no truth nor honesty in them.—
Now, since these three judges have condemned each other, and
they are the three unclean spirits, we need not descend to a sub¬
division, and show that each subdivision or denomination con-
dems each other in like manner.
How then are the heathen to determine which is right, for if
either is right the rest is wrong, for Christ has but one church—
but one doctrine. Who then will decide or set as judges? I
say let the word^of God decide and it will condemn them all;
for it says it is not yea and nay, (that is, it may or may not con¬
vert the heethen, it depends on the money and means,) but yea,
and amen to the glory of God. " Amen, it is even so, so let it
be, you cannot add to or diminish from."
It will be asked are there 110'good men among the missiona¬
ries? As I have answered on another occasion, I will say surely
there is, and a goodly number too, but then that does not hinder
them from practicing what is unauthorized in the word of God.
While their hearts may be right, tliey may be misled from some
influence or other into error which is anti-christian. As I have
often been asked, are the old order of Baptists opposed to the
spread of the Gospel? to which I here answer, no, verily, not
upon Gospel principles, but they are opposed to the present sys-
THE HHCLEAN SPIRITS.
413
tern of missionary operations because it is unscriptural, and has
led and will continue to lead to corruption, both in doctrine and
practice, because the inducement held out both in getting an ed¬
ucation, the salary for going and the name attached to it, will in¬
duce fanatical worldly minded men to engage in it—men who
are unregenerated, and of course not called of God to preach;
and as they depend upon it for a support, they must not declare
all the truth, but preach something that is pleasing to human
nature in order that they may succeed. The error is this: that
the word of God nor the primitive church knows of no society
formed outside of the church to carry on this work—no board of
directors or presidents and secretaries, with the funds to hire a
missionary at fixed salary, and to direct him to a certain field of
labor. And though it may be said that the board is composed of
members of the different churches, yet it is a society outside of
the church and of course anti-christian.
When we say this, and because we are opposed to the pres¬
ent missionary system, we, as a denomination, have been a thou¬
sand and one times charged with being opposed to the spread of
the Gospel, which is not true. In order that we may be fairly
understood hereafter by those who may chance to see this, I will
now give what I believe and my practice heretofore, which will,
as a general rule, apply to the Old Baptists, among whom I have
a name as a minister of the Gospel. It will necessarily have to
be in a very condensed form.
1st. I believe that a man must experience regenerating grace
—must experience a radical change from death unto life—which
the Holy Ghost alone can give, it using such means as God has
ordained to that end, and not such means as men or the church
have or can use. This is necessary, because St. Paul says to
Timothy: " The husbandman must first be partaker of the
fruit." Must be in possession of the Holy Ghost—partake of
the nature of Christ; then, when baptized by immersion, he will
be a member of the church.
2d. He mustheceive a call to the work of the ministry, not
from the church, but by a divine impression from God. Then
414
TB$, (PNCLEAN SPIHI^S.
he must have the approbation of the church and presbytery by
the laying on of hands. Then the providence and spirit of God
directs his course to that field of labor that God designed him tp
occupy, because the spirit of the living creatures (evangelists
and preachers) are in the wheels, (the wheels of grace and prov¬
idence.) When Christ sent out the disciples he said, " Into
whatsoever city ye come there will I be, (by my spirit.) How
does the missionary board, or church, know where the spirit of
God will be so as to direct a minister to occupy a certain field in
which to labor. When a minister is thus liberated, God has
made it the duty of the church, (and not a missionary board or
society,) to support him so long as he does his duty and sustains
the character of a minister of the Gospel—not to give him a
particular salary, which makes him an hireling to all intents and
purposes—but, as " the workman is worthy of his meat," feed
him and his as you would your oxen. This God has made the
special duty of the church, which duty the missionary board and
society have usurped, and thereby claim the authority to change
the laws and regulations that God has enjoined upon the church.
So does the Pope. If the church supports her ministers accord¬
ing to the rule given in his word, will not all the preaching be
done that could possibly be accomplished by God's ministers?
If you see the impression is such that the man will preach at
any sacrifice, then help to support him that he may not suffer too
great a loss: and if he shows a disposition to go any where, even
to the heathen, assist him to go there, and if God has sent him
the hearts of the people will be opened to feed him wherever he
is setit—and if they do not, he may take it for granted that God
has not sent him; and not say we have the money and wish to
hire, or send a missionary to some distant field of labor, because
some ungodly man will go for the sake of the name and the
money. If the scriptural course was pursued we would have
fewer imposters. It is frequently asked, was not Christ and his
Apostles missionaries? To which I answer yes—just such as I
I have been trying to describe. They were not sent by the
church or any society, but by their Heavenly Father—and .tjiey,
tf&E UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
415
went every where, relying on his promise, and often received a
fulfilment of that promise. As in the case of Lydia. " If you
have deemed me faithful come into my house, and she constrained
us."
3d. I promised to give my practice heretofore—not as a stan¬
dard for othtrs—but when we oppose the missionary system, we
are called anti-affort, or do-nothings, and such like epithets,
which I say is a foul slander; so I will give my course, (which
will corroborate with many others,) that those who may see this,
even after my death, may be able to judge and also to refute
such slanders. I have been preaching twenty-one years, and
have travelled, upon an average, two thousand miles a year for
the purpose of preaching, (what I say I know to be true, because
I have kept a journal, and it is a matter of record,) making forty-
two thousand miles in twenty-one years, and have preached from
120 to 195 sermons per year, which would make 3780 sermons,
besides visiting the'sickand other duties. And this is called (by
the enemy) anti-effort and do-nothing, because we would not go
with them in all their men-made institutions and money-hunt¬
ing schemes; for I have never been sent out by any missionary
board or society, nor even the church, (only when sent on busi¬
ness as other members,) but I trust that my mission is from
heaven—if it is not, then I am awfully deceived.
Some one may be curious to know whether I have ever re¬
ceived any money. Then I will say that some of the churches
and a goodly number of brethren 'and sisters—yes, not a few
persons that never were in the church, have sustained me, by
contributing individually, without any solicitation on my part at
any time; but there are churches and members that do not do
their duty, but that is none of my business if I have faithfully
warned them—it is between them and their God. I have also
frequently met with similar circumstances as that of the Apos¬
tles at the house of Lydia. Let us inquire for a moment where
the missionary spirit sprang from, and we will find that it came
from the first beast; then this is one "of the unclean spirits. I
will make a few quotations to show its likeness to the present
416
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
system. Gibbon's Rome, vol. iv. p. 66: "The Gospel bad been
preached to the Indians. A bishop already governed the Chris¬
tians of St. Thomas on the Pepper coast of Malabar; a church
was planted in Ceylon, and missionaries pursued their course in
the footsteps of commerce to the extremities of Asia."
Page 332: " Under his reign, the Asians of Italy and Spain
were reconciled to the Catholic church, and the conquest of Briton
reflects less glory on the name of Cassar than that of Gregory I.
Instead of six legions, forty monks were embarked for that dis¬
tant island, and the Pontiff lamented the austere duties which
forbade him to partake of the perils of their spiritual warfare.
In less than two years he could announce to the Archbishop of
Alexandria, that they had baptized the King of Kent, with ten
thousand of his Anglo-Saxons, and that the Roman missiona¬
ries, like those of the primitive church, were armed only with
spiritual and supernatural power. "
This is piecisely similar to the missionary spirit at the pres¬
ent—all denominations claiming to practice according to the
primitive church, which has no foundation in truth, as I shall
show before I have done with the subject.
There had been long and bloody wars to subdue the Saxons,
for if they were subdued for a time they would not remain in
submission long before they would rebel; hut the Pope sent out
missionaries and soon converted them to the faith. John IIL
King of Portugal, beholding the vast territories of the East,
and wishing to subject them t'o his sway, desired Ignatus to send
him six Jesuits as missionaries to be sent forth to christianize the
Indies.
A number of instances might be given where the Catholics
sent out Missionaries to convert the heathen, or christianize the
world, and at one time they almost succeeded, but the extracts
that I have given will be sufficient for the present to show the
likeness between them and the present missionary operations.—
They professed to be christianizing the world. So do all the
different denominations (for they all have missionary funds and
missionaries but the Qld Baptists,) profess to be christjapizing the
THE 'UNCLEAN SPIRIT'S.
417
world, and denounce all that will not unite with tliem; "for,"
say they, "give us men and money and we can christianize the
world." But the present missionaries say they take the word of
God. So say the Catholics—so say all the different denomina¬
tions;'and yet they all differ'from each other in doctrine, in prac¬
tice, in church government, and in the ordinances. They all
hold some truths—some more and some less. Still they will all
unite against the whole truth. How will the converts among
the heathen reconcile these differences; for as they all claim to
take the word of God for their guide, if any one of them is es¬
tablished the remainder falls to the ground. They all profess to
take the word of God, and not one of them has ever shown any
such directions recorded in it. The Missionary-Baptists have
claimed precedents from the primitive church, especially the
Waldens.es, which I shall show, from history and from the ad¬
missions of the Baptists themselves, has no foundation in truth.
I know that the position which I have taken will bring down
upon my head the anathemas of the religious world, but be it so
—I am not combating men or denominations, but the principle,
showing its likeness with that from whence it emanated.
Then it may be asked, have the missionaries never done any
good? Yes, truly; but have they not done a good deal of harm?
Hear what the Saviour said to missionaries in his day: "You
compass spa and land to make one proselyte, and when you have
made him, you make him two fold more the child of hell than
ye yourselves." These men were zealous: they were in earnest,
but that did-not make the principle true. How, then, did they
make the subject worse than before. They found him a hea¬
then in a state of nature, and of course an idolater; they
converted him over to their belief of Pharisaical religion,
which had an external appearance of great humility, but it was
only a form of godliness which did not change the heart or purify
the soul, for it was the spirit of Antichrist, or a spirit of error,
and so made him two fold instead of one. But then it will be
said, do the missionaries do that? Let us see whether they do
or not; and we will commence with the Catholics.
THE ttttCLIfAtf 'SSlilltfBV
Gibbon, vol iii. p. 127:• " The clmrches were filled with the
increasing multitude of tbose unworthy proselytes who had con6-
formed, from temporal motives, to the prevailing religion; and
while they devoutly imitated the pastors and recited the prayers-
of the faithful, they satisfied their consciences by the silent and
sincere invocations of the gods of antiquity. " This was two-
fold.
i
Page 129: "So rapid, yet so gentle, was the fall of paganism,
that only twenty-eight years was required. The reign of the pa¬
gan religion is described by 'the sophist as a dreadful and amaz¬
ing progedy, which covered the earth with darkness, and restored
' the ancient dominion of chaos and of night. "
The Reformation nest deserves notice; for when it commenced
multitudes rushed into the church, so called, (for it is the second
beast,) who knew nothing of the power of godliness; but being
long enslaved by the papal yoke, whose own weight of corruption
brought about the Reformation, they were only changed from
believing in the religion and corruption of the papacy " (which
multitudes did not in reality believe, only by coercion or from
necessity) " to a professed belief of the Bible, which many be¬
lieved was setting them free from all restraint. They became
fanatical, which caused insurrection after insurrection in various
places, " (which the Gospel never produces,) " which caused the
authorities to put it down by force of arms, which the Reformers
were pleased to call persecution for religious opinions. But had
they missionaries? Yes; going in every direction, (and tract so¬
cieties and colporters too.) But I will make one extract of their
doings in America which may suffice for the present.
The extract is from a speech delivered by Dr. Worcester, of
Salem, A. D. 1847, on the 227th anniversary of the landing of
the Pilgrims: "It was not for political immunities, nor republi¬
can institutions chiefly, that the Pilgrims came hither. It was
for the advancement of the- Reformation. In accordance with
these benevolent designs most of the early charters obtained from
the crown contained stipulations in reference'to missions; as alse
some of the earliest acts of the coilonial legislatures." [mark
TH&Sr • tTNCLBWIT- SPIRITS.
410
that]., " Andy* as results, some thousands of the Indians were
early converted to Christianity. In 1690 there could he num¬
bered among them upwards of thirty Indian churches. "
That kind of civil and religious freedom they sought may be
found in those charters from the crown. And those early acts of
the Legislature, as I have shown in the preceding chapter, com¬
menced on board the vessel before they landed. It was not civil
and religious liberty they sought, for they done all they could by
their laws and penalties to prevent, or convert, to use their own
terms, to their faith; and because the Baptists, Quakers and oth¬
ers sought civil and religious liberty, they were tied to cart-tails
(both sexes) and whipped through the streets of Boston and Sa¬
lem, with as many more whose tongues were bored through with
red hot iron, and multitudes whose ears have been cropped off—
while others have been put to death for no other reason than be¬
cause they were advocates of civil and religious liberty. A num¬
ber were put to death for being suspected of being witches and
wizzards. All this was done in the name of religion by those
pious pilgrims, (missionaries,) who are so highly applauded even
to the present day. With their chartered institutions, they say
that it was for the love of Christ. The love of Christ never pro¬
duced any such results. But where are the converted Indians?
Not one left to tell the tale. They are gone like the converts of
the Sandwich islands, as I shall show in another place.
Let me give the language of an Indian, among whom the mod¬
ern missionaries had been, as a specimen of those converted by
the pilgrim fathers. This is from the New York Sun: " An In¬
dian of our backwoods, to whom a missionary attempted to ex¬
plain the beauties and goodness of civilization and Christianity,
replied, pointing to his cabin, against whose entrance, before the
pale-face came, he had only to place a strip of rough bark, and
no Indian dared to enter—it was the foulest sacrilege to remove
that symbol of confidence, but alas, added the poor red man, the
bark will no longer defend my cabin—I must use the locks and
bars of the white man, for those who come to me with their civ¬
ilization and Christianity are bad men:: they have taught my
THE SJNGLBAN SPIRITS.
brothers to «teal5 to swear and be drunken." These surely must
pe unclean spirits.
The modern missionaries of all protestant denominations will
next claim our attention, but more especially the Baptist, as
they come nearer to the order and ordinances, as laid down in the
New Testament, than any others, and are more closely allied
with us. And then it may be asked,, will you class them as one
of the unclean spirits? I shall answer this in the affirmative as
I have said before that they have no divine authority for their
plans of missionary institutions, which makes it the spirit of
Antichrist and of course unclean. Then does that unchristianize
all of them? No. I believe that God has a people among all
denominations, (even among the Catholics who are hated so
much,) and especially among the Missionary Baptists and other
protestants, for I am well acquainted with and closely united to
many that I consider as God-fearing men and women;, but that
does not make their practice right, unless they can produce scrip¬
ture authority, which none of them have ever done, not even a
precept nor example from the primitive church.
It is true that Mr. Benedict, who I have quoted so often, says,
in his History of Baptists: " The farther down I go into the re¬
gions of antiquity, the more fully is the missionary character, or
all whom we denominate our sentimental brethren, developed.—
Propagandism was their motto and their watchword. As nothing
of this kind appears among the opponents of the missionary en¬
terprise, I cannot, with my views, as an honest historian, apply
to them " (the Old Baptists,) " the terms in questinn, as I fully
believe they misapprehend their own character in this matter."
They, the Apostles, the primitive churches, the Waldenses,
v)Ossessed just such a missionary spirit as I have described above,
as I have shown in a preceding chapter in discusiing the church,
and will show more fully in the next chapter; and although it is
not my duty to prove a negative, yet I will do so before I am
done, as they have not shown any authority for their course.-®-
But to show how honest a historian Mr. Benedict was,' and to
vindicate and remove some of those false allegations against my»
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
421
self and those with, whom I am associated, I shall say a few
things about his course towards us.
He says, on page 935: "If I have been less full in my de¬
scription of their affairs, it is on account of the backwardness of
the people, and because their history could not be obtained."
In answer to this, (as he has correctly stated in one of his
notes,) I freely corresponded with him for some three years, gave
him all the information within my reach, and gave the names of
some twenty others in different States with whom he might cor¬
respond; and told him frankly that I did not believe that a true
history of the Baptists had ever been given, nor did I then be¬
lieve that it would be given, (because he was a missionary and
woukl make them the church from the time it commenced, and
has done worse by claiming that to have existed all the time,)
but that I would do all I could towards the work for the sake of
the information I might get relative to the church in the dark
ages. I also obtained 25 subscribers according to his terms as
set forth in his prospectus, and finally paid $3 25 before I could
get the book. He says that their history could not be obtained.
I have given him the names, the numbers and the localities of
all the Associations in the State, assuring him at the same time
that thirty-one of them were what he and others were pleased to
call anti-effort, which is nearly double as many as the missionary
party have. I also said to him that I was not willing for our
name as a denomination to go down (in his history) to posterity
merely as anti-effort, without giving our reason for our course,
and that if he would publish it in his work, Elder Watson or
some other person would write out our objections in a condensed
form, and that it would be sufficient for every section of the
country, which he agreed to, and wrote to Watson himself to
prepare it, and Watson requested me and others to assist him.—-
But Mr. Benedict wrote to us again that he could not admit it,
and so it remained until his work was nearly through the press,
when he writes that he will admit it, after it was entirely too
late. Now.he tells the public that the information could not be
obtained,
422
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
He also states that it will he seen that I have* made no distinc¬
tion between the effort, and anti-effort in the Spates where they
exist. Why then does he say there is only two- diminutive asso¬
ciations that are opposed to the effort system in the State of N.
York, when in fact there is four, and as many more churches that
come together in what they call Old School meetings instead of
Associations; so it would make eight instead of two such as he
describes.
Why does he not make the distinction in Tennessee? Not
because he could not get the information, but because there5
would be a large majority against him, and he does not want
that known; but by insinuations he makes the public believe
they are very few. Indeed he says they will be extinct before
his work is stereotyped, or could reach the different parts of the
country—that it will be among the things that are past and for¬
gotten. I have had the book for some three yeass, and still we
are not forgotten, but are about the same in number.
I have accounts before me from nearly all of the States, where
the Baptists are equally misrepresented by him, but this may
suffice upon that subject. He publishes us as hyper-Calvanists,
which is untrue, for an overwhelmning majority are consistent
predestinarians and discard the idea of hyper-Calvanism. He
says: "I have ascertained to a certainty that in most the asso-
ciational, &c., there are numbers, not a few, who are dissatisfied
and would leave but for the restriction/' which is equally untrue,
for we never use undue persuasion to get members into the
church, nor any coercison or persuasion to retain them in the
church. We want none but those who voluntarily join us, and
if any are dissatisfied on any account, we prefer that they would
leave, for we do not go for quantity but for quality.
Again he says: " So illiberal, anti-republican, and anti-Baptist
—so frightfully oppressive, so tyrannical and overbearing."—
What a picture, and what authority has he for saying so. None;
only we cannot countenance all their anti-scriptural schemes to
get money and convert the heathen. With such epithets as the-
above, if the laws of the country would allow it, would not the
THE UNCLEAN" SPIRITS.
423
Old Baptists suffer at their hands what the New England Qua¬
kers and Baptists did by the pilgrims? To close this subject and
cap this foul slander, he says that our members are not allowed
to cast in their mites when the box goes round in any neighbor¬
ing congregations in which they may be present. This is untrue,-
•for we do not care to whom our members give their money, nor
for what benevolent purpose they give it, so they do not act im¬
moral nor dishonor the cause; but we do think they ought not to
join any of the benevolent institutions, for the church is a be¬
nevolent institution—if she is not she ought to be.
But enough of this, for there are so many* misrepresentations
that I cannot notice them here. These are sufficient to show
the unclean spirit and his honesty as a historian, and proves-
what I said to him at first.
But Mr. Benedict and others say that the Waldenses were
-missionaries, and he does not see how we can claim to ourselves
any likeness or connexion with them, as he sees nothing in our
practice to justify him as an honest historian to apply it to us.—
Here is what the "Waldenses say themselves in their articles of
faith, which, by the way, Mr. Benedict does not publish. It is
precisely that of the Baptists in Tennessee, both in faith and
practice, and may be found in Jones' Chureh History, pp. 276
and 278:
Article 10: "Moreover, we have ever regarded all the inven¬
tions of men (in the affairs of religion) as an unspeakable abom¬
ination before God. In articles of faith, the authority of the
Holy Scriptures is the highest and for that reason is the stan¬
dard . of judging; so that whatsoever doth not agree with the
word of God, is deservedly to be rejected and avoided."
Third confession, article 11: " On the other hand, we confess
that we consider it to be our duty to beware of false teachers,
whose object is to divert the minds of men from the true wor¬
ship of God, and to lead them to place their confidence in the
creature, as well as to depart from the good works of the gospel,
and to regard the inventions of men."
This is just what we contend for, and do not trust to men and
424
THE tTHCLEAlf SPBBRYF&
means. But hear what the Missionary Baptists say in Missis¬
sippi: "We have as Mississippi Baptists—as world-wide Bap¬
tists—much to do. We have the world to subdue to King
Emanuel. It is to be done through means. The convention has
much to look to, and she looks to each of us for help. Remem¬
ber, all you have is the Lords, and if he needs it, you should give
all, and cheerfully too, to its lawful owner. The convention is
engaged in a mighty work; she is working for the Lord, and her
claims upon you is as great as is the importance of the cause and
your ability to perform."
What would Waldenses say to brethren holding such senti¬
ments as those above, claiming relation with them. When they
say that the saving grace and spirit of Gron alone regenerates
and purifies sinners, so say we; but these Mississippi Missionary
Baptists say they have to subdue the world, and that by their
means. Here, then, I will give another specimen from the Re¬
ligious Herald, the organ of the Missionary Baptists of Virginia:
"A series of revival sermons for $1. These sermons have
been instrumental in the conversion of more souls tha»n any oth¬
ers of which we have any knowledgs. We have never read a
more faithful, pungent and earnest exhibition of divine truth.—
The preacher probes the heart, presses upon the sinner the charge
of aggravated and inexcusable guilt and lays him penitent at
the foot of sovereign grace. We cordially recommend them to
the brethren in the ministry."
Was there ever any thing like the foregoing doctrine found
among the Apostles, the Waldenses, the Old Baptists, or in the
word of God? Verily no; for it assumes to do what God has
reserved to himself, and robs him of his glory, and is just what
the Catholics profess to do, and of course possessed of an unclean
spirit, for there is some swelling like a frog. This is not a tithe
of the testimony that might be found.
But then Mr. Benedict says they (the Waldenses) went every
where preaching. Let us see how they went; whether it was
being sent out by Missionary Societies with outfit and funds ift
their pockets.
TEES'." 'UNCLEAR SPIRITS.
425
Jones, p. 260: " Waldo was now compelled to quit Lyons; Lis
flock in a great measure followed their pastor; and hence a dis¬
persion took place, not unlike that which arose in the church at
Jerusalem at the stoning to death of Stephen. The effects were
also similar. Waldo himself retired into Dauphany, where he
preached with abundant success."
"Persecuted from place to place, Waldo retired into Picarch
Driven from thence, he proceeded into Germany. "
He always preached with success, and though he was a rich
merchant of Lyons, he lost all. Instead of receiving a salary.,
was sent by persecution instead of a missionary board. This is
a sample of the ministers of the church through all the dark
ages. When they went without persecution, they went without
being sent by any earthly tribunal. And as no one has ever
shown any board of directors among the Waldenses, for the
very good reason that there was none, and until that is shown,,
we shall continue to claim a likeness with them.
Notwithstanding what Mr. Benedict and others say and claim
upon that subject, the Bev. Mr. Baker, a very honest and intelli¬
gent Englishman, in a missionary sermon at the General Associa¬
tion in Franklin, some three years past, admitted frankly that
Dr. Cary of London, was the first starter of the missionary cause
amongst the Baptists, [what every candid man must admit.]—
Where did the Doctor get his precepts or examples from? Not
from the word of God or the primitive church, but from the first
beast; so it came out of his mouth. It will be said, was not Dr.
Cary a good man? He may have been as good in heart as any
man, and his intentions may have been pure, but as he had no
divine authority nor precedent from the church for his act, it
makes it illegal and of course unclean. So we see what, in the
end, one step in the wrong direction will lead to.
Mr. Baker told us so unpopular was the thing at the time,
that when he made a collection, all he could get was nine pounds
and five shillings, for it was a new thing among Baptists. And
then, said he, the people made sport of him, and said that the
■426
THE UNCLEAN SPIEITS.
nobler [he was a shoe maker by trade I suppose] was going to
convert all India with nine pounds and five shillings.
Did the first Baptists that came to America come as being
sent by missionary boards? No, they came here from persecu¬
tion—as Waldo - and many others had been sent—for they were
sufferiug the combined persecutions of Catholics and Beformers
in Europe; but did they escape when they got here? The Cath¬
olics who came, having been persecuted by the Beformers in Eng¬
land, ceased to persecute the Baptists here, but the Pilgrims of
Massachusetts, with all their missionary zeal, and the established
church in America, persecuted them as long gs the law would
.allow, and even imprisoned and whipped many after the declara¬
tion of independence, and still continue to persecute by words
and gestures.
The missionary spirit is very prolific, and hence sprang all the
institutions called benevolent, for the furtherance cf its objects
and aims, which is to go to all the world—to christianize all the
world, as they say. But I say that it will organize all the world
to the battle against the truth at the great day of God Almighty.
It will be a spiritual battle and also a literal battle, and they will
fight until they nearly consume themselves.
Have we not the appearance of it, and a likeness of it in the
first and second beasts, and then the present missionary system
producing the same likeness in more respects than one. The
first beast produced insurrection by its missionary operations.—
See what it done at Cairo, at Carthage, at Alexandria, and at
various other places. The second beast done the same in Ger¬
many. See Switzerland, where Zwingle, the reformer, loses his
life in the insurrection that was produced there; and also in
France and Italy. But do the present missionaries partake of
that spirit? See in Birma, in India, and in China, where an
awful insurrection has been raging for three years—and to behold
the carnage, the bloodshed, the mourning, and the devastation
of property and human life; who can believe the spirit to be
that of grace, when Christ says to his missionaries, " Behold I
33KE KNCLEAN SPIRITS.
427
I .send., yon forth as; lambs among wolves." Did it ever happen
that lambs made war upon wolves, or even fought in self de¬
fence? And yet the leader of this insurrection (and many of
his subjects) profess to be disciples of Christ—profess to be con¬
verts of the Baptist Missionaries (and others) in China, and he,
the missionary, boasts that these individuals were pupils of his.
Although the Chinese government is dscpotic, can any one sup¬
pose that the spirit of the Gospel that emanates from the meek
and lowly Jesus ever produced such result,? No, verily, it bears
too strongly the marks of the first beast to be'mistaken, and
therefore must be one of the unclean spirits like a frog.
It resembles the first beast in its desire for money. The first
beast obtained money by law in tithes, by selling indulgences,
&c. And the protestants of all denominations exclaim against
the Catholics for exacting so much money from the people. In
the United States, we have no laws to enforce tithes or taxes, but
then there are various religious institutions incorporated and
allowed to hold immense property, (some of them,) which are
exempt from taxation, which is the same spirit, for they (many
of them) would have their religion established if the constitu¬
tion would allow it. And though they cannot enforce a collec¬
tion by law, they do it by various other modes, until it amounts
to more than that of the Catholics. They obtain a great deal by
public collections, by religious fairs, grab boxes, false post offices,
and by selling life membership in the various institutions, which
is the same spirit as that of selling indulgences; and no one else
is allowed to buy or sell unless he receives the mark, that is, he
has no privileges.
Beligious fairs are the worst species of gambling, because they
are performed in houses called churches (frequently) by the
members, with the presence and consent of the Beverend Di¬
vines, before the children and young people of the professors of
religion; the proceeds are for religious purposes, which gives it a
sanction so that the laws of the country cannot interfere; and it
accustoms the rising generation to the idea of gambling, espe¬
cially when they see it approved by the preacher and his flock.—
28
428
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
Did Christ or his Apostles ever hold a religious fair to raise
money? No, hut St. Paul said " Abstain from all appearance
of evil. "
But let us now compare the receipts to see whether Catholics
receive more money in Europe and North and South America
than Protestants do in the United States alone.
A Paris paper states that the Catholics received for the spread
of the Gospel for the year 1846, in Europe $726,805; and they
disbursed, Missions in Europe $120,447, in Asia $250,656, in
Africa, $68,811, in America $190,541, in Oceanica $81,04(M-
for printing and other expenses $42,870; total disbursement,
$726,3000. The amount collected for the various benevolent
societies during anniversary week, 1847, in New York, $801,701
11. That is in one week collected $75,896 11 more than the
Catholics in all Europe in a whole year. The whole amount
collected in the United States in 1846, was $1,562,450 75.—
This shows a great likeness truly—it even goes beyond. But
then it will be said by the friends of these institutions, that the
object is good, for it is to save sinners—to convert the heathen,
the pagans and the Catholics. So say the Catholics. It is to
convert all to their faith; and who dare say they are not as sin¬
cere as the advocases of all other monied institutions, but does
this make either of them true.
The Catholics have a secret attached to their missionaries [Jes¬
uits.] So has the Missionary Board, and also attached to a Theolo¬
gical School in the United States. Elder D. E. Jewett, who is now
no more, while he was a steward of the Andover Theological In¬
stitution, was, by degrees, led until he found himself in a seclu¬
ded room, and after secrecy being enjoined upon him, (similar to
all such combinations,) a constitution being presented he signed
it; and after being a'member five years, without any ill will to
any one, he withdraws, because he deems it dishonoring to God
and partakes of the nature of Antichrist. This society controls
the missionary system, both at home and abroad, and lias other
under (or as he calls them) outer societies; but this one, he t$ls
us, is entirely out of sight of all but the members', who have oh-
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
429
iiged themselves'to keep it. secret. I cannot give a more full ac¬
count, but it may be seen in the Doctrinal Advocate, of which
he was editor. No one that was acquainted with Elder Jewett
in his lifetime, can, for a moment, doubt his veracity.
But1 then it will be said, have missionaries never done any
good. Yes, God can and does overrule that which is tending to
evil for the good of his cause and the advancement of his King¬
dom, of which I shall say more presently.
Then let us inquire, have missions never done any harm ? A
few remarks and extracts upon this subject, in connexion with
what I have said in regard to insurrections, may suffice, although
I might produce an abundance. We have heard a great deal
said by the different denominations, as well as what has been
printed, relative to the success of the missionaries—their increase
in the Sandwich Islands—lauding them to the skies for the won¬
derful works they had accomplished in converting the inhabitants.
I will give two or three short extracts to show the true situa¬
tion of those people, so that the citizens of the United States
may have some idea to what corrupt purposes the money they
have contributed is applied by these unclean spirits.
From the New York Sun: "Sandwich Islanders. We are
puzzled to know who to believe, the missionaries who report so
favorably of the condition of the Sandwich Islanders, or the
Sandwich Island Editors, who give us a picture so deplorable as
to make humanity shudder.
The Sandwich Islanders, from their contact with what is called
civilization and Christianity—not a real, but a glittering sem¬
blance which has charmed to deceive and enlightened to destroy.
From the reports of the Sandwich Island papers, there is no such
thing as religion, virtue, industry, or self-respect among the
greater mass of riotous, debauched, and foully diseased Islenders.
They have become sottishly corrupted by all the extreme vices
of the civilized world. The men are drunkards and the women
- harlots, almost without exception, through the entire population.
What little industry exists is induced to procure satiety for dev¬
ilish appetites; and the spirit of abandonment thrives every
430
THE UNCtEAN SPIRITS.
where in the halls of justice and around the consecrated altars of
the church.
The Sandwich Islanders, if these reports be true, and we see
no reason for doubting them, have been cast down an hundred
per cent below their original condition; by spurious civilization
and Christianity, and the corruption has been steadily and suc¬
cessfully reduced to a system, and encouraged by the professed
interpreters of art and science and the word of God. The editor,
who relates the horrible depravity of these people, affirms that
the corruption is foulest within the circles of the law dispensers
and professed spiritual teachers, though it pervades every part
and heart in the Island. Is it to be ever thus—that the light of
science, aad the blessed balm .of Christianity, in their dispensa- •
tions to the blind and suffeiing races of the human family, must
be corrupted and made to suffer reproach by those entrusted to
carry them forth? So it would seem when the truth comes to
light. If the really civilized world cares for body or soul of the
Sandwich Islanders, let the foot of the white man be kept from
their shores until he can practice virtues superior to those of Sav-^
ages and Cannibals."
The above needs.no comment—it speaks for itself, and shows
most conclusively the spirit that the missionary project has
brought about, although the original intention may have been
ever so pure; we see what corruption will follow, when we depart
from the plan God has devised for the preaching of the gospel—
Truly, this must bean unclean spirit. But lest the foregoing
may be disputed, I will add one or two more that will corroborate.
Mr. John C. Jones, who was formerly United States consuLat
Oahii, and resided on the Island nearly twenty years, and 6f
course was well qualified to judge of the fruits of missionary
labors. He remarks. " I came to this land when, I may almost
say, another order of beings peopled these shores. The native
population, in the days of the good and great Kamehameha,
possessed different feelings from those we now see around us and
with whom we are compelled to associate. Then the white'inafn
was respected, and the stranger, humble'thOilgh he might have
1BE T?N€LEA^ SEIRITS.
431
befsa, found a welcome at the abode of the savage. Professed
Christianity has been proclaimed throughout these benighted
Islands, but what have been its effects? Where are its fruits?
We cannot see them manifest in true piety of the converts.—
What then has it effected? The destruction of every finer feel¬
ing, which this unsophisticated people once possessed. It has
swept from them every sense of humanity and hospitality which
was so characteristic of them in by-gone days, and has consti¬
tuted them a nation of hypocrites. I would not be understood to
say that this has been the effect of true Christianity, siich as was
taught by the merciful son of God; but is Christianity inculca¬
ted by biassed emissaries," (Missionaries) " sent out by profes-
. sors of a particular doctrine to sectarianize and plunder these
unsuspecting children of nature.
The fruits of the spirit, I have always been taught to believe,
are love, peace and charity; and when I can see such virtues em¬
anate from the word that is proclaimed, then, and not till then,
shall I be willing to go hand in hand with those who compass sea
and land to evangelize the nations of Hawaii. But this people
are fast passing away. In a few years they will cease to exist only
in remembrance, and at no protracted period."
In connexion with this, I take the following from the Provi¬
dence Journal: "It is manifest that it is sinking, " (the popu¬
lation of the Sandwich Islands) " from inherent decay that no¬
thing can arrest. In 1798 the population was 400,000, in
1836 it was 150,000, and by the census of 1850 it was 80,000."
I shall add one more short account, (though it seems enough
has already been said to convince the most incredulous^) from Mr.
MeHiile, who has published it in pamphlet form (though the
pamphlet was soon suppressed as far as could be) relative to the
Missionaries in the Sandwich Islands. He was a resident of the
Island for ten months, was a member and a missionary in prin¬
ciple, had given his money freely to promote the cause, he great¬
ly deplored the situation of. things in the Island, and of course
could not be considered an enemy misrepresenting his own cause,
'or one in which he expressed himself as being greatly interested.
432
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS..
As I liave not the pamphlet before me, I will give in short what*
X recollect upon one point.
Mr. Melville says: " I saw the Missionary's wife, a large fleshy,
woman, riding out for pleasure and recreation, in a small vehicle
drawn by two of the natives, one an old gray headed man and
the other quite a young man, both in a state of nudity, (or to
use plain English, start naked,) in the broiling sun, and when
they came to rising- ground, or in the sand, when they would stall
she would strike them over the head with her huge fan and cry
huke, huke, (that is pull strong men,) to urge them on. The
young man would prance like a balky horse and do nothing, while
the old man done all and was in a foam of sweat. This lady, he
says, when she lived in the New England States, had to go to
the clover field and drive up the cows. On Sundays, when they
went to church to a large steepled house, built after the fashion
of American churches, you might see at least a score of these
vehicles drawn by the natives, who stood at the railing like
beasts of burden, until the Americans and foreigners, or professed
Christians went in to worship. Thus foreigners have monopo¬
lized nearly all the wealth, while the natives have become very
poor, and every thing looks Americanized, even the cities and
towns."
The christianizing of the Indians of America by the Mission¬
aries, has had a similar effect to that of the Sandwich Islands.
Can this be the effects of preaching the Gospel of the blessed
Son of God? No—truly it is what St. Paul called "another
Gospel, which is not another, but a perversion of the Gospel."—
And Christ has said: "If Satan has transformed himself into an
Angel of Light, no marvel if his ministers do the same." These
missionaries truly are a fit prototype of the original Pharisees
of whom Christ said " the Scribes and the Pharisees sit in
Moses' seat" (to make laws or rules,) " for they bind heavy bur-^
dens and grievances to be borne, and lay them on men's shoul¬
ders. " " But all their works they dlo to be seen of men.
1 They love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats
in the synnagogues, > and greetings in the markets, and to be
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
433
called of men Eabbi, Babbi,"—(Beverend, Dr. of Divinity, Ac.)
" But wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, ye hypocrites, for ye
devour widow's houses," (beg from them all they have,) "and
for a pretence make long prayer; therefore ye shall receive the
greater damnation."
" Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye com¬
pass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is made,
ye make him two-fold more the child of hell than yourselves.".
They made him two-fold—they attach to him a form of god¬
liness while they deny the power thereof—they are not delivered
from the spirit of the power of the air that now works in the
children of disobedience, but receives a religious principle from
the same spirit, which is always opposed to truth. Then, after
the Scribes and Pharisees, the beast with seven heads and ten
horns showed the same spirit of proselyting, and his subjects
were two-fold in the same manner of the Scribes and Pharisees.
Then this unclean spirit issued out of his mouth.
And, surely no one will say that the missionaries have not
made the Sandwich Islanders two-fold more so than they were
before they converted them, when they have such testimony be¬
fore them as I have given, and from such a reliable source. It is
greatly to be deplored that these poor unsuspecting people should
be so imposed upon by professed Christians as to destroy both
soul and body; but to the missionaries will be the greater dam¬
nation, (condemnation.) Truly this must be one of the unclean
spirits like a frog, for all the religious periodicals, pamphlets and
books, great and small, that were published by the Missionary
Boards, Conventions and Associations, as well as often from the
pulpit, they sang loud and long of the wonderful change in the
♦Sandwich Islands by the missionaries. Upon the subject of edu¬
cated preachers there is a vast difference between the Old Bap¬
tist and all other denominations. We hold that if God wants a
learned ministry he knows where to find them, and he does, now
and then, select and send forth a learned man, as in the case of
Paul, who was learned, not after his call, but before, though he
did not use his education to enable him to preach, for he says:—
434
THE UECLEAN SPIRITS.
"For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men
after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.—
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to con¬
found the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the things which are mighty. And base
things of the world, and things which are despised," (by the
worldly wise professors,) " hath God chosen, yea, and things
which are not, to bring to nought things that are, that no flesh
should glory in his presence. "
This is very plain and what the true church has always con¬
tended for, and what the Old Baptists still contend for. In con¬
sequence of this they are charged with being opposed to litera¬
ture, or their preachers having an education, which is a misrep¬
resentation, for we are in favor of children being taught, not reli¬
gion, but to understand the different languages if they have the
time and the means; but there are more great men, both as
statesmen and men in the ministry, who are self-made, than
there are of scholastic men. As to statesmen, I may mention
Franklin, Webster and Clay, who were among the greatest states¬
men of their day, and a host of others who were self-made, self-
educated almost. And among the ministry in Europe, Perm
and Bunyan, in America, Leland, Harris, McConnico and a host
of others who were illiterate and almost entirely self-made as it
regards an education, and yet it shows the wisdom of God in
calling them to the ministry, for they preached with power and
demonstration of the Holy Ghost, in such a clear and powerful
manner, as no Theological student has ever done in reading off
his sermons, or delivering a revival sermon that ho has purchased
from some one else and committed to memory. But these men
were hated by the worldly wise and considered as base men, as
weak men; yet they were mighty through God to the pulling down
the strong holds. What, this tinker Bunyan! that was shut up
in prison in Bedford jail for twelve years?
The Baptists hold that it is the duty of the man, when he is
called to the work of the ministry, to use every effort in his
power to improve himself—not to spend seven years in a Theolo-
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
435
gical Institution, but study to show himself a workman approved
unto God, (and he will if he is called,) not to study scholastic
divinity, or to please men, but a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed. But then a portion of the Baptists became alarmed,
lest the ministry could not keep up with the advancement of the
literature of the age, and other denominations having an edu¬
cated ministry, they would far outstrip us, as if God could not
call from among the learned if he wished them.
Hear what Mr. Benedict says, p. 938; "From time immemo¬
rial there has been a very strong aversion, on the part of our de¬
nomination, to what are denominated men-made preachers," (and
so with the Old Baptists yet,) " and this prejudice has been
strengthened by the abuse of learning among many who have
sustained the clerical office in other communities.
And, although a multitude of our ministers, of very limited
acquirements in literature, have succeeded very well as pastors
and teachers, yet our leading men, in very early times, found
that they were losing ground without more men of learning
among them, and also, that it was indispensable for them to have
institutions of their own where it should be acquired. The Bris¬
tol Academy was the first seminary of the kind among the Eng¬
lish Baptists; B. I. College with the Americans. These nurse-
ries of education have now become somewhat numerous and are
Tapidly increasing."
Here are several admissions—first that institutions for educa¬
ting the ministry among the Baptists was unknown for some fif¬
teen hundred years. How then does he claim kin with the Wal-
denses! No such institution can be shown to have existed among
them, for their ministers were weavers and Tailors, and while
they labored they taught the children. And second, that al¬
though God had sustained his church for centuries, yet he could
not do it any longer without an educated ministry. And third,
admitting that we wish to be more fashionable, make a greater
external show, and to be like other nations around, for which Is¬
rael was cursed, admitting that we wish to be able to vie with
the learned and j)reach to the worldly wise. Where do we find
436
THE UNCLEAN; SPIRITS.
Christ or St. Paul seeking to preach to such? Never, only when
they are brought before the rulers for preaching to the poor, the,
halt, the blind and the lame.
Seeing the immense amount of money that lias been begged
and filched from the people to build up these institutions^ to edu¬
cate these young men, and then to sustain them in all their profli¬
gacy after they are educated, the departure. from the true doc¬
trine and worship of Grod, by educating unregenerated men for
ministers of Christ, who will not say that this is the fruit of the
unclean spirit like a frog. Were you ever at one of these Theo¬
logical institutions where there were a number of those students?
and did you see what boldness, almost amounting to impudence,
the swelling and strutting; or did you notice him in what is
called a sacred desk before,a large congregation, with each thumb'
in the arm holes of his vest, with his head thrown back, and put
on such an air of self-importance, or else reading his sermon over
turning leaf by leaf.
How unlike Christ and his Apostles. But Paul said: "The
time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but
will heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, &c." It is
not the object alone to educate the ministry, but to teach the
children; to commence with them when young to give tlieni
such a religious education or bias as make them sectarian—to
prepare them, not very dissimilar to the catacumens of the Catho¬
lics, for baptism so that more of them may be saved, as it is
easier to convert them as they are more ductile than grown per¬
sons. Hear what the Mississippi Baptists say, as also a portion
of the Report on education, made to the Central'Association, at
its session with Mopnt Alben church in 1852, namely:
" Believing that education, in its fullest extent of meaning, is
one means of carrying on the work of the world's salvation, and
that, as a body of the professed followers of Jesus the Christ, it
is our duty, &c." It will be seen that by all these innovations
there has been a great departure from original principles in doc¬
trine when they talk of the world's salvation by means, of edu¬
cation, leaving Christ out of the question. For it is money and
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
437
means, and how often have we been tbld that God has put the
means in our hands, and that all men may be saved if they will.
Taken from the'Christian Watchman, of December 28,1848:
"At a meeting of the Young Men's Methodist Foreign Mis¬
sionary Society, one of the speakers said, ' By the report of last
year, it seems that $62,000 had been spent; and the result of
this amount was the conversion of 3,523 souls'—thus 3,523 souls
were converted by the payment of $17 09 1-2 cents each! We
may thus calculate, he said, that this number will be converted
by the payment of this small sum. "
I will make a short extract or two from Dr. Beecher's discourse,
as published in the New York Recorder, a New School Baptist
paper, and approving remarks by the editor. Dr. Beecher is a
New School Presbyterian. I do this to show the departure from
origininal principles, for the Presbyterians used to be sound in
doctrine.
The Dr. says: " How has it come to pass that we have this
plethora of interest in the missionary cause? Has it been by
the stated preaching of the gospel? Is it the fruits of cold or¬
thodox sermons on Sundays. Is it the good old jog-trot that has
brought to pass what we witness to-night—this mass of living,
breathing, praying friends of missions. Hear the world roar as
it rushes along, and see as civilization advances, wealth accumu¬
lates, luxury abounds and society rises higher and higher; how
men dislike the • humbling doctrine of the cross! Religion be¬
comes offensive; the gospel is odious; and if you go on they will
scout it out of the world with their sneers and contempt. How
are you to make head against all this accumulated hatred? By
jogging along in the good old orthodox way? No, men will go
to hell by whole generations if something be not done. We
must have revivals to keep pace with the progress of the world's
education, civilization, philosophy, business, thought. Every
thing now goes ahead; and nothing now will keep us in hailing
distance of the world. The church is in the world, and if the
world goes ten times as fast as formerly, we need ten times the
438
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
power to keep our hold upon it. Or else the world would leave
us so far behind that we could not be discerned with a telescope,
" You will ask me how are revivals to be obtained. Take
this, perhaps the last counsel of an old man, for I shall soon leave
the world. I never yet had a revival unexpectedly, or on the
mere ground that God is a sovereign, and pours out his spirit
when and where he pleases. This doctrine never yet led to revi¬
vals. I always sought and labored for them. Revivals, like all
other good things, are to be - labored for intelligently, faithfully.
Do any of you feel the need of a revival in your churches?—
There is my experience."
From the Clarion. Questions for your readers, are they.—
Young or old, rich or poor, male or female, I want you to an¬
swer them if you can.
1st. Are not the 600,000,000 of heathens, who are perishing
in ignorance of the Gospel, famishing spiritually?
2d. Is the famishing of the soul less lamentable than the
body?
3d. Are not those six hundred millions, famishing for the
bread of life, dependent upon us, who have it, for a supply of it?^
In connection with the above, an old gentleman in Tennessee
wrote and preached that there " were thousands and millions now
in hell that might have been saved if the church and ministry
had done their duty."
'But I have said enough upon this subject to show that it is
money and means, or taking the salvation of sinners out of sav¬
ing them by grace, and making them dependent for salvation
upon works, partly performed by themselves and partly by oth¬
ers, which surely is the spirit of the first beast, for it takes the
glory from God (notwithstanding what Christ done and suffered)
and gives it to men. Seeing then that it is an uncertain plan
and costs so much; for instance, here is a few items for mission¬
ary purposes alone, besides other benevolent institutions, which I
shall speak of presently.
The Missionary Societies in England, taken from the report of
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
439
1847. The church Missionary Society, established by law in
1800, has an annual income of £116,000. The Wesleyan Mis¬
sionary Society £116,000. London Missionary Society income
£75,000. The Baptist Missionary S.ociety income £28,000.
London City Mission income £14,000. The Methodist (new
connection) Missionary Society income £3,000. London Society
Mission to the Jews income £2,300. Home Missionary Society
income £2,500. Colonile Missionary Society income £2,500.—
The receipts show a decrease as compared with the preceding
year, attributed to the monetary pressure.—[London Patriot."]
In addition to the above, the Catholic Mission in Europe
£120,447, in Asia £205,656, in Africa £68,811, in America
£190,541, in Oceanica £81,040.
Here is what was collected in one week (anniversary) in Hew
York alone for missionary purposes. Foreign Evangelical Mis¬
sionary Society $14,820 00. Presbyterian Missionary Board
$95,628 00. Home Mission $116,771 94. Baptist Home
Missionary Society $48,324 59.
I will close my remarks upon this unclean spirit by making
some quotations from the word of G-od, to show the contrast be¬
tween what God the Lord says and Modern Missionaries say and
do:
Jeremiah vi. 16: "Thussaith the Lord: stand ye in the ways,
and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and
walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they
said, we will not walk therein. "
Verse 17: "Also I set watchmen over you, saying, harken to
the sound of the trumpet [Gospel.] But they said, we will not
harken."
Matthew i. 21: " Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall
save his people from their sins. "
If he does not for the want of more money, as the missiona¬
ries say, then the angel has borne false testimony. Which shall
we believe?
John vi. 37: "All the father givethme shall come to me; and
him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. "
440
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
Yerse 43: "Jesus therefore answered and said unto them,
murmur not among yourselves." [They murmured then as they
do now.]
Yerse 44: " No man can come to me except the father which
hath sent me draw him; and I will raise him up at the last day."
What! save them without ashing them whether they are wil¬
ling or not?
John x. 27: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and
they follow me."
28: " And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never
perish; neither shall any pluck them out of my hands. "
The missionary spirit is in direct opposition to these scripture
texts, and must be ot necessity, for if they were to preach that
doctrine they could not collect any money, because the world
would not receive such plain truths, as they would not receive
them from Christ, "who spake as never man spake." Which,
then, shall we adhere to? We say, then, let the fashionable re¬
ligious world hold on, and run on with all the new schemes of
the world in its rapid progress. We will continue in the old
fashioned jog-trot seeking after the ancient landmarks, relying
on Christ alone for life and salvation, let others scoff and ridicule
as much as they may : for it is said " cursed is he that puts his
trust in an arm of flesh. "
But the missionary spirit goes forth to all the Kingdoms of
the world, to gather them together to battle against the truth
in the great day of G-od Almighty.
And out of the mouth of the dragon. This should have been
treated of first inasmuch as it was first in order, but as I deemed
the missionary cause the most important of the two, I hav-
treated it first, and in doing so have anticipated a good deal y
what pertains to the dragon, because they partake of the sami!
spirit, have a good deal of likeness and have the same end it
view, using somewhat different means to accomplish it.
The dragon, I have said repeatedly, was pagan Rome, or thi
establishment of idolatry as a form of worship by the Romai(
government, up till the time of Constantine in 325, of whicf^
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
441
think there can be no doubt. And 'although he gave the beast
his seat apd great power, yet there was a similarity between them,
as the beast adopted a great deal of his idolatrous worship. The
principal difference is, the beast is established by law instead of
the dragon. John saw the same likeness come out of the mouth
of the dragon, which was like a frog. I have given a description
of the frog in the commencement of this chapter. We must
now look for something of a similar character possessing the
same spirit, which I shall say is the Tract Society, both Euro¬
pean and American, with all their kindred institutions, because
they are all sustained by money and profess to be carrying the
Gospel to the heathen—to civilize and christianize the world,
which they say cannot be done without it, thereby robbing God of
his glory.
The pagans had different Gods, yet they professed to form a
system upon which all could agree, by having a school to teach
the youth, and they taught them to despise the religion of the
extreme heathen.
Gibbon says, vol. i. pp. 112-13: " Such was the mild spirit of
antiquity, That the nations were less attentive to the difference
than to the resemblance of their religious worship. The Greeks,
the Romans and the Barbarians, as they met before their re¬
spective altars, easily persuaded themselves, that under various
names, and with various ceremonies, they adored the same dei¬
ties. The philosophers of Greece deduced their morals from the
nature of man, rather than from that of God. Of the four most
celebrated schools, the Stoics and the Ptalonists endeavored to
reconcile the jarring interest of reason and piety. The spirit of
inquiry, prompted by emulation and supported by freedom, had
divided the public teachers of philosophy into a variety of con¬
tending sects, but the ingenious youth, who came from every
part, resorted to Athens and other seats of learning in the Ro¬
man Empire, and were alike instructed in every school to reject
and despise the religion of the multitude. Reason of such tem¬
per were scarcely inclined to wrangle about their respective modes
of faith or of worship. Plutarch always inculcated a decent
442
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
reverence for the religion of their own country and of mankind.
The devotion of Epicureus was assiduous and exemplary."
Page 188: " At the age of purberty, the faithful Persian was
invested with a mysterious girdle, the badge of the divine pro¬
tection, and iromthat moment all the actions of his life, even the
most indifferent or the most necessary, were sanctified by their
peculiar prayers, ejaculations, or genuflections; the omission of
which, under any circumstances, was a grievous sin, not inferior
in guilt to the violation of moral duties. He who sows the
ground with care and diligence, acquires a greater stock of reli¬
gious merit than he could gain by the repetition of ten thousand
prayers. In the spring of every year a festival was celebrated,
designed to represent the primitive equality and the present con¬
nexion of mankind.
The Magi, or sacerdotal order, were extremely numerous; as
we have already seen. Four score thousand of them were con¬
vened in a general council. Their forces were multiplied by dis¬
cipline. A regular hierarchy was diffused throughout all the
provinces of Persia, and the Archinagus, who resided at Balch,
was respected as the visible head of the church and lawful suc¬
cessor of Zoroaster. The property of the Magi was very consid¬
erable. Besides the less invidious possession of *a large tract of
the most fertile lands of Media, they levied a general tax on the
fortunes and the industry of the Persians.
Though your good works, says the interested Prophet, exceed
in number the leaves of the trees, the drops of rain, the stars in
the heavens, or the sands on the sea shore, they will all be un¬
profitable to you, unless they are accepted by the destour, or
priest. To attain the acceptance of this guide to salvation, you
must faithfully pay him tithes of all you possess; of your goods,
of your lands and of your money. If the distour be satisfied,
your soul will escape hell tortures; you will secure praise in this
world and happiness in the next; for the distours are the teachers
of religion; they know all things and deliver all men.s* o
These conveniennt maxims of reverence, and implicit
were doubtless imprinted with, care on the tender minds of the
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
443
youth, since the Magi (preachers) were the masters of educa¬
tion in Persia, and to their hands the children, even of the royal
family, were entrusted."
" The divine institution of tithes exhibit a singular instance
of conformity between the law of Zoroaster" (who formed the
code) " and that of Moses. Those who cannot otherwise account
for it, may suppose, if they please, that the Magi of the latter
times inserted so useful an interpolation into the writings of
their prophet. Pliny observes that the Magi held mankind by
the trepple chain of religion, of physic and of astronomy."
Page 270: " The Sibylline books enjoined ceremonies of a
more haamless nature," (than that of offering human sacrifices,)
,,procession of priests in white robes, attended by a chorus of
youths and virgins; lustrations of the city and adjacent country.''
These extracts are sufficient to show the likeness in many re¬
spects. 1st. Although they differed in their faith and practice,
still«they would unite in one grand effort as if no difference ex¬
isted. So does the American Tract Society, the Sunday School
Union and the American and Foreign Bible Society. The
boards and conductors of these are composed of all the evangeli¬
cal denominations, (except Old Baptists.) who have a head or
President to conduct and direct the affairs, although they differ
as widely in their faith and practice, and are divided into as many
s.ects as was pagan Rome.
2d. They levied a tax and paid tithes to the priests, or teach¬
ers, who were the head, and required implicit obedience to their
regulations, and if faithful in paying tithes so as to please the
priest, they would have great praise here, saved from hell and
have a great deal more joy in heaven.
Is not this the argument used by the leaders of these institu¬
tions? The Sunday Schools frequently levy a tax upon the chil¬
dren which must come from the parents; then they ask tithes or
a collection according (they say) to what you have, which is to
be sent up to the head; for there is a head and all the others are
auxiliaries, or under members, who are controlled by the head.—
29
444
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.,
It may be said that the tax of the children is to pay for books,
which is true only in part, for a part of it is for missions; but
then the money has been begged from the people before to pay
for printing the books, and then the books are sold at a lower
price than others can afford, so they monopolize the whole busi¬
ness. And it is the same with Tract and Bible Societies.
American Messenger, vol. iii. p. 10: "The pastors of churches
hold the keys of the Lord's Treasury. "
This paper is a monthly publication of the American Tract
Society and the organ of that institution. The society embraces
what they style themselves, the Truly Evangelical Denomina¬
tions of Protestant Professors of Christianity in America, and in-
other nations. This sentiment therefore must be held by all,
or nearly all protestant religionists of the present day.
When the Catholics claim that the Pope holds the keys, these
protestants seem to be horror stricken and cry out " Blasphemy."
From the American Tract Magazine: " The American Tract
Society, at its last anniversary, resolved, that in the accumula¬
ting facilities and motives for diffusing by the press, the glad
tidings of salvation to all nations," (jnst where the frogs are to
go) "God, in his providence, evidently,requires that $30,000
be raised without the least possible delay."
Extract from the Annual Keport of the Secretary of the 1st
Baptist Sunday School Missionary Society (see the connexion
between the Sunday School and Missionary Society) of Brook¬
lyn, New York: "We can by energy, exertion and perseverance,,
accomplish much more than may at present sight seem possible.
The contributing of a single penny, however small it may appear
at first sight, will, when placed with others, accumulate a flood
that will cleanse the West and wash all Popery and false religion
from among them, and make them an upright and christian peor
pie." (This is to christianize the Mississippi Yalley—to cleanse
it from .false religion.) 'My children, if you like to do good, then
you love to Jaelp the Missionary Society. The ^blessings of .them-
that are ready to perish comes upon the head of every little boy
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
445
and girl wlio helps send the gospel to the heathen. You*cannot
hear their thanks now, but if yon meet them in heaven you will
hear them then.
Dear young readers, how will yoU feel in heaven, when happy,,
for ransomed souls to come near and say, " Thank you, thank
you for the gospel: you sent the gospel to me? " With a heart
more full of love and joy than it can contain, you will tune your
harp afresh and burst forth in louder songs."
They will not be happy for what Christ has done, but the
praise and adoration of the heathen will be to the children fo:
sending them the gospel. And the children will rejoice, not be¬
cause they were washed in the blood of the Lamb, but because
they saved the heathen. Christ is out of the question.
3d. The priests or Magi had great wealth. So do these soci¬
eties. From the report of 1847: "The annual income of the
British Foreign Bible Society £115,000; Eeligious Tract Soci¬
ety £57,000; Sunday School £1,000; Trinitarian Bible Society
£1,500. One week's collection in New York: New York Bible
Society $1,627; American Tract Society for the year 1846
$160,131; American Bible Society $210,285 66; American
Sunday School Union $24,500; New York American Sunday
School Union $2,196; American and Foreign Bible Society
$31,739 94..'
This is sufficient to show that these societies have a great deal
of wealth as well as their antitype. But it is impossible to
make an estimate of the vast sums that these societies have col¬
lected from time to time since their first establishment; but then
it will be said that they have spent it in publishing books and in
paying the officers and agents (colporters) for their service. So
did the heathen have a great number of books. See in Persia; ■
they, on all great emergencies, consulted the Sibylline and the
Zoroaster books, Even the Emperor examined them, and re¬
proved the Senate for being so tardy, while he proposes to pay
all expenses and to furnish the sacrifices, both of beasts and cap¬
tives of other nations for human sacrifices.
See also in Paul's day at Ephesus. Many of them also which
446
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
used curious arts brought their books together and burned them
before all men; and they counted the price of them and found it
to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.
But then it will be said that these books pertained to curious
arts; true, but it was curious arts in religion, and not in the arts
and sciences of literature. Then do not the Sunday School
Union and American Tract Society use curious arts to produce an
excitement, or make an impression, by resorting to all the ficti¬
tious stories that ingenuity can invent, frequently paying a pre¬
mium for the best written essay on some particular religious to¬
pic. But it will be said that these are worshiping the true God.
So did the heathen, even at Athens, have an altar to " The Un¬
known God," but they had many other Gods. And so do the
Sunday School and Tract Societies, for all these fictitious stories
are as emphatically other gods and the work of men's hands as
were the heathen, for they have no authority from the word of
God.
4th. The heathen had adopted in the Zoroaster code many of
the institutions of Moses. So have the Sunday School and
Tract Societies, for they prefer Moses to Jesus—that is, to do
and live; it is not by faith in the Son of God, but by the deeds
of the law. Moses circumcised the children; so do these, or
something in its room. No wonder then that they are so zealous,
for Paul says that " whosoever is circumcised is a debtor to do
the whole law."
In the Zoroaster code, no matter if you performed ten thou¬
sand good deeds, unless it was done to please those in authority
it would all avail nothing. They must pay him tithes and taxes
faithfully to obtain his favor; and if so, as he was the guide to
salvation, they would escape hell torture, procure praise in this
world and happiness in the next. So do these. No matter how
pious a man may be, nor how long he may have been a worthy
member of the church, according to their notions, it will all
avail him nothing. But if he gives liberally of his substance
to the distour or priest, he will be praised and lauded to the
skies throughout the length and breadth of the land, without re-
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
447
gard to his religious deportment. He will be certain to escape
hell tortures and enjoy abundantly more felicity in heaven, be¬
cause the heathen will adore him as their saviour.
5th. They had processions—the priests clad in white robes,
accompanied by a choir of boys and girls—a kind of enchant¬
ment. So do these. Who have not seen them on great occa¬
sions and at festivals, in grand procession in uniform and their
priests at their head accompanied by a choir or band of music.—
It is as a kind of enchantment or charm; as a gentleman said to
me, that there was nothing that they could do to have an influ¬
ence over the community and add to their strength and num¬
bers like that of a grand procession, because it would excite the
pride of others and produce a spirit of emulation both in par¬
ents and children.
6th. They taught the youths or children, the principles of
their worship, and trained them up to be christians, (according
to their notion of the term,) for the priests were the teachers.—
So do these, for every thing has a religious tendency. It will be
asked what objections have you to a Sunday School, when it is
calculated to teach morality to the children? None, I answer,
so long as that is the object. If they are only taught morality
and to read, to study and committhe scriptures to memory. For
I was a teacher in a Sunday school three years, and was as faith¬
ful and sincere as any one.
The objection then is the principle upon which it is conducted;
for first there is a combination, a principal head that governs all
the subordinates, and are under its control. Second. Every thing
goes to give it a religious cast; all the books and explanations are
to teach the children that to be a Sunday school schollar and to
do a great many good things will insure heaven and happiness.
The books, as I have said before, are all filled with well written
fictitious stories, calculated to make a false impression on the
young and tender mind, tending to a certain religious bias that
is hard to remove. Such stories, for instance, as those of some
little child who was three or five years old prayed a great deal,
and when it was about dying how much it talked to parents,
TSE UNCLEAN" SPIRtTS-..
brothers and sisters about heaven1, about Jesus and abOUi/ 'Gb^
which, if it was really true, and any ever said so, it said if li'kfc
a parot, not knowing any thing only to imitate what others had
said. And these false stories are to go out to all the world, es¬
pecially to the children, where*they will make an impression that
is opposed to the truth, and of course it is an unclean spirit,, for
no lie is of the truth.
Just the same may be said of the Tract Society in regard to
the false stories that are published in tracts and sent forth into-
all the world.
Are there-no good persons engaged in these things? Yes,,
multitudes have been imperceptibly led along by their zeal, and
the zeal of others to save sinners, until they are fully in it. But
then there are numbers who know not God by an experimental
knowledge, and of course make it conform to their worldly no¬
tions and interest. Dr. Ely said that if the Sunday School
Union could become general,, in a few years every office, from
the President down, would be filled with Sunday School schol-
lars, showing a desire to connect as far as possible tuition., reli¬
gion and politics together. Then others sustain these institu¬
tions in order that their respective churches may prosper, as I
heard a Missionary. Baptist preacher say to-the congregation, that
if we keep up Sunday schools we will, have as laige congrega¬
tions and as flourishing churches as other denominations, and
without it we cannot; and so it turned out, for not long after the
school was commenced, he baptized 011 one Sunday .evening 1&
of his Sunday school children, little hoys and girls, and so con¬
tinued until most of them joined his church; thus did the hea¬
then teach the children: and so did the church of Home teach
first catacumens, and afterwards baptized the children and
brought them within the pale of the church without their con¬
sent.
The Tract Society does not claim to have missionaries, hut it
has something similar; it has agents, or eolporters, who go in
every direction to cany their fictitious tracts to every dock.—
Where do they find the example? Not in the New Testament,,
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
449
Hut from 'the Reformers, which I have said was the beast with
t#o horns.
D'Aubigne says, vol iii. p. 437: "Such were the principal
means by which these writings were circulated. Farel and his
fiiends consigned the books to certain pedlars or colporters, sim¬
ple and pious men, who, loaded with their precious burden, passed
from town to town, from village to village, and from house to
house, in France, Comte, Lorraine, Burgundy, and the adjoining
provinces, knocking at every door. They procured the books at
a low rate, that they might be the more eager to sell them. "—
(That they might make the greater profits as an inducement.)
" Thus, as early as 1524, there existed in Basle a Bible Society,
a Tract Society and an association of colporters, for the benefit
of France."
This is precisely similar to the present Tract and Bible Soci¬
eties—they are carried by a set of colporters, most of whom are
not willing to labor for a support, who obtain and sell the books
and tracts at a low price because the money has been begged
from the people to enable the publishers to print them at a low
rate. Thej7 frequently give away tracts as an inducement for
the people to buy books. These colporters are all of the same
cast—profess to be wonderfully sanctified. It is made their duty
to call at every house and hold family prayers, no matter what
time of the day. (How much like the pharisees.) Some of
them are more expert in selling books (indulgences) than
others. As I saw one in the court yard try for some time to sell
books, but made but little progress until at length he broke
open two or three bales of tracts and gave them out, throwing
them promiscuously over the crowd, when he commenced selling
books, and the demand was so great that he sold nearly a hack
load; he had talked and labored, until he was nearly exhausted.
Thus by the giving away or throwing of fifty or a hundred
tracts among the people, such an excitement was produced that
he sold, in a few hours, several hundred dollars worth of hooks.
The Bible Society is less objectionable than, either of the oth¬
ers. because the Bible is true; but then it is the spirit and man-
450 'THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
ner in which it is done that I object to, beoause the money, (as-
I have said before,) has been begged from the people to pay for
printing, which enables them to monopolize the whole business,
so that no other man or company can compete with them. If it
was to send the word of God alone, without note or comment to
the heathen, there could not be any objection to that; but then
it is sent by an army of lazy colporters, who carry a great many
other books and tracts to sell filled up with histories of missiona¬
ries and fictitious tracts. And then there is no use in sending
and paying these whining colporters, year after year, all over the
United States, where every person at all disposed to read the
word of God, can get it if he wishes. But I rejoice that the
word of God is sent among the heathen, for Qod can and will
overrule the principle, which is the same principle as the others,
for it is connected with the missionary system and money is the
main lever of them all. Just withhold the money and they
would all cease in less than twelve months, notwithstanding the
professed zeal of their advocates, because money is the moving
cause, and yet " the love it is the root of all evil. " So says Paul
to Timothy, " which while some coveted after, they have erred
from the faith. " How good and wise it is that God's plan of
preaching and sending the gospel to the human family is not
founded upon money, and therefore it is not corrupt.
And out of the mouth of the false prophet. This, as I have
said before, very evidently means Mahomet, who commenced his
ministry first to his wife and domestics about the year A. D. G09,
which would make it three years after that of the Pope coming
into possession of the secular and ecclesiastical power, which was
to continue forty and two months. And the city of Jerusalem
was to be trodden under foot the same length of time by the
Gentiles; and as Jerusalem is in the possession of Mahomet,
we suppose that the period of forty-two months will terminate
about the same time with both these powers, which will Ire in
1866. But we must now find a spirit proceeding out of his
mouth similar to those already described—that is an unclean
spirit like a frog—that is, swells himself, is very impudent, very
THE UNCLEAR SPIRITS.
451
prolific, unusually noisy, with a constant croaking jargon, but?
short lived. Such is evidently the temperance cause. And this
too originated with the Scribes and Pharisees; for they charged
the Lord Jesus with being a "gluttonous man anc! a winebib-
bler, a friend to publicans and sinners," because he came eating
and drinking. Prohibition laws have been enacted both before
and since Mahomet, but has never been made a religious test
until some few years since. And as Mahomet was the first (since
the Pharisees) to make it a religious test, or a part of his reli¬
gious creed, we take it for granted that the present enthusiastic
spirit proceeded from him.
Here are a few instances both before and after his time, but
they never accomplished any thing. Domitian ordered all the
vine plants in the Roman Territory to be rooted out. Charles
X.. of France issued a similar edict. In 153G, under Francis I.,
a law was passed sentencing drunkards to imprisonment on bread
and water for the first offence—a public whipping punished a
second infringement, and a third time banishment and loss of
ears was the punishment. Draco inflicted capital punishment
and Lycurgus destroyed the vineyards. The Athenians had offi¬
cers to prevent the excess of drunkenness. In Rome, the patri¬
cians were not allowed to use Avine until they had attained the
age of thirty-five; nevertheless drunkenness Avas a common vice
among the Romans. Arielous (the Emperor) had officers whose
duty it was to intoxicate foreign Ambassadors. Temperance so¬
cieties are not institutions of modern origin. Sigismund de Die-
trichstem established one in 1517 under the auspices of St. Chris¬
topher.
But very soon after Mahomet commenced his religious career
he prohibited the use of Avine in his religious code or alcoran.—
He says: " They will ash thee concerning Avine and lots. An¬
swer- in both there is great sin, and also some things of use to
men, but their sinfulness is greater than their use." (page 30.)
" Moreover, Avhatever inebriates shall be esteemed Avine, and
all wine is prohibited. God has cursed Avine, and the person
drinking it, tasting and presenting it to others, buying it, selling
492
T3E1 UNCI/EAN SPIRIMTS.
it?, treading grapes and expressing it; and also the persons fe'-
eeiving it; or eating any. thing bought with the money for which
it was sold. Shun wine, for it is the key to all evils."—Alco¬
ran page 287.
"0 true believers, surely wine and lots, and images, and divine
arrows, are an abomination, and of the works of satan, therefore
avoid them that ye may prosper. Satan seeks to sow hatred and
contention among you by means of wine'and lots, and divert you
from remembering' God and from prayer. Will you not there¬
fore abstain frcm them.'"—[page 140.] Lots was gambling.—
The evil, or unclean part of it, does not consist in being tem¬
perate, but in making it a part of the religious creed and enforc¬
ing it by law. Mahomet was the first to do this, and like the
other two unclean spirits, he adopted in his religious code largely
from the law of Moses, and I am sure that no people arc more
zealous than the Mahometans; for whenever tire hour arrives for
them to pray, they will drop whatever they are employed in and
prostrate themselves if it is in the street.
Having; said this much, it will now be necessarv for me to
O / «•
show that the present advocates of the temperance cause are car¬
rying out the principle that was instituted by Mahomet, ft is
true that it was recently, [or since the way has been prepared so
that it could go to the Kings of the earth-,] revived by one of
the subjects of the first beast, for Father Matthew is a Roman
Catholic; so it will be seen how close the connexion between all
three, for Protestant professors are the actors, and hail and ap¬
plaud Father Matthew as a great deliverer and saviour.
I am well apprized that the position I have assumed is op¬
posed by popular opinion, and for which I have- [and those that
are with me in sentiment] been charged time and again as being
drunkards and favoring immorality and drunkenness, which is an
unjust imputation, for no man is more opposed to intemperance
than I am; for lam now more than three score years old and I
do not know how a drunk man feels, but if he feels as bad as he
looks, I pray God I may never know, nor have I any idea I ever
shall. This much in self defence. Then I am not opposed to
TTfE tJK'CLlEAN SPlltlTS.
45&
fettf'pferance, Tibr even temperance societies; but the opposition is
the spirited manner in which it is done. I think it is dishon¬
oring to God for members of' the church to unite with a tempe¬
rance institution, because it is a tacit acknowledgment that hu¬
man made laws are more effectual to suppress intemperance than
the law of God by which we profess to be governed, which pos¬
itively forbids intemperance of every kind; and further, that true
temperance is the fruit of the Holy Ghost. Gallatians v. 22-23 r
" But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, f ith, meekness, temperance; against such
there is no law. " Here, it will be seen, it is one of the fruits of
the spirit, and he that professes to be taught by the spirit and is
not temperate, has made himself a liar, and is unworthy of mem¬
bership in the church of Christ; and if a man cannot be tempe¬
rate and live morally in the church, (principles which the spirit
always produces,) let him be excluded as unworthy of member¬
ship, (which we always do as a denomination,) and then let him
join a human made institution if it will make him a temperate
man.
Thus we consider the church of Christ the highest tribunal on
earth, and that her laws are like the divine law giver, unalterable
and needs no addition from men, and that temperance societies
are of the world, and ought to be kept, as human institutions,
separate from the laws of the country and religion; but then it
would not be the unclean spirit, for it is its seeking to be united
with them that shows it to be unclean, in professing to accom¬
plish, or to assist to accomplish, what the Holy Spirit cannot ac¬
complish alone, when God has said it will.
It will be necessary to give a short history of its progress that
its likeness to the other two spirits may appear. It commenced
afresh in England and Ireland, (after the revolution of Europe
which prepared the way for the three unclean spirits,) by the
device or ingenuity of Father Matthew; it then spread to other-
Kingdoms of Europe and then to the United States. It first
came in the character of temperance societies, or taking the
pledge, and like the other two, had its missionaries, and of course-
454
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS!
it must have money or funds to. carry on its operations, and these
Missionary churches (many of them) associations and conventions,
and nearly all protectant ministers, made it a test of fellowship,
thereby making it a part and parcel of their religious faith and
becoming united with Mahomet in their religious principles,
although they profess to differ so widely. The agents, or speak¬
ers, most of them, were reformed drunkards (or professed to be
reformed) and broken down lawyers and politicians, who, seeing
that it was becoming popular, hoped by that means to get into
power or employment, and used all the arguments and fictit'ous
stories they were capable of, and heaped abuse upon all that
would not fall in with them, because the larger the number the
greater would be the influence, and of course the more money
and the greater would be the employment. These speakers, ma¬
ny of them, drank at the time—if not then they did soon after¬
wards.
But it was soon found that these laws were not sufficiently
stringent to restrain their, members from intemperance, for they
had imposed it upon all that they could; and like the other two
unclean spirits, they imposed it upon the children also.
Then came the Tetotalers and Washingtonians. Then lastly
the Sons of Temperance. This order had a secret combination,
and a pledge or oath enjoining secrecy upon the members; formed
a Grand Council for the United States, with another Grand Di¬
vision in each State, and sub-divisions in every town and neigh¬
borhood, showing clearly a likeness to the other two unclean
spirits. And governed like the church of Home, having a gen¬
eral head, with numerous subdivisions, and all their officers
looking up to the head for permission to form societies, for marks
and signs, the regulations by which they are to be governed; this
one head then effectually governs the whole of the subdivisions.
While the opponents objected to it on the ground that a secret
combination could be wielded for evil as well as good, and that
when they obtained sufficient strength, they would seek to con¬
trol our government, and ask laws to enforce prohibition upon
all, which they positively denied, disclaiming any such ihfentiofy
THE < UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
455
professing great benevolence. Nearly all the Protestant preach¬
ers (except the Old Baptists) went intt> it, and their influence
over their congregations added numbers to it, so that it soon be¬
came powerful in numbers, and by initiating fees and other do¬
nations, it became like the others, a moneyed institution, and of
course had its missionaries or speakers in every section of the
country; and then they did not stop at the invention and pub¬
lishing all manner of fictitious stories, but resorted to the pub¬
lication of base falsehoods and daring impudence scarcely to be
met with in the Catholic church.
Lest it should be* thought that I have made a false charge I
will give one case out of a thousand that might be given. A
pharisaical preacher, (for so I must call him as his conduct jus¬
tifies it, although he stood high at the time,) in a public lecture,
said he knew a church not a hundred miles distant, that the
preacher and every member in it were drunkards, and that ever)-
Old Baptist preacher in the State of Tennessee were drunkards,
and that nine-tenths of them died drunk. Every person knows
that to be false, because there never was a church whose mem¬
bers were all drunkards, yet he was highly applauded by the
crowd for what he said, because he was heaping abuse upon a
supposed enemy.
A great many churches and other religious bodies made it a
religious test—that a man must be a member of the temperance
society to retain membership in the'church, and that the pros¬
pect of a reformed drunkard who was a Son of Temperance was
far better for heaven and happiness than a man who had lived
an orderly member of the church for years if he would not join
the Sons of Temperance. It of course became very popular,
and a man almost risked his reputation if he spoke, unfavorably
of the cause, or the manner in which it was conducted; and a
man could hardly attain to any office unless he belonged to it, or
favored it. Hence the clergy courted politicians, and they courted
the clergy, to secure their influence to elevate them to office.—
Many politicians fell in with it because it was popular, and many
more were lashed into it from necessity by the clergy. In. this
456
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
connection of politicians and clergy, tliey began-to ask for laws
in different States (contrary to their former declarations) to pro¬
hibit the use of spirits of any kind as a beverage, and have ob¬
tained it in several States, thus connecting a religious institu¬
tion (for they have evidently made it such by making it a reli¬
gious test, and the. clergy preached more upon that subject than
they did of the. Gospel of Christ) with the laws of the land.—
Just what Antichrist has always sought to do, and proves that
it is the unclean spirit that proceeded from the mouth of the
false prophet, who made it a religious test and established it by
law. And then the swelling and strutting mid external show in
processions and at feasts—the noise, the croaking and hoarse jar¬
gon never could be surpassed by all the frogs in the country; but
it is short lived, for how many newly built temperance halls in
towns and country, are evacuated and their inmates the worst
drunkards in the country, which a few extracts will show.
The Providence Journal says, under the head of Tetotalism:
" Mr. Gougli stated in his lecture at Trenton, that 600,000 per¬
sons had signed the pledge and connected themselves with the
Washingtonian movement; that out of this number 450,000
had retrograded and violated the pledge, and either had filled
drunkard's graves or were miserable drunkards; that the original
mover of the project now keeps a low grocery in Baltimore and
is the best customer himself'. " -
The Temperance Advocate " complains that all the officers in
Rhode Island appointed by the State and National Government
are opposed to the Maine Law." The Providence Journal also
says that the law is utterly disregarded in that city. In Woon-
socket the whole matter looks like a broad farce. In Newport,
we are told, the sale and consumption of liquor is as great as
ever it was. This is sufficient to show the decline of the cause.
The law, in every State where it has been enacted, has been de¬
clared unconstitutional and inoperative, and yet there is still
great efforts making to get similar laws in other States, notwith¬
standing it has proved a failure in all the States where it has
been in force, and has retarded the cause; for the, veryr thing-
TIIE.-^tF N CLEA«5t,. iSPI RI rS.
457
that, its friends supposed would promote the cause has done it
more injury than all the opposition that it ever met with, as one
of,the temperance conventions assembled declared that the law
had thrown the temperance movement hack for at least twenty
years.
Enough has been said to show the identity of this spirit with
the others, and when it has fulfilled its day it will have an end,
for the false prophet will be cast into the lake of fire with the
other beasts.
"Verse 14: "For they are the spirits of devils, working mira¬
cles, which go forth unto the Kings of the earth and of the
whole world, to gather them to battle for the great day of God
Almighty."
The spirits of devils, or demons. The spirit of Antichrist—
the spirit of error—in opposition to the truth, and of course it is
of the devil, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
"And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke
out of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon
the earth."
Locusts are very numerous, very 'injurious, and very noisy,
aqual to the frogs, but short lived; they have stings in their
tails, which always represent false teachers.
Working miracles. That is, doing what seemed to be mira¬
cles—doing what seemed to be impossible, so as to astonish the
people and make them think it extraordinary or wonderful.
So the three unclean spirits that I have been describing per¬
formed such wonders at their excited meetings as to astonish
even the sober thinking people, when they create such an excite¬
ment as to affect nearly all present, and mal^e some hundreds of
converts, most generally among the younger class—making a
noise that is not very dissimilar to the animal itself; and when
thus they profess how bitterly they are opposed to the truth—-
that is, opposed to the sovereignty of God in the work of the
Hyly Spirit upon the fleshly tables of the heart, for they have
got religion and they know all others can have it if they will use
the, means. - But alas, how many of them return to their former
458
OME AJNCLE'AN SPlJ§TS.
course or become worse,- for the last state of that man is? worse
than the first ,*
And equally so with the tetotalers—they get up an exqite-
ment and work miracles, do wonders, but then, according to their
own showing, a large majority turn back, deny their pledge and
are worse drunkards than ever.
The following is an extract from the American Messenger, a
paper published by the Tract Society. "I have been at four
camp meetings," says a colporter. "One man said to me, I
don't think you have any religion." "Why?" said I. " 0,
you don't seem to enjoy shouting." " Why that is all you know
about it," said I. "I can raise a bigger shout in the camp
than two or three of your preachers can." ''Ha," said he,
with disdain. I told him that singing would cause more shout¬
ing than any thing else and that we would try it at night. We
went up to the camp ground in the evening, where the preacher
was trying to raise a shout. I commenced singing "Jesus my
all to heaven is gone " and " I am bound for the land of Canaan,"
and in five minutes you could not hear it thunder for the shout¬
ing. The next day I delivered an address, sold twenty-five or
thirty dollars worth of books, and obtained twenty-four subscri¬
bers for the Messenger." This extract shows how completely
mechanical are all the inventions of men for exercising the pas¬
sions and misleading the minds of their subjects. Here a hire¬
ling colporter of the Tract Society operated upon a Missionary
camp meeting, and lashed them into such a phrenzy that they
yelled like demons [was it the spirit of devils working miracles?]
and exceeded the noise of -thunder; and then such was the effect
t hat it served his purpose in enabling him to sell his indulgences
like the Catholics, and then boast of it as a grqat achievement.
Here we see two of these unclean spirits harmonizing together to
advance their cause.
This kind of religion of man's free agency, self-sufficiency to
do and live, or to get religion when he chooses and lose it when¬
ever he neglects to do, and of the impossibility of God, by-ihe
Holy Ghost, making him a christian without he is willing and
THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.
459
yields,, or unless his free agency is consulted. It goes to all the
lyings of the earth and to all the world. It has gone to Europe,
Asia, Africa and America.
Togo forth to the Kdny&of tihe earth. No class of men have
been more under the influence of Pagan superstition, Mahome-
dan delusion,.or the papacy, than Kings and Princes; and they
are now particularly preparedffor it to* go to them. The spirit of
propagandism sprang up just before the close of the revolution
inEurope. The first missionary enterprise commenced in the
United States in 1810,
Of the whole world. Is occupied by the Pagan, the Mahome¬
tan and the Papal, and these spirits are gone to them. Yes,
even to Africa and China, and the way is nearly open to Japan,
which has been closed against the world lor some three hundred
years on account of the conduct of the Jesuits or monks of the
Papists.
lo gather them. Not literally to assemble them all in one
place, which would be impossible, but to unite or combine them
by training, (beginning with the children,) or marshaling them
like a General would his army for battle.
As error or falsehood is a prolific evil, like the frogs, so there
never has- begn, since the introduction of Christianity, such a
tendency of the human mind to generate new and strong schemes,
heresies, or fanatical views and extravagances. All, or nearly
all, originateliii the New England States, although it is boasted
that this nineteenth century isamage of civilization, mental illu¬
mination and of gospel light. That error cannot exist without
being detected.
And yet, in the great city of New York, the boasted city of
arts, learning and religion, a vulgar, igiioraxt pretender passed
himself off to a number of persons, men and women, not of the
lower class, as Jehovah himself—created a considerable sect, and
some of his followers actually forced their wives to bed with the
imposter, im hopes that they might be the mother of the Son of
God.
Then came: Mormonism,, which*delusion has spread more rap-
30
mo
THE* .UNCLEAR SHBI&S.
idly than Mahometanism. Then came the millen'ium of Milfer^
ism. Then came the ipillepium of the Kingdom and age to
come, and spiritualism with all its rappings, which is to supply
the place of the revealed will of God. And an additional new
sect in the city of New York, headed by a lady who professes to
have died and gone to heaven, and that God has sent her back
on a mission; and such is the power of delusion over her sub¬
jects that a man actually killed his brother (he consenting to be
killed) because she said that he was possessed of the devil.
To the battle of the great clay of God Almighty. Not the day
of judgment, but the day that would determine the ascendency
of truth in the world. All these and hundreds of others will
battle against the truth, and even against God, but it will be a
final conflict with all these powers. We need not suppose that
God will appear in a visible battle, but by his providence and
spirit on the side of the church, he will overcome all these com¬
bined errors as in battle, when the truth will prevail, which I
shall show more fully hereafter.
Verse 15; "Behold I come as a thief.- Blessed is he that
watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked and they
see his'shame. " He commences this verse with a note of atten¬
tion, as if to arouse us to a sense of what is aboud to transpire,
as in 1st Thessalonians v. 2; "For yourselves know perfectly
that the day of the Lord so Cometh as a thief in the night. "
It is evidently intended to admonish men to watch, to be ready,
for he shall come suddenly, at an unexpeeted moment, like a
thief. ■
Blessed is'he that watcheth. Because he will be leacly—will
not be taken by surprise, having watched the approach or the
signs that indicated his coming as a thief.
And keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked. This does not
mean his literal garments; but figuratively the garments of sab
vation—the garments of righteousness. As the natural gaiv
ments cover the body from the pelting storm or the scorching
rays of the sun, so he does not suffer that exposure which -be
would if naked, so the garments of salvation or> the i^hole armor
the unclean spirits.
461
'$f God will shield him, not only from the fiery darts of the
wicked one, hut will shield him from the awful storm that is to
sweep error and delusion with the besom of destruction that will
take place in this great battle. The beasts have always prevailed
over the saints heretofore, but the saints will triumph through
the Tjamb. Then we should not go into these errors and extrav¬
agances, whose garments are as flimsy as fig leaf aprons and can¬
not hide flur nakedness; nop should we lay aside our garments and
•fall to sleep, lest when he comes we should be found naked. As
in war the soldiers are not allowed (when near the enemy and
expecting them to battle) to lay aside their garments to rest, lest
the enemy should find them at the sound of the trumpet unpre¬
pared for battle, so in this battle we should not only be watching
but should have on the whole armor of God, with our loins girt
about with truth, and our feet shod with the preparation of the
gospel of peace." We should be living diligently and faithfully
in every good word and work, not fearing the enemy in any thing
he can say or do. Although he is very numerous and makes a
great noise, with Kings arrayed on his side, we should shun his
smiles as well as his frowns and threats.
Yerse -16: "And he gathered them together into a place called
in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon."
In the 14th verse the spirits are represented as going forth into
the whole world for the purpose of gathering the nations to¬
gether to the great battle, and here it is said he gathered them,
evidently meaning the Kings of the earth to whom they went.
It will be a general war literally as well as spiritually. God
works by -his providence to accomplish these great -events, and
kingdoms -and despotisms must in some degree be destroyed be¬
fore the true spirit of Christianity can generally prevail. But
there will be a general mustering of spiritual forces, as this is
the great end in view.
There will be a more general combination than has ever been,
not in religious sentiments so much, but a combination of all
these spirits against the truth of the sovereignty of God and
the plain simplicity of the gospel—a combination in schemes to
the unclean spirits;!
get money and to create excitements which will be callM revi¬
vals, and will be in every kingdom, whereby great numbers wilL
be added to their &4rength;,so it will be a gathering together
against the great day of God Almighty. I have shown Before-
that there is a combination jof all denominations in the Tract
Society, in the Sunday School Union, Temperance Societies and-;
other kindred institutions, and. so it will be. in the religious ex¬
citements.
I have no objection to Sunday Schools or Temperance Societies
so long as they are kept worldly institutions free from religion
and politics, or ■ separate from Church and State—purely to
train up the youth in literature and morality.
But, in order to show how differently they are conducted from
that, and what a combination they have already formed, I will
give a condensed extract from a'New York paper.
"'The American Systematic Benificence Society proposes to
issue certificates of stock to the amount of ten millions of dollars,.
divided into forty millions of shares, at twenty-five cents each.
Those who pay 25 cents or more into your Sabbath School Char¬
ity Fund, will be stockholders and entitled to certificates. Stock¬
holders are guaranteed to receive one hundred times as much as
they put in. (Matthew xix. 29.) Those who continue to pay
into the fund as much as six cents a week, for three years in suc¬
cession, are to be Life Members of the American Systematic
Benificence Society. Those who do this for six years to be hon¬
orary managers for life. Those who do this for ten years to be
honorary Yice Presidents for life. Those who do this (from love
to Christ) while they live, will have a free admission, through
the gates, into the heavenly city, a now-white robe, a heavenly
harp, a crown of gold, and a seat at the right hand of the final
Judge. M. W. BALDWIN, Pres't.
Geo. H. Stewart, Yice President, &c."
Plan for raising six cents a week for the Sabbath School .
Charity Fund by every Sabbath scholar in America, to be divi¬
ded, if thought best, between Foreign Missions, Home Missions,
Sabbath School, Systematic Benificence, Seamen's Friend, Edu-
THE UNCLEAR SPIKITS. M'fiB
•-cation, Bible and'Tract Societies—the pastor, '(as a token of re¬
spect and affectibn,) the poor and the Sabbath School Library.
Let each scholar devote to this purpose, 1st one tenth of their
regular income. 2d. All they can earn by extraordinary indus¬
try—in sewing, knitting, cultivating a missionary plat of ground,
doing extra jobs, working over time, &c." Thus their minds and
their hearts will gradually swell and expand, until at length they
will be prepared to form a class of christians of a higher type
and a nobler spirit than any who ham gone before them."
Here is a part of what the New York editor says of these
Philadelphia religionists: "The persons whose names are set to
this most outrageous paper have, for years past, been spoken of
as high-toned, benevolent and religious men."
What impious audacity of self conceit has passed these1 men.
that they should dare to set themselves up as dispensers of the
attributes of the-Almighty. Pretend to have authority to insure
a position at the right hand of Glod for the .paltry price of six
cents per week.
Religion is defiled by such men, society is cast down and eter¬
nal life is hawked about in the market as an object of traffic.—
Most shameful audacity. Most wicked and detestable blasphe¬
my."—[N. Y. Dispatch.
This is only a small portion of what they have said and done,
yet it is sufficient to show a combination of all these unclean
spirits, and also how far men 'will carry their systematic schemes
^of religion to accomplish their purpose; scarcely to be surpassed
by the church of Rome.
This New York Editor says these men of the Benificent So-
ciety-of Philadelphia hawk about eternal life as an object of
traffic. It is true they offer it for - sale, but L have my doubts
whether they have any for themselves, much less to dispose of to
others.
■Armageddon. Hear -Megiddo, where it is said tkat Josiah
♦came to fight in the valley of Megiiddo, 2d Chronicles xxxv. 22,
which was a town belonging to Menassa, although in the limits of
Issachar, Joshua xvii. 11. It had been originally one of the
464
THE, UNCLEAN SPIRITS*.
royal cities of the Canaanites, and on® which the I&raelites wercv.
for a long time, unable [to take possession of. It was rebuilt and.
fortified by Solomon, 1st Kings ix. 15.? Ahaziah, King of Judah,
fled there and died when wounded by Jehu, 2d Kings ix 27. It
was here that Deborah and Barak destroyed Sisera and his hosts,.
Judges v. 19; and it was in a battle near this that Josiah was
slain, by Pharaoh Nebo, 2d Kings xxiii. 29. From the great
mourning held for his loss, it became proverbial to speak of any
great calamity or grievous mourning as being like the mourning
of Hadadrimmon in the Valley of Megiddon, Zech. xii. 11. So
many battles being fought there and such great mourning, it be¬
came emblematical of any dreadful battlefield, or a place of
great mourning on one side, and rejoicing on the other; spch, for
instance as Waterloo, or New Orleans, or Bunker's Hill, or any
noted battle.
The true meaning is that this will be the greatest battle ever
fought, both'politically and religiously, because it will be more
general than any that ever was fought, for it will be all the Kings
of the world fighting for dominion until they nearly lose their
power and authority. And spiritually it will be a struggle, or
last effort of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet, with all'
their inventions to overthrow the truth and the true church of
Christ; but Christ, will fight against them and overcome them,
and they will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, and
then the church shall triumph through.the blood of.the Lamb.
measuring the temple*
465
GHAPTER XIL
measuring the temple. ■
And tLere vras glvefi me a reed like unto 'a rod; an (Ah'e angel stood saying, Rise, and
measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them thkt worship therein."—Rex. xi. 1.
And there iv&s given me a reed, &e. A measuring rod, or
something by which he could ascertain to a certainty the dimen-"
sions, as mechanics have measuring" rods or- lines, like Ezekiel's
measuring line. All this, of course, is symbollical, and spiritu¬
ally speaking is the New Testament, or the word, of God.
" Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth- shall be bound in heav¬
en. " Shall be binding as to the order, ordinances and discipline
of the church of Christ—no other rule or standard will be ad¬
mitted.
And the angel stood shying, rise and measure the temple of God.
This could not mean the literal temple because John was in the
Island and the temple had already been destroyed, and its di¬
mensions were well known; nor did it have reference to that
time but to the future. And as it was said that God dwelt in
the temple built at Jerusalem, so it must mean that which the
temple represents, which is the church where God dwells by his
word and spirit. Take the exact measurement so that that model
may be drawn, that at any time one may be built of' the same
dimensions, so that if there should. be (as there would- be, for
this is what Johh foresaw) a great number built in imitation;'
but all differing in some particulars, some more and some less;
the true one might he known by those workmen who are capable
#f discerning, although the imitation may be very close. If a
skilful architect was to undertake to measure a building so as to
build one like it, he would take the length, the breadth, the
lieighth, the doors or entrances, the porticos, the foundation, and
the materials that compose the building; and when he undertook
tG'baiid he-wonkl take care that the foundation was a good one5s
46fi measuring the temple.
•
and that the building corresponded in size with the foundation,
and not leave to chance just as it happened how many workmen
came in, or whether they worked faithful or not, nor to the ca¬
price of the workmen, whether it should b§ large or small, nor
for the want of the materials, whether it should be larger or
.smaller than the original design, or would he bring in trees and
atones, great and small, brush and all to make-up the size; but it
■would be materials well prepared, brought to the plumb and
^square befofe they entered the building, and then to make it an
exact image it would have to come to the measure in every par¬
ticular.
Then the temple to be measured 'is the church of Christ-—
mot those steepled houses in cities that men call churches in this
nineteenth century. John gives a minute description in the
Kevelations of the New Jerusalem, and then in his gospel (as it
is called) and epistles he gives a more minute'description than
the other Evangelists, for he wrote after his return from his exile,;
he gives the language of Christ calling it a sheep-fold; he says
" if any man enter in by me, &c. " " I am the door, &c." That
is, if any man enters into the spiritual kingdom it must be by
the merits of Christ alone, by an experimental knowledge, or
" having Christ formed in them the hope of glory, " and it must;
be accomplished 'by the work and office of the Holy Ghost. And
then he says "The good shepherd entereth by the door into the
sheep-fold. " I understand him to mean that he enters the visi¬
ble church by baptism. I know some of my brethren object to
my views, and they say fellowship. Then where is full fellow¬
ship or communion without baptism?? They say when they give
a relation to]the church as a candidate for baptism. But then I
say they are not members of the church until they have been
baptized—never have been in the inner court, but are outer court
worshipers, as I shall show more fully presently.
And the altar, and them that worship therein. The altar is
fhe one that stood in front of the temple, where Jewish offerings
or sacrifices were made for the sins of the people. They weie
made for the Jews—never for the Gentiles. They were to be of
MEASURING THE TEMPLE. 46^
U particular kind, and so specific that the color, the age, and kind
-of an animal was minutely described so that the least departuer
would make it fatal—would cause the priest to dose his life, and
would not expiate the sins of the people; when he was commanded
to offer a red heifer, a white one would not have been received.
All this then is figurative and prefigured the offering that Christ
would make.
Then the altar was to be measured as well as the temple—its
exact length, its width, its heightli was to be particularly noted,
because it was made of a particular size; and these represent
the atonement or sacrifice that Christ made. Then from the
figure I must say that the atonement must be special—have par¬
ticular bounds or dimensions to suit the figure, for if the atone¬
ment was to be general, then the offering should have been for
the Gfentles as well as the Jews—need not been so particular
what dimensions or size the altar should be and the character of
the offering. But it is said " he shall save his people from their
sins. " Then they were his before they are saved. .Again he.says
"I lay down my life for the^sheep. " " You will not hear my
voice because^you are not my sheep." Surely then he did not
die for them. -St. Paul says " Husbands love your wives, -even
as Christ loved the church (not the world) and gave himself for
il
it," (the church.) And again: " Christ hath (in the past tense)
.redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us."
To say that the atonement was universal and all were redeemed.,
rand still it is admitted by all (but the Universalists) that a por¬
tion of the human family will be lost—redeemed and still
damned—is too .inconsistent to be believed.
But then it is said that special atonement is too hard, leaving
a portion without any chance. If he made a general atonement
and left it to chance, no one will behaved. If he had .said that
it was general it would have suited me, or the inclination of the
»oldman very well; but with the specialty of the figures and the
texts above quoted, I cannot, I durst not say that it was general.
Then the exclamation " Who then can be saved? " I answer
all for whom Christ died, let it be many or few; and all will ad-
468
MEASURING' THE TEMRUE.
mit that it includes all to whom the application is made—all that'
believe imthe Lord Jesus Christ—all that are willing to be saved 1
by grace alone. Then if it saves all that are willing, how many
more would be saved*if it had been general? He has sent the
Holy Spirit into the world as his Executor, and if he fails to
make the application to alb the heirs of promise he will be un--
faithful, or unable, and to say that is blasphemy against the
Holy Ghost.
And if- he died equally for all and all are not saved, then there
would be a want of efficiency in the blood- of Christ; or if one
should be lost for whom he died, then he would havp failed to do'
what he came to do.
And them that 10 or ship therein. Them that worship therein
must first be Jews in principle, that worshiped at Jerusalem.—
They must be able to prove that they were the children of Abra¬
ham, then they were permitted to enter in by the door, and in
no case rvas a Gentile allowed to enter into the inner court; and
the door was of a particular measurement or size, as well-as every
other part of the temple, and particularly the altar. The outer
gate to the porch, which is called beautiful, is seldom shut, (only
in case of danger.) It is left so as to admit all, especially the
poor, the blind, the lame and the afflicted, which represents the
church in her outward appearance, or worship—-where all the poor
come; mourners or seekers come there—alb the poor class may.'
come there and be equal in that spiritual bounty with the rich,
and if the church is doing her duty the poor-may expect some-'
thing to relieve their worldly-necessities. The Gentiles assemble
also, which represents the whole congregation—believers and un¬
believers together. But from the porch ascending to the Lord's
house, or inner court, was a gate or door giving admittance six
cubits wide. The leaves of this door were double, one folding
this and the other that. Ezekiel xl. 48.
Every person then entering in by this door must not only be of
the seed of Abraham, but must be circumcised, which prefigures,
the circumcision of the heart, preparatory to their entering and
before. they are allowed-to enter.. Then-when they, enter they.
MEASURING; THE TEMPLE?:. 4C9"'
have to pass between) the two >pilkrs, which'i^ a figure-off the~
tworApostles, one-to the Jews and the other to the Gentiles.—
That is, every one that enters into the churchofi Christ must do
so according to the doctrine and practice of the Apostles, or else
he makes himself, a thief and airobber; for the door is precisely
six- cubits wide and folding so that it opens only a portion at a
time.-. He first gives a relationito the church and the porter,
which is the pastor, (for all these doors had porters that watched
to-prevent any of.the uncircumcised from entering.) Then when,
he satisfies them of his change of heart, or his connexion with
Christ, .they receive him as a candidate for baptism. Then one
fold of'the door opens, and when he receives baptism according
to measurement, or according to Apostolic order, without addi¬
tions or diminutions,, the other fold opens and he is in the inner
court, and constitutes one of those who worship therein; no other
ever did nor ever will. And then there was a door that opened
into the holy place, and it had .four folds, but was without meas¬
urement. This is the reason why Christ said "But he that en-
tereth.in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.. To him the
porter openeth." That is, he first enters the door of six cubits >
convinces John that he is the Mesias, and then John [the porter]
baptized him. And then said, " Yerily, verily, I say unto you,
I am the door of the sheep. Lam the door; by me if any man
enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pas¬
ture.
This second door which admits us into the holy place [not the
most holy, for that is heaven,] is Christ, and is without measure
to show the fullness of Christ for all that worship therein, as all.
the riches of the inheritance is treasured up in him. At first.'
view it looks to a young professor as being too narrow or strait,
to enter, only one fold being opened. It is too narrow to admit
the world or self with its corruptions, because we are entering the
holy place; but "crucify the flesh with its lusts and affections
thereof." Then the door begins to unfold one fold after another
to them that knock. By this door we have access to God, to a,
tbxone of grace, to all the rich pasture that is. necessary^ to our-
mo
MEASURING THE ^TEMPLE.
growtli in grace; and notwithstanding all the saints .'have heen
deeding and feasting upon it for thousands of years it is mot in the
"Jeast diminished—it is without measure, for the father gave him
'•the spirit without measure. He also said that he that entered'in
rshall be saved, hut he did not say that all who entered the first
-door should be saved, because the porter might be deceived and
admit some one uncircumcised in heart, but all that enter the se¬
cond door. He says in John vi. 50: "This is the bread which
• cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not
-die."
Yerse 56: " He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood,
• dwelleth in me, and I in him. "
57th: " As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the
Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. "
Bevelations xi. 2: " But the court which is without the tem¬
ple leave out, and measure it not, for it is given unto the Gen¬
tiles; and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two
months."
But the court which is without the temple leave out. It is not
merely to pass it by, but it is to be left out, or cast out a§ not
-pertaining to the temple, although it .has the appearance of be¬
ing connected with -it. The word here would denote somq deci¬
sive or positive act by which it would be indicated that this was
not any part of the true temple, and by his measurement he was
to* make it appear, not by mere accidentally passing it by, but to
show it so plain that it could be easily detected, for a casual ob¬
server viewing its proximity to the temple might suppose it to
-be a part of it. As I have said before the outer court was where
all met, many poor and afflicted. In the outer congregation
-we are not to measure, for we do not know how many are circum¬
cised in heart. But it has more special reference to "forms of
worship, or to denominations claiming to be the church of Christ,
as it stood closely .connected to the temple, and many sup,posed
themselves to be in the temple when they were only in the outer
court. Mr. Barns says that it referred to the Catholic church,
and was to decide whether it was the true church or not, but I
MEASURING THE TEMPLE.
4m
say that itinclhdbs all that have not entered in By the door of six
cubits wide, or do not come up to the measurement; for so par¬
ticular measurement is required in doctrine,, in .faith, in practice,,
in gospel ordinances and discipline, that a dfeviation-ieilher in addl¬
ing to or diminishing from will leave them in the outer court,,
although it may appear very closely connected, so much so as to
deceive many and cause them to suppose that they are im the .
true church. But we are not to admit them to.the privileges of
the church until they come up to the measure,, [gospel standard.]
It was given to the Gentiles. They occupied.it, not as the
people of God, hut as those who were without the true church,
and who did not appertain to its real communion. This would
find a,fulfilment if there should be such a condition of things^
that a considerable portion of professed worshipers should be di¬
vided off from the ordinances, as there was no other in the outer
court. The interpretation would demand that they should.sus¬
tain some relation or likeness to the church, or that they would
seem to belong to it, as the court did to the temple, but still that
this was in,, appearance only, and that in estimating the true
church it was necessary to leave them out altogether. Of course
this would, not imply that there might not be some sincere wor¬
shipers among them as individuals.
And the holy city shall they tread under foot. Not merely the
o,liter court but the. L holy city—not merely the temple but the
whole city. There is .no doubt but the literal meaning was the
city of Jerusalem, which represented the whole church, as Jeru¬
salem was regarded as sacred to God as his dwelling place on
earth, so the church is considered the second dwelling place of
God, or where he dwells by his word and spirit on earth..
These Gentiles shall tread the true church under foot, or those
who, in. the measurement of the temple, were set off or left out
as Gentiles. It does not mean the Gentiles as a nation, but that
large portion of professed worshipers who were not measured, and
of course were left out. The phrase tread under foot, is derived
from warriors and conquerors who tread down their enemy, or
trampleedown the fields of g^ain; or to p.ollute, profane and lay.
472
i&easuring the temple.
vwaste. As applied to the church, it would mean that they
'would have it under their control, or in subjection for the time,
. and that the practical effect would be to corrupt its ordinances,
its worship, and prostrate it.
Fotty and two months. This includes the whole reign of the
beast, and could not mean the literal temple entirely, but referred
nnore particularly to the holy city, the church, as it commenced
■with the establishment of religion by Constantine in A. D. 325.
So he, the Pope, lost a portion of his power at the commence-
■ment of the reformation, or rather at the establishment of it by
law. And as he gained full power and was worshiped as (xod in
the year A. D. 606, so the forty and two months will end in the
year A. D. 1866. As the true church has been almost literally
trodden under foot, and her sacred temples polluted, her ordinan¬
ces prostrated, and her sacred worship desecrated by those Grentile
. worshipers. The time is near at hand when the sanctuary shall
be cleansed, and when the true church will worship according to
the primitive order. The church will not only be relieved, but I
believe that-the Jews will return, which I shall show more fully
after a while.
Verse 3: " And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and
they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days,
clothed in sackcloth."
I will give power. I will sustain them notwithstanding they
shall meet with great opposition. I will enable them to prophesy
the truth—contend for the truth amid a flood of error, persecu¬
tion, torture by fire and imprisonment—and in torrents of blood
they shall still exist as witnesses of the truth. The meaning is
not that he would send two witnesses to prophesy, but rather in
fact that these were such witnesses, and that he would, during
that time, permit or enable them to exercise their prophetic
gitts. That is, to teach the truth which they were commission¬
ed to communicate as his witnesses to mankind. Some word,
then, like power, privilege, opportunity, or boldness, in order to
complete the sense.
Two witnesses. This evidently denotes that the number
MEASURING THE TEMPLE.
473
would be small; and yet it is not necessary to confine it to two
persons, for no two persons ever, lived that length of time; nor
does it have reference to any two persons in each period during
that time. Under the law two witnesses were required, and
were considered enough to establish any fact. This under the
law was deemed a competent number, as in Deut. xvii. 16; Num¬
bers xxxv. -3Q; Matthew xviiL 16. The number would be suffi¬
cient to keep up the evidence of truth—to testify and convict
the prevailing abominations, errors and corruptions—to show
what was the real church, and to bear faithful witness against the
corruptions of the religious world. What an amount of grace
must have been given to have enabled them' to possess moral
courage to testify against the flood of corruption that has been
propagated from time to time, and supported by love of popular
favor which is the worst of the two.
It means one who can in any way testify to the truth of
what he has seen and knows, as in 1st Thes. ii. 10, &c. In a
similar sense it comes to denote one who is so thoroughly con¬
vinced on a subject that is not susceptible of being seen or
heard, or one who is so thoroughly convinced that he is willing
to lay down his life as the evidence of his conviction or attach¬
ment.
The two witnesses are the true church of Christ and her min¬
isters, or the spirit by which they are actuated, the subject they
bear testimony- to, as the truths recorded in Cod's word, the doc¬
trine of the sovereignty of God, of the efficacy of the atonement,
of the election of grace, of the effectual calling of the Holy
Ghost in the working of regeneration and renewing of the Holy
Ghost. The church, in her social capacity, is represented by
Jerusalem as the holy city, in her dual or double character as the
double city. So is the church and her ministers in their social
character, both in faith and practice, which includes church gov¬
ernment, discipline and ordinances, as laid down in God's word
and as practiced by the Apostles.
For instance the casu .at Ephesus—^the Elders and Bishops—
474
MEASURING THE TEMPLE.
tfh.e Elders to feed the flock, in which was comprised the feeder^
and the feed. Witnesses, in a civil sense, govern the decisions
of courts as well as churches. If a witness deposes too much in
the case under investigation, and the court have confidence in
liim, a wrong decision will be made; if too little, they make a
wrong decision also. In the one case they err because the wit¬
ness has testified a falsehood—in .the other f6r want of truth—
so that in either case it will be equally fatal. It cannot be sup-
posedthat witnesses that God approves can be of either of these
characters. Let us hear what Paul, one of God's witnesses, says:
" But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the
Gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which
trieth our hearts; for neither at any time used we flattering
wbrds as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness; God is witness,
for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the council of
God. " 1st Tlies. ii. 4. Paul; for three years, at Epliesus de¬
clared the whole council of God. If a minister fails to declare
the whole council of God as for as his ability will enable him to
do, he proves by his conduct that he is not one of God's wit¬
nesses; and as his testimony will be before the consciences of the
people, if he testifies what is not recorded in the Scriptures, in
faith or practice, they, the people, will come to a wrong conclu¬
sion and will thereby be misled; and so, if he withholds part,
they will form an incorrect decision. Those who teach either of
the above ways are responsible for the errors of the people. To
such witnesss the Almighty lays no claim.
I believe that it is admitted on all sides that the ancient Wal-
denses were the true church in the long night of darkness, su¬
perstition and corruption; but as I have spoken of them in a for¬
mer chapter upon the Kingdom of Christ, it will only be neces¬
sary for me here to give some of their prominent characteristics
in doctrine and practice, to find a people from them until now,
who can be identified with them and the Apostolic church as the
two witnessesdhat are to be slain.
The doctrine of the Apostolic church. Romans v. 12:—
MEASUKtXG THE TEMPLE.
475
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death
by sin, and so death, passed upon all men. for that all have
sinned."
17th: "For if, by one mans offences, death reigned by one;
much more they which receive abundance of grace, and the gift
of righteousness, shall reign in life jby one, - Jesus Christ. "
" For whom he did foreknow, them he did also predestinate to
be conformed to the image of his Son. "
Thus the Apostle taught the doctrine; and to hold or teach
otherwise is to reject it. ■ God himself saves sinners, only as he
has predestinated them unto the adoption of children, by Jesus
Christ, unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
and has made them accepted in' the Beloved, notwithstanding
what men say and do, or invent, -to the contrary. And as salva¬
tion certainly follows predestination and results from it, so good
works as certainly follow salvation and is the fruit and effect of
it, " For it is God that worketh in you (his children in all ages)
"both to will and to do according to the good pleasure of his will."
Good works is to practice faithfully what he has recorded in his
word, and was practiced by himself and his Apostles, without
addition or diminution.
Novatian, or the Novatianists and Doiiatists, churches, next
deserve our attention. Novatian, an elder in Borne, separated
from the popular party about the year A. D. 250, upon church
polity or government. Forty years nearly free from persecution
added great numbers to the church, and when Decius came to
'the throne and entered up edicts against the church, many left
for fear of persecutions, and when the persecution ceased they
wished to return, and Novatian opposed it. "The Bishops, fond
of proselytes, encouraged all this, and transferred the attention
of Christians from the old confederacy for virtue to vain shows at
Easter and other Jewish ceremonies, adulterated too with pagan¬
ism. Some exclaimed, it is a barbarous discipline to refuse to
admit people into christian communion because they have lapsed
• into idolatry or vice. But the Novatians said, if you be a virtu¬
ous believer, and will accede to our confederacy against sin, you
n
476
MEASURING THE TEMPLE.
may be admitted among us by baptism; or if any Catholic has
baptized you before, by rebaptism; but mark this, if you violate
the contract by lapsing into idolatry or vice, we shall separate
you from our community. "—[Robinson's Researches.
This is just what the Old Baptists contend for now, and no
other denomination does. This people had not long been sepa¬
rated from what is claimed now as Catholics, and they agreed in
doctrine and the mode of baptism;,yet the Novatians would not
receive one of any other party, only by baptism as if they had
never been baptized, and that gave them admittance into their
fellowship. (Just what I contend for—the door into the church )
This practice of the Novatians is just what the Old Baptists
have contended for all along, for which, like them, have been
abused and thought to be very cruel—because the Baptists, as a
denomination, have refused to receive into the church, or to the
communion, any member from the Free Will, or Separate, or
Campbellites and Missionary Baptists without baptizing, although
all these baptize by immersion. But the difference between the
Old Baptists and these in doctrine is greater than it was between
the Novatians and Catholics. No other denomination ever re-
baptize any on going over from the Old Baptist, for the reason
that they admit the baptism to be valid.
Benedict, p. 6: " Novatian, with every considerate person, was
disgusted with the hasty admission of such apostates to com¬
munion, and with the conduct of many pastors, who were more
concerned about numbers than purity of communion. Novatian
was the first to begin a separate interest with success, and which
was known for centuries by his name. "
Here we see again a striking resemblance of churches and pas¬
tors in our day; they have more care and anxiety about num¬
bers than quality, which is painfully verified by the conduct of
many who profess and join the different denominations, the Mis¬
sionary Baptist as well as others. The Old Baptists, like the
Novatians, are more cautious and particular in the quality than
the quantity, and of course have fewer additions, and the people
wonder that they continue as a church so long with so few addi-
MEASURING THE TEMPLE.
477
skins; though they, with all their caution, are sometimos im¬
posed upon." "They were," says Robinson, "Trinitarian
Baptists." " These churches existed for sixty years under a Pa¬
gan government, during which time the old corrupt interest at
Rome, Carthage and other places, possessed no means but those
of persuasion and reproach, to stay the progress [of dissent.—
During this period the Novatian churches were very prosperous,
and were planted all over the Roman Empire. They were found
extensive and in a flourishing condition when Constantine came
to the throne."
Page 7: " Their soundness in doctrine, evident unity among
themselves, with their numbers, suggested to Constantine the
propriety of uniting them with the Catholic church, but this
combination they refused. These churches, with other dissent¬
ers, realized religious liberty in 313 from Constantine. "
"In 331 he changed his policy towards this people. Constan¬
tine's oppressive measures prompted many to leave the scene ol
suffering and retire to some more sequestered spots. Claudius
Seyssel, the Popish Archbishop, traces the rise of the Walden-
sian heresy to a pastor named Leo, leaving Rome at this time for
the Yalleys."
The Catholic party charged Novatian with all the disturbance
and division, because he would contend for Apostolic principles
and refused to go with them into their extravagances. The Old
Baptists are now charged with the same, both from the pulpit
and the press. First in the separation that took place with the
Separates, who differed from them so widely in doctrine, they
contending for universal atonement and conditional salvation.—
Next the Oampbellites charged the Old Baptists with the division
and interruption, because they would not live with their water
regeneration and historical faith.
Next the Missionary Baptists said don't make it a test of fel¬
lowship, and because the Old Baptists would not fellowship their
men-made institutions or inventions to become more popular
with the world, and to increase their number by human effort,
478
MEASURING THE TEMPLE.
tliey denounced them for every thing that was mean and called
them , ignorant, and continue to call them Anti-effort, , Do-
nothings,. Hard Shells, Antinomians, &c. Just as the enemy did
Novatian. And last the two seeds, or those that contend for the
eternality of the church, charge the Old Baptists with the divis¬
ion because they say they have only learned more than the Old
Baptists, who refuse to live with their doctrine, of an eternal
devil and his seed according to. the flesh, and the eternality of the
children of God actually created in Christ before the world was,
making him the first Adam instead of the second, and some of
them deny the resurrection^ of the body.
All these divisions claim to be Old Baptists standing upon
original principles, and yet differ as widely as the poles. The
former charge the Old Baptists with having gone over to Anti-
nomianism, or " Hyher-Calvanism." Tlie latter charge the Old
Baptists with having gone over to Armenianism, all of which
charges they deny, and contend that they arc upon gospel pre¬
destination, gospel principles—upon the sovereignty of God's
grace. Mr. Benedict says it is hard for professors to keep from
running into one extreme or the other. Here then we have the
two extremes and the Old Baptists stand on the middle ground
upon original principles, contending earnestly for the faith once
delivered to the saints.
Mr..Orchard says,-p. 52: "The. religion of the New Testa¬
ment commenced with the descent. John,, Jesus and his disci¬
ples were charged with innovations, both at Jerusalem and other
cities, Johni. 22; Lukexxiii. 2-5;. Actsvi. 28, xvii. 7 and xviii
13. Their want of conformity was a crime in the eyes of the
unthinking or secularizing multitude. The genuine spirit of •
religion has been and will be.preserved by those only, who dissent
■from all the establishments devised by human policy. "
If, then, any other can claim the likeness better than the Old
Baptists, I would like to know wherein; and if they are found in •
such company as John, Jesus and his disciples in the commence¬
ment of the Gospel, and with Novatian in the third century and
"liEAStmiNG^THE "TEMPLE.
379
his followers for three hundred years, they may truly rejoice,
^though their name may- he cast out as evil and become a reproach
and a by word. '
I shall now notice the Donatists as nekt in order.
Robinson's History of Redemption, p. 197: "There' were two
.African teachers, or preachers, of the name of Donatus. They
found, as-Turtullian had formerly, they were somehow incorpo¬
rated into a-very corrupt community. They dissented, and in a
•very few years there'1 were in Africa four hundred congregations,
v -all called Donatists. They did not then differ from those who
called themselves Catholics in doctrine, but the chief difference
' lay in their morals, which were pure and exemplary, and their
discipline, which -was exact; for they not only baptized converts
-from Paganism, but they-'rebaptized all, on their own profession
of faith, who came- from the pretended Catholics to join their
churches. This dissent began forty years before- Austin was.-—
The dispute between them and the "Catholics were at their
. height when Constantine came to the throne."
Page 99: " There are two things very remarkable in this af-
. fair,- (that is the persecution of the Donatists,) and both as
. much to the honor of the Donatists as to the disgrace of their
persecutors. First, it is to be observed there were then no dif-
-ferences in doctrine between the two. parties; and the whole dis¬
pute was about virtue. -The Donatists thought that the church
ought to be kept separate from the-world, a religious society' vol¬
untarily congregated together for pious purposes, and ■ for no
other. With this view they admitted -none without a personal
profession of faith and holiness, and then they baptized, or, if
they'had belonged to the great corrupt party, rebaptized. They
urged, for all this the New Testament!'"
This is said to have taken place-in Africa about the year 28\5.
: So exactly in accordance with what the Novatians did at Rome,
■ and just in-accordance with what the Old Baptists .contend for
■ in thetnineteenth century.
-Next in order are the Waldenses. They were a religious
^community < driven :by persecution from. Rome, or the Roman
480
MEASURING THE TEMPLE.
Empire, into the valleys of Piedmont, where they were in some
degree secreted for the space of 1260 years. They were ortho¬
dox and orderly in their doctrine, as set forth in their articles of.
faith.
Article 4th. That there is one God, almighty, unbounded in
wisdom and infinite in goodness, and who in his goodness has
made all things; for he created Adam after his own image and
likeness, but through the enmity of the devil and his own diso¬
bedience, Adam fell, sin entered into the world, and we became
transgressors in and by Adam.
Article 7th. That Christ is our life, and truth, and peace, and
righteousness—our shepherd and advocate, our sacrifice and
priest, who died for the salvation of all who should believe, and
rose again for their justification.
Article 10th. Moreover, we have ever regarded all the inven¬
tions of men, in the affairs of religion, as an unspeakable abom¬
ination before God,
Article 11th. We hold in abhorrence all human inventions, as
proceeding from Antichrist, which produces distress, and are pre¬
judicial to the liberty of the mind."
They were also strict in discipline and rebaptized all upon a
personal profession of faith, that came over to them from other
communities. I will give an extract from Jones which may suf¬
fice for the present;
" In the first place they were dissenters—Protestant dissent¬
ers—upon principle, not only from the church of Rome, but also
from all establishments of religion. They had no Reverend gen¬
tlemen, no privileged order of clergymen, paid or pensioned for
discharging the pastoral office among them. They paid partic¬
ular respect to the Lord's words. '*Re ye not called Rabbi, for
one is your master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren, and call
no man your/ather upon earth, for one is your father which is in
heaven; neither be ye called masters, for one is your master, even
Christ; but he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.1
They brought up their children in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord, but they fiejther sprinkled nor immersed them urn
THE- TWO -WITNESSES, &C.
481
der the notion of administering Christian baptism. They were,
in a word, so many distinct churches of Anti-Pedobaptists."
President Edwards' History of Redemption, p. 293: "In ev¬
ery age of this dark time, there appeared particular persons in
all parts of Christendom, who bore testimony against the cor¬
ruptions and tyranny of the church of Rome. There is no age
of Antichrist, even in the darkest time of all, but ecclesiastical
historians mention a great many by name who manifested an ab¬
horrence of the Pope and his idolatrous worship and plead for
the ancient purity of doctrine and worship. God was pleased to
maintain an uninterrupted succession of witnesses through the
whole time, in Germany, France, Briton and other countries, as
historians demonstrate and mention them by name, and give an
account of the testimony which they held. Many of them were
private persons and many of them ministers, and some of them
magistrates and persons of great distinction. And there were
numbers in every age put to death for their testimony. Besides
these particular persons, dispersed her^ knd there, there was a
certain people called Waldenses, who livpd separate from the rest
of the world, and who kept themselves ^ure, and constantly bore
a testimony against the church of Rome through all this dark
time."
I have now shown a continuous connexion of witnesses in all
ages, both of the laity and the ministry, who held the same doc¬
trine and practice, keeping themselves separate from Pagan Rome
as well as Papal Rome, proving most of it by the testimony of
Oatholies and Protestants who are opposed to the doctrine and
practice of the Old Baptists, yet establishing by their testimony
that we arc pursuing the same course, as regards faith and prac¬
tice, that was pursued by the Apostles, by Novatianists, Dona-
tists and Waldenses, and I might have added Albigences and oth¬
ers, but deem it unnecessary.
And they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three
days, clothed in sackcloth. To prophesy is to teach, or preach.—
It does not necessarily mean that they would predict future
events, but the sense is, that they would give utterance to the
truth as God had revealed it. The sense here is, that they
4S2
THE TWO WITNESSES
would, in some public manner, hold up th$ truth -nod warn thf
people against sin, error and delusion, as the prophets did an¬
ciently. That is, they would testify, both by word and deed,
against the conniptions and tyranny of the ra n ot Jin, or the
woman upon the scarlet colored beast with all her progeny.—
They would, as,faithful*witnesses, testify the truth and expose
the errors of all others, both in faith and practice, at the peril
of their lives, for a thousand two hundred and three score days.
The same period as the forty and two months, though expressed
in a different form. Recognizing a day for a year, it would be
twelve hundred and sixty years. The meaning of this would he,
therefore, that during that long period in which it is said that
" the holy city would he trodden under foot, " there would he
those who might ho properly called witnesses for G-od, who would
he engaged in holding up his truth before the world. Though
the " holy city "—the church—would $eem to be trodden down,
yet there would he a few at least who would assert the great
doctrine of true godliness.
Clothed in sackcloth. :Sack cloth was properly a coarse black
cloth, commonly made of camel's hair, and was used for sapks,
for straining and for mourning garments. See Matthew xi..21,
• and a number of other places in the scriptures. Here it is an
emblerp pf mourning; and the idea is, that they would prophesy
for this 'hong period amidst great grief. This would intimate
that the time would be one of calamity, or that the truth would,
be so obscured or perverted, that there would naturally he great
occasion for their appearing in the emblems of grief rather thai;
;in robes expressive of joy. They would feel like Jeremiah when
'he said, " 0 that my head were waters, and mine eves a fountain
of tears, that I might weep day and night for the hurt of the
daughters of my people. " The natural interpretation is that
■ there would he but few who could he regarded as true witnesses
.for (hod in the world, and that they would be despised and per¬
secuted.
Robinson's History, page 269. 'Hjhe state of the people.-.—
Nothing could he more deplorable than the servitude, in which
all Europe was held. Even the great were in bondage under the
CLOTHED IN SACK CLOTH.
-483
.feudal system, to some superior, and the prince'himself was. con¬
stantly in danger of his life. The common! people were abso¬
lutely. slaves, having no property, and claiming no rights. ' The
highest right, that of'j-udging and acting in religion for them¬
selves, nobody thought of. One midnight of impenetrable dark¬
ness covered them, and they knew no religious duty'"but that of
.submission to the priests, whose exclusive province religion was
supposed to be. As late as just before the Reformation, .when
-the clergy began to condescend to speak to the laity, their lan¬
guage was that of lords issuing orders to-slaves, and not of ra¬
tional men addressing reason to other rational men to persuade."
The above is a faint picture of the situation of the people in
the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries. And
well might it be said that they (the witnesses) prophesied in
sack-cloth; jfor the'true church and ministry was at this time in
.the valleys, and no doubt mourned (as every true believer would)'
that "darkness covered the earth, and g'ross darkness the people."
For they had to prophesy amid all this ignorance and superstition,
and many thousands of them sealed their testimony with their
blood.
I have said before that the two witnesses were-the true church
and ministry. The spirit by which they were actuated enabled
•them to testify to the whole truth as revealed in God's word.—
This simple interpretation of the language of John makes whol¬
ly unnecessary all the efforts which have been made by expositors
rto find precisely two such witnesses. For instance, as Melchior,
.Affelman and Croly-supposed that the Old and New Testament
are referred, to; or as Thomas Aquiains and Pannonius supposed
that it wasipaeachers who were instructed in the law and in the
gospel; or as Ubertinus supposed that it was Christ and John
the Baptist; or as Lyranus and Ederus supposed that it was
Pope Sylvester and Menq; Or as Cornelius supposed that it was
,Francis and Dominic, because they were the two respective heads
.of the monks; or as Alcassar supposed that it meant the^rimi-
tive preachers, on account of their great wisdom; or as others
have supposed, John Huss and. Euther, or Euther and Calvin, or
484
THE TWO WITNESSES
the Waldenses and Albigences, or the Jews and Gentiles are1
© 7 a
meant. All this is mere fancy, and shows that those writers
were not of the true church. All that is necessarily implied is
that a sufficient number of the true church and ministry have
■existed in all ages to testify to the truth of God's word, and
courage sufficient to oppose and expose the errors of anti-Christ,
let it come from what quarter it will. The reason why they
have continued is that Christ said, ''Upon this rock I will build
my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Verse 4. These are the two olive trees and the two candle¬
sticks standing before the God of the earth.
These are not only the olive trees, but the two candlesticks
also, as candlesticks represent the church of Christ. So also are
the ministry represented by it. See John v. 31. He (John)
was a burning and shining light; and ye were willing for a sea¬
son to rejoice in his light. Again in Acts xiii. 47: For so hath
the Lord commanded us (Paul and Barnabas), saying, I have set
thee to be a light to the Gentiles. As these two witnesses are
represented by the two candlesticks, so the two olive trees are
necessarily connected with them, (for as I have stated before,
the spirit and grace by which they were actuated,) for from the
olive trees flow all the oil that keeps the lamps burning. So all
the spirit and grace flow from the spiritual olive trees, which is
Christ, and the Holy Spirit which enables his witnesses to proph¬
esy; or "so let their light shine, that others seeing their good
works, may glorify our Father which is in htaven."
These am what are symbolized by the two olive trees. The
prophet Zach. iv. 2, 3, saw in a vision a candlestick all of gold,
and a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and
seven pipes to the seven lamps, and the two olive trees by it.—
Now the seven lamps represent the seven churches of Asia, and
the seven pipes represent the seven spirits through which the oil
was communicated to the churches, or the union that unites
Christ and his church. The reason why expositors have failed,
.they have endeavored to make the olive trees the two witnesses,
when in fact they are the original cause, and communicate the
CLOTHED IN SACK CLOTH.
485
life that enabled the witnesses to prophesy; for as before stated,
the olive trees represent the second and third persons of the ado¬
rable trinity, that'is Christ and the Holy Ghost; for instance,
Paul says to the Eomans, For if ye were cut out of the olive
tree, which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to na¬
ture in a good olive tree." It is to be grafted into Christ by the
Holy Ghost." In the 14th verse of Zachariah, these two olive
branches were declared to be the two anointed ones, that stand
by the Lord of the whole earth. The olive trees appeared to
the prophet to be connected with the ever burning lamps by
the golden pipes to the candlesticks.
These olive trees and candlesticks are like those in Zachariah
-—not in number, for in Zachariah there were seven candlesticks
which represent the seven churches of Asia, and here they rep¬
resent the two witnesses, and hence only two candlesticks, but
the same olive trees, The sense is this: as the olive tree was
that from which the ancients obtained oil, and in all ages was an
emblem of peace, so all the life and peace the witnesses have is
in Christ, "for he is our life;" and as the oil kept the lamps
ever burning as it flowed through the golden pipes, so the grace
of God that flows through the spirit, enables the witnesses to
prophesy in all ages, or to let their light shine. This is evidently
the plain meaning of the text, and not, as Mr. Barnes and oth¬
ers suppose, that the olive trees mean ministers. He says, "As
the olive tree furnished oil for the lamps, the two trees here
would seem properly to denote ministers of religion, as there can
be no doubt that the candlesticks denote churches. The sense
would appear to be that it 'was through the pastors of the
churches that the oil of grace which maintained the brightness
of those mystic candlesticks, or the churches, was conveyed.--
The image is a beautiful one, and expresses a truth of great im¬
portance to the world, for God has* designed that the lamp of
piety shall be kept burning in the churches by the truth, sup*
plied through the ministers and pastors."
It will be seen, in the above extracts from Mr. Barnes' Notes,,
how much importance the Armenian world attach to their teach-
-486
VTHE TWO WITNESSES
<■ ers and pastors. " That the image is a beautiful one—that the
oil of grace that makes the mystic candlesticks burn- so brightly
• was through the pastors. "
That they may exercise a supremacy over the church and the
world, or lord it over God's heritage—" that it is through the
truths preached by them, that the lamp of piety is kept burning,'
and yet, nine-tenths, or ninetywnine hundredths of them, preach
almost anv thing else but the truth of God's word. Then the
o O
ihmro of piety that is kept .up by ..such preaching; what kind ot
light must it be—" For if thy light be darkness how great that
darkness must be," or, as St..Paul says, "they would affect you
that you might affect them. " That is, they would make yon
.believe that the-salvation, of the world and piety of the church
depended upon these pastors and teachers—that you might be¬
stow upon them ..liberally of your worldly substance and honor
. them above other, men, for them thereby to amass to themselves
riches and worldly honors, so as to live in luxury and ease—
. claiming the glory that belongs to God.
If what Mr. Barnes says is true, then we have but one olive
tree and one candlestick, if the minister be the olive tree.
.But how beautiful and glorious it appears, when we make
Christ and the holy spirit the two olive trees, or two anointed
■ ones, standing in the presence of the God of the earth, which
gives all the glory to God and the benefit to. his church and min¬
istry.
When seen by Zachariah they were standing on each side of
..the candlestick, .but in the first chapter of .Revelations he was
standing in the midst of the candlesticks, and holding the seven
-.stars in his right, hand, thus making his church and ministry se¬
cure. And the union that exists .between them is the medium
or golden pipes through which the oil is communicated, that keeps
ithe lamps burning. Like t£ie connection, or union of the natu¬
ral or human system, the principle of life or the circulation of
ethe blood (which is the life) animates every member of the body,
so in consequence of the union that exists between Christ and
his body, (the church,) the oil. or graee ofdife hasdlowed. secretly
CLOTHED IN SACK CLOTH.
487V
and silently through that union (which is the. golden1! pipes) to
every lay member, both to the lay members'and the ministry,
and has kept them burning (though some times it may have ap-
peared to the external beholder but faint and glimmering) for
eighteen hundred and fifty-seven years, to the great astonish¬
ment of the world, the flesh and the devil, and will continue to
burn for thousands of years to come, though it will 6urn more
conspicuously in the next thousand years.
Yerse 5-:- "And if any man hurt them, fire proceedeth out of
their mouth and devoureth their enemies; and if any man will
hurt them, he will in this manner be killed.""
And if'any man ivitt] hurt them. This-implies that men
would do them injury whenever they had it in their power, and
wouhTseek an opportunity to do it, for the word will denotes pur¬
pose, intention, design, &c. To hurt here means to do injury,
and refers -to wrong in any form, whether in respect to their char¬
acter., opinions, persons or property. The sense is that there
would be those during the whole of their prophesy, that would
do all they could to destroy their influence. As in Luke xxi. 16:
" And ye shall be betrayed both by parents-, and brethren, and--
kin folks and friends; .and some of you shall they cause to be
put to death. "
Yerse 17: ." And ye -shall,be hated of-all men for my name's
sake."
Yerse 18: "But there shall not an hair of your head perish,"
This has been fulfilled in all ages of the world, in persecution
in some shape or other, up to the present time, by parents, and
brethren and friends.
Fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies.
The meaning is, that they would have the power of destroying
their enemies, as by fire proceeding out of their mouth; that is,
their words would be like burning flames to their enemies. The
meaning here is, that the words they would speak or preach,
would be to their enemies like fire. As in Luke xxi. 14: " Set¬
tle it, therefore, in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye,
shall answer. "
488
TfiE TWO WITNESSES
Verse 15: "For I will give you a moutli and wisdom, which
all your adversaries will not be able to gainsay nor withstand,"''
As in Jeremiah v. 14; " Because ye speak this word, behold
I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood,
and it shall devour them."
If any man will hurt them. This is repeated in order to make
it more impressive or intense—to make their enemies reflect upon
the subject before committing the act. As He must in this man¬
ner he hilled. That is, in the manner specified by fire. Not
that he should be killed like the witness. But when any one
speaks evil of them (falsely) to injure them, either in character,
person or property, it always falls upon his own head sooner or
later, for God, in his providence, has so ordered that the guilty
shall suffer. As in Luke xvii. 1: "It is impossible but that of¬
fences will come; but wo unto him through whom they come."
Verse 2; " It were better for him that a mill-stone were hanged
about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should of-'
fend one of these little ones. "
Kevelations xi. 6: " These have power to shut heaven, that it
rain not in the days of their prophesy; and have power over the
waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with
plagues as often as they will.."
This then shows that the witnesses, in connexion with the
po wer of God, have power over the seasons, or rather that God,
in his providence, inflicts punishment on the wicked for the in¬
jury done his people. As he directed Elijah, the prophet, to
pray that it might not rain, " and it rained not for the space of
three years and six months, " and afterwards he directed him to
pray, " and it rained. " This had the appearance of having been
done by the prophet, yet it was by the power of God. So under
the gospel, or during the time of the witnesses, the same power
being connected with them, in like manner, (though not in £
miraculous manner,) God, in his providence, inflicts similar pun¬
ishments on the world for their wickedness and their persecution
of his people. " For inasmuch as you have done it unto one of
the least of mine you have done it unto me. " This does n«l
CLOTHED 13? SACK CL05H.
4*89
necessarily; mean that they should work miracles, or that they
should withhold the rain from the earth, (though it has be oil
done on various occasions and in many countries, especially in
Palestine,) but it implies any calamity that God in his provi¬
dence may inflict, which has from time to time been inflicted
upon those countries that have persecuted the church of God
most.
In the days of tlieir prophecy. This does not mean that it
would be during the whole time of their prophecy, but that i fc
would be during the time of their sackcloth prophecy at inter¬
vals.
And have power over the waters to turn them to blood. Nei¬
ther does this mean that they should have power to work mira¬
cles, but the same power as in the former case—that God in his
providence, in connexion with his witnesses, inflicts sore punish¬
ments on those nations that have persecuted them without a
cause. It is using a figurative expression, or alludes to the ca¬
lamity that was inflicted on Egypt by turning the rivers to blood.
But here it means nations and people, and tongues. That as
they have shed the blood of the saints, so God has given them
blood to drink. Witness that of Jerusalem first, because they
persecuted, and also Palestine, what she suffered and what she
remains to be to the present. Next witness all the blood and
treasure of Rome and her final downfall, who persecuted more
than any other people. And last, though not least, see France
(For her cruel treatment to the Waldenses and Albigences) in
her reign of terror, when rivers of blood was shed, as well as in
the revolution in Europe during the reign of Napoleon Bona¬
parte, when all the nations of Europe were drenched in blood.
And to smite the earth with plagues as often as they will. All
kinds of plagues or calamities—diseases of every kind or pesti¬
lences. The word plague means to torment, and afflict.
In 1616, a plague broke out in London, that in one year swept
off one hundred thousand inhabitants, and was followed by a
destructive fire that consumed four hundred streets, comprising
thirteen thousand houses.
THE -TWO WITNESSES
As for instance, the epidemics, plagues and pestilences that
have afflicted Europe and Asia from time to time, almost de¬
populating cities and countries by its ravages. Something simi¬
lar to the^Babylonian army that was encamped against Jerusalem,
of which an immense number died of pestilence in one night.—-
Or that of the plague among |the Israelites on account oi the
strange incense offered by Dathen and Abiram, as well as that
which fell upon Israel on account of David having numbered -
the people.
The meaning is that great calamities would follow after their
mal-treatment in such a manner, that it would look as if they
had the power to bring down the judgments of God upon their
enemies.
As often as they will. It would seem like it was at their op¬
tion, although they had no power, only what was given them
from. above; nor did they use any sword but that which was
spiritual. Christ said to the disciples, "Whatsoever ye shall ask
in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in
the son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name I will do it."
Verse 7: " And when they shall have finished their testimony. •
the beast that ascendeth out ot the bottomless pit shall make
war against them, and shall overcome them and kill them."
And!when they shall have finished their testimony. The mean¬
ing undoubtedly is, when they should have faithfully borne tes¬
timony to the truth in opposition to error, or Antichrist—to the
time they were appointed to bear testimony—to the time of the
end of the twelve hundred and sixty years. Shall have finished
means properly to end, to finish, to complete, to. accomplish.
Mr. Barnes thinks what is here stated would occur when they
had completed their testimony, in the sense of having testified
all they were appointed to testify, without regard to time, and
might occur before the end of the 1260 years. With which
views I disagree, because they were to bear witness the whole of
the twelve hundred and sixty years, and of course their sackcloth
testimony would not end, or they would not have fully testified to
all they were appointed until- the end of the 1260 years. The
CLOTHED" SACK CLG^H.
491
sense is as that in fiatthew xi 1: " When Jesus had made an
*md of commanding his twelve disciples," or as in 2d Timothy
-iv. 7: "I have finished my course."
If we can ascertain correctly at what time the sack cloth tes¬
timony commenced, we can know when it would end; and here
again I shall have to differ from all the expositors that I have
read, for I am of opinion that it commenced in the year A. D.
606, and of course it would end in 1866. I am of this opinion
for several reasons. 1st. That the woman fled to the wilderness
in part (as I have before shown) in A. D. 252, on account of
persecution of the dragon before the man of sin had a visible ex¬
istence; although he did already work, he was still hindered until
his time would come to be fully revealed. And 2d. The dragon
had not conferred his power to the beast; and although he perse¬
cuted unto death, which caused the woman in part to flee to the
wilderness, yet the truth of God's word and his ordinances had
not been so perverted by the man of sin as they were afterwards,
for they (the Catholics) were still sound in doctrine in many par¬
ticulars—for instance, the trinity in the Godhead and the admin¬
istration ef baptism by immersion. And 3d. They had no
power as yet to persecute, only as they could persuade the ma¬
gistrates to do it under the pagan laws, for they, themselves were
subject to persecution by the pagans until the year A. D. 325,
when theirs became the established form of worship under Con-
stantine, and when they, in turn, persecuted the pagans as well
as those'of the Christian church; but, even as yet, they only
had the power through the laws that they could prevail upon
the Emperor to establish against the church; but they were still
so nearly alike in doctrine and practice, that the Emperor made
a powerful effort to unite, them again; he even condescended to
hear their objections himself, but all his efforts failed, in conse¬
quence of which he entered up persecuting edicts against the
ehurchj which caused many more to flee to the valleys for safety
in 331-2. Constantine having changed his policy towards the
¥ovatians, he closed their houses of worship in Rome and sought
for their books and burnt them. These oppressive measures
32
492
THE TWO WIENESSES
caused many to leave the scene of suffering. Claudius Seyssil,
the Popish Archbishop, traces the rise of the Waldensian heresy
to a pastor named Leo, who left Home for the Valleys at this
time.
And again, in 426 their suffering was so immense- that others
fled from the scene. This, then, 'is the sum of the matter: one
portion of the church fled from pagan persecution in 252, which
would make their 1260 years end at the commencement of the
Reformation, when a portion of them were driven out. Again
in 331-2, another portion fled from the persecution of Constan-
tine, which 1260 years would end in 1592; and the last was from
406 to 426, which would make the 1260 years end in 1686,,
when Mr. Jones says the Waldenses were driven out of the Val¬
leys or put to death, so that they were entirely extinguished and
never did return. Mr. Robinson says that the people inhabiting
the valleys since are entirely different both in their faith and
practice. They are corrupt both in morals and doctrine: for they,
.(says Mr. Robinson,) with sword in hand, committed many bar¬
barities and atrocities, which the primitive Waldenses (or wit¬
nesses) never done.
Then the first establishment in the Valleys, or the fleeing of
the woman, was from the persecution of pagan idolatry or pagan
Rome. The second was from the persecution of the established
christian, or papal Rome, and the third was from the persecution
of the Arians, or Arian Rome, for the Emperor Valens embraced
the Arian creed in A. D. 3*75. The fourth and last reason is,
that pret.ty soon after the Arian persecution, or in the year A. P,
476, a period was put to all persecution in Italy by the subject-
tion of that Kingdom to the Goths, whose laws breathed the
purest spirit of equal .and universal liberty for nearly three cent
turies. Hhen, in A. D. 606, the Pope assumed the regal power*
both ecclesiastically and politically—that is both swords. He
now did not have to do as he had done heretofore—persuade the
Emperors and Kings to make laws and publish edicts against
heretics, but he now commanded them and they were bound t<*
obey or forfeit their crown. And as it took place under the note-
CLOTHED IN SACK CLOTH.
493
vious Boniface, the morals of the church, (so called,) and espe¬
cially of the clergy, became so corrupt, and such enormities
Were committed under the sanction of religion, as well as corrupt
in doctrine, practice and discipline; that the ordinances had been
changed—that of baptism from immetsion in water of faithful
believers, to that of sprinkling, pouring or moistening (even by
the midwives) of infants, and was called christian baptism. The
people were prohibited from reading the word of God; and it
was perverted by Pope and Priest, so as to answer their base
ends and gratify their debased appetites, until the people sunk
■into gross ignorance and superstition, all of which would cause a
true Christian, or a faithful follower of the meek and lowly Je-
,sus, more deeply to mourn than it would to have to shed his blood,
for the testimony that he bore to the truth; but the witnesses
had still to endure an increased persecution with the perversion
and corruption added to what it was formerly, as well as the
church having lost her liberty, or the independence which she
formerly had, for all men now became absolute slaves to the
Pope. All of which reasons force me to believe that the sack
cloth testimony of the two witnesses did not commence till A.
D. 606.
Then if the time is correctly fixed for the commencement of
their testimony, it would of course close (allowing each day for a
year) in the year A. D. 1866. But, Mr. Barnes and others think
that it closed with the commencement of the Reformation—r-that
is, that the witnesses had borne faithful testimony, for this long
period, against the corruptions of Antichrist, which is true.—
Then he says: "Until it could be said that their peculiar work
had been accomplished, " which is not true, for they would con¬
tinue to prophesy as long as Antichrist continued. I under¬
stand that at their resurrection satan is to be bound for a thou¬
sand years.
Mr. Barnes and others would make the Reformers witnesses
because they protested against some of the grossest corruptions
*«f the Catholic church. Still they retained a great portion of
tfc.e errors an$ superstitions pf the mother church, for they were
494 THJ5; TWO WITNESSES
only Antichrist reformed, and if they had reformed,six- hundred!
and sixty-six times, they would only be-Antichrist.multiplied—
they would be the. number of the beast which is the number of a
man, and never could be transformed,'into the true church by re¬
formation. Seeing that the true church or witnesses had a sep¬
arate existence alb the time (as L have before shown) prior to
the Reformation, they never had any connexion with the papacy;,
nor afterwards, as a>body, did they ever connect themselves with
the Reformers. They continued a separate body, and have so
continued up ,to the present time, because a portion of Antichrist
protested against and reformed from the gross errors and immor¬
alities; of another portion it never could constitute them.the
true church.
It is trite that on account of the- Reformation the Catholics
became so enraged, that it caused them to persecute the Walden-
ses with increased rigor until they put to death thousands, and
even millions, first and.;last, and drove the balance out in A. D#
1686. As I have befpre stated, Mr. Barnes seems to think that
they were all put to death, and that this was the death of the-
two witnesses. If it was a natural death that the witnesses were-
to die, then the resurrection would not take place until the res¬
urrection of the just and unjpst,.for the slaughtered Waldenses
have not been resurrected yet.. But he seems to favor the notion,
that they were raised, im the persons of the Reformers, who I
have before shown did! not constitute. the church or witnesses.—
But the time had expired for which (they were to remain in their
retreat; they were not all put to death, but driven out that they
might, in connection with;others, still;continue witnesses of the
truth. Mr. Jones says in, 1686, by a most oppressive edict, the
total extirpation of the Waldenses from the valleys of Pied¬
mont was effected; and after incredible hardships and sufferings,
tjie whole body of the people were compelled to leave their native
homes in a state of great destitution and misery. Multitudes of
them died on the road, and the remnant sought shelter in Swit¬
zerland and other protest ant countries.
Here is the further testimony of 'Reinerius, an apostate, whe
CLOTHE© IN sk&k. CLOTH. 4$5
tmce belonged to them, but now h 'bitter enemy &Hd persecutor,
in the thirteenth century. He writes, " that amongst all sects
none are more pernicious than that of the poor of Lyons, for
three reasons: 1st. Because *it is the most ancient—some of
them aver their existence ifcfm the days of Sylvester; others
from the very times of the jApostles. 2d, Because it is so uni¬
versal; for there is scarcely a country into which this sect has not
-crept. -3d. Because all others render themselves detestable by
their blasphemies, but this'has a great appearance of godliness,
they living a righteous life 'before men, believing right concern¬
ing God, confessing all the articles of the creed, only hating the
Pope of Rome."
This is testimony that should have great weight, because this
apostate had every opportunity to know them well, for he had
lived with them; and perhaps he had united with them for the
very purpose of finding out their retreat and principles, or as the
Apostle says, " to spy out our liberty." But now, at least a
hitter enemy, he would not testify any thing in their favor that
was not true, but would suppress a great deal that was true; and
yet he testifies to their living a-righteous life before men, and be¬
lieving right concerning God, and hating the Pope of Rome.
And also they claimed for themselves ancient origin, or having
a connexion even from the. Apostles. Here then are the faithful
witnesses testifying against the Pope through this length of time
in almost every country, being very numerous. This was before
the Reformation, but after the Reformation had commenced they
were driven out of the Voides, as before stated, and went not
only into Switzerland, but into Bohemia and other countries.—-
And beside^ these there were a number of other churches of the
»ame faith and order in Wales, who were very ancient and con¬
tinued separate from the Reformers, and were called the Welch
Baptists, many of them amongst the first emigrants to the U,
States, who had a hand in establishing churches upon gospel and
Baptist principles, and who bore strong testimony against every
* established form o f religion. Their strict discipline, being sound
496
THE TWO WITNESSES
in doctrine, practicing the ordinances according to tlio Apostolic
mode, with their morality, swayed a powerful influence over tbw
community, which is felt up to the present time.
But many suppose that there is no necessity for the witnesses
after the Reformation, because the power of the Pope was greatly
diminished, and that protestantism prevailed in many countries,,
and inasmuch as it was so much milder, that it must he the
church, which I have said before was only Antichrist reformed,,
and which I have shown in a former chapter was the beast with
two horns. Heretofore the witnesses had to contend only with
the dragon and the beast with seven heads and ten horns, but now
they have all three combined. And as they (the witnesses) were
a separate people from the dragon and the first beast, so they re¬
main to be separate from the second beast and continue their
faithful testimony against all the errors and corruptions of Anti¬
christ, no matter in what shape or form they may appear, for
which they have all along suffered persecution, which I shall
show in a few particulars.
Benedict's Church History, p. 112-13: "In 1577 a severe
2)ersecution broke out at Mittelberg, in Zeland, under the influ¬
ence of the Calvanists. In the 17tli century, the persecutions o£
the Reformers were pursued with increased severity, and so con¬
tinued for a long course of years. The edicts of Grocningcf.
which were issued in 1601, was exceedingly severe on the Ana¬
baptists.
Article 1. That these people, at all hazards, nolens volcns, wil
ling or unwilling, must be converted to the creed of the dominant
party, attend their churches, give up anabaptisru, adopt their in¬
fant system, and conform in all things to their faith and forms.
The prison with bread and water, the lash, the stocks, fines of
different graduations, and other light punishments, were provi¬
ded for the first offence, banishment for the second and death for
the third.
Article 3. Ho person was allowed to harbor the Anabaptists, or
afford them any comfort, or to suffer their meetings in their hou¬
ses or on their estates.
CLOTHED IN SACK CLOTH, 4^
Article 7. To close the whole-, fre ordain that the exercise of
all other religions but the reformed is hereby prohibited.'*
Meanwhile several of the brethren and sisters asked permission
to leave the country, which was denied them,; but two proposals
"were made them, either of which they might choose.
1st. To go with them to church, or
2d. To die in prison.
To the first they would not consent. Therefore they had to
expect the second.
Page 116: c; But twenty years after, the authorities of Berne,
another strong hold of the Presbyterian party in Switzerland,
published an edict exceedingly severe against the Anabaptists.—
The following passage is a part of it,
The Anabaptists act contrary to necessary and beneficial reg¬
ulations of the government, and transgress in the following
ways:
1st. They preach without the calling and ratification of the
'magistry.
2d. They baptize in the churches without the calling and
command of the authorities.
3d. They pervert the church discipline, or have other church
ordinances contrary to the public ordinances or authorities.
4th. They attend no meetings of the church that are held on
Sundays or fast days; therefore as they will not submit as faith¬
ful subjects to such ordinances a ad regulations as are in canfor-
snity to the word of Clod, but hold them in contempt, they are,
therefore, not worthy of a residence in the country/7
This is a small portion of the persecution they received at the
hands of the Reformers. In Switzerland, many of the Walden-
scshad fled from the Valleys, (as I have before shown,) on ac¬
count of persecution, and went to Switzerland because it was
protestant, and professed to be a Republican form of govern¬
ment.
These reformers had edicts published forbidding them to re-
baptize, (as they called it,3 upon pain of death to all who re-
baptize, or they who were baptized should be put to death; and
493
[THE TWO WITNESSES
all who refused to have their children sprmMed for baptism
should forfeit their property, both them and their children, and
be banished from the country. So then they were sure of death
if they baptized at all, because according to law, all infants were
compelled to be baptized as they called it; and to be baptized
afterwards upon a profession of their own faith, was called re-
baptism, for which both administrator and subject was to suffer
death. No wonder then that they still prophesied in sack cloth.
But notwithstanding all these cruelties they continued faithful
witnesses, even at the risk of their lives, many of them having
to pay that forfeit. I will give one instance of their faithfulness
in Switzerland, which may suffice for the present.
One Cellarius, in writing to Dr. Hubner, (one of the Keform-
ers and an officer,) says: "As yon desire an expression of my
opinion relative to Baptism and the Lord's Supper, I will send it
you with great pleasure. In the first place, infant baptism is an
abomination in the sight of God, for it is sustained neither by
the Holy Scriptures, nor by the examples of the holy Apostles."
Next wc will turn to England. During the reign of Elizabeth
the church of England was established, and uniformity attempted
by the Queen. Presbyterianism was supported by law in Scot¬
land, which caused dissenters to suffer greatly, especially the
Baptists, and so continued under the reign of James I, he being
the first King of the Stewart family. His reign commenced in
1603 and ended in 1625. And it continued to grow worse du¬
ring the next reign, which was Charles I.; and as God cause*
sin to punish itself when it has arisen to the full, so he suffered
Parliament to have Charles beheaded, and then Cromwell, the
dictator, to assume the authority; and as the people had im¬
bibed a desire for a republican form of Government, proteslant*
of all grades were more favored fhan formerly, and especially
the Baptists, because their church government was republican.*—
Cromwell favored the persecuted Waldenses, which caused many
Baptists to go to England, where, for a short time, they beeam#
popular, and many leading and corrupt men united with them
on account of their republican principles, which was a great in-
CLOTHED IN SACK CLOTH.
49 f
jury to them, because those who joined them on account of po¬
litical principles, brought in great corruptions both m doctrine
and practice, causing disturbances and divisions, which was
known by General and Particular Baptists. This caused the
witnesses to sign and moupi more deeply than persecution, be¬
cause it was the first division that had taken place in England.
There were twenty persons imprisoned at one time in London
-during the reign of Elizabeth. Here are some short extracts:
" A young brother who was first interrogated, boldly con¬
fessed the truth, and was, 'on that account, sorely accused and
• led to Westminster, where he was imprisoned by himself. This
caused us much grief. "
" When we were all lodged in prison, came Master Jaris, and
said, if we would join the church he would set us at liberty—
for these are the Bishop's orders. But we contended valiantly for
the truth in Christ Jesus—for he is our captain, and none else.
Upon him we put all our confidence.
On Whitsunday morning, we were chained, two and two, and
iled before the lords. This was the fourth time."
"We are also accused of not being subject to the magistracy,
because we do not baptize our infants. To this we reply, we de¬
sire to submit to the magistracy in all things not contrary to the
word of God. That we do not suffer our children to be hap-
tized by the priests, is not done out of temerity, but we do it out
of fear to God, because Christ commands believers to be baptized
—for Christ's Apostles did not baptize infants, but adults only,
and those on their faith and confession of their sin3. If it had
been the will of God that infants should be baptized, he would
have commanded it to have been done. Christ would have been
baptized in his infancy as well as circumcised; but as it is not
the will of God, therefore did he teach them differently, "and re¬
ceived baptism differently himself."
These were faithful witnesses, but surely their sack cloth tes¬
timony had not yet ceased; and this was after the Reformatio*
• and after the establishment in England.
500
THE TWO WITNESSES
I will give a few more extracts upon this subject, which is of
later date.
Benedict p. 319: " Rev. Robert Bailie, a distinguished Divine
among the Scotch Presbyterians—he was a member of the.
Westminster Assembly, and labored with great assiduity to carry
the Presbyterian party into power, on the ruins of the established
church."
These are his words.
1st. "The Westminster Assembly, in close league with Par¬
liament, is now in session, 1644."
" The sectaries of divers sorts, Anabaptists chiefly increased
here; very many are for total liberty of all religions, and write
very plausible treaties for that end. "
" The.first day of our settings, after our vacation, a number of
complaints were given in against the Anabaptists and Antinomi-
ans huge increase and insolence intolerable."
" Our next work is, to give our advice what to do for the sup¬
pression of Anabaptists, Antinomians and other sectaries. This
will be a hard work. "
"The Baptists," says Sir James Mcintosh, "suffer more than
any others under Charles II., because they have publicly professed
the principles of religious liberty. "
" The Anabaptists," says Burnett, " were men of virtue and
universal charity; they were far from being on treating terms
with the church of England; so that nothing but a universal tol¬
eration could make them capable of favor and employment."
" It has been computed, " says Orchard, " that from the res-
roration (of the Stewarts, which was in 1603,) to the Revolution
(which was in 1688) seventy thousand persons suffered on ac¬
count of religion, and about sixty millions of dollars was paid in
lines."
At this time William and Mary came to the throne, and to his
praise be it spoken, (although he was a Presbyterian,) he obtained
from Parliament for all sects of disienters from the established
dhurch, some degree of toleration. I have given a small portion
CLOTHED tN SACK CLOTH.
501
of the testimony which I have, of the witnesses still propesyin-g
in sack cloth, as a separate people, in Switzerland, England and
Wales, and might have given it in Italy, France, Holland and,
ether kingdoms, hut I have deemed it unnecessaiy.
I will now turn to America and show that they still yrophesy
in sack cloth. It may be asked why do they prophesy in sack
cloth in America, seeing that they have perfect liberty and are
not persecuted now. As I have said before, it is not persecution
that gives them so much grief, but it is that of false doctrine, or
heresies that have been brought into their community and caused
disturbances, a departure from the faith and divisions that were
heart rending. It is true that in the early settlement of the
country they were persecuted, (as I have shown before,) until
after the Reformation, but there was more of a oneness in princi¬
ple, for persecution kept them more united; but when peace, lib¬
erty and prosperity abounded every where, they, at different times
and in almost all the States, had their seasons of rejoicing, and
great numbers were added to them. Then, when they became
more popular, men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the
faith, united with them and caused those divisions that I have
before noticed. John speaks of some who went out from us,
" that it might be made manifest that they were not all of
us," &c. Paul to Timothy, iv. 3-4: " For the time will come
when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own.
lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be
turned into fables. " Paul, being divinely inspired, could testify
in reference to the future. In his first letter to Timothy he says
that the spirit has spoken " expressly, that in the latter times
some should depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits
and doctrines of devils. " The latter times and last days meant
the latter times of the witnesses, evidently referring to the time
in which we live, the last fifty years, or the last days of Anti¬
christ. Then, in his last letter, when he was about to be offered
up, he could charge "Timothy before God, and the Lord Jem*
3Q2
THE TWO WITNESSES
Christ, who dhall judge the quick and the dead, to preach the
word."
This admonition is equally applicable to us us to Timothy, be¬
cause " the time will come " was. in the future, and the time in
vwhich we live; and as we are to be judged by the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Apostle would say, " take heed unto thyself and the
doctrine—continue in them, for in so doing thou shalt both save
thyself and them that hear thee. " Save thyself and them that
•hear thee from the various false doctrines and a departure from
the faith, which shall be brought about by false teachers, which
will disturb and divide the .church, and also save thyself from
.that condemnation of having made shipwreck of thy faith whey,
judged by Christ and his word.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doc¬
trine. We cannot prevent it for it will come in God's appointed
time—he will permit the means to be used to bring about that
end; yet we should take heed by constantly consulting God's
word and teachings, and practicing what he has commanded, lest
we should be instrumental in bringing it about. We say the
time has come that they will not endure sound doctrine. Many
suppose that it has reference to Antichrist, or other protestant
denominations that are not sound in the faith, which we cannot
believe, because they never did receive the truth or sound doc¬
trine; for when did the world, or the Jewish or other sects, re¬
ceive sound doctrine, or the love of it, when preached by Christ
and the disciples. Here, with the best of feeling, I will say as I
have said before, that they are not the church of Christ, as he
has but one church, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, &c.—
But I freely admit that there are many of God's children regen¬
erated, God-fearing persons, mixed up in all other denominations,
but in their practice they are not pursuing their ordinances and
church government after the examples left us in the New Testa¬
ment, and of course they are the Jews or Israel in Babylon, or
else God could not say come out of her my people that ye be not
partakers of her plagues, while the true church or witnesses ar«
CLOTHED IN S&CK CLOTH.
50$
represented by Judah. So then we shall have to lb@k to the-
Baptist church; for a departure from sound doctrine, which will
be found in the divisions I mentioned in the first part of this,
chapter, all of whom claim to be the church, and of course will
not own that they are not sound in doctrine. But they differ
widely from us now in doctrine and practice. While we are still
contending for the doctrine of the sovereignty of God, of salva¬
tion by grace alone through the agency of the Holy Ghost with¬
out the agency of men, of the doctrine of personal and uncondi¬
tional election, in Christ before the foundation of the world, of
effectual calling, of general judgment and; of the resurrection of
the dead both of the just and unjust, most of these doctrines
those that have separated from us discard.and repudiate;: and yet
I have heard men of each of these parties, (or churches-as they
call them,) while connected with us, contend strenuously for all
these doctrines, which they now denounce. All of which causes
the witnesses to still prophesy in sack cloth.
After their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teaohers, hav¬
ing itching ears. Now it cannot be said of the Old Baptists in
truth, that; they have heaped to themselves teachers;: not even
the New School Baptists will say it. So far from it that they
have continually said that we have not heaps of teachers—that
we have very few; and they have been predicting all along, (and
so have others,) that we will soon have none, They used to say
in, ten years—some have said three years, while others have
boasted that they expected to live to see the last one of them
buried. Then will the charge lay against us, that we have itch¬
ing ears leading us to lust after heaps of teachers, and such itch¬
ing by running after all the new doctrines and inventions of the
age? Is it not constantly said that the Old School Baptists are
behind the times, Anti-effort, unprogressive people—more than
five hundred years behind the times of this progressive age in
which we live.
Will any one say that what preachers we have, have been raised
up by any effort of ours?—that we have employed any kind of
machinery to multiply the number of our ministers? H cannot
THE TWO WITNESSES
be said, nor do I believe that it lias ever been said, tliat tbe Old
School Baptists were turned unto fables. They have constantly
been charged with being stubborn, for so constantly adhering to
theHcriptures as their only standard and rule of faith and prac¬
tice. Their refusal to depart from this course, and to unite in
the various schemes of the age for reforming society, reclaiming
drunkerds, converting sinners and evangelizing the world, has
brought down upon them such epithets as Hard Sheels, Anti-
effort, Antinomian, Drunkards—proscription, reproach, misrep¬
resentation, and all kinds of calumny, using names too harsh to
be inserted here. Still they have remained steadfast, immovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord. Then they must be
the witnesses that are faithful enough to contend for the faith
once delivered to the saints, and show their identity with those
of the Valleys of Piedmont, of Switzerland, of Wales, and of
England, who I have before noticed as the sack cloth witnesses.
Tnose that have gone out from us, and especially the New
School Baptists, have very clearly demonstrated that they can¬
not endure sound doctrine, not only by their going out from us
on account of our holding sound doctrine, but also by heaping to
themselves teachers, their ears having itched for such doctrines as
would make them popular in the eyes of the world and give them
a place and respectability with the fashionable religionists of the
age. This is evident from their pleading the necessity of Theo¬
logical Schools, Colleges and Universities for the training of
,,young men for the ministry, (this was the desire of many before
they left us.) They thought because other denominations had
such institutions, that their ministry would so far outstrip us that
, all the learned and wealthy would unite with them instead ot
us.
They not only prepare for themselves a number sufficient for
each congregation, but they have heaps of them, so that nunir-
hers are transported to foreign countries, and others are lounging
about cities and other places, waiting for a call : so they not only
have a sufficiency to crowd out all who would preach sound 'don-;
trine—that would offend their itching etrra—but have troops.
CLOTHED IN SACK CLOTH.
505
them tkat go forth like the frogs of Egyyt into our houses, our
kneading troughs and our ovens. As I have shown in a former
chapter, how often have they'forced themselves into your houses
of worship, (into your dwellings too,) whether you would or not.
Who can deny hut that the New School Baptists raise up,
call, educate and qualify their own teachers, as they contend that
the church now has a right to send out ministers.
Mr. Benedict says, p. 941: "It is not that our ministers are
not liberally educated, but the difficulty lies with those whose
capacities and acquirements are utterly insufficient for the re¬
sponsibilities of the sacred office. But the churches are becom¬
ing more correct in their appointments, and this evil bids fait to
be soon done away."
The Campbellites, who went out from us also, contend that
every man (and woman too) has a right to teach or preach if he
chooses.
Instead of listening to sound doctrine, their ears are turned
away, and they turned unto fables. A fable is a feigned
story or tale, intended to instruct or amuse—a fictitious narration
intended to enforce some useful truth or precept.
How often have we heard in almost all their sermons, and read
in all their tracts, Sunday School books, and their religious peri¬
odicals, fictitious stories, especially in their temperance lectures.
I say this of them as a denomination, not as individuals; ma¬
ny of them are men of strict honesty and integrity, gentlemanly
In their intercourse with men, livmg upright and Godlike—
.imong whom are some of my best friends. But in their denom¬
inational character they have departed from the original in faith
:nd practice, which I am compelled, as a faithful witness, to tes-
.ify; and if I have said any thing that is not strictly true, or
nave over drawn the picture, it ik not from a desire to misrepre-
;ent, or to wound the feelings of any, but to be faithful.
The beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit, shall make
var against them, and shall overcome them and kill them. The
jeast here, undoubtedly means the beast with seven heads and
en horns, as represented in chaplcr xiii. and 7th verse:•—
THE TWO- WITNESSES
"And it was given nnto him» to' make war with the saints, and'
to overcome them, &c." He having sufficient power makes war
with them and overcomes them: He has worn them out once, or
overcome them literally, by destroying thousands.- But now, he
will make war with them and- kill them spiritually. The reason
why he is said to ascend out of the bottomless pit, is on account
of his ferocity, his cruel and unrelenting persecution, or perpetual
war with the saints (witnesses)—better befitting a dqvil than
men. The death that the witnesses are to suffer is by the doc¬
trine of Antichrist, which is from the devil—it is- a falsehood, a
false doctrine, and of course is opposed to Christ. -
I shall now proceed to show their death. And.my reason for*
believing that it is yet in the future is, that at the time of their"
resurrection will'be the downfall of Babylon, which has not yet
taken place.
I have before stated that peace and prosperity Had brought m>-
worldly minded persons, who advocated and taught that the hard
doctrine, as they termed it, was unpopular, and was calculated
to drive off our congregations instead of increasing them/ and by
degrees taught a more mild doctrine, which caused others to
unite who were not sound in the faith, which still called for a
further departure; so by degrees, (as no church ever imbibed,
gross errors at once,) it continued until it produced distress, and
division after division, both in Europe and the United States.
I will give an extract from Mr. Pottenger, as recorded by Mr. •
Benedict, page 325, and is applicable to the Baptist churches in
the United States as well as in England.
He says: ft Ten years after, the Revolution had scarcely passed
away, and the bonfires and rejoicings for that signal interposition
of providence were hardly forgotten, when many of our churches
fell into a state of backsliding and spiritual decay. Prosperity
did then more harm than adversity. The smiles of the world
were more dangerous than its frowns. Deputations to Whitehall,
vrith addresses of congratulation, kissing the hands of kings and
Queens," (William and Mary for the toleration act,) " and
modes of recognition from wily statesmen, had a much worse ef-
CLOTHED IN SACK CLOTH.
507
feet upon piety than the rough discipline of prisons or religious
meetings at midnight, and the spoiling of goods for conscience."
" Persecutions for twenty years winnowed the churches and
kept them, free from hypocrites and formal professors. Afflic¬
tions kept under the corruptions of the people of God, and pre¬
served them from biting and devouring one another. But when
the political horizon was cleared—when the sun of prosperity
arose upon the nation, and when the sword of oppression was
wrested from the hand of the persecutor, then pride, covetous-
nes, worldly-mindedness, and the lust of dominion prevailed, and
nothing hut destruction and misery appeared in many, if not in
most of our churches. In the year 1750, when a state of com¬
parative repose had been enjoyed for sixty years, a spiritual
blight rested upon religion and upon the nation. On the walls
of Zionsome of the .watchmen sounded the alarm. Even Dr.
Gill said: " There are scarcely any that naturally care for the
souls of men, and are heartily concerned for their spiritual wel¬
fare. Declension in the piety of our churches was followed by a
decrease in numbers of their members, and we run no hazard in
saying, there were more Baptists in the Kingdom when the tole¬
ration act was passed, than at the end of the next fifty years."
The natural consequences followed; many churches became
extinct, the candlestick was removed out of its place, the pres¬
ence of the Savior was withdrawn, and the glory departed."
This is the situation of the churches in the United States, be¬
ing blessed by the providence of God with the best and freest
Government in the world, the richest and most productive soil,
and a mild and salubrious climate—where we can make almost
all we want, and an abundance above what we really need. And
being left entirely free, it naturally leads to covetousness, a world¬
ly-mindedness, pride and vain glory, instead of that humble
piety that characterized the Waldenses in their-persecution.—
A lovo of the world and a covetous proud disposition, will pro¬
duce a declension in religion, " for you cannot serve God and
mammon;" then comes a departure from that strict course of
doctrine, of practice and church discipline, because it is too un-
33
508
THE TWO WITNESSES
popular with the world, and does not suit the pride of our na¬
ture. A small deviation is not muchy but one small one will pro¬
duce or make room for more, and when we once depart from the
holy precepts and examples given us by Christ in his holy word,
it will always lead to distress, confusion and finally division.
The church or witnesses never could have been overcome by the.
external foe; but when some of them crept in unawares, and
produced divisions, bickerings and heart burnings, even amongst
them that remain, then our strength and influence was dimin¬
ished—-then a great declension in religion was prodnced. The
natural consequence is that the churches decline. Since the di¬
visions from one source and then another, every doctrinal, practi¬
cal and experiment?! principle have been attacked and perverted
with all the cunning craftiness whereby men lie in wait to de¬
ceive. When the true and faithful witnesses see and know all
this pride and declension instead of the zeal and holy piety that
should characterize the true followers of Christ, though they will
still prophesy, yet it gives them constant grief, and may truly be
said to be in sack cloth. And when every fundamental or vital
principle in religion has been attacked, it becomes necessary that
they should be defended; and when a few (for there are a few
that remain faithful) undertake to defend the doctrine, faith and
practice, they not only bring down the wrath, hatred and con¬
tempt of those opposed to the truth because they do not love it,
but they make enemies of those that profess to hold the truth,
(though I fear many of them hold it in unrighteousness,) be¬
cause, say they, it is too harsh, or you are too particular in faith
or practice, and church discipline—a small deviation in faith, in
the practice of church ordinances, or in discipline, to accommo¬
date this or that friend or denomination, can do but little injury.
And yet it produces an alienation in feeling, and of course a de¬
clension in religion, of the love of Grod in the soul; and that
church that departs from the primitive order in any sense of the
word, or forsakes the assembling of themselves together, will
naturally decline, becauso they become worldly-minded, and will
finally become extinct by the Gandlestiok being removed out of "its
CLOTHED IN SACK CLOTH.
509
plate, for those that might and otherwise would join the church
will not do so under such a state of things.
This time and state of the church is represented by the church
of Laodicia, according to my former statement, and will con¬
tinue to be until the end of the pouring out of the seventh vial?
at which time will be the death of the two witnesses. This is
what is said in Revelations iii. 15, 16 and 17:
"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; 1
would that thou wert cold or hot."
" So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor
hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth,"
" Because thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods, and
have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched,
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. "
It seems to me that the charch and ministry at this time,-
could not be better or more clearly represented than it is in the
language of the verses above, which is the language of the An¬
gel to the Laodicians This declining state will continue until "I
will spew thee out of my mouth." That is, will leave the
church to herself in her lukewarm condition, and her supposed
riches, (which is worldly riches,) until the beast shall overcome
them and hill them.
The beast is gaining strength by the divisions that have taken
place, as it adds one more number to his name. "For the num¬
ber of the beast is the number of a man; which is six hundred
three score and six. " And when that number is completely full,
then will the Lamb overcome him in the greatness of his
streno-th. I understand the number here to mean the different
O
denominations increasing in numbers, all claiming to be the
church of Christ, until they amount to six hundred and sixty-
six. And yet Christ has but one church, and she is not to be
numbered with the nations, whichever she be. And all the rest
are opposed to the truth, some more and some less, and wherever
they have departed from the truth, be it small or great, or are
jh-acticing in their worship any thing that God has not required
iff his word, that far they are Anti- Christ, whether it be the
510
THE TW© WITNESSES
church of Rome or not, for indeed most of tliem haw reformed
and come out of the church ot' Rome, which reformation, as I
have stated before, can never constitute the true church, though
they were to reform twenty times they would still be one ot the
daughters, or grand daughters, or great grand daughters bt An¬
tichrist. The true church never didi reform from Antichrist—
it would have been impossible for her to have done so, because
she never was connected with her. Still she is declining on iuc-
count of her luke warm condition, being neither cold nor hot,
while the number of the beast is increasing almost to the full-
Hear what they say in one of their religious periodicals. The
Puritan Recorder sums up the statistics of evangelical religion in
the United States as follows: Over thirty thousand working
ministers of the Gospel, sustained by four millions of, communi¬
cants, and heard by sixteen millions of church-going people.—
Church property, seventy millions; religious contributions, twen¬
ty-four millions of dollars per annum."
Of all this thai true church, or Old Scliool Baptists, have,no¬
thing to do. Yet all this numerical strength, wealth and influ¬
ence of worldly minded professors, are arrayed against the doc¬
trine and practice which they hold and teach.-
Here are the, remarks of Benedict after, examining ancient
church history of the various denominations. Church History
page 77: "Religious communities have their commencement,
their advancement, maturity and decline; and without some
strong counteracting cause to arrest their downward tendency, and
bring them back .to their former principles, in about three centu¬
ries, often sooner, they become overrun with error, and sink down
into a death-like coldness and formality. The ministry bt1,comes
a mere profession, or a trade worldly motives govern the
priesthood, and a promiscuous multitude compass the churches."
This is true in regard to all who have a salaried ministry, hut
is not true when applied to the true church and ministry, he-
cause there is not the same temptation and inducement to pro¬
duce a worldly minded ministry, and yet, notwithstanding all
our poverty and precaution, worldly minded men as ministers get
CLOTHED IN SACfK CLOTH.
511
Amongst us who always get such characters into the church as
members, which, in the end, causes those divisions that I have
before spoken of. But in all cases where I have had an oppor¬
tunity to examine, both in ancient as well as in modern history
of the church, a sufficient number remained tmshaken (though
perhaps in most cases a majority went into error) to maintain ori¬
ginal principles, and of course would be the church,, though a
minority.
This being our situation now, what will continue the decline
and death (is yet in the future according to my calculation) I
shall have to guess and suppose from what has already been. As
one more division would produce that end, any thing that will
be most likely to do so in our cold state will be the means. And
I give it as my opinion, from present appearances, that it will be
a departure from the usages of the Baptists by receiving mem¬
bers from other denominations upon their baptism, especially
from the Few School Baptists. I am inclined to this opinion
because prominent ministers of both denominations are advocates
for such a course in various parts of the country, both in the U.
States and Europe, which, if it should succeed, (which I think
is probable.) rvill produce division and of course death. I have
a case in point. Benedict, in speaking of the Bohemians and
Waldenses in the province of -France uniting with the Refor¬
mers and giving up anabaptism, says, p. 84: " The giving up of
anabaptism seemed a small thing.at first, but it laid the founda¬
tion for the entire change of the 1 denomination in the course of
a short period of time. "
The death that they are to die is -not by the sword, or persecu¬
tion unto a natural death, like the Waldenses, (as Mr. Barnes
supposes,) but it is to be overcome by the number and influence
of those combined multitudes that teach and practice for doc¬
trines the commandments of men. And by the withdrawal (in a
good degree) of the spirit and presence of God on account of our
coldness and negligence or disobedience, will have lost not only
in numbers, but the influence they once held over the community
512
THE TWO WITNESSES
in their indifference as to religion and religious ordinances and
a laxed church] discipline. Still their bodies will be visible,
though apparently in a dead or dormant state.
Verse 8: " 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. "
Their dead bodies, da Those that I have described in the 7th
verse, inasmuch as the streets are in the midst of the city. It
may be fairly considered in the midst of the city, as- their dead
bodies would be exposed as in the public streets. As we are not
to look for at literal fulfilment, the meaning is that there would
be a state of things in regard to them, which would; bo similar
to that of their bodies being exposed. To leave at body unburied
is to treat it with, contempt, generally for or on account of its
religious principles, which was held to be- very dishonorable by
the ancients. Among the Jews it was regarded as a special in¬
dignity. The meaning here is, that for the time specified, th«
witnesses would be treated with great indignity and contempt by
the citizens of the city.
The great city. The term here used is. to show its size or di¬
mensions—the great space it occupies, or as being the largest, as
well as its numbers and influence, which literally would mean
the city of Lome. But here the spirital meaning is intended
to be, and no doubt is, spiritual Home,, or the church of Borne
with all her appendages, which occupies the whole world. As a
g-eat city, or its citizens, would cause their death, they would,
be exposed in her streets, which will, of necessity, be in tb«
streets, (if it is the church of Rome, as I have stated,) because
it is as extensive as the world. So the word great here supposes
that the city would be distinguished for its size.
Which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt. Spiritually
here seems to be used metaphorically, in contradistinction from
the literal and real name, for the reason that it is spiritual and
not literal. It does not give the real name, but such description
is given that it leaves no doubt that it is spiritual Rome—that
CtiOTHED IN SACK CLOTH.
is intended. It cannot mean literal Sodom, because she had
long been destroyed on account of her sins and abominations, no
righteous being found amongst them save just Lot
First Then it means Rome, Spiritual Romef because she is
fairly represented by her abominations, her whoredoms, sins and
corruptions, being as destitute of righteous persons as was Sodom:
for [in the year 1558^ when Jacques D'Auchy Was upomhis trial
for heresy ^efore the Inquisition and Commissary, he told them
of all the corruption that was practiced from the Pope down to
the people, when the inquisitor said that it was wrong to charge
all with corruption, for there were some good ones amongst them.
Then said D'Auchy, just show me one Priest, Bishop, Arch¬
bishop, or Pope, that lives righteous and walks upright before
God, and I will recant and follow him. The inquisitor said that
there was one over in Spain or England that he had heard of.—
Then said the prisoner, just take this chain off, my Lords, and I
will travel until I find him and follow him. No, you arch here¬
tic, you cannot have the chain taken off, was the reply. Then
said he, just show me one such pastor as I have described, and I
will follow him.
But all this was of no avail—he suffered a cruel death as a
. heretic—he was an Anabaptist preacher.
Second. It is like Sodom in its destruction, for though God
bears Ions; with her sins and abominations, when thev have ar-
O 7
rived at the full, he will utterly destroy her as he did Sodom.
And Egypt, where also our Lord, was crucified. Egypt signi¬
fies darkness and oppression—the place where God's people were
sorely oppressed, which applies most emphatically to the church
of Rome, for she has oppressed and tyrannized over them in
every shape and form for twelve hundred and sixty years, out of
which they will be delivered, as were the children of Israel out
of Egypt by a mighty hand, that will destroy Rome as he did
the Egyptians.
Where also our Lord was crucified. If this is to be taken
literally it would apply to Jerusalem only, but it is to bo taken
■spiritually, as the text says "which spiritually is, &c." In as-
514
THE TWO AVITNESSES
much as Christ was crucified by the Jews who were his brethren
according to the flesh and professed worshipers of God, so it
means that it will be the witnesses, brethren according to the
flesh and professed Christians. More acts authorising oppres¬
sion, intended to crush out the people of God, have gone forth
from Rome'than any other city on the face of the earth; and as
spiritual Rome, as I have said, covers the whole world, it may be
truly said that our Lord was crucified in her, for he w|s crucified
in the world. Or it may be taken in another sense—that his
church, which is his body, is crucified, as St. Paul says "I am
crucified Avitli Christ, &c.;'" or, as it is said of apostates from
the faith, in Hebrews vi. G, that they •" crucify to themselves the
Son of God afresh." The meaning ;is that acts would be per¬
formed which would he similar to that of crucifying the Lord.—
As his church is his body and he dwells in it, any indignity or
viplencedono to it wmpld be as done to himself; "for inasmuch
as you liave done it upto one of the-least of these, my disciples,
you have done it unto me. " Or, a departure from the faith and
doctrine of the gospel will produce the death of the"witnesses,
which will he similar to that of Christs crucifixion, for darkness
will prevail. As I .have said before, Israel represented God's
people that are in Babylon, while Juduh represented the church
of Christ by .keeping the order and ordinances according to his
word, and that Judah was not taken captive to Babylon—only a
portion qf the rich, as is recorded in Jeremiah xsxix. 10: "The
captain of the guard left of the poor of the people which had
nothing in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields
at the same time." Again xl. 11: " When the Jcavs heard that
the King of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that lie
had set over them Gedaliah." Verse 12: " Even all the Jews re¬
turned out of all places whither they were driven, (except Baby¬
lon,) and came ta the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah,
and gathered wine and summer fruits very much." In spiritual
Judah is the place where wine and summer fruits are gathered.
God said to the remnant of J udah, if you will continue her#
and hear my words, I will build you up and not pull you down
-CLOTHED IN SACK CLOTH.
;5i 5
Fear not tlie sword of Babylon for it shall not overtake you.-
'Then the chief of the people desembled, and sent, Jeremiah to
inquire of the Lord what they must do, and after ten days Jere¬
miah returned with the answer—xlii. H: "Be not afraid of the
King of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him,
• saith the Lord; for I am with you to save you and deliver you
from his hands." But if you will not hear, as in the 18tli verse,
" So shall my fury be poured upon you, when ye enter inlo
Egypt; and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and
a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more."—
19th verse. " The Lord hath said concerning yon, 0 ye remnant
of Judah,*go ye not into Egypt; know certainly that I have ad¬
monished you this day."
They disbelieved Jeremiah and illy treated .him. They said
that God had not spoken to him such words. But we will go
into Egypt and offer incense, and pour out chink offerings to the
Queen of heaven; (that is the sun, whom the Egyptians worship;
or,in other .words, unite with the Egyptians in their worship, and
do that which God has forbidden.) And Jeremiah said, know ye
not the sword that ye so much dread; the pestilence and famine
shall follow you to destroy you whither you go, and you shall be
utterly destroyed—all who set their faces to go into Egypt.
Nevertheless they went, and took Jej-emiah with them. Hear
what the Lord said against them. Chapter xlix. 27: "Behold,
I will watch over them for evil and not for good; and all /the men
of Judalf that dwell in the land of JKgypt shall be consumed by
the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them."
28th verse: "Yet a small number that escape the sword shall
return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah.; and all
the remnant of J udah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to
sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine or
theirs." He will cause Babylon also to destroy Egypt, as well as
Judah; although she may be numerous and a good distance off!,
yet he will overtake her. Jeremiah xlvi. 20: "Egypt is like a
very fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the
north." 21st verse: " Also her hired men are in the midst of her
516
THE TWO WITNESSES
like fatted, bullocks; for they are also turned back, and are fled
away together." 24th verse: "The daughter of Egypt shall be
confounded; she shall be delivered into the hands of the people
of the North."
As national Israel was taken captive by the King of Babylon,
so spiritual Israel is in spiritual Babylon, which I have before
described. And as the poor of the tribe of Judah were left in
thfe land of Judea, and through their weakness, being few in
number, they became fearful that Babylon, in her strength and
greatness, would overcome them, although God had promised to
protect them if they would hear and obey his word; but they, or
a portion of them determined to- go into Egypt for protection,
where they had been before, and unite with them in their reli¬
gious devotions, which was not only without authority but con¬
trary to the word of God, which may be seen in the quotations
from Jeremiah, so spiritual. Judear-in her weakness, cold and dark
situation, (a portion of them,) seem determined to go back
where we were once in bondage, for fear of, or to escape from
spiritual Babylon, and to unite with them in their religious de¬
votions, or to sanction all. their men made institutions, which
have no sanction in the word of God. As Judah said to Jere¬
miah, " When we offered incense to the Queen of heaven, we
did not want for bread, nor heard of any war, therefore we will
fulfill our vows to the Queen of heaven," so spiritual J udah says
we see no use or necessity for any war now; if we will receive
their ordinances, and of course their order of worship*we shall
greatly augment our strength by increasing our numbers of the
more wealthy and influential; If you do, God has said pesti¬
lence, famine and sword shall overtake you. St. Paul has said,
" for the perversion of God's word and ordinances, many of you
are sickly and weakly. " This is the spiritual pestilence. The
prophet says: "It shall come to pass in that day, that there
shall be a famine in the land. It shall not be a famine for bread
nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the word of God. " It will
be a famine for want of preaching the truth of the gospel in its
plain unvarnished meaning, as did St. Paul.
CLOTHED IN: SACK CLOTH.
517
But Babylon, with the sword of Antichrist, shall overcome
and kill spiritual Judah, (except a small remnant that shall es¬
cape the sword and return to Judah. The church shall return to
primitive order,) and after they have killed Judah, (they will be
in the streets of Egypt, for it is there that they are to be killed,)
then they will destroy Egypt also. How nearly have they already
overcame many in doctrine. And when spiritual Babylon shall
have come to the full, and have done her work, then God will
utterly destroy her forever, by the sword (spirit) of his mouth, as
he did Babylon by the literal sword, as I shall show hereafter.
9th verse: " And they of the people, and kindred 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."
And they of the people. Mr. Barnes says: " Some of the peo¬
ple—a part of the people. " To suit his notion of its being the
natural destruction of the Waldenses, it would be necessary to
confine it to a very small part of Europe because they were not
every where. But according to my interpretation it will be very
different. The witnesses being in all the world, they will be
seen by people, and kindred, and tongues, and nations. It will-
be a general thing, and will be seen by various nations; and. even,
by kinfolks-
They will see their dead bodies. Look upon them as dead—
pass them by with contempt, just as they would a dead carcass
in the street.
For three days and a half. This is prophetic, and according to
the interpretation, it would be three years and a half. It will be
a time, from some cause or other, that will be distinguished from-
that which has preceded it; though the preceding for some years-
had been dark, still the three years and a half will be more death¬
like, and as it is in the future, I cannot tell whether persecution
will be permitted again or not. I am satisfied that it will be re¬
ligiously, a great departure from, and an obscuring of the truth;
that error will prevail, while the spirit and presence of God will
be withdrawn. And nationally speaking, I believe that it will
be a general war of nations and amongst nations.
518
TflE TWO WITNESSt'S'
And*shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. This
implies that there would be those that would bury them, but
the witnesses being overcome, they are not only suffered to lie
exposed for three days and a half, but their friends are not even
suffered to put them in graves. By the edicts of councils it was
death to any one that would show friendship or protection in any
way, even to s}rmpathize with any heretic or Anabaptist in their
suffering, while living or when dead.
10th verse: "And they that dwell on the earth shall rejoice
over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to the other;
because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the
earth."
I am not necessitated, like many others, (indeed I might say
almost all other expositors,) to make the application here moan
some small portion of them that dwell on the earth in some se¬
questered spot; ifor instance, as Mr. Barnes and others, who say
it had reference to the gieat slaughter of Waldenses in the val¬
leys of Piedmont. I have said before that it will not take place
until the number of the beast is full, at which time he will ex¬
tend his kingdom to every nation in the world; and as the wit¬
nesses will be scattered in nearly all, (if not all countries,) they
will then be seen by them that dwell on the earth, aoho shall re¬
joice over ihem and make- merry" Those that dwell on the
earth will rejoice over their fall and ruin. The meaning is, that
while alive they had, by their faithful testimony against the er¬
rors of Antichrist, excited so much hatred against themselves,
and had been such a continual annoyance to them by opposing all
their men made .'institutions and money schemes for christianizing
the world, that there would be a general exultation when the
voice of their testimony would be silenced. This kind of feeling
prevails now to a considerable extent. I have been frequently
told, (and it has been said time out of number,) that if the Old
School Baptists were out of the way the other denominations
would soon christianize the world, but they (the Baptists) op¬
posed missionary operations and all other benevolent institution*
.which had for their t object the conversion of the would. Antf
CLCtT^D I;N SACK CLOTH.
519
thpn they will (even now) add and say, but thank God it will not
be long until they will be extinct.
Make menry. That is, be glad, a general rejoicing, and filled
with joy at such an event that has so long been desired.
And shall send gifts one to the other. Which'is a natural or
external expression of our own happiness and oiur desire for the
happiness of others, as is indicated by our making gifts, or send¬
ing presents to our friends on hotlidays, or or Christmas and New
Year's day. Or, like the Jews, as in the book of Esther ix. 19:
u Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwell in unwahe.l
towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of
feasting and gladness, and a good hay, and of sending portions
one to another."'
Because these tiuo prophets tormented them that dioell upon the
co/rth. They tormented< them; not by violence or by wars and
bloodshed, .for they have never resorted to the sword in defence of
their Lord and Master since Peter used it in the garden, when
Jesus said " put up thy sword." They tormented thong or were
a source of annoyance to them by bearing testimony to the truth
and telling them that God would, sooner or later, punish them
tor all their ungodly deeds by sending the sword, pestilence and
famine. They tormented them by adhering so tenaciously to the
word of God that they could not be moved from their position by
fiatteries or flattering titles, by threats or rewards. Most of the
prominent Old Baptist ministers have had offers made to them,
(indeed it was said frequently that they had me salted,) and
those that would not accept of the proffered offer must be put
down, for there were some that could be flattered or bought over,
but they soon lost all their influence as ministers with all de¬
nominations, while a few remained faithful still to torment them
as Micai did Ahab, for Ahab said of the prophet "T hate him,
for he always prophesies evil concerning me." Ahab was a
wicked King and caused God's people to sin; then when the
prophet prophesied the truth it was always against the King's
..conduct. Micai would say "I will prophesy nothing less or
pi pre than what God givoth me." How much that was like .the
520
THE TWO WITNESSES
two witnesses In their sack cloth prophesy, and as the prophet
told Ahab that Sae should not return, although he hated him, yet
it tormented him so much that he disguised himself, but God
found him out. So the witnesses torment them that dwell upon,
the earth—they may disguise as much as they will, God will
find them out.
11th verse: "And after three days and a half, the spirit ot
life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet :
and great fear fell upon them that saw them."
And after three years and a half, the spirit of life from God,
e&c. As it was not a natural or literal death, but a spiritual, it
is of course a spiritual life. As in John i. 4: " In him was life;
and the life was the light of men." And chapter v. 21: "For
'as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so
the Son quickeneth whom he will." Then as it is a withdrawal
of the spirit of life until they have the appearance of being
dead, it will be a return of the spirit of life to a greater extent
than they had ever possessed before; so that they will be able
to testify to the truth more fully, and with more life, zeal and
energy than they had ever done before.
And they stood upon their feet. The same identical witnesses
that had the appearance (to the world) of being dead, now stood
upon their feet; not literally, but as a dead man is lying unable
to stand, but when made alive would rise to his feet, so they
stood on their feet as a representation of a living man. Mr.
Barnes and others make the Reformation the resurrection of the
witnesses, and as I have said before, the literal slaying ot thi
Waldenses the death. In that case it would not be those that
were killed that were made alive, nor could it be considered a
resurrection, or a restoration to life of those that were dead, for it.
would be a transmigration. Mr. Barnes tries to make it appear
that all the Waldenses, or evangelical Christians, were entirely
destroyed and subjected to the papacy at the commencement of
the Reformation, for which purpose he makes several quotations.
Here is one from Mr. Elliott: "There is an end of resistance to
t&e papal rule and religious; opposers there exists no more; and
CLOTHED IN SACK CLOTH.
521
again: The whole body of Christendom is now seen to be sub¬
jected to its head."
Again he quotes from the Encyclopedia: " Every thing was
quiet; every heretic exterminated; and the whole Christian
world supinely acquiescing in the enormous absurdities inculcated
in the Romish church, when, in 1517, the empire of superstition
received its first attack from Luther." Or, in the language of
Mr. Cunningham: " At the commencement of the sixteenth cen¬
tury, Europe reposed in a deep sleep or spiritual death, under the
iron yoke of the papacy. There was none that moved the wing
or opened the mouth, or peeped; when suddenly in one of the
Universities of. Germany the voice of an obscure monk was
heard, the sound of which rapidly filled Saxony, Germany, and
Europe itself, shaking the very foundations of the papal power,
and arousing men from the lethargy of ages."
All this is not true, only in part. It is not true that all the
heretics were destroyed, or subjected to the papacy at the com¬
mencement of Luther's attack upon them, or that Luther's was
the first attack that was made, for I have shown before tker«
were eight hundred thousand in the valleys who had no con¬
nexion with the papacy at the commencement of the Reforma¬
tion, who had continually borne testimony against the corruption#
of the papacy.
It is true that Luther's voice was heard all over Europe, and
shook the very foundation of the papacy, because it was the first
beast and had just arisen to its zenith, and held all Europe un¬
der its iron yoke, [both politically and religiously, except the wit¬
nesses] until Luther arose, which was the commencement of the
second beast, and produced the decline of the first beast, as I
have shown before. It is not true that God's ministers arise m
Universities, having been monks, and then form the church of
Christ, or a branch of it as they claim; for it is only a branch of
Antichrist. A monk might become converted and unife with
and become a member of the church of Christ; not by forming a
new one, or merely reforming from some of the corruptions of
the papacy; for the church [or Kingdom] of Christ had been'eet
THE TWO WITNESSES
up with the ministry of John, Jestfs and tiie Apostles;1 with all
the ordinances, laws and regulations for its government; and
there never will bp another because it never will be entirely de¬
stroyed. So the Reformation was fifteen hundred years too late
for the church of Cliriitv
, Mr. Barne's own,languge is: "And if the previous illustra¬
tions are' correct, there will be little difficulty in admitting that
this had its fulfilment in the commencement of the Reforma¬
tion." "That testimony has been borne by men of the same
spirit and character. There was the closest resemblance between
the Waldenses and other witnesses before the Reformation and
the Reformers themselves—between the piety of Huss, Jerome
of Prague, Wickliffe and Peter Waldo, and that of Luther, Me-
lancthon, Zwingle, Calvin, Bucer, Latimer, Ridley and Knox.—
They were men who belonged to the same spirituahcommunion.
All that occurred was as if the same_ witnesses had been restored
to life, and again lifted up their voices in the cause for which
they had been persecuted and slain. "
That the Reformers may have been pious, regenerated men
for aught I know, L shall not pretend to deny, but to say they
were like Waldo and-his companions, or like the Waldenses, is
not true, for the Waldenses contended strictly for the two sacra¬
ments, that is, the baptism of believers alone by immersion and
the Lord's supper in the simple bread and wine; and their min¬
isters were not monks in Universities, but they were teachers,
tent makers and weavers, while the Reformers were contending
for and practicing infant sprinkling' and consubstanciation and
many other of the papal errors.
Then how they, the Reformers, could be the resurrection of
the witnesses, or identified witli them, I cannot see, unless the
Waldenses united with them and they became one people, which
is not true as I have shown before. That a portion of them did
unite with Luther and Calvin [the most with Calvin] will pot
be denied, because when the Reformation first commenced they
were greatly pleased to hear that there were men that wofijd
boldly denounce the corruptions of the Catholic church w^fch
CLOTHED IN SACK CLOTH.
523
Was the common enemy, but when they sent a deputation to
them concerning a union, they ascertained that if they united
with the Reformers they would have to relinquish their baptism
and adopt infant sprinkling and other errors, which a large num¬
ber refused to do. Here is what Mr. Orchard says upon the sub¬
ject: ''The tones of authority assumed by Luther, and his ma-
jesterial conduct towards those who differed from him, made it
evident that he would be head of the Reformers. He and his
colleagues had now to dispute their way with hosts of Baptists
all over Germany, Saxony, Thuringia, Switzerland and other
Kingdoms for several years." Conferences on baptism were held
in different Kingdoms, which continued from 1516 to 1527."—
O 7
u Wherever the Baptists settled, Luther played the part of Uni¬
versal Bishop. He wrote to Princes and Senators to engage them
to expel such dangerous men; but it was their refusing to own
his authority and admit his exposition of the Scriptures which
led him to preach and publish books against them, taxing them
with disturbing the peace. We have recorded that the Baptists
were the common objects of aversion to Catholies-3 Lutherans and
Calvanists, whose united zeal was directed, to their destruction."
So we see in the above quotations that a portion* of them (the
Waldenses or Baptists) fell in with the Reformers, while a large
portion refused and disputed with the Reformers as well as Cath¬
olics, for which they received the persecution of both. Although
the Catholics and Reformers persecuted each other, yet they uni¬
ted in persecuting the Anabaptists, and thereby destroyed great
numbers of them, but still a sufficient number of them remained
in various Kingdoms to testify to the truth, but Mr. Barnes, as
well as most others, here lose sight ot the true witnnsses who are
still prophesying in sack cloth, and make the Reformers the
church of Christ, which is a great mistake.
They will stand upon their feet, but it is in the future some
nine or ten years. According to my calculation it will take
place at, or about the time of the destruction of Babylon and
the close of the pouring out of the seventh vial. My reason for
thinking so is because similar language is used in the 13th verse;
34
THE TWO WITNESSES
and that time I have made to be about the year 186G, though 1
may not have made a correct calculation; still I cannot think it
can be far from correct.
And great fear fell upon them thai saw them. Something sim¬
ilar to that of a dead body was to rise from the dead; it would
produce fear or terror; or, as in the case of the raising of Laza¬
rus. It was a great terror to the Pharisees because they had to
ascribe it to God, and it terrified them for fear the people would
believe on Jesus. These two witnesses that had tormented them
so long—whom they had supposed was dead—and now to see
them stand upon their feet, "great fear fell upon them." If
they had annoyed the religious world so much before their death,
it would be greatly increased now by their resurrection; for it
would have to be admitted that it was the divine power that
raised them to their feet. If that is true, it is an evidence of
divine favor, and as we have hated and persecuted them unto
death, we may now expect the vengeance of Almighty God upon
ourselves.
12th verse: " And they heard a great voice from heaven, say¬
ing unto them come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven
in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them."
And they heard a voice, d:c. They heard it, but no one else
did. Not a vocal voice, but as in John v. 25: " Verily, verily, 1
say unto you, the hour is coming, and now. is, when the dead
shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall
live." It is a voice to the inner man, or a divine impression, and
comes with, as much power and authority as if it had been spo¬
ken to the external ear.
After having faithfully testified, and then having been put to
death, treated with contempt—and then raised to life and stood
upon their feet. Now they hoar a great voice as one having the
power and authority—speaks as lord of the feast: " As you have
all along occupied the lowest seat (lower than any other denomi¬
nation) now come up to the highest.'' All that is hero meant is
symbolical, and would be fulfilled by a triumph of the truth
under tbe testimony of the witnesses, or by its becoming glori-
CLOTHED IN SACK. CLOTH.
525
ously established by an undisputed evidence, so that the enemy
would have to acknowledge it.
And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud. Our Saviour as¬
cended to heaven in a cloud. Not in a rain cloud, and mist and
darkness, but in a cloud of witnesses, who would testify to his
glorious and eternal triumph over his enemies and the powers of
darkness, so in a similar manner will the witnesses ascend in a
cloud by virtue of the victory they gained. They will ascend in
the presence of their enemy.
Jude speaks of the enemy in the 11th verse: "Wo unto them!
for they have gone in the way of Gain, and ran greedily after the
error of Baalam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of
care." The rebellion .of Korah, as in Numbers xvi. "Ran
greedily after the error of Baalam." That is, Balaam would
have cursed Israel for money. Then in the 16 th verse: "And
their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons
in admiration because of advantage." Axd now he speaks of
the cloud (witnesses.) 14th verse: "And Enoch also, the sev¬
enth from Adam, prophesied of those, saying, Behold the Lord
cometh with ten thousand of his saints." 15th verse: "To exe¬
cute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly
nmong them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly
committed; and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners
have spoken against him. "
This will be the cloud then: Christ will come (not to destroy
the world) to his temple or church, and bring with him ton
thousand of his saints; he will bring them out of Babylon, for
it will then be destroyed; and there will be such numbers added
to the church that it will triumph over all error and opposition
as if they had ascended to heaven, for where the spirit and love
of God is Christ dwells, and where he is is heaven, for they will
sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." This will be
the beginning of Christs reign for a thousand years. And it will
be sufficient to convince the enemy of all their ungodly deeds
and hard speeches that they have spoken against him; against
5:26
THE TWO WITNESSES
tliem for what has been done or said to them, he tabes as done to
himself. With those saints he will jiudge all, and convince all;
and when convinced they will acknowledge their condemnation
for the ungodly deeds and hard speeches that they have made
against the witnesses. I do not suppose that all this will take
place suddenly in a day, as by a miracle,, or in one year. It will
be somewhat gradual, yet sufficiently conspicuous to convince all
that it is. the mighty power of God that has caused the truth and
his. church to triumph over all opposition after having been so
long trodden under foot.
13tli verse: " And the same hour was there a great earth-
ijuake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake
were slain of men seven thousand, and the remnant were af¬
frighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven."
And the same hour. The meaning is the hour that the wit¬
nesses arose and ascended to heaven, be that when it may; but
all' the expressions go to show that it will be when the great bat¬
tle of Armageddon is fought.
A great earthquake, &c. This does not necessarily mean a
literal earthquake, (though I am inclined to think there will be,)
but a great convulsion in the religious, and political world, which
the resurrection of the witnesses and the fighting of the great
battle will produce.
The tenth qoart of the c% fell. The city where our. Lord was
crucified—the anti-christian powers—the great city of spiritual
Babylon, a tenth portion of it will be destroyed at the resurrec¬
tion of the witnesses, or the ascendency of the truth and true
church.
Slain of men seven thousand. It is not necessary to look for
the destruction of precisely seven thousand men, but it would be
inpropoitionito what would be destroyed by an. earthquake that
would destroy a. tenth part of the city. Or rather, I would say
that as the number seven has been used so frequently, I would
consider it figuratively bp mean that one-seventh, part of Anti¬
christ will be slaindn .the great? battle.
CLOTHED IN SACK CLOTH.
527
And the remnant were affrighted. Fear aid alarm cjitrie on
them in consequence of these calamities. The remnant are
those that still survived in the city.
And gav: glory to the God of heaven. They were so thoroughly
convinced that it was the great power of God, that they were
like the people Vhen they beheld our Saviour heal the sick of
the palsy that was let down through the roof, in Luke v. 26:—
"And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were
filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to-day."
All that seems to he meant by this is, that they stood in awe
at what God was doing, and acknowledged that it must haw;
been the great power of God that had accomplished what they
had seen. It does not mean that the remnant would become re¬
ally Christians, but that there would be a prevailing opinion that
the wonderful things produced was by the power of God, and
that the witnesses were God's, and that he was avenging them of
their adversaries. They would acknowledge his sovereign power
and thereby glorify him.
As I have said a good deal upon the subject of the true church g
of Christ, I will here collect together, in a condensed form, what
is interspersed through the whole work, so that it may be the
more readily comprehended. In showing a connexion from the
Apostolic to the present time, it is not supposed, nor is it neces¬
sary, that we should show a people of the same name, but a-peo¬
ple or church of the same faith and practice; for the same people
were called by different names in different countries, and in dif¬
ferent ages.
I have shown what it took to make a legal or gospel church,
aud that they continued nearly- the same in faith and practice up
to the year 250, at which time, on account of the accumulating
errors in government, Novatian contended for purity of practice^-
(there being no difference in doctrine,) which caused a division—
they both continued baptism by immersion. And that Novatian.
and his party rebaptized, as it is called; or as Ave call it, received
those that came over from the other party, as they did all others
that came to their community, just as if they had never belonged
528 THE TWO WITNESSES
to any sect, not holding their baptism to be valid. The wrath
and persecution of the leading party was brought down tipOn
them for invalidating their acts (as it always has done) with tbb
persecution of the dragon, which soon afterwards caused tho
woman (church) to flee into the Wilderness, where they were af¬
terwards called Waldenses. The Novatianists and Donatists,
and other appellations by which they were called, continued iti
the various provinces of Rome through all the dark ages; but
being so much persecuted they were not able to keep up the
same connexion as the Waldenses, nor is it necessary for my pur¬
pose for me now to follow them in the different countries, as that
can be found in the various church histories, and my space will
not allow me to do so.
But the Waldenses continued in tho valleys of Piedmont, as I
have shown before, for the 1260 years, holding and practicing the
same faith and order. The 1260 years reached up to the com¬
mencement of the Reformation, at which time their number was
eight hundred thousand, in the valleys alone, (so says George
Moral, their historian,) they still holding to primitive order in a
good degree, as will more fully appear by examining their arti¬
cles of faith, which I have given in another part of this work.
At the commencement of the Reformation, a portion of them
were driven out and others destroyed by the Catholics, and at a
later period they were, vast numbers of them, destroyed, and the
remnant or remaining part entirely dispersed and never have re¬
turned according to Mr. Robinson's Researches.
They fled to various parts of Europe, and according to the di¬
rection of Christ, they and their ministers, " when persecuted in
one city fled to another." They were called German Anabaptists
in Germany, and so they were also called Anabaptists in England
and Wales. Peter Waldo went to Bohemia in 1160, holding
the same faith and practice as the Waldenses, which afforded an
asylnm for that persecuted people. They now being persecuted
for their Anabaptist principles by the united power of the Clfe-
olics and Reformers, more particularly after the establishment of
the Church of England, which persecution caused many of then*
CLOTHED IX SACK CLOTH.
520
to migrate from England, Germany and Wales to the eoloniesof
America to seek an asylum from persecution. It lias always
keen said by our opponents that Roger Williams was the founder
of the first Baptist Church in America, at Providence, Rhode
Island, in order to invalidate the legality of our baptism, be¬
cause he was illegally baptised by one of his lay members, and
then Williams baptized the balance of his flock, all of which is
not true. Mr. S. Adlam has been searching records and every
means of information, to ascertain which is the oldest church in
America, and has finally, after a long search, come to the truth of
the matter, no doubt, from facts and dates, that the church at
Newport, Rhode Island, was the first church in America, and
gathered by Dr. John Clark. I will give a short extract from
the inscription on his tomb stone:
DOCTOR JOHN CLARK,
one of the original purchasers and proprietors of
this island, and cne of the founders of th.e
First Ilaptist Church in Newport,
its first nastor and munificent benefactor.
He was a native of Bedfordshire, England,
and a practitioner of physic in London.
Me, with his associates, came to this island from Mass.,
in March, 1638, O. S., and on the 24th of the
same month, obtained a deed thereof from
the Indians. He shortly afterwards gathered
the church aforesaid, and became its pastor
in 1638. He died April the 20th, 1676,
in the 66th year of his age,
and is here interred.
This shows that the church at Newport was constituted in
1638, one year before Williams, which was 1630.
The history of Williams, in short, is this: He came here a
member of the established church and united with and preached
for the Dissenters, or Pilgrims, in Massachusetts, but opposed
their union of Church and. State. He did not at that time preach
Baptist doctrine, but religious liberty, which the authorities said
would lead to Anabaptist principles, for they, the Baptists, bad
always opposed a union of church and State and contended foi
religious liberty. The cause of Williams persecution and exile
was his rcublican principles, which principles lie had imbibed frc m
the Baptists, for they held it both in Europe and America.. Af-
THE TWO WITNESSES
ter he was settled in Providence some three years, with a few-
others, he was baptized by Ezekiel Holliman, a lay member.—4
Then he baptize I the rest of .the little company, and formed
them into what he called a Baptist church, which was in 1639.
Mr. Graves says that he wars only associated with that informally
baptized Ghurch four months, and then abandoned it and his- bap¬
tism and all existing church organizations and ordinances as ille¬
gal and void.
Mr. Benedict thinks he remained pastor of the little church
four years, and then joined the Seekers—became dissatisfied with
all church organizations—with his lay-baptism, &c., bat remained
a worthy, orderly man, and preached through life.
Goton Marther, who was a Pedo-Baptist and minister in Bof-
ten at the time, and a bitter enemy and persecutor of the Ana¬
baptists, says that the thing like a church soon came to nothing
after "Williams left it.
Dr. Clark was ihen the founder of the first Baptist church in
America, at Newport, in 1638—was a Baptist minister and doc¬
tor in London before he came bene. Holms was associated with
him in the ministry. And a man by the name of William Kif-
fin, a regular Baptist preacher of England, came over and
preached with them for some time. Clark and Holms went over
(on foot) to Massachusetts, and while preaching at a brother's
house by the name of Witter, they "were taken by a constable,
tried, fined and imprisoned, and afterwards Holms was so badly
whipped that he could not lie down, only on his hands and knees
for a week, for no other crime only that he was an Anabaptist,
Notwithstanding the whipping, Holms, when he recovered,
baptized two persons before he left.
Clark was sent a commissioner to Parliament with Williams,,
and obtained the second charter of Bhode Island, which granted
religious liberty to all. But we are not so much indebted to the
first churches of New England for our origin in America, for
there was a large emigration from England and Wales to tho
Southern States, especially Virginia and Sopth Carolina. In
Walis the/e have been Baptist churches from time immemorial,
CLOTHED IN SACK CLOTH. 531
,and they ^s&y back to the Apostles. More than one hundred
churches in England and Wales, met by their representatives in
London, Sept. 3, 1689, and wrote out their confession of faith
that others might understand what they believed and practiced.
It was adopted, with some additions, by the Philadelphia Asso¬
ciation, Sept. 25, 1742, which would be 53 yaars after it was first
written, This confession is too lengthy for insertion here, but
suffice it to say that it is the same in substance as that of the
Waldenses, apart of which I have already given, and the same,
with but little variation, as that now held by the Old Baptists.
The Novatians, the Waldenses, the Baptists of England and
Wales, the Newport church of Bhode Island, and the Philadel¬
phia Association, all held baptism by immersion as the only mode
—a believer the only fit subject, and that the administrator must
he legally authorized. They all discarded the institutions and
inventions of men when connected with the church, because they
considered them injurious to the church—as leading her into cor¬
ruption and dishonoring to God.
They were all called Anabaptists because they baptized all
that came to their communion, whether they had been immersed
before or not by other denominations, thereby invalidating the
baptism of all others, for which they have suffered persecution in
all countries. Just what the Old School Baptists contend for
,and practice now, baptizing all that come over to them^ even
those that come from the Separate and Missionary Baptists,
which no other denomination does, for all would readily regard
our baptism as valid. And upon what pretext the Missionary
Baptists, or any others but the Old Baptists, can claim a connex¬
ion in the -chain of these ancient Baptists and practice as they do
now, I never have been able to tell.
14th verse: "The second woe is past; and, behold, the third
woe cometh quickly." That is, the second one of th£ three
woes, spokeffiof in the 13 th verse of the 8th chapter, is now past,
aud the third one is yet to come.
&32 the church at laqdicea.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE POURING OUT THE SEVENTH VIAU
' And the seventh angel nonred out his vial into the air; and there came a great
voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saving, it is done."—Rev. xvi. 17.
Ia the first proposition I shall treat of the church at Laodicea.
'2d. The four angels holding the four winds until the saints are
sealed.
3d. The opening of the seventh seal.
4th. The sounding the seventh trumpet.
5th. The pouring out the seventh vial.
6th. The destruction of Babylon or man of sin.
The first proposition. Revelations iii. 14: " And unto the an¬
gel of the church of the Laodiceans write. These things saith
the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the
creation of God."
Laodicea was situated in Phrygia, upon the river Lycus, near
Oollosse. Its ancient name was Diospolis. It was afterwards
called .Rhoas. Lastly Antiochus, the son of Stratonice, rebuilt
it and called it Laodicea for the name of his wife Laodice. It
grew more potent than the cities of the coast, and became one of
the largest towns of Phrygia. Such was its state when Christi¬
anity was planted in it, and also at the date of the Collossians,
A. D. 60 or 61.
Write these things saith the Amen. Referring, as is the case in
every epistle, to some attribute of the speaker adapted to impress
their minds, or to give particular force to what he was about to
nay to that particular church. The word Amen meafs true, cer¬
tain, faithful; and as used, it means that he to whom it isvRp-
plied is eminently true and faithful. What he affirms is true,
and what he promises or threatens is certain. The faithful and
THE CHURCH AT LAODICEA.
533
true witness. This is presenting the idea implied ia the word
Amen in a more plain manner, referring substantially to the .same
thing; and that he was the faithful witness of God, and unlike
the church at Laodicea, who made a profession but did not show
their faithfulness by their conduct.
15th and 16th verses: " I know thy works, that thou art nei¬
ther cold nor hot; I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then,
because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew
fhee out of my mouth."
17th verse: " Because thou sayest I am rich and increased with
goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art
wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." As
the "Laodiceans were neither cold nor hot." In a populous and
wealthy city like this it is well calculated to lead to a worldly-
mindelness, or to a conformity to the world, and a desire after
the mammon of unrighteousness, which will always produce a
lukewarmness or indifference in the matter of religion.
The terms cold or hot are figurative, and intended to convey
the idea of our zeal or indifference upon any subject; for instance,
we say he is a very warm or cold friend, or he gave me a warm or
cold reception. In this case they were professors of religion and
members of the church of Christ, and yet they were neither hot
nor cold. I would that you were either one or the other. If
they had not made a profession we would naturally expect them
to be cold; but inasmuch as they were members of the church it
would be expected that they would show some zeal in a cause of
Such vital importance.
But I have often observed (as well as others) that for an indi¬
vidual member or church to be rich or in easy circumstances, that
they almost invariably become lukewarm, live at ease, consider
themselves rich. How exactly this accords with the words of our
Saviour: "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." No wonder,
then, that the church was lukewarm in that rich and populous
city; and which I think represents the true church since the
pourinc the sixth vial, particularly at this time in the United.
THE CltUItCH AT LAOtUCEA.
States. It is true that since the pouring of the sixth vial we have
had many revivals, at times, and in different places, but since
persecution has ceased and we have a republican government, arid
God has not only granted unto us peace and freedom never sur¬
passed by any country, and we have a very healthy climate and
rich productive soil, which God has caused to produce abundantly
of the luxuries of life, so that we have become rich, and like
the Laodicians, lukewarm on the subject of religion, strange to
tell, that after God has blessed us so abundantly, we would be¬
come so indifferent about our highest interest; but such is the
depravity of human nature.
Christ said: " How hardly is it that a rich man shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven. Verily I say unto you, that it is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich
man to enter into the kingdom of heaven." Mr, Barnes and
others think that the lukewarm here spoken of are nominal pro¬
fessors that had gotten into the church, but I must differ from
them in opinion, for merely making a profession would leave
them entirely cold and dead—dead in trespasses and in sins. I
consider the lukewarm as being in possession of grace, but in con¬
sequence of having been blessed by the Almighty according to
their desire with the riches of this world, they thereby become
■indifferent upon the subject of religion. Like the Children of
Israel, when they had peace and God prospered them as a nation,
they forgot Him and refused to keep His statutes. The Laodi-
ceans being blessed, and living in a rich and populous city, be¬
came worldly minded, and of course more conformed to the*
world, having lost the spirit and life of religion in a good degree,
and had grieved the Holy Spirit whereby they are sealed unto
the day of redemption; for these are the characters that grieve
the Holy Spirit of God, and not the ungodly who never were in
possession of it. He commands the " Lmdiceans im repent or
else I will spaw thee out of my mouth." That is, repent, or he
sorry for, and turn from your love of the world; and if you love
me as you profess, manifest it by your obedience to my commands
THE CHURCH AT LAODICEA. 585
-r~show more zeal in my service—be willing-to make any saoni-
iiee in the world that will be for the glory of God and the gm>d
of his cause.
Or else I ivill spew thee, dec. This is a figurative express-inn,
as any thing lukewarm is loatliesome and will produce naucoa of
the stomach and vomiting. As if he would cast it from him. I
do not understand the meaning to be that they will be sent to
hell, but that they will be cast off as salt that has lost its savor;
or as he said, to the church at Ephesus: " Bemember,. therefore,
from whence-thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works,,
or else I will! eome unto thee quickly, and will remove thy can¬
dlestick out of his place, except thou repent." Or else you shall
be removed and trodden under foot of men, and no longer exist
as a. church, seeing you have failed to have that influence that is
inteneed for a church to have, which was fulfilled to the letter as
it regards the city end church of Laodicea.
Mr. Gibbon says, in vol. vi. p. 187: "The captivity or ruin of
the seven churches of Asia was consummated; and the barbarous
lords of Ionia and Lydia still trample on classic and christian
antiquity. In the loss of Ephesus, the Christians deplored.the
fall of the first angel, the extinction of the first candlestick of
the revelations; the desolation is complete, and the temple of
Diana, or church of. Mary, will equally elude the search of the
curious traveller. The Circus and the three stately Theatres of
Laodicea, now peopled with wolves and foxes. Sardis is reduced
to a miserable village. The God of Mahomet, without a rival or
, a son, is invoked in the masques of Thyatira and Pergamos, and
the populousness of Smyrna is supported by the foreign trade of
the-Franks and Armenians. Philadelphia alone has been, saved
by prophecy or courage. At a distance from the sea, forgotten
by the Emperors, encompassed on all sides by the Turks, her val-
leant citizens defended their religion and freedom above four score
years, and at length capitulated with the proudest of the Otto¬
mans. Among the Greek colonies and churches of Asia, Phila¬
delphia is still erect."
A wonderfnl fulfillment of the prophecy in the Apochalypso
536
THE CHURCH AT LAO DICK A.
relative to Philadelphia. He said, " He that hath the key ot
David; he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shuttcth and
no man openeth. Because thou hast kept the word of my pa¬
tience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which
shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the
earth." This he has fulfilled in the letter and in the spirit. Bee
the first proposition in the 8th chapter.
I have said that Laodicea represents the church during the
pouring of the seventh vial.
It may be asked how will he spew the present church out of
his mouth. I answer by the slaying of the two witnesses, (aa
I have shown in the preceding chapter,) for I do not think that
it has taken place yet, but the church is in a lukewarm state.
I do not believe that the church or the truth will be entirely ex¬
tinct, but will be dead in the estimation of the enemy, and will
have lost their influence, because she is like John says in verse 17:
" Because, thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods, and
.have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched,
and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked." Just the situa¬
tion of the church now. Since persecution has ceased We live at
ea?e—have no enemies to fear. We believe in the purpose of
God, and the predestination, and the election of grace in the sal¬
vation of his church. We therefore feel satisfied, as being rich
in faith, as we discard works as being essential to salvation, while
all Armenians claim good works, in some sense, as being essential.
We then, lest we should imitate others, neglect or refuse to per¬
form many things that are essential to obedience, or necessary to
show our love to God and prove our faith by our works, and
thereby become indifferent about good works, and naturally be¬
come-lukewarm and worldly minded, and as a pretext for our
eovetousness, we quote the language of an Apostle: " He that
provideth not for his own, and especially for those of his own
household, has denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."—r
Then it is we can say " We arc rich and have need of nothing"'m
rich in faith, a member of the church, and rich in the workD-**
live at ease and have need of nothing. Seem to be so blinded by
THE CHURCH AT LAODICEA.
537
the god of this world that we do not seo ourselves in our true
character.
I have said before that* a church whose members are rich in
the world, seldom lets her light shine, or an individual who is
rich in worldly goods is seldom rich in good works. Though
there are honorable exceptions to this general rule in all ages.
" I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou
mayest be rich." Buy of me that faith that has been tried irn
the fire of persecution and temptation, for it is like the gold—
the oftener it is tried the brighter it will shine: that faith that
will produce good works—that faith that works by love—that
faith that purifies the heart, that you may be rich in good works.
As many as I love I rebuke and chasten; be zealous, therefore,
and repent. Those who are his own he loves, and them he chas¬
tens when they go estray or neglect what he commands. He re¬
bukes them by his word, by his ministers in the preaching of the
gospel, and in his providential dealings towards them. And al¬
though no chastening for the present is .joyous but grievous, nev¬
ertheless it afterwards yields the peaceable fruits of righteous¬
ness to them that are exercised thereby. He does it then for our
good, because it is absolutely necessary. Repent, therefore, if
you do not wish to be chastised.
20th verse: "Behold I stand*at the door and knock; if any
man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in unto him,
and will sup with him, and he with me."
This verse is introduced with a note of attention. " Behold.'
As if the speaker would call particular attention to what he was
about to say. I stand at the door and knock: as one having au¬
thority, or right to claim admittance into my own house. How
if any of you have ears to hear what I say, and a will or desire
to open, I will come in, &c. This subject is almost universally
misapplied by the present religious world, by applying it to the
sinner in an unregenerated state—as the spirit of God knocking
at the sinner's heart for admittance, and cannot enter because the
sinner will not open his heart, when it is said in the Scriptures
538
THE CHURCH AT' LAODICEA.
that God opens; the sinner's heart,, as in the case of Lydla. "God!
opened her heart to attend to the things spoken by Phiil."
The question may then he asked What is meant by" standing at
the door and knocking. We must remember that this is an ad¬
dress to the church at Laodicea, and not to the simief. It is a
figurative expression, as a door is intended to admit persons to
enter the koush, or to shut out.- As our Lord says,. John x. 2:
" But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the
sheep. " Then he stands at the door of Laodicea and knocks.—
As you cannot enter the house legally only by the door, so you
cannot enter the church only by the door legally authorized,
which I say is baptism by immersion administered by a legal
administrator.. But many of my brethren.object to baptism be¬
ing the door,.and say fellowship is the door. To the objector—
have you fellowship for any one without baptism? If you have,
why not commune with them? for the want of baptism is the
cause of what is termed close communion. It may he said that
he has power to enter, which is true—but having given to his
church a legal door and ordinances, he will not enter it only in a
legal way, and he is calling upon-.the church to pursue that course
which he has directed in his word. But he said if any man hear
my-voice and open the door. Any individual of the church will
hear my voice, &c. That is, if any member of the church of
Laodicea, or of any church at the present day, will hear and do
what I have said in my word, he will open the way (door) for
me to hold communion with him, for he that heareth my words
and keepeth them, as I have kept my father's words,. As in
John. xiv. 23:: "Jesus answered and said unto him, if any man
I'.'vo me he will keep my words; and my father will love him, and
we will come unto him and make our abode with him." We
have no'promise of his presence in love, only while we are doing
his will, but when a church or a member depart from the faith,
or doctrine, or practice, either in church discipline or ordinances,
that church or individual falls into a lukewarm state and closes
the door to that spiritual union and communion with Christ. As
THE FOUR ANGELS HOLDING THE FOUR WINDS. 539
"!i6 has said, John xv. 6: "If a man tibideth not in me, he is cast
forth as a branch, and is withered." 7th verse: "If ye abide in
me, aud my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, 'and it
■shall be done unto you." 8th verse: " Herein is my father glo¬
rified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
14tk verse: "Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I com¬
mand you." So he closes by saying in the 21st verse: "To him
that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as
I also overcame, and sit down with my father in his throne." He
that overcomes, or that is, he that resists all the temptations to
depart from his word—does his will as he does his father's will—
shall sit with him in his throne; that is, while ever he continues
in the truth, and practices the truth, lie will judge or condemn
error—will sit in a seat that will judge every false way.
2cL The four angels holding the f.uir winds until the saints are
sealed.
Revelations vii. 1: "And after these things I saw four angels
■standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds
of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on
the sea, nor any tree."
And after these things. After the opening of the sixth seal in
the preceding chapter, that produced such consternation as to in¬
duce the people to believe that the end of all things was about to
take place, which I have said, in a former chapter, was the revo¬
lution in Europe, and the prodigies performed by Napoleon as
an instrument in the hands of G-od to chastise the nations for
their wickedness; and after he had fulfilled his mission he he-
came weak as other men.
J saiofour angels. Angels, as I have frequently said, mean
ministers or messengers sent. God has created angels whom he
■sends as "ministering spirits to minister to them who shall be
heirs of salvation." But he sends forth ministers of the gospel
J as angels; and ministers of State, though they appear to he sent
by government, yet they are sent by the providence of God as an¬
gels, which last I think is here meant.
Standing on the four corners of the earth'holding the four
35
540 THE FOUR ANGELS HOLDING THE FOUR WINDS.
winds, (fee. It will be recollected that after [Bonaparte's downfall
or abduction, (which was the end of (the «ixth vial,) that the
four powers, England, Austria, Russia :and (Prussia, with whoim
he had been fighting so long, eaeih of them sent a commissioner
O O o"
to see that he was safely exiled; and then the}' met by their min¬
isters at Vienna, and in 1815, entered into what is called tlie
Holy Alliance for the seourety of the peace of Europe, from
which time there has been no general war iia Europe until 1853.
Russia had»a short war with Turkey and Hungary £ and Austria
had with Poland. The four corners, not the extreme corners of
the earth, but in four different directions—forar different powers;
holding the four winds from blowing or bursting lake a tornado
on the earth that sweeps every thing before it, they were hold¬
ing war from bursting on the earth from fourdifferent directions,
which is represented by the wind, and is so desolating in its
course.
About the 25th of June, 1653, the Russian soldiers, or army,
entered the Turkish territory. Austria offered her friendly .medi¬
ation. History ©£ Russia, page 665: " Conferences were opened
at Constantinople and at Vienna between the ministers of the
four courts, and on the first of August a note was «ent from Vi¬
enna to St. Petersburg and Constantinople offering terms of pa¬
cification. The Czar accepted them, but the Sultan introduced
some changes and modifications, which were disapproved at St.
Petersburg, and destroyed the first conciliatory attempts at di¬
plomacy."
Holding ike four wmds that it should not blow on the earth n&r
on the sea nor any tree. The four powers continued to hold
their conferences at Vienna, which greatly restrained even the
belligerant parties, as well as other Kingdoms that were looking
on to see what would be the result. Every person knows that
paid any attention to what was transpiring, that if Austria
should take on active part on either side, the whole of Europe,
and almost the whole world, would catch into one general oorv-
flagration. It looked at one time as if all would be engaged*—
Hungary, Poland and Italy, all wore woijLing an opportunity to
THE FOUR ANGELS HOLDING THE FOUR WINDS. 541
throw off th'c yoke. But the four angels were holding the winds;
and why shohld they? because it would be too soon, if all were
engaged it would have terminated before the end, or time, ac¬
cording to the vision.
Sears' Etesian History, p. 667: "The four powers, England,
France, Austria and Prussia, continued actively engaged in ne-
gociating for peace. A note was prepared by the four powers,
destined to give common satisfaction. The note was accepted
by Russia, but commentaries were irhmediately added which de¬
stroyed dts conciliatory effect, atidfpreveftted its acceptance by the
Porte. The Sultan, in turn, proposed-ihodifiektions, to which
the four powers accepted, bht -Which the l€zar rejected. The
Porte, wounded in its dignity ahd threatChed in its independence,
declared War and Claimed the'support of the allies."
Up to this time the four angels continued to hold the wind,
but when war was declared ;by the Sultan. England and France
became allies, and Prussia was'left Otit of the negociations. Aus¬
tria still insisted on a pefece cdhferehce to be held at Vienna, in
which she made one, and Englahd and France one, as they were
allies hnd had one object in view. Russia and Turkey now sent
each a minister, {angel,which'constituted the four. The con¬
ference continued-notwithstanding they were at war.
These conferences were held so that it should not blowon the
land nor sea, Which was preventedfor a good while, until at last
war was declared, and then it went on leisurely for a while, for
the four powers were still represented at Vienna holding the
winds as much a£ possible, and every person wa: expecting that
they wdiild *edme to an understanding presently; and so they
continued moht Of the time until peace was finally made.
After peace Was concluded, the representatives continued in
Paris -forhome tfime to make peace more permanent and lasting
if pofesible^aM'also to Settle difficulties with smaller States. A
LohddHoorrespohdent thus writes: "April 24, 1857: The true
condition of the Neufchattel dispute is that all further conside¬
ration -of it -has been deferred until the 8th of June. The plen¬
ipotentiaries of Prussia and Switzerland have taken the propose-
5^2 • THE FOUR ANGELS HOLDINGKTHE FOUR WINDS. ■
tions of JSngland, France, Russia and Austria." He continues,
in speaking of the settlement; "Dr. Kern has left Paris for
Berne, .(the capitol of Switzerland,) /.with the draft of the ar¬
rangements adopted by the representatives of the four powers,
and accepted by him, subject to the approbation of the Federal
Council."
•?
So it will be seen that- the four angels are still engaged in,
holding the four winds, having settled a .difficulty between
Prussia and Switzerland.
Another writer, speaking of the four powers who are interce-
dingj between Turkey and the Principalities, says: " It is reported
that the, French, Russian,: Prussian, .and Sardinian commission¬
ers, will withdraw from the, Principalities should the Porte per¬
sist in removing. Yogarides from, his post in Moldavia."
This may suffice for the present to show what I believe to con¬
stitute- the four angels. If it does not, and God in his provi¬
dence has not so ordered it to fulfill the prophesy, why does it so
happen that the number four are so often engaged; wiry not three
or six, as well as four?
Verse 2: "And I saw another angel ascending from the east,
having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud
voice to tire four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth
and thetsea."
Verse 4: " Saying hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor tlu*
trees, till \ve have sealed the servants of our God in, their fore¬
heads."
And I saw another angel frorn} the east. I do not know any
particular personage that would answer to this figure, but he is
the angel of God having the seal of God, that was to. mark oi
seal his people before the great battle of Armageddon, ,or while
the four angels are holding the four winds, which is pontinued
until now, to give time to seal his servants; which signifies to
mark or so designate them that they may be known, as. St. Paul
says: " You are sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise." To
seal. is to mark them similar to a merchant marking his mer-
O.
chandise to send to his own port, so that he may not only knov
' THE FOUR* ANGERS '»hI)LdIN<?'THE FofllfwiNDS.
them himself, but that they'inay be known'by others, becafise
there is ail outside, or visiblePlnark upon them; so in case of the
servants, it is to be in their foreheads. That Is very plain to be
seen.
Verse 4: "And I heard the 'number of'them which"were
sealed; and there were sealed a hundred and forty and four
thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel."
As it is sealing an equal number of all the tribes of Israel, we
need not look for precisely twelve thousand of each tribe, but it
is a definite number of each tribe that is prepared, marked, or
sealed, preparatory to their return to Palestine,- (which they will
do after the great battle, as I shall show more fully in the proper
place,) and embrace the gospel and become Christians, of which
the external mark will be the visible evidence of the internal
sealing. The angel is to come from the East, perhaps from Per¬
sia, as that was where Terah lived, Abraham, Nahor, Sarah, Re¬
becca, Rachael,-Leah, and all Jacob's children were born (save
Benjamin) in Paclan Aram, (Messapotamug) lying between the
rivers Tigris and Euphrates, the centre of which is some three
or four hundred miles to the North-west of the head of the
Persian gulf, and five or six hundred miles to the East of Jeru¬
salem, or Canaan. Mr. Noah "tells us that at this time there are
full two millions of Jews in all Asia.
This is in the Turkish dominions under Mahometan influence;
but the improvements that have been made since the war and in
contemplation to be made, is opening the-way-and preparing the
Jews-to return. The proposed railroad from the Mediterranean
Sea to the Euphrates will open 'up -a -communication to the Per¬
sian Gulf; and the Sultan, within the last year, has so modified
his restrictions as to allow Christian worship to be performed pub¬
licly and churches to be built, as also schools to be taught in his
dominions, all of which go to show a preparation for that great
event. The Jews, thus marked or sealed in a foreign country,
Will return to Palestine and embrace Christianity, and there will
•be a peaceful reign for a thousand years. Then John says: "Af¬
ter this I beheld, aiid lo, a great multitude which mo man could
544
OPENING THE SEVENTH .SEAL.
number, of all nations and kindreds, &c." This is to take place
after the sealing, and wili|be that innumerable multitude of »1B
nations at the close of time, which I shall' show in another chap-f
tor.
3d. The opening of'the,seventh seal.
Revelations viii. 1:< " Apd when he had opened the seventh
seal, there was silence in, heaven about the space of half an
hour." The awful consequences attendant upon opening this.se-
venth seal, the last of the series, to which all the-others^were
preparatory, is so awfully grand and sublime, that all heaven,(jthe
church) seems to stand in splemn silence for the space of half an
hour, awed1 at the judgments of- God upon the great-whore^ or
destruction of Babylon that was about to take place, which will
be the most trying and awful that will be to the end o&all things.
A half an hour, counting 12 hours to the day, andta, day for a
year, it would be two mouths silence.
The reason of this silence,-apparently, is founded in the so¬
lemn nature of, the events which are anticipated. At the open¬
ing of the sixth, seal, the total destruction, of ■'■the world seemed
about to take place-,,, which caused1 the great men, and mighty
men, and chief captain^, to call for rocks and mountains to fall
on them and hide them,f]fom the face of him that sat upon the-
throne, &c. But this has been suspended'for a time by the four
angels holding the four winds, and now it is natural to expect
some great calamities. In > view-off these apprehended terrors, the
inhabitants of heaven, (church,) are represented-as standing in
awful silence, as if apprehending what would oceur, in view of'
the slaying of the two witnesses and the destruction nf Babylon.
Silence, solemn and awful silence is the natural state okthnmindi
under such circumstances.
Verse 2: "And I saw seven angels which stood before God)
and to them were given seven trumpets."
And the seven angels, with their trumpets, had been proclaim¬
ing the mysteries, in connexion with the angel breaking the seals,
and unrolling the mysteries up to this seventh seal, which would
be so awfully grand.
OPENING THE SEVENTH SEAL. 545
Terse 3: "And another angel' came and stood at the altar,
having a golden censer;; and tlierc was given him much incense,
that lie should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the
golden altar, which was- before the throne;"
The angel stood at the altar, as it was at the temple at Jeru¬
salem. The priest always stoodiat the altar to make an offering.
As in the case ofi Zachariah—when he was offering incense the
people were prating without, and the angel appeared upon the
right side of the-altar. The angel had a gpldem censer: a golden
fire pari; to hold the fire and. incense. There was given him
much incense that he might offer it with theprayers of all saints,
which, under the former dispensation, was always offered in any
great dalamity;* as in the case ofi the rebellion of Korah in the
book of lumbers, chapter xvi., 46th verse* " And Moses said
unto Aaron, take a censer, and put fire therein from off the al¬
tar, and put on; incense, and gp quickly into the congregation;
and make an atonement for them; for there'is wrath gone out
from the Lord; the plague is-- begun/' 48 th verse: "And he
stood between the dead* and the living; and the plague was
stayedi-*
The'angel having much incense, he offered it in connection
O O 7
with' the prayers of all saints, and it came up before God. Here
it seems, that in view of the pending calamity, the saints break
the solemn awe, or silence, by offering up prayer to God; and it
seems as if they will. all. be engaged in solemn prayer to God,
which is the natural or vital breath of Christians in any great
pending calamity. Assimthe 4th verse: " And the smoke of the
incense, which came with'the prayers of the saints, ascended up
before God out of the angel's hand."
And, the smoke of their incense. Went up in connection with
the prayers, as a sweet smelling savor before God. The angel
not only caused the smoke to ascend, but the prayers also, be¬
cause it went up out of the angel's hand. The saints will be en¬
gaged iin prayer that God in his providence may avert the awful
calamity, or judgment that is hanging over the guilty nations;
for instance, as it was at the preaching of Jonah at Ninevah,
546
OPBSffXG THl ¥Si!®j6; -
when the King arid all the inhabitants clothed themselveswirs
sack cloth and ashes, praying and fasting for three days and'
nights. Or as in Acts i. In view of the cxucifibrio®,, resurrec¬
tion and ascension of Christ, the Evangelist says, in the 14th
verse: "These all continued with one accord in prayer and sup-,
plication, with the women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and
with his brethren."
Terse 5; "And the angel took the censer, and filled it with
fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth; and there were voices,
and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.'7
Here the same angel, with the censer that he had. caused'in¬
cense to ascend with the prayers of all saints, and the same altar
and fire off of which the perfume arose, are sow evidently used
to show the wrath and indignation of God; for fire being taken
off the altar and cast into the earth is an evidence of God's wrath
upon the nations, and although the saints are still praying, and
the four angels have been holding the four winds for-some time.
O O 7
yet now the time has come that his wrath is poured out without
mixture upon a wicked world that have so long persecuted and
trampled under foot his people.
And when it was cast in the earth there were voices. There
will be various kinds of voices, for it will produce voices of weep¬
ing and lamentation—voices of horror and despair, while by many
there will be voices of blasphemy because of their plagues; and
there will be also voices of war and bloodshed. There were not
only voices, but tlmnd&rings and lightnings, and an earthquake.
Thunderings and lightnings are symbolical of God's power
and displeasure, as speaking with a voice; as for instance when
he is speaking to Job, xl. 9: "Hast thou an arm like God; or
canst thou thunder with a voice like him?" "
As also in chapter xxvi., Job, in speaking of the power and
wisdom of God, says: " Hell is naked before him, and destruc¬
tion hath no covering. He stretcheth out the North over the
empty space, and hangeth the earth upon nothing."' " The pib-
lars of heaven treWible, and are astonished at his reproof.
these arc parts of his ways; hut how little a portion, isheard of
.^uNDINGTTHE SEVENTH TRUMPET, . M7
him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?" As
the time is come that he should sit in judgment -upon the na¬
tions, and especially that of Antichrist, he will speak from his
throne in thunder tones, as in Revelations iv. 2: '.'And imme¬
diately I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne1, was set in
heaven, and one sat on the throne,'"
Yerse 5: "And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and
thunderings, and voices; and there were seven lamps of fire
burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.'
Thunder and lightning is always accompanied by<a cloud, and
blackness and tempest which produce terror, even to the brutt
creation as well as to the human family. The figure would fairly
represent some dark calamity as hanging over us; as for instance
an awful war where it would look dark and gloomy, producing
great carnage and bloodshed.
And an earthquake. This is nearly always preceded by a noise
like thunder, and is very terrific, and some times produces great
destruction, always a powerful convulsion of the earth, and
shows the great power of God, as if he coulcl lay hold of this
terraqueous globe and shake it like .a twig. Although J believe
there will be literally an earthquake, yet,I think that it means a
great convulsion in the political and religious,world, wThich will
more fully appear before I have finished this, chapter.
4th. The sounding the seventh trumpet.
Revelations xi. 15: "And the seventh angel sounded; and
there were great voices in heaven, saying, the Kingdoms of this
world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ;
and he shall reign forever and ever."
This is the last of the trumpets, implying, of course, that un¬
der this series of visions, and the third and last woe was to end,
and that this was to introduce a state of things under which
the affairs of the world were to be wound up.
It is evidently the time of the end of that beast that Daniel
speaks of, vii. 19: " Then I would know the. truth of the fourth
beast, which was, .diversa from the others, exceeding dreadfully.
548
SOUNDING T1»E SEVENTH TRUMPET.
whose tectli were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured,.,
break in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet."
.21d verse: " I beheld, and the same horn made war with, the
saints, and prevailed against them."
25th verse: "And he spake great words against*- the Most"
High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most Highland-think
to change times and laws; and they shall be given into liis hand,
until a time and* times and the dividing of time."
"Shi's is prophesying of the (pope) Roman* church^—off her
great power, and I of her wearing out the saints of the Must High,
because they are given into his hands for a.time, times and the
dividing of timej. which is 'the same as that spoken of by* John in
the Revelations of forty and two months, or time and times and
half a time;: or one thousand two-,hundred andsthree score.days,
either of which make twelve hundred and* sixty years,. The
sounding, or at the close of the seventh trumpet, and the end of
the seventh vial, (which is < the same time,) wilbbe the end of the
1260 years. Then will the judgment take place that will end in
his destruction^as Daniebsays imthp 22d verse:. " Uhtibthe an¬
cient of days came, and judgment was givemto the saints of the
M,ost High; and the time came• that the saints possessed the
kingdom."
The end of that persecuting-power is , the commencement of
the reign of the saints for a thousand years;-r-will be the down¬
fall of the papacy—the peaceable reign of the Kingdom, of God.
upon earth.
AndWiere were great voices in Jteavem As of exultation, and'
praise. The grand consummationthad come—the period so long
anticipated, and so ardently desired,, when God should reign on
earth, had come; ;and this is sufficient^) produce joy and thanks¬
giving in heaven, (in the church))! I think it highly probable >
that the saints,.in heavenuwilb sympathize and rejoice with saints
on;earth at the-downfalliof Antichrist who had slain so many of
them; but more particularly has reference to the church, who will,
rejoice at the triumphant reign of Christ. Especially will the"
SOUNDING THE SEVENTH TRUMPLT. 54$l
resurrected witnesses rejbice over the destruction of their enemy.
Spying the Kingdoms of thifr world! If shall have to differ
again [from Barnes, Titman, Hahn, Stewart and others, who
think that it should be in the singular, kingdom, ass the Devil:
reigned before, and nowvthe government had passed fypmilffm to-
God. But they are the same .Kingdoms thaty the Devjljs%vved to >
Christ on the IVfpunt, (which,are 666,)v all of which,he -proffered1,
to give tQ him if he would! Ml' down,and worship, him; Al~,
though the Kingdoms are many, they did not each.hj^ive a king,
but the devil reigned over them untibnow, and Christ, without
worshiping hiinj has now got possession,,of all of them, because-
lie has taken-, to him his great power and; doth reign.- As in-1st
Corrihthians,,xv. 25r. " FOr he must reign, until he hath put all
enemies under his feet." Hfebrews x.-18: " From henceforth ex-:
pecting till his enemies be-made his footstool."
Are hftpowifi the Kingdoms of our Hqrdand of His ChristHe, ,
as we have, shown above, possesses.the kingdoms of this world,,
which-proves him- to-be Lord, which-word, signifies possessor,
owner, sovereign, Supreme Ruler, which properly belongs to Gcxb
alone, but he has given the government to his son until he puts
all enemies under his feet.
And of His Christ.- Of His anointed. Christ signifies the
anointed anchsent of the Father, sent or set apart for a special
work. The essential meaning here is, that tire Kingdoms of this
world had now become the Kingdoms of God by Christ; that is,,
the Kingdom is administered by the Son of Ged;
Andfe shall reignferever and ever. The Kingdom having-
passed'entirely into his hands, he will reign now forever without-
a rival as it were. He will not only reign in hi^ spiritual king-,
tlemT, but over all the,, kingdoms-of the world) When his laws
shall be every where acknowledged as binding—^when -the under-,
standings and the hearts of men ,every where shall bow- to h^au-,
thority. See Isaiah ix. 7: Gf the increase of*his government
and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and
upon his Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judg¬
ment and with justice, from hence even forever." Luke i 33:
550 - SOUNDING THE SEVENTH'-TRUMPET.
'"And lie sliall reign over the house of ?Jacob forever; and of his
kingdom there shall he no end."
With a multitude of similar texts to the same point. 16th
verse: " And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God
on their seats, fell upon their faces and worshiped God.' As
there is a great variety of opinions upon the subject of the twen¬
ty-four elders, I shall have to* differ again from all that I have
seen. Mr. Barnes thinks that it represents the twenty-four or¬
ders of priests, but it seems to me very clear that they are the
twelve. Patriarchs and twelve Apostles, who are sitting on seats
near the throne as judges; that is they are judging by then-
words and actions as they were divinely inspired, for they are to
judge angels. Being then next in greatness to the Son of God,
as rulers, they, with all their greatness, prostrate themselves in
presence of the King of Heaven,- in token of devout adoration;
as rulers and Lords are accustomed to prostrate • themselves in
presence of their earthly King.
17th verse: " Saying, we give thee thanks, 0 Lord God Al¬
mighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast
taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned."
Here they ascribe adoration to him as Lord God Almighty,
which is governor, or ruler, as the sovereign of the Universe pos¬
sessing almighty power, and him which a*-t now,-and wast before,
and is to come; as being omniscient, the Alpha and the Omega.
The adoration seems to be because he has now taken to him his
great power and hast reigned; he possessed this power before, but
seems not to have exercised it only to a certain extent, having
allowed the Devil to exercise a power over the Kingdoms of the
' world.
IS tli verse:' "And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is
come." The nations were angry on account of the judgments,
and because -he had taken fxi himself his great power and reigns
over the kingdoms of the world. And thy wrath is come. The
sin of a wickedvworld has come to the full. The beast has now
i reached his full number, and must be destroyed.
-And,the tti/me of the dead that they shouldst bejudged. Mr.
S©UNDING iTHE : SEVENTH TRUMPET. 5&11
Barnes and "others think that this prefigures the end off the world.
Mr. Thomas thinks that the dead saints will be raised) and that
Christ will reign over them in person as a King for a;thousand
years. But I believe that it will be the. dead witnesses that I
have described in the first part of this chapter—they are the
dead that are to be judged; ibr the time has come that they are
to be raised, not naturally, but spiritually, as they are not dead
men nor corpses that are to be judged, but.the faithful witnesses
that have been ^persecuted and treated with contempt, having
been considered .dead by the world and antichristian powers for
three years and a half, and thy wrath hath come upon their ene¬
mies because of .their cruel treatment to the witnesses who are
not only to be raised, but judged to be faithful, and this judg¬
ment will be similar to that at the last day.
And that thoi«*shouldst give reicard unto thy servants the Pro¬
phets. Thy servants are now to be rewarded. Something simi¬
lar to that reward that awaits at the final consummation of all
things—will be., rewarded as faithful servants, prophets, which
are ministers who; have preached tha truth through the sack
cloth prop he cy-r-mi ore particularly those, that have been faithful
through all the. opposition by the enemy, (and sometimes pro¬
fessed friends,). Until the witnesses were slain. They are now re¬
warded with .an approving conscience, it mow being made mani¬
fest to all, that they . had been faithful, contending for correct
principles. , They are . also rewarded as reigning with Christ in
more peace and more dree from the enemy, and are rewarded by
seeino- their labors of love blessed in the furtherance of his king-
O • c
dom and their King glorified. And to the saints. That the
saints should be rewarded also, in like manner with the prophets,
as'they have suffered with them in defence of the truth. The
saints are those that have the spirit of God, live uprightly and
have the testimony of Christ.
And them that fear thy name. Another way of designating
the righteous. " Them that feared his name spake often one to
another, and the Lord harkened and heard it, and a book off re¬
membrance was written, &e." To fear the name of the Lord "is
SOUKDINU THE SEVENTH TRUMPET.
the beginning of wisdom." Not with a slavish and servile fear,
hut with a filial fear, for thetn that fear him keep his command¬
ments, not from fear of .punishment, but from fear to disobey
him and thereby dishonor him and his cause.
Small and gredt, young and old, low and high, rich and poor.
The language is designed to embrace all christians in every coun¬
try, or clime, or nation, no matter what may be their condition,
wr how'much they may be considered as outcasts, if their names
are found written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Those who are
poor in this wofld's goods and obscure in their lives, though liv¬
ing Uprightly before God, will now be rewarded with them that
'have acted a more prominent part.
And shoxddst destroy them that destreij the earth. The time is
now come when the Lamb shall overcome the beast and destroy
the enemy. Those who through Wars and bloodshed have de¬
stroyed the earth, {the human family ,) and thereby have destroyed
many of the saints, as well as by persecution.
19th verse: " And the temple of God was opened in heaven,
and there was'seoh in his temple the ark of his testament; and
there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earth¬
quake, and great hail."
And the teihple of God whs opened in heaven. This Is figura¬
tive or symbollic language, as well as the book is. The temple
of God is where God is worshiped, and is prefigured bY the inner
temple at J erasalem where the true Worshipers were permitted
to enter, while the Gentiles remained Without, It is now opened
in heaven—in his church; that is, it is now made so plain as if
heaven was opened to give a clear discovery 'of the true church
and worship—-as if God was approbating their course-, (by re¬
warding them as in the 18th Verse.) It Will be opened so that
the enemy will see and have to acknowledge it as the wonderful
power of God.
And there was se&tt in his temple the 'drk of 'Ms testament. As
if the temple was opened where the 4rk was placed, it could be
seen. The ark contained the two tables of Stone on which was
inscribed the law, Aaron's rod, and the manna, and upon the top
SOUNDING THE SEVENTH TRUMPET.
553
was called the mercy seat, and the two cherubims that spread
their wings to the wall on either side and touched each other in
the middle, overshadowing the mercy seat and looking into it:
all of which is a representation of the word of God, which con¬
tains the law and the gospel, while the cherubim 011 one end rep¬
resents the Prophets looking to the coming and atonement vof
Christ for salvation, while the cherubim on the other end repre¬
sents the ministers of the^gospel looking and pointing back-to
the atonement for salvation, both touching their wings-—that is,
agreeing in perfect harmony upon the important subject of life
and salvation.
The ark contains all the commands of God; or, in other words,,
the Old and New Testament is the infallible word of God and
rule of faith -for the church, while the New Testameni alone is to
be looked to, or taken for church ordinances and discipline. . And
now the temple is open in heavan, (in the church) to show what
are the ordinances as contained in his word in contradistinction to
all the inventions of men.
His testament %s seen. That testament that he sealed with his
own blood, in which is couched all the heirs to that immortal in¬
heritance, and in which their characters are-so clearly portrayed,
and the duties they are required to perform, diverted of all hu¬
man inventions that fo&ve imposed on and misled the people so
long. It will now be seen that his word is the only sure guide
which can make the obedience of the saints acceptable to God.
Mr. Barnes and Professor Stuart think this last verse ought to
have been the first verse of the twelfth chapter and the begin¬
ning of a new series; because, as I said before, he makes the
dead in the preceding verse the end of the world. He then makes
the woman the church, which is correct; but then he makes the
child the church or increase, which is incCrrect, because it is in
the singular, and as I have shown m the first chapter, that the
child was Jesus. And the dragon, he. says, is now about to be
destroyed, which I have showpwas the first beast or Pagan Home
ftm] was destroyed by Consta'ntine.
But I feel satisfied that the chapter is ooriectly divided and
554- SOUNDING TH3KSEVENTS 1TRUMPET.'
this last verse closes the vision of John in sounding the seventy
trumpet, which is in accordance, in point of time, to that of
the opening the seventh seal, and the end of the seventh vial
almost using the same words.
And there were lightnings, and voices, andthunderings. Light¬
nings display the wonderful power and wisdom of God. While
:t flashes so vividly from pole to pole, we stand in awe and ad¬
miration at the grandeur and glory of God; and in a literal sense
we know that it precedes a tempest, especially when we see a
dark cloud looming up in the horizon and hear the rumbling of
distant thunder.
In this case, when the lightning is seen, then voices are heard
similar to that in the fifteenth verse, saying, The kingdoms of
"his world have become the kingdoms of ouu Lord and of his
Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever." The voices of the
saints will.be praising God, when they behold him taking to him¬
self his great power, to put down the enemy that have prevailed
so long, and to reign over his -Kingdom in -such majesty and
glory as has never been seen before, while their voices will be
heard in prayer when they see the dark cloud of providence, the
lightnings of his anger with the sinful kingdoms of the world
that are now about to become his, and to acknowledge his to be
the rightful sceptre; and when they hear the thunders of his
voice,' when he commands submission and obedience, 0! how the
saints will let their voices be heard in prayer and acknowledment
of their faults, for the raising of the witnesses and the destruc¬
tion of Babylon will be so awfully grand and sublime, they will
feel like Moses when lie said, "I exceedingly feared and quaked."
And then there will be the voices of war with all nations,
which will produce such awful destruction and bloodshed, that
there will be voices of lamentation; and in the destruction of
spiritual Babylon there will be voices heard in the distance, for
they will stand " afar off for fear of her torment, saying, alas,
alas, for that great city Babylon is fallen, is fallen. For in one
hour is so great riches come to nought."
And an earthquake and great hail. . An earthquake produces
POURING OUT-THE SEVENTH VIAL.
555
great convulsions: prostrates cities, opens up chasms in the eai th,
brings down mountains, elevates the vallies, and is very terrific.
But in this case we are not to look for a fulfilment literally. It
will be a great convulsion in. the religious and political world.—
(Though I believe there will be really earthquakes as I shall
show in the next proposition.) The meaning is that there will
he the greatest revolution in the Kingdoms of the world ever
known, which kingdoms, in their revolutions, are to be the visi¬
ble instruments in breaking down and destroying the anti-chris-
tian powers that have so long reigned over the world.
And great hail. Hail, in the Scriptures, usually denotes the
divine vengeance, because it has often been employed, to accom¬
plish the divine purposes in punishing wicked nations. As in
Exodu» ix. 23: " And the Lord sent thunder find hail, and the
Ere ran along on the ground, and the Lord rained hail upon the
land of Egypt." So also in Psalms cv. Referring to the plagues
iStpon Egypt, it is said, " he gave them hail for rain, and flaming
fire in* their land."
Ezebiel xxxviii. 22: "'And I will plead againsthim with pes¬
tilence and with blood;- and I will rain upon him, and upon his
bands, and upon the many people that fire with him, an ovci-
flowing rain, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone. And many
other places in the Scriptures where his judgments are inflicted
by hail. I will give one other from the prophet Ezekiel, speak-
in°" in direct reference to the time of which 1 ;un now writing in
the xiii. Speaking against the prophets (preachers) that prophesy
falsely, he says, in the 7th verse: "Have ye not seen a vain
vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye
say the Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken." 10th verse:
"'Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying
peace, and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo,
others daubed it with untempcrcd mortar." 1.1th verse: "Say
unto them which daubed it with untern pored mortar, that it
»h|ill fall; there shall be an overflowing shower; and yea, 0 great
hailstones shall fall."
36
556
POURING OUT THE SEVENTH VIAL.
5th. The pouring out the seventh vial.
Revelations xvi. 17: "And the seventh angel poured out his
vial into the air; and there came a great voice out oi the temple
of heaven, from the throne, saying, it is done/'
This seventh vial is the end of the series of the wrath of
Almighty God, as poured opt upon the Ix-ast; his complete and
utter overthrow, attended with tremendous judgments. "Why
this vial was poured into the air we are not told. The most
probable supposition as to the idea intended to be represented is,
that as thunder and tempests, as also pestilences, seem to be en¬
gendered in the air, which are very dreadful, and so destructive
as to appear to come from some supernatural cause, and shows
the great power of God in the -destruction that is about to take
place. Another probable reason why it was poured into the air,
is that it would be more universal, as the other vials were more
local; as for instance, the fifth was poured upon the seat of the
beast and the sixth on the river Euphrates.
A great voice out of the, temple of heaven, from the throne.—
The voice comes out of the temple. It was the same that Was
open in which the ark of the testament was seen. The voice
came as if it proceeded from the throne of God.. That is, in
the overthrow and destruction of the beast, will be as clearly the
work of God as if he had spoken with a voice commanding it to
he done. Saying it is done. The sense is that this seventh vial
will make an end of what all the other vials were referring to, or
assisting to bring about the end of the anti-christian poWers,
which means God had, in his providence, been concentrating up
to this period of time. This seventh vial began to be poured
out, according to my calculation, about the year A. D. 1820 and
will continue until the end is accomplished. He could say- at
the commencement of the pouring out it is done. The end is
fixed, and the means fthat will lead to it are certain, and'will
lead to the end that I have purposed; which means, in the prov¬
idence of God, are the Kingdoms of the World, and will destroy
Babylon, (Catholic Rome.)
POURING OUT THE SEVENTH VIAL. 557
Verso 18: "And there were voices, and thunderings, and
lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not
•since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so
great."
To show that the construction or interpretation that I have
given is correct; that is^ that one of the churches, one of the
seals, one of the trumpets and one of the vials, always correspond
to the same period of time, relating to the civil and ecclesiastical,
or religions and political government of the world, and defining
the christian and anti-dhristian powers. For instance: at the
dose of the seventh church, which is the Laodicean, - John has a
glorious vision of the throme of God, him that sat upon it and
the personages that surrounded it. He says in chapter iv. 5:-^
" .And out of the throne proceeded lightnings, and thunderings,
a&d voices:; and there were seven lamps of fire burning before
•the throne, which are the seven spirits of Gfod."
And when he had opened the seventh seal, chapter viii. 5:
And there were voices, and thunderings, and lighnings, and
an earthquake."
This seems to he more connected with the church, unsealing
the mysteries of God concerning the church, by unrolling the
volume,; and also the prayers of the srints being offered up with
incense. And in sounding the seventh trumpet, chapter xi. 19:
•'" And there were lightnings, and voices, and .thunderings, and an
'earthquake, and great hail." This relates more to the kingdoms
of the world, which the voice says "are become the kingdoms of
out Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever andevei."
"' The pouring out of the seventh vial is just in accordance with
those I have just recited, only, in this case he uses language
more intense, as if to make a deep and more lasting ■ impression
of the awful calamities that will take place in the destruction of
the cities of the nation and of Babylon, for which this vial is
intended, it being the last, the winding up of the grand drama
of the mystery of iniquity.
Then the seventh trumpet and the seventh vial differ from the
seventh church[and the seventh seal, in that they have great hail
J58 POURING OUT THE SEVENTH VIAt'.
as an emblem of the judgment of. God upon the wickedness of
the world j, because they refer* to the world and Antichrist, while
the others refer to tlie churchy as connected with*the worlds.
Ahdlthere were voices. As in it he other; propositions, tHe«-ca¬
lamities will be so great that the saints will send up voices of
prayer and supplication; and. when they see the destruction of
anti-christian powers, they will raise their voices in praise and.
adoration to God for his goodness in so great a deliverance, whikw
on the other hand there will be voices of wailing and lamenta¬
tion.
And thuiidermgs and lightnings. The same as in sounding th^
seventh trumpet in the fourth proposition. And J may., as welli
say what would apply or bo meant there, will apply hero;, but I
shall enter more fully into the subject here, because I,have re¬
served it for this-last vial. But the terms used here prefigures a
coming tempest, for when we see the lightnings and. hear tho
rumbling thunder at a distance, and see the cloud look dark and
lowering, we are made to tremble for the consequence; .but when
it approaches nearer and nearer; and we see the vivid lightnings
and hear the sharp peals of thunder at the same instant, and peal
after peal in quick succession, there is nothing more grand and
terrific. This is used,figuratively, and we need not expect it lit¬
erally; but what it prefigures will be something awfully grand
and terrifying... And J, believe that it prefigures war, and as I
have said that it commenced pouring at the end of the sixth
vial, or about the year A, D.. 1820, so all the wars since that
time will be considered.as under this vial until, the close, when
the'great battle of Armageddon,is to he fought. I;showed, in a
former chapter, .that the unclean spirits were gathering them to¬
gether to battle from the breadth,of. the earth, against the great
day of God Almighty in >a place called in the Hebrew tongue Ar¬
mageddon.. And 11 have also shown.in the second proposition,in
this chapter that the four angels were holding thejfour winds until
that day comes, notwithstanding therewill .be some fighting un**
til-it. does come, hut what itwill bo when it does comoi we do not
know, because it is a few.ye^irs still in the future, That jt will
T0uk1ng 'otf'r The Seventh 'viXl. 7559
ft>e terrible is evident from the figures Used. BuCl will'first give
vlhat has already taken place, and thenishow what I believe will
he the great battle.
The first was Russia and Persia,' in'which dtussiaWus "success¬
ful and gained a good portion of country south ahd'West of the
Caspian seashore, with some provinces on the'Caucasus,!besides
having the expenses of the war paid and the loss by ike invasion.
The next- was with Turkey. Ruska declared Avar, and en the
.7th of May, T828, the ^Prussian forces passed the Truth to the
mumber of one hundred thousand. They overran the Country,
taking every thing before them without much resistance, the
Turks retiring before the Russians. When, being reinforced by
sixty thousand fresh troops, they crossed the Danube on the 8th
of June, underthe command of the Emperor in person, the Rus¬
sians attacked and took possession of several strongly fortified
places and overran the whole level country between "the Danube
and the sea. They fought several field!battles in 3Jhly and Au¬
gust, taking several strongly fortified "places, among'which was
Varna, and they besieged Shuirila and Silistria. But being
greatly reduced by the sword and pestilence, they commenced a
return march on the 15th of October, but they were fallowed
and'harrassed by eight thousand Turkish horse, similar to that
'Of Napoleon'from Moscow in 1822. (The commander-in-chief
of the Russians here was Wittgenstein, the same that harrassed
Napoleon.) The roads being desperate by the time they reach¬
ed the Danube, they had lost half of their number, which would
be'.eighty thousand, the Turks having lost equally as many.—
Thus ended the campaign of 1828, the Russians only occupying
Wallachia and Moldavia, -which was 'abandoned by the Turks
without resistance.
At the same time a war was prosecuted by Russia against
Turkey in Asia, with great success. Paskiewitch (the Russian
commander,) pushed his way from Caucasus and Ararat into
.Asiatic Turkey, and took by storm every thing until he reached
tthe banks of the Euphrates.
The European campaign commenced again in 1829 with great
r,GO TOURING OUT THE SEVENTH VIAL.
vigor. The Russian army having been reinforced with seventy
thousand fresh troops, they crossed the Danube from the 8tli to
the 10th of May. Silistria was at once invested by thirty-five
thousand troops. (Silistria has acquired/ an additional interest
from the ineffectual attempt of the Russians to capture it, at an.
immense sacrifice of life, in 1854.) After they captured Silis¬
tria, which was not until about the first of July, the Russian
commander passed the Balkan and pushed on to Adriapople,
which surrendered at once. They then pushed, on to within
eighty miles of Constantinople, one portion reaching Enos-on the
Mediterranean sea; so the Russian army extended from the Eux-
ine to the Mediterranean sea, across the entire breadthiof Tur¬
key, a distance of one hundred and forty miles.
The Turkish and Egyptian fleets having been destroyed in the
battle of Navarino, gpve Russia decidedly the advantage and en¬
abled them to blockade the Dardanelfc, while the Bosphorus was
blockaded by Admiral Hamlin, the French commander. (And
so strange are the ways of providence, that in 1854, he is the com¬
mander of the French fleet of the allied army in the Euxine
against Russia and in behalf of Turkey.) Being thus hemmed
in and blockaded, the Sultan capitulated and yielded to the de¬
mands of Russia, " and agreed to the treaty of Adrianoyle, one
of the most renowned in Russian, as it was the most disasterous
in the Turkish annals."
By this treaty the Dardanels were open (which before had
been closed) to Russia, and all nations at peace with the sublime
port, and the undisturbed.navigation to Russia of the Black sea.
The next war was with, Roland, which was January 24, 1832.
Russian forces were so numerous that they soon, overpowered
them, but not without considerable loss on bothi sides. At the
close of this disaster, the cholera broke out every where,, and
made horrible ravages in the Russian Empire, especially at St.
Petersburg, where the populace supposed that the water ib the
wells had been poisoned by the captured Poles, which caused a
mob of eight or ten thousand to rise. In 1833, the Sultan
Mahmond asked assistance and protection of Russia, (although.
FOTTF.ING Otl'f tfrfE SEVENTH VIAL. 561
it had oftly been four years since they had been at war,) against
the Phcfi'a of Egypt,- Meheniet jAli, who had risen in arms
against him, and had defeated* the Turkish forces in several suc¬
cessive battles, had* taken possession of Syria, and even threat¬
ened Constantinople. This w Daniel's King of the South.—
Daniel xi. 40: " And at the time of the end shall the King of
the South push at him;- and the King of the North (Russia)
shall come against him like a whirlwind,'with charriots, and wjtli
horsemen1, and with many ships, and he shall enter into the coun¬
tries, and shall overflow und pass over."
The meaning here of coming at him, is that he will invade his
dominions; that is, the dominions <of the little horn1, (Turkey,)
hut will not destroy it. But to come against him, is to come
against bis capital, and to overflow and pass over mean's to destroy
him. This is to be done by the King of the North, (Russia.)
Rut it is said here, that at the time of the end, tkh King of the
♦South shall push at him. It cannot he exactly at the end, but
just at the beginning of the end, because it is to he left for the
King.of the North ty come against him. Russia readily granted
the request of the Sultan and* furnished him with five thousand
troops and a fleet. The Emperor of Russia had selfish designs
in this-secming assistance;- first, lie wished to alienate France and
England- in- feeling, so that he might he assisted in his designs
against Turkey,- and second, he made a secret treaty with the
Sultan that he was td close the Dhrdancls against any nation with
which Russia was at war, which would enable the Emperor to
take Constantinople at any time. But the end had not fully
comet So the four angels were holding the four winds to } riven!
the King of the South from taking the little horn. Though
they were not conscious that they were fulfilling such import
fant prophesy;- for the Emperor, (King of the North,) in addi¬
tion* to what I have said before, wished to save the prize from the
King of the South for himself. The King of the South had
Jieretofore confined his operations to Egypt and Syria, hut now
|le aspires to the throne of the Sultan, and advanced as far as
^Smyrna, and would probably have succeeded if there had been
5g2 rouRixc out the seventh viai*.
no interference, and the prophesy would have failed, hut the bal¬
ance of the Eiiroj^eari powers being disturbed, Russia, Austria,
Prussia and England united with Turkey, and so the four singe Is
prevented it until the proper time, which is a few years ha the
future.
In the chose of the war the King of She South was driven
from Syria, thereby leaving Palestine in possession of the Sultan,
and the Dardanels were re-opened; for Palestine- must bo in pos¬
session of the little horn at the time of the end.
The next thing that deserves notice is the revolutions that took
place at Paris in February, 1848, which, for tho time, changed
the government from a Monarchy to a Democracy, with which
Prussian and Austrian subjects sympathized, (although Austria
is Catholic,) and all Europe stood m a waiting posture, especially
Russia and. Austria, for it was the sound of rumbling thunder in
the distance, and an occasional flash of lightning across the heav¬
ens, giving; an indication of a gathering storm. As tl>e overpow¬
ered Poles, with Hungary and Italy, were waiting a favorable
opportunity to throw off their chains ;$©d to become freemen., but
Com tire course that France took, anil the vigilance of the Em¬
perors of Austria and Russia, it was prevented for the time be¬
ing, because the time of the end had not come. Rut it produced
an increased desire for deneocratic, or rather republican principles,,
I would say, for in the next year, 1849, Hungary took up arms
to obtain her liberty; but Russia, being requested Iby the Empe¬
ror of Austria to give him aid in subduing Hungary, sent him
two hundred thousand soldiers; first, as be said that lis owiu do¬
minions were In danger by the Polish refugees that were in Hun¬
gary, and second, a mission of Russia to restore religious and po¬
litical orthodoxy to the bewildered nations of Europe.
Thus Hungary was put down by three hundred thousand troops
and by treachery. Here are three different religious powers en¬
gaged in this matter; that is Russia, who is Greek in faith,
unites with Austria who is Oatholie, in subduing Hungary and
Turkey who is the false prophet, and thought to he more despotic
—sympathies with and receives and protects the Hungarian rc^
.i OURINU OUT THE SEVENTH VIAI„ 563
fugces. Democratic principles are not extinguished by all this,
hut is like a fire pent up, or a slumbering volcano that will ere
long burst forth with redoubled violence.
'The course pursuedIby Turkey in protecting Poles and Hun¬
garians, gave offence to the Emperor of Russia, who determined
to have revenge, and of course sought a pretext for a quarrel,
which he soon made out. After various other pretexts, he raised
one about the Hcily Sepulchre: because the Siiltan had given
Prance, which is Catholic, more privileges in Palestine, and es¬
pecially at the Holy -Sepulchre, than he'had allowed Russia.
Russia also claimed the right to protect, or to govern in a cer¬
tain sense, eight millions of Christians of the Greek church but
.subjects-qf the Sultan, which would have enabled the Czar to
have taken possession of Constantinople at anytime; which priv¬
ilege was refused 'by -the -Sultan, upon which the Russian troops
were ordered to enter into the principalities, which caused Eng¬
land and Prance to form an alliance, and on the 28th of March,
1654, declared war against iBussia. This formidable appearance
of war many supposed would be the great battle of Armageddon,
and others supposed that the fonr powers would make peace; nei¬
ther of which I could believe, but all seemed to stand as it were,
for half an hour, in breathless silence, looking on to see what
would be the result, for all the elements ^(or nations) seemed to
be gathering blackness; and if certain circumstances should tak«
place all would be engaged in war at once. The reason why I
did not believe that a general engagement would take place then
was, that .it was too soon; for if Russia was to pass over like a
•whirlwind,(as I shall show -ahe will when the time comes) she
would have destroyed Turkey before the time of the end. And
the reasonithat Iscould not believe that a,permanent peace would
!be madevwas, that if it should be made now, then the prophesy
would not'be fulfilled, and that I cannot believe, " for not one
jot or tittle shall fail until all be fulfilled;" but the four angels
;are holding the four winds, and that is all that keeps them frem
fighting mow, but when the time comes they cannot hold thn
grinds; any ilonger. J need nat go into a detail of the war, as thai.
564
POTT RING OUT; THE SEVENTH VIAL.
is too well' known to need a long account; but as it is part of thafc?
great struggle, as the thunder has only subsided for a time, when
it will commence again with increased violence, I will give a con-,
densed statement of battles and losses. There were 73 battles
fought during the year 1855, with an average loss of 1,000 men
in each. More than 300,000 soldiers are estimated to have per-'-
ished by disease and in battle. The battles average more than1
one a week. The year 1855 was thus one of the bloodiest years-
of modern history.
But this was not near so bloody a war as that of 1812, when1
Bonaparte lost 450,000 and Russia equally as many, which would
make near a million in one year by two nations, besides.the loss
of others, for we were in a war with England and the Indians;-
but this was just at the close of the pouring oilt of the sixth vial.
And there woe a great earthquake, such as was-not since mem
were upon the earth, so mighty arv earthquake, and so great. This
language is very intense, showing that the calamity will be very
great—such as has not happened since men were Upon the earth,
using the language .90 mighty and' so great.
This earthquake here is placed .in connexion with voices, and:
thunderings, and lightnings. Think then of anearthquake com-.,
ing at the time of a great tempest, (which frequently is the case.)
How intense must be the excitement, and how awfully grand and
sublime are the consequences attendant upon- such an awful prov¬
idence of God, im inflicting punishment on the guilty nations of
the world for their sins and the persecution of his people.
We need not look for this to be literally fulfilled, still I think
there will be earthquakes, as- there have been a goodly number
since the commencement of this vial. The language is figura,-.
tive, and is intended to represent! the conv-ulfeion that is about to
take place in the religious and political world. It will be thqs'
greatest because it will be the most general, and will extend•
more generally over the world than any before. As an earthy
quake demolishes towers and,edifices, so- this will prostrate thft
tottering thrones of Kings and Emperors. I will give here som&
of the earthquakes tb&t;, hgve;, taken place .. since .,tlm cqmp^nc^
POURING OUT THE SEVENTH VIAL. 56&
ment of this vial, although they are in the*plural and the figure
here is in- the singular; still I think that they are an indication
in the providence of God of what is about to- take place.
It is said in Mr. Ghapan's works on Natural Science, that "Du¬
ring the great earthquake at Chantibun, Siam, May 13v 1848,
which was felt at the same moment in Valparasio, South Amer¬
ica, and throughout the provinces of Tuscany,, in Europe,, hairs,
resembling, human hair,- came out of the earth in the twinkling
of an eye during the earthquake—in the fields, in the highways,
in. the bazarro, in the market places."
" On the 5th of February, 1848, during an earthquake at
Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, grubs, likecabage crubs, fell from the
snow clouds, and great flocks of robins followed the cloud and
fed upon the grubs. These birds had never before been seen in
that cold, climate in winter."
" No less than eleven earthquakes occurred from November 20
to 26, 1852, including, the shock which attended the instanta¬
neous banishment of the cholera from St. Jago. They occurred
in different regions of the globe, far distant from each other, and
at different periods in the day, which shows them to have been
so many distinct earthquakes."
The city of Broussa is of great antiquity, having been the .
capital of the province of Bithynia, and afterwards of the Tur- ,
kish Empire, and the burial place of the Sultans; from which
fact, as well, as its numerous Mosque?, there having been formerly
200, it was called by the Moslems the Holy City. The first im
timation of an earthquake was the 17th of February, 1855$ felt
at Samas. They continued every day. (Still says the writer, a
resident,) we were hoping, to come to the end of our troubles,,
when on Wednesday evening, April 11th, a severe shock, and but
five minutes after a second shock was so violent that the entire
city was raised from its foundation and hurled down with a terri¬
ble crash. The fire broke out and lasted 18 hours and consumed
1,500 houses. The stone monuments and houses were all thrown.,
down. This earthquake embraces in extent the Northern and,1
Western part of Asia Minor, the full length of the Archipelago
566
POURING OUT THE SEVENTH VIAL.
from North to South, and a part of Europe. They continued
from February until May. One Mosque had stood twelve hun¬
dred years. *'
An earthquake destroyed Simada, in Japan, December 23,
1854. On the 12th of December, 1855, an earthquake at Jedo,
Japan, destroyed many thousand persons.
In August, 1855, there was a severe earthquake in California.
On the 11th of November, 1855, in-JSdo, Japan, an earthquake
destroyed thirty thousand persons, one hundred and one thousand
houses, and five hundred temples.
iln 1850 an earthquake took place in the Kingdom of Naples,
but its effects'were most severe in the towns of Salerno, PatenZa
and Vola. At Salerno the walls of the houses were rent from
top to bottom. Numerous villages were half destroyed. The
city of Naples experienced three violent shocks, and the inhabi¬
tants encamped in the qpen country. The number of dead and
missing occasioned by the earthquake in the Kingdom of Na¬
ples, is supposed to be about 22,000.
[This last earthquake took place in the very places where iit Is
said it is to he; that is, in the Romaa Empire, or Babylon.
John says in the 19th verse: " And the great city waB divided
into three parts, and the cities of the nation fell: and great Bab¬
ylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup
of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath."
i A full description of another great earthquake in October,
1856, in the same .region of country of the one above, only mere
extensive and covering all the country where Christianity pre¬
vailed during the first century. It is described by an eye wit*
ness of a jportion of the phenomena. He is a correspondent of
the Boston Traveller, and writes from Berute, November 17,
J856: According to intelligence received, the earthquake
which J described as occurring about midnight in Mount Leba*
mon, where I was then residing, was fdlt along the entire seacoast
of Syria, and Palestine, in some places breaking the walls c-Of
houses,,as in Tripoli and Berute, while the eity of Jaffa, the am
«jii£nt.Joppa was .violently shaken, but not marfcerially injured.
POURING OUT THE SEVENTH VIAL. 567"
was * felt ini Egypt,, and also as far "West in Africa as Algiers. To
the North, it was perceptible over nearly the whole of Asia Minon
and Brooza, situated near the sea of Marmora, which was-ruined!
hv successive shocks, continuing from February, 1855, to Jun®
the present year, and again tumbled andlits population with it.
Westward all the Islands of the Archipelago felt it, and Greece,,
and all the Ionian islands, on its Western course,. 'The Island
of Malta/ (the same where Paul was shipwrecked,) was violently
shaken, and Yaletta, its capital, seriously in its churches, walls,
and dwellings, the people being awakened from their slumbers
apd flying into the streets in frantic desperation. It was also felt
with disasterous effects in Sicily and Calabria, in Italy. The
field of the earthquake was, therefore, fully two thousand miles
in all directions, and at all points ih was felt between midnight,
and two o'clock in the morning. . Vesuvius, for some days,.had
been giving signs of trouble, vivid flames rising above the crater
and coloring the atmosphere all round. When the shock came
in Naples and.along the coast, it was so violent that in some
houses the bells rang, the clocks were stopped and.the doors were
opened and shut continually;, crockery ware was dashed together
and broken, while the iron bedsteads rattled and shook as if a
strong mam had hold , of them, the terrified occupants springing
to their feet on the floor. A hissing noise was heard at the same
time,.like the sound of steam escaping from an engine, while a
rumbling, noise was heard like that of a train of railroad cars,—
The adjacent sea was violently agitated, as though tossed by a
storm. Along the coast solid rocks were rent asunder, and thou¬
sands of thousands of tons, in huge blocks, lay scattered around."
" But my special design was to relate the catastrophe at
Rhodes, an island celebrated in early history." (These islands
, are places where St. Paul visitedl Miletus, (now Malta,) upon,
which he was shipwrecked, and on his last visit he sent from Mi-
tetus and called the Elders of Epherus and gave them his last
eharge, and on the second day after, on his way to Jerusalem, h®
sailed by Rhodes, Acts xxi. 1.,) " and equally celebrated in the
-history of the crusades. I had seen it two years since, and gazed
A08 TOURING OUT THE .SEVENTH VIA!L.
with wonder and admiration upon its tall and graceful paling
the first that I had seen. More than any other islamfl of sea or
ocean I had cherished its name from the days of boyhood's
dreamings; J. had at last seen it only more to admire it; and
now I had the purpose or prospect of sgsending a week or a fort¬
night in it to study its monuments and recall its history. But
Rhodes is a heap of ruins. The same shock under which Leba¬
non trembled demolished its walls, toppled its renowned churcli-
-es, and spread desolation over the entire island. It is a curious
coincidence that Santovia, in whose bay is the new island of which
I wrote, was raised by an earthquake; sosne two hundred yards
of it maybe said to be in the neighborhood of Rhodes."
Here are the remarks of a resident of the Island of Rhodes:
li The earthquake occurred Sunday morning, October the 12th.
•at 2 o'clock. This shock was undulatory from South to West,
,-aud lasted seventy-five seconds—an unusual period—and was at¬
tended with violence as remarkable as its duration. Three other
shocks had been felt hefore, hut they were of less force and did
hut little damage. So long was the shock that many peopk
awoke by its violence, and had time to go in and out of their
houses again and again during the terrible phenomenon. The
walls of the castles, the towers, the churches, the Mosques, and
the bells were all injured more or less. The Jewish and Turk¬
ish quarters of the city suffered greatly. In the European quar¬
ter about fifty houses were thrown down and others rendered
uninhabitable. The Greek quarter shared the same fate, and of
the one.thousand houses in it not two escaped injury. A great
part of Hie inhabitants of the city are without shelter and de¬
prived of every thing."
"But it was not this beautiful city alone that suffered; the
whole Island, still more beautiful in the season of its glory, is a
desolation. There are more than forty villages on the Island, all
of which have Buffered more or less, and of which nine are ut¬
terly destroyed. A great number of inhabitants were killed,
while still more were wounded. The villagers, deprived of both
houses and provisions, wander about in the open fields and sub-
POURING OUT THE SEVENTH VIAL. .&(>§
sist-as best they are able. The village of Kicada, built upon a
})lain and surrounded by vineyards and olive yards, contained
tiiree thousand houses, of which two hundred and fifty were
■completely demolished, and two thousand rendered uninhabitable.
All the islands of the Archipelago felt the shock, but some
did not suffer any thing, while in the Island of StaHclii forty hou¬
ses were destroyed, and an the Island of Scarpeates about eight
hundred houses were thrown down and whole families buried
under their ruins-.; and in the Island of Capsos., containing five
villages three were utterly destroyed and twenty persons killed.
On the continent, near and opposite to Rhodes, a mountain
tumbled to pieces, and the trees upon it were carried into the
open sea. Besides this, the sea itself gave evident signs of feel¬
ing the shock. The captains of vessels, coming- in different di¬
rections, agreed in affirming that at the moment of the shock
they thought that their vessels had run aground. An Austrian
steamer, which arrived the next day from Alexandria, at the dis¬
tance of seventy miles from Rhodes, received so violent a shock
that the captain, thinking the steamer had struck a rock, ordered
the engine to be stopped, while for a moment the greatest panic
prevailed on board. Another steamer, entering the port from
Smyrna, at the very moment of the earthquake, experienced the
same effect; and, unless the captain had instantly ordered the
engine to be reversed, the falling walls of the Tower of Angels,
situated at the entrance of the port, would have come tumbling
upon his boat. The inhabitants, who are kept in fear of the re¬
petition of the shocks, are in a state of the utmost anxiety, many
of them being without houses or provision, and a great many
others are in extreme misery and destitution. But this is not the
entire record of the calamities of ill-fated Rhodes. About ten
days since a more terrible disaster still occurred. The first came
from beneath—the secone was from above, and both equally be¬
yond tlie control of human power. A large powder magazine
was situated near the church of St. John, which was also the
Turkish quarter. A thunder storm burst forth, the lightnings
flashed, a stream penetrated the magazine, and ah explosion fol-
570 POURftW CUT TH£ SEVENTH VIAL.
lowed, which demolished many of the remaining houses and St.
John's to its foundation stones,-while, worse than all, it is re--
portcd that seven hundred Tnrks perished. Travellers who stop--
ped a few daj^s since, inform me, that little is now to be seen of
this famous and beautiful city but frightful heaps of ruins."
In this case we may say, literally speaking, there were voices,,
and thunderings, and'lightnings, and earthquakes. I- have given
this earthquake and. its ravages* more in detail than' I! otherwise"
would, for two reasons.- First.- It is- not so generally known in
the United States, and we cannot form an estimate of the intense
excitement that prevailed there, (even by reading an account of
it,) unless we had. been there. And- second,. because it took-
place in the Archipelago sea, im which sea John was in exile
when, he had the vision. So we might say that this was a literal-
fulfilment.
Lhave repeatedly said that this-great earthquake would be a
convulsion in the religious and political world, which will bring
about a great-change," which I shall now proceed to show, first
giving my own opinion, corroborated by circumstances, and then
substantiate it by Scripture. The wars that have already taken
place, which I have given in this proposition, and the earth¬
quakes, come under this vial, and are only preparing the way for
the great battle.
First. That great battle is to be literally fought, and will-be
general among the nations, and must take place, according to my
calculation,, (though I may not have calculated correctly,)% the
end of the year 1866. It will be a general and ter¬
rible war, and will destroy Babylon, (papal Rome,)1 with-the dra¬
gon, (pagan Rome,) and the false prophet, (Mahometan-Turkey,)
as nations or Kingdoms. To all of which the signs in-the hea¬
vens, (political or national heavens,) indicate its close approach,
for a general disturbance in various parts of the world have al¬
ready made its visible appearance, while in other nations there
exists a restless spirit, or commotion something similar to that of
the trembling, 'or rumbling hoarse sound coming from a smoking
volcano, which are surehndications of an eruption.
POURING OUT THE SEVENTH VIAL.
571
The insurrection in China has been progressing for some three
years, and threatens to overthrow the present government. Eng¬
land and France, to help her, is waging war against Canton at
this time. And England is also in a war with India, or it h a
rebellion of the native soldiers against the English soldiers and
resident citi&ens, and great slaughter is being made on both sides.
Mexico is almost constantly-in an insurrection. It is the Catholic
Bishops and Archbishops contending against the people for the
supremacy. South America is pretty much in the same situa¬
tion. North America has considerable agitation with the Abo¬
litionists of the North against the South, which gives indication
•of a gathering storm; and we are now at war with the Mormons
(who in religion are American Mahometans) and Indians. But
I cannot believe with Mr. Baldwin, who says the great battle
will be fought in the Mississippi Valley, for I think the principal
battle will be in Europe and Asia; but I have thus spoken of
Mexico, of North and South America, to show the connection, as
an indication of war. Then we will look to Europe and see the
indications there.
Spain has been in insurrection, and k still expecting it almost
every day. But then Italy, Bussiaand Turkey are the principal
places, where I consider the great struggle will take place.
I will here give two or three extracts to show that other per¬
sons, who seem to know, arc noticing the indications of war.—
Mr. Wm. Darby, of Washington city, writes, June 30, 1853:—
*l Evidently the calm is now troubled. Distant hoarse sounds
are heard, in which can be distinguished the angry tones of the
Goth, Hun, Cassack, Frank, Turk, and other discordant voices.
These premonitions ought not to be disregarded. They have
their meaning, dark -as it may be. The course of history, if it
does not, by its date, give means to calculate the recurring
jdienomena of the political world with astronomical precision,
assures us of a certainty that an existing peace must be followed
by war. It is time only which distinguishes the cases. In no
former ages have human affairs been so complicated."
The above was written just before the war of Russia with
37
572 POURING OVT THE SEVENTH VIAL,
Turkey commenced. The following facts are copied from th&
Journal of Commerce, and exhibits the recent intelligence from
Italy: " While the Allies are marching in the East towards Pe-
rekop, and the thunders which shook Sevastopol are every hour
expected to echo back from Odessa, the eyes of European states-
men begin to glance as uneasily towards the great Southern Pe¬
ninsula of the Continent as they did a few weeks ago towards
the Crimea. There is no doubt that the State of Italy is in the
highest degree alarming, and that if some external pressure,
more powerful than the presence of a division of French soldiers
at Rome, is not soon applied, a blaze of revolution will soon
break forth in Sicily, Naples, and the Pontifical States, which
will require all the energy of Francis Joseph I. as well as Louis
Napoleon to fpiell or direct. Agitated as the other countries of
Europe have been within the last few years, there is not one that
contains so many heterogeneous elements of discord as Italy
does."
The battle is to be fought at Armageddon, or as I have shown,
the three unclean spirits are gathering together at that place,
the Kings of- the earth and of the whole world.
Armageddon literally signifies the mountain of Meggedon, or
Megiddo, a city situated in the great plain at the foot of Mount
Carmel, where King Josiah received his mortal wound in the
battle with Pharaoh Necho, King of Egypt, 2d Kings xxiii. 29-
30. It is also the place where Barak overcame Sisera with liis
great army, Judges v. 19. After this the children of Israel had
rest forty years.
Carmel was the name of a celebrated mountain in Palestine.
Carmel is not only expressly mentioned in Scripture as being ex-
colent, but every place that was considered excolent received the
same appellation, so that Carmel was proverbial. Mount Car¬
mel is celebrated in the Old Testament as the usual place of res¬
idence of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. But the principal
thing that makes it notorious, and the reason why it is the place
where the unclean spirits are to collect their forces, is because
Jazebel slew God's prophets there and Elijah withstood Ahab
POURING OUT THE SEYENT& VIAL. 573
tand the four hundred and fifty false prophets, and slew them,
•and went up to the top of Mount Carmel and prayed to God
that lit might rain, and the cloud at first, after his servant hi d
gone up seven times, arose out of the sea, (Mediterranean sea,
for Carmel is on the East of and forms one of the greatest pro¬
montories ol that sea,) like a man's hand. And it came to pass
in the mean time, that the heavens were black with clouds and
wind, and there was a great rain. 1st Kings, xvii. This was
after a great famine, withont dew or rain for three years and six
months.
Now it will be seen that three years and six months just make
the 1260 years, counting 30 days to the month, as is the custom
to calculate; and then the famine represents the spiritual famine
in Palestine during the sack cloth prophesy of 1260 years; if not
why such a coincidence? And why is this battle to be fought
there if it is not because Elijah, or the true God, succeeded .over
the false Gods, though the number in battle was four hundred
.and fifty to one, showing that it was by the power of God, and
caused even the enemy to 'acknowledge it. And he gained one of
the greatest victories over false religion, or false prophets, that
•ever had been gained. And so it will be now, for it will be a vic¬
tory of truth over error. The true God over the dragon, the
beast, and the false prophet, that the enemy will, like them,
have to " acknowledge 'that the Lord—he is God." The cloud
of Elijah was a representation of the cloud, the thunder, &c.,
that is to be now, and the rain represents the refreshing seasons
that will come upon the spiritual dirth, for no greater famine
could exist than now pervades Palestine under the reign of Ma-
hometanism; but his power must be destroyed politifally or na¬
tionally and religiously, before the refreshing showers will come,
as the false prophets were destroyed by Elijah before he caused it
to rain. When Jezebel heard what Elijah had done to her'
prophets, she - swore by the Gods that by that time to-morrow
fjhe would take his life, so he fled and sat down under a Juniper
tree. And Jezebel was afterwards dreadfully destroyed. And
as she represents Mystery Babylon, because she killed God's
574 POURING. OUT THE SEVENTH 'VIAL.
prophet's, so after the' destruction of the false proph&t, she will,
be miserably destroyed.. I will now give the Scripture testimony.
that I promised.
Isaiah xxxiv. 1: " Come near ye nations; hear andtharken, ye
])eople; let the earth,hear, and all that is therein; the world,
and all things that cometh.of it." '
2d verse: "For the indignation of the Lord is upon all na¬
tions, and hisi,-fury upon all,their armies; ho hath utterly de¬
stroyed them;,, he hath delivered them to the slaughter."
8th verse: "For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the
yegr of recompense for the controversy of Zion."
E?ekiel xxxviii. 18: "And it shall come to pass at the same
time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the
Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face."
•I8th: " For in my jealousy, and in the fire of my wrath, have
I spoken; surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in
the land of Israel." 20th: " So that the fishes of the sea, and
the fowls of heaven, and the beasts of the fields, and all creep¬
ing things that creep upon the earth, a"nd all the men that are
upon the face of the .earth, shall shake at my presence; and the
mountains, shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall,
and evejy wall shall fall to the. ground."
I have given some scripture testimony upon this subject, and
there are a great many more that might be given, but tor the
sake of brevity I will only give two other lengthy ones, for the
present: one from Joel and one from Daniel.
Joel ii. 1: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm
in my holy mountain;, let all the inhabitunts of the land trem¬
ble: for the day of the Lqpd cometh, for it is nigh at hand."
2d verse: "A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of
clpuds and.thifik darkness, as the morning spread upon the moun¬
tains; a gre^it people and a strong; there hath not been ever the
like, neither shajl be any more after it, even to years of many
generations." "
4th verse: fThe appearance of them is as the. appearance of
houses; and.ashprsemon,. so shall they run.','
' RotfRINCP GtTT 4HE 8£AAAth VIAE. 575
3 th verse: "Like the noise, ofhliarridts on 'the tops 'of the
mountains shall they leap, like: the" noise 'of a flame of fire that
■devoureth the stubble,1 as a strong people set in battle array."
6th verse: "Before their face the people'sltall be hiuch pained:
all faces shall gather blackness."
Chapter iii. 2: "I will also gather all nations', and will bring
them down into the valley of Jehosaphat, and' will plead with
them there for my people, and for my* heritage Israel, whom they
t have scattered among'the nations, and parted my land."
12th verse: "Let the heathen be wakened and come up to the
-valley of Jehosaphat: for there will I sit to judge all'the hea¬
then round about."
13th verse: "Put ye in the sickle; for the harvest ris' ripe;
come get you down; - for the press is full, the fats overflow; for
the wickedness is great."
14th verse: "multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision;
for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision."
I have made this long quotation from the book of Joel to ■
show that he prophesied of this great battle that is about to take
place, eight hundred years before Christ; and prophesied of the
return of the Jews in connection with this battle. Read the
book of Joel.
I will now give a lengthy quotation from Daniel's prophecies
upon this subject, and then explain what I understand it to mean*
Daniel xi. 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'charriots and with horsemen,
and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, arid
shall overflow and pass over."
41st verse: "He shall enter also into {the'glorious kind, Rnd
many countries shall he overthrow; but these shall escape out of
his bands, even "Edom and Moab, • and chief of the children of
Ammon."
Chapter xii. 1" And at that time shall Michael stand up,
the great Prince that standeth for the children of thy people ;, and
tthere> ishall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there
576 POURI&G ©UT THE SEVENTH "Vi&L.
was a nation even to this time; and at that time thy people shall
he delivered, every one that shall he found written in the book,"
I have said before that the King of the South was the King*
of Egypt, and at the time of the end (the beginning of the end)
he pushed at him (Turkey) but was presented by the four an¬
gels, Russia, Austria, Prussia and England, and the Holy Land
was restored to the Port which must be in possession of the little-
horn at the time of the end. The angel told Daniel that from
the going forth of the decree to rebuild the temple and the walls
to the time of the end should be two thousand three hundred
days. The decree of Artaxerxes to rebuild, was in the twenti¬
eth year of his reign, which was B. C. 454, and would of course
end in A. D. 1846; and im A. D. 1840, the King of the South
was compelled to give up Syria and the Holy Land to the little
horn, which he, the little horn, had in his possession at the be¬
ginning of the time of the end, and still remains so, and is the
bone of contention between him and the King of the North.—
The King of the South torill.have no more to do with this-proph-
ecy until the King of the North shall have overcome the little
horn; then he shall enter into Egypt and destroy the King of the
South. See Daniel xi. 42-43,- The time spoken of the destruc¬
tion of Israel, or the Holy Land, is from the time of the desola¬
tion produced by the war between Persia and the little horn,
which commenced. A. D^ 529, and ended A. D. 532. In the
reign of Justinian, from whom we should commence the calcu¬
lation of the 1290 years and the 1385. The 1290 years would
end at the commencement of the pouring out of the wrath of God
upon him that maketh desolate, or the beginning of the seventh
vial, which would be about 1820, since which, time it has been
poured upon the Ottoman Empire, and the 1335 years is the
time referred to in the twelfth chapter of Daniel and the twelfth
verse: " Blessed is he that waiteth," (that liveth,) " and cometh■
to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty years," which,
is to be added to the 532 years, and then it will end in 1866 or
1367, which is to be the end of the Turkish Empire in Europe,
and'i» also the end of the forty and two months that the J^eaist
P0TTR1570 OtTf+THEt SEVENTlS VIAL. 577
ftas t® reign; and of course he will then "beslain. It is also the
end of the thousand two hundreds and three score days of the
sack cloth prophecy of the two witnesses, and of course it Will
he the time of their resurrection. All these 'great events take
place about the same period of time. No Wonder that it Will he
terrible or awfully grand.
The next thing that demands our attention: is the King of the
North, (Russia.) He is the Kingof the North to Israel, for he
holds a considerable part of the territory of the old Assyro-Ma-
'■eedonian Kingdom,
And he is to come against him (the little horn or Turkey)
Uke a whirlwind, with charriots, and wiih horsemen, and ttiih
tnanp ships, So. As I have shown before, Russia would have
overthrown Turkey in 3S55 if it had not been for the four
angels, and then it would have" been too soon for the prophecy.
Rut the next time he will not only invade his territories, hilt will
come against him with the impetuosity of a whirlwind, both by
hind and by .sea. It may bo asked will not England and France
"prevent it again. In answer, England is- engaged in a war with
India and Ohina. I do not know to what extent it may be car¬
ried, but it will greatly weaken her in her resources and
strength, while Russia is increasing hers and becoming stronger
every day. I-taly and the papal States will be in a state of in¬
surrection, or revolution, that will require all the strength
France and Austria to subdue. The late attempt of the Italians
to assassinate the Emperor of France shows their hatred to him,
because the Pope couM not retain his throne one wTeek but for •
the brigade of the French soldiers, and the Emperor of Austria
has enttred into a concordant or treaty, with the see of Rome.
A London resident says, June 19, 185G: " And yet this religious
treaty is of a nature to stir the hearts and minds of all nations
and set Europe in a flame. And now we are receiving with calm¬
ness, as if it were a piece of ordinary news, the tidings that a
youthful Emperor of the nineteenth century has, of his own will
and pleasure, as if he were slgn'ng a paper of the smallest com
sequence, reversed the treaty of Westphalia, and delivered over
578
TOURING OUT THE SEVENTH VIAL.
the Protestantism of the Austrian Empire to the see of Rome5.
The young; Emperor cam have do conceptions of the consequences
of bis hasty act., nor of the peril in which he stands. In a for¬
mer age suc-h an act would at once have convulsed Europe,/''
All these things are but preparing the way for the great con¬
flict,. which is represented by a great earthquake which divMfi
the great city into three parts-, and! the eiiies of the nation fell.—
My opinion, is, as it will be a religions war, that the convulsion
will divide and set the Creeks,, the Latins and the Mahometans
again: t each other, for they constitute the great city that is op¬
posed to truth, to God, and are united in oppressing his people..
The Mahometans- occupy the first Christian countries in Asia a get
Europe, and the time has nearly expired according to prophesy,,
that the end of t he desolation, or treading down of the Holy City
by the Gentiles, should have an end. In the .Turkish Empire
there are s'ome eight millions of Greek Christians, or of the
Greek fai th, and of course "by a religions zeal are united to Rus¬
sian interest, which, in itself, is nearly sufficient to destroy the
Turkish Empire in Europe, for their enmity to- each other, is very
great. Then Austria and Rome are united. France and Spain
are also Catholic; but all of th-eig have Protestants amongst
them, who are bitterly opposed to each other, and only wait a,n
opportunity to make a demonstration, or to throw off the tyranny
of Rome,
I will give an extract from the Journal of Commerce upon
the situation of Italy, in support of the position that I have
taken. Ilo says: ''Indeed, the principal chanee of tranquility
being preserved, not withstanding" the dangers that every where
exist, is that no one- faction is sufficiently powerful to both over¬
throw the existing governments and be sure of rising to power
above all rivals. In Naples there are, in spite of all the jollier
and enormities of King Ferdinand, a large number of party, roy¬
alists. Naples, is a Catholic country—in some respects more de¬
votedly attached to the church of Rome and its principles tfrau
any nation in the world. The ultra Catholics ar- strei>uo;us
against rebellion, and if a Republic, or a, Muraf dynasty wgro, fo
•BP 1gJUNG OUT.THE^'SEVENTH VIAE. 570
Replace !the-present; Bourbon incurhbent, it would sow discord,
and in less than twelve months create revolution. A change in
(Naples, unless strong external protection, would be the com¬
mencement of such an intermittent civil war as has not been
vwitnessed for thirty yearsfcin Spain.
'Nevertheless,-young Italy numbers its adherents by thousands
in the secret Bed Republican Clubs of Sicily and even of the
Peninsula. They have their signs, their places of meeting and
vtheir pi ess. They are well provided with arms, and are not des¬
titute of money. .They are desperate in audacity, and contem¬
plate the scaffold as .one of the smallest dangers which they are
, likely to encounter. Experience has made them cautious, delib¬
erate, and their plans are more ably matured now than at any
previous period."
This is some of the testimony of persons who have an oppor-
<. tunity of knowing the affairs of Europe, and they foreshadow
probably what will be the final result.
Bussia, the Kingmf the North, is--not only to eome at him
, like a whirlwind, but to come against him and enter in the coun¬
tries, and overflow and pass.over, which means to sweep off and
utterly es roy.
He shall also enter into the glorious Holy Land, and many
.• countries shall he overthrow. So it will not only be Turkey, but
many other countries also. And isln accordance with the proph¬
ecies of Joel: "A day of darkness and of gloominess; there hath
been nev^r the like." ".The appearance of them is as the ap¬
pearance of horses and horsemen'—so shall they run. Like tbo
•noise of .charriots on the tops of the mountains shall they leap,-—
'Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come get ye down;
for the press is full, the fats overflow; for the. wickedness is great.
■Multitudes in the valley of decision; for the day of the Lord dt
, near in the valley of 'decision."
All of which go to show that ity.will be terrible; because it will
be more general with the nations of the • world. , Aud the de*-
struction will be great, because the instruments of- warfare are.se
sjQuqli more destructive than theyvwere formerly, and still impr^r
S80 IWRING- OUT THE SEVENTH VIAL.
ving every day by new inventions, which make tlrem more*
deadly.
It need not be supposed that all nations will be gathered t<v
one place to battle, to Armageddon,, or the Valley of Jehosaphat
—they are to be taken figuratively in a good degree, because
great victories have been gained at those places. Jehosaphat is
the valley through which the brook Kedron ran; yet there will,
be battles fought there, because there are multitudes to be slain
on the mountains of Israel, and they will be of the Northern
army when he shall be turned back. See Daniel xi. 44, and Joel
ii. 20: " But I will remove far from you the Northern army, and
will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face to¬
wards the East sea and his hindermost part towards the utter¬
most sea, &c." (Mediterranean sea.) Also Ezekiel xxxix. 2:.
" And I will turn thee back and leave but a sixth part of thee,
and will cause thee to come up from the North parts, and will
bring thee upon the mountains of Israel."
4th verse: "Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel,
thou, and all thy bands, and he that is with thee; I will give
thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of
the field, to be devoured."
This is to be the destruction of the King of the North after
he has destroyed the little horn, (the Sultan,) and many nations,
which will take place about the time of the return of the Jews,
when they will have to cleanse the land by burying the dead that
are slain on the mountains of Israel." See Ezekiel ii. 12th and
13th verses: "And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will
give unto Grog (Russia) a place there of graves in Israel, the val¬
ley of the passengers on the East of the sea, (Mediterranean sea)
and it shall stop the noses of the passengers; and there shall they
bury Gog, and all his multitude; and they shall call it the valley
of Hamon-gog," (which means the multitude of Gog.) " And
§even months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that
they may cleanse the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall
bury them; and it shall b& to them a renown," (a good name,)
" the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God."
FOFRING OFT THE SEVENTH VIAL. fi8T~
Hie Valley of Jehosapliat and the Valley of Decision means
the valley or place of judgment, where the great decisive battle
is to be fought. It is spoken of as if it was intended to he deci¬
ded by one battle, because it is to be the last and the Lamb is to
overcome all enemies. Heretofore he has suffered the enemy to
overcome his people, and wear them out to a certain extent; and
now in this last battle he will gather multitudes—multitudes-
which are to make the decision very terrible, because Michaelr
the great Prince, shall stand up for his people. See what Daniel
says, chapter xii. 1: " And at that time shall Michael stand up,
the great Prince which standctli for the children of thy people;,
and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there
was a nation even to this time; and at that time thy people shall
be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."
This will be an awful time, and as John says, And the great
city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell;
and great Babylon came in remembrance before God. The great
city religiously is spiritual Rome, and as I have said before, I
think that the three parts or divisions will be the Latin, the
Greek and the Mahometan, because they and the principal part
of the country they occupy, were once united under one head,
but have become divided and enemies to each other, and as great
enemies to the truth. And the prophet corroborates this state¬
ment by saying, in this battle, every m an V. sword shall be against
Lis brother. As if he had said, when Babylon falls, or is de¬
stroyed, then the nations that are of the same faith, and have,
their power and authority from her, will fall as a necessary conse¬
quence, just as the body would die when the head is separated
from it. The beast was to continue forty and two months, which,
would make 1260 years according to prophecy; and as the Pope
is the head and first obtained political power in the year 606, at
which time the Emperor Phocus acknowledged him a God upon
earth, so the time of his forty and two months will expire in A*
D. 1866, at which time his political and religious power wilb
both have an end; so the battle will have to be fought both na¬
tionally; and spiritually. The spiritual battlo will be. the subject
582
POURING OUT THE SEVENTH" VIAL.
of the next proposition. And as I have shown before the
troubled State of Europe, and especially Italy—that if the Pope
was not supported by the French soldiers he could not now de¬
fend himself. John continues and says: " lo give unto Tier the
cup of the wine of the fierceness of- his ivrath.
I will give another extract from the Journal of Commerce to
show what is the situation of the Papal States.
" The pontifical States have been kept quiet by no other means
than the presence of French troops. That impoverished King¬
dom, yearly increasing in debt, virtually bankrupt and devoid of
all national energy, greatly needs administrative reform. The
smaller Italian principalities are hot-beds of conspiracies which
wait the hour appointed, from Republican head'quarters, for a
general outbreak. Piedmont is distracted by the quarrels of the
liberals and the church party; but the; noble character of the
King sustains him, and has rendered him the pride of the Italian
Peninsula. In Tuscany there have been serious signs of impend¬
ing convulsions."
Daniel, in describing the rise and downfall of Antichrist, in
his vision, chapter viii. 8, says: VI considered the horns, and be¬
hold, there came up among them another little horn, before
whom there were three of fhe first horns plucked up by the roots;
and, behold, in this horn-were eyes like the eyes of a man, and
a mouth speaking great things." 25 th verse: "And he shall
speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the
saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws."
This,is just in accordance with what John says; but Daniel
continues to describe what is about to take place now, and in the
Sth verse he says: " I beheld till the thrones were cast down,
and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garments were as white as
snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was
like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire."
That the Roman power has completely filled the prophecies
of Daniel and John up to this time, no one can deny, for the
-Gyes, mouth and .God, are one and the same power, and represent
.;.£ke Pope of Rome. So he will continue .-to fill the^ prophecy us-
fOUKING OUT THE SEVENTH VIAL, 58"fiT
til his destruction takes place, which is represented by the ivine
of the fierceness of his wrath. When the thrones are cast down
or destroyed by the stone cutout of the mountain withouldiandfy
then the Ancient of days will sit, which is God himself. But
Michael, the great Prince, (which is Christ,), will first stand up
for his people in the Holy Land, and as I have said before, Rus¬
sia will sweep away the Turkish power. "And he shall plant
the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious
Holy Mountain; yet he shall come-to his end, and none shall help
him." This is the last verse ol the eleventh chapter of Daniel,
showing that his (Russia's) palace will be between the seas, at
Constantinople, so that he will have dominion over the Holy
Land. "Egypt and thesLibyans, and the Ethiopians, shall be
at his steps."
I think that he will commence by subduing a portion of-Nor¬
thern Asia, while England is subduing the Southern part. [This,
is only my opinion.]- Because since the pouring out of the .sixth
vial there has been considerable drying up oi the.Turkish power
upon the Euphrates to make way for the Kings of the East to
pass. But when he is seated between the seas ho will be as
haughty and audacious as Antiochus Apiphanes. Yet he shall
come to his end, and none shall help him. For at this time Mi-
'ehael, the great Prince, shall stand up and cause him to be de¬
stroyed by the little stone, which I shall speak of in due time. .
The destruction at that time will be very great and very gen¬
eral, as I have shown before by Daniel and Ezekiel; and I will
here add, as all nations will be gathered to the valley of decision,
and that it will be general, may be Seen from the language of
the prophet Jeremiah, chapter xxv. 32-33;- " Thus saith the
Lord of Hosts, behold, evil shall' go forth from nation to nation,
and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the -coasts of the
earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one
end of the earth even to the other end of the earth; they shall not
be lamented, neither gathered nor buried. They shall be dung
upon the ground."
This time has never taken place yet—it is still in the future,
i>S4 P&URING OUT THN SEVENTH VTAL.
And will be fulfilled at the great battle, which shows that it will
he national as well as spiritual.
I have said before that one of the unclean spirits that was to
,go to the Kings of the Earth and of the whole world., to gather
them to battle against the great day of God Almighty, was the
present missionary spirit. That it is unclean is because it has no
sanction by the word of God, and takes the glory to itself in
converting the heathen, instead of giving it to God, in proof of
which I will give two instances. The first is the present rebel¬
lion in China, which has been going on for three years, while
multitudes have been destroyed. And perhaps it may be asked
what has this to do with Missions? To which I answer, Mr. I.
J. Roberts, a Baptist from Bedford county in this Stat£, (who 1
believe to be as good a man and as sincere as any that has gone,
for I am personally acquainted with him,) is a missionary to
Ghina, and boasts that the leader of the insurrection (or revolu¬
tion, whichever you may call it,) was his pupil and first convert ;
and lie will not receive any into his rebel army' only such as pro¬
fess Christianity. To read of the attrocities committed by these
rebel Christians almost makes the blood run cold in our veins;
and what would it be if we were present and see the millions
that are slain, the earth soaked with human blood, and the de¬
vastation of property and of cities that is produced by these fa¬
natical Ch;istians. Can this be the spirit of the gospel? No,
verily. There is no instance where God has ever sent the gospel
that it has produced such an effect. How foreign from the ex¬
ample of Christ when he came on his mission, or the Apostles,
who exhorted submission and obedience to the laws under which
they lived. But this is what that unclean spirit produces or
gathers to the battle of Armageddon, and is under the pouring
«>f ahe seventh vial.
The other case is that of India, which is now in a state of in¬
surrection, the horrors of which are awful almost beyond descrip¬
tion, which was caused by the Missionaries and the English gov¬
ernment oppressing the people; by taking from them their own
government and instituting a foreign, which they feared would
TOURING OUT THE SEVENTH VIAL. 5&j
.compel tliem to renounce their religion and impose upon them a
foreign one, -which is proven by the feet that the first tbing they
.done was to destroy the Missionaries and their families, all that
they could find.
Lord Elleuborough, who was formerly Governor of India, and
-;is now a member of Parliament, in speaking of the cause of the
insurrection, said that it was caused by the jealousy of the na¬
tives towards the Missionaries; he said, in asking a Missionary
-why he did not employ converted subjects for candle snuffers in¬
stead of Hindoos, that the answer was, "We have not got enough
.of them." This was at Calcutta. And he said, when he was at
Allahabad; he was honored with a visit from the Missionary.—
He asked if they ever made any converts. The answer was no/
■only when we have an office to bestow.
Dr. Allen states that there are 112,191 native Christians, be¬
ing of the loAver class of the natives. 18,410 communicants.—
"We fear," says he "that most of them put off one rcdigion
without putting o,n another." We have heard a great deed
about Missionaries in India. The first "were Catholics in 1542.
The first English was in 1787, This is the labor of seventy
years; and what kind of Christians can they be who are not fit
to commune? If they are fit to be members of the church of
.Christ, they are fit to commune. But the truth is, it is the
Avork of men and not of God; and men cannot produce regene¬
ration. They may, by constant talking to them, induce them to
believe the Christian religion is true, and cause them to make a
kind of profession, without divesting'them of their former pre¬
possessions, which will constitute them just Avhat Christ said:—
"Ye hypocrites, you will compass sea and land to make one
proselyte, and when you have made him, you make him two fold
more the child of hell than ye yourselves." That is, with all
their native depravity and ignorance, they attach to them an out¬
ward form of religion and induce them to believe they are Chris¬
tians, which makes them bitter enemies to the truth. Being ig¬
norant of it, it produces a kind of fanatical zeal, which would
cituse them to unite with any thing in bitter opposition to the
586 POURING OUT TflE'StfiEKTH'H'lAL,' ■
truth, and) the trite worshipers, which is the spirit of all false or 1
uominal worshipers. Many of such Christians (professors) we-'
are personally acquainted within the United States. They have
in alkages possessed a spirit of revenge, willing to take the lives s
of their fellow men, which is foreign from the spirit of the gos¬
pel, and it is a spirit that the gospel never did produce whenever
God sent it; but it is the spirit-of Antichrist [as the unclean
spirit came out of his mouth] and makes them fit- subjects for
the- great battle of Armageddon.
B-e-velations xvi. 20: "And every island-fled away, and the
mountains were not found."
This is expressive of great and* terrible1 judgments, as if the
very earth were convulsed,- and every thing- were moved out of its
place. • This would denote a convulsion in the political and reli¬
gious world, as great as would occur in the physical world if the
islands should change their places or disappear.
And the mountains i-ocre not found. The mountains were
Kingdoms or thrones which seem to be as permanent as moun¬
tains. If thrones and dynasties long established were overthrown
—if institutions of religion that seemed to be fixed and perma¬
nent were abolished; [which will be the case,] or if a new order
of things should rise in the world; [which will come to pass,] and
then the meaning of the symbol will be fulfilled.
This expression of John shows [with the quotations that I
have given from the Prophets,] that the convulsion will be gen¬
eral. I am satisfied that the religious convulsion will be general,
and believe the political will be also.
I have frequently been asked if there would be war in the U.
States. I am inclined to believe there will be. But I do not
believe with Mr. Baldwin, who says the great battle will be
fought in the Mississippi Valley. Then it is asked what will be
the cause if we should have war? To which I answer: not from
a foreign foe, because they will have enough at home; but it will
be from our own internal commotions. I am no alarmist, but 1
am a friend to the general Union, and a great lover of conservative
principles, but all the signs indicate a dissolution of the Union.
TOURING OUT THE SEVENTH VIAL.
5S7
If it takes place it will be in 1860 or 1864, [I hope I am mista¬
ken,} and will be brought about by religious bigotry and fanati¬
cism, and by designing politicians and demagogues, who expect
to be benefited by it, by arraying the North against the South.—
I am satisfied that a large majority of the real citizens are in fa¬
vor of the Union, but what of that/ They will stay at home
and say or do but little, while those designing hot-headed men
will constantly agitate the subject ugtil it is brought about; like
a parcel of ruffians can get up a row or a mob in a' peaceable
city. The principal signs that I rely upon put these:
1st. The principal religious denominations in the United States
have already divided North and South. The Methodist Episco¬
pal Church separated first, then the Missionary Baptists, and
now the Presbyterians. I had thought and hoped all along that
they would not, but if they have not entirely separated, all
the arrangements are made for a separation. And -2nd. These
noisy politicians are already-divided, or alienated in feeling, both
North and South, and I believe both have done wrong, but I
think the North interferes with Southern institutions more than
they have any right, and thus impose upon the South from a re¬
ligious fanatical zeal. Are not these signs portentous of evil?—
Counting these three religious denominations and the dissatisfied
politicians, they constitute a majority of the citizens of the U.
States, who are already divided.
A portion of these religious denominations, both North and
South, would prefer to remain together, but situated as they are
they cannot. They are rent asunder as if they had been con¬
vulsed by an earthquake. It may he asked if the Old Baptists
are not divided. To which I answer no, they never have divided
(and I trust they never will) upon political questions, nor domes¬
tic institutions, nor have they made them a test of fellowship;
they have separated from those that held a different faith or
practice that was not supported by the word of God.
To these denominations that have already separated I would
sav there is nothing more true that what our Saviour said, that a
Kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, and if Satan he
38
5SS
FOURING OVT TELE SEVENTTJ VIAL.
divided against himself he will have an end.. And if the UniteJ
States be divided it cannot stand. But awful will be that day
if it ever should come, for it is folly to talk of a peaceable sepa~
ration. That there will be a great convulsion in* the religious
community in the United States J am satisfied,, because Anti¬
christ is here as well as elsewhere. 1 have thought proper to say
this much upon the subject of the United States, though I think
the principal war will be in Uirrope and Asia.
21st verse: "And there fell upon men a great hail out of
heaven, every stone about the^weight of a talent: and men blas¬
phemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plagu-
thereof was exceeding great."
This is the last of the series of the judgments of God upon
the guilty nations, and upon the Papal power particularly. The
language used shows that it_is a plague similar to that of Egypt,
because they oppressed his people; and hail is always an indica¬
tion of his displeasure, Ifiee Exodus ix. 24-25: " So there was
h til, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there
v/as none like in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that
was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every
herb of the field, and break every tree of tjie field."
Isaiah, in prophesying of the destruction at this time, 'uses
almost the same language that John has used. See chapter xxx.
4: " With the flame of a devouring fire, "with scattering and
tempest and hailstone."
tvenj stone about the weight of a taelnt. The Jewish talent
(which we must recgon here because John was a Jew) was about
113 pounds Troy. What must be the horror of such a stornu
and what destruction it must produce. We are not necessarily
to suppose that it will literally take place; it is a frightful im¬
age to represent the awful and certain destruction that will come
upon Babylon. For to think of a hailstorm, every stone weigh¬
ing 113 lbs., we might expect it to destroy every thing in its way.
And although it may not literally take place, yet in one sense I
believe it will, for I think that the hail represents eannon balls,
■THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON. 589
wrhich would make them weidh about what is here stated. For
John, who had never seen powder nor cannon, to be looking 011
through his prophetic vision 1760 years ago at the cannonading
of Sevastapol, what would look more like a hail storm, for
•there was a cloud of smoke, the lightning, the thunder and the
hail, (cannon balls.)
But in the final destruction it will be more severe, or rather
more general than that in the Crimea, when we consider the
improvements in arms and ammunition, with the vast quantity
that may be brought iido deadly, strife, with the facilities for
transportation by railroad and steam navigation, of troops and
munitions of war, for troops can be transported or concentrated to
almost any point by steam navigation, as the Atlantic ocean lias
become a mere strait in comparison to what it was formerly.
And men blasphemed God because of theplague gf the hail.—
To blaspheme is to reproach God as being the author of these
plagues, for they were like that of Egypt, very great; and as ir
nearly destroyed all the Egyptians, so it will the enemy now.
For the plague thereof was exceeding great. The language
used here is very intense, as if the calamity in the destruction of
the Anti-Christian powers exceeded every thing that had prece¬
ded it.
I have been thus lengthy on this proposition because it con¬
tains the last of the judgments of God in the destruction of the
man of sin, for what follows in the succeeding chapters is only
■giving a description of the woman and her destruction and what
would follow as a consequence.
6th. The destruction of Babylon, or the man of sin.
Revelations xviii. 1: " And there came one of the seven angels
which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me,
ceme hither: 1 will shew unto thee the judgment of the great
whore that sitteth upon many waters."
Here the angel, or messenger talked with him, and proposed
to show him the judgment of the great whore; and then he gives
a full description of her and the beast she rode, of her dress, her
590
THE DESTRUCTION" OFOBABYEON*.
riches, &c., occupying the whole chapter, which I need not*msert
here, because it may he read in the bock at length, i
Although I have heretofore given ® description- of tlie> differ¬
ent beasts, yet, as this is to he the destruction of, the beast with
seven heads and ten horns, I may be allowed to give a short de¬
scription of all the beasts -and their order of rising as I under¬
stand them, and the time of their end;
The first in order was the dragon, who was cast out of heaven,
the Jewish heaven, at the.setting up of the Gospel Kingdom,
(church of Christ,) for prior to this time idolatry (which consti¬
tutes the dragon) was incorporated into the Jewish worship in
consequence of their marrying with the Canaanites, who were
the descendants of Ham and of course negroes. He was cast
dewn to the earth from his high stand amongst the Jews, and lie
drew a portion of the stars with his tail; that is, a portion of the
Jewish teachers or priests; by his false teachers, who are called
tail by Isaiah. He was cast down to the earth. That is, in all
the world, and especially the Roman, world. And he came down
with great wrath because he was not allowed to go into, or unite
with the Gospel church. He sought to destroy the male child
because he was King of this spiritual Kingdom; and he no doubt
thought he had accomplished it when he caused him to be cruci¬
fied, but the child was caught up to heaven. And then he turned
and persecuted the woman (the church) until she fled into the
wilderness; and then he persecuted the remnant of her seed,
(the balance of those that did not go into the wilderness.) And
I think that the woman fled in 252 from the persecution of the
dragon and others about this time. He was incorporated with
the civil authority of Rome, which constituted him a dragon;—
that is, Pagan idolatry was established by law. Most expositors
think the woman fleql about the year 650. Elder Trot says the
Donatists disappeared from Africa about that date, and that must
heve been the time when the woman fled. But it should be rec¬
ollected that she fled from the dragon and not the beast, which
are tw<a distinct periods. He continued until the beast with
THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON. 5*)1
SbYfctf heads and ten horns made his appearance. And although
St. Paul said, ':Iniquity doth already work, yet he who now let-
eth will let" (will hinder) " until-he'be taken out of the way,"
the Roman1 Emperors continued the' establishment of idolatry
until taken-out of the way. That is, until Constantine's conver¬
sion and the establishment of religion at the Council of Nice-in
the year 325, for it must have the sanction of law to constitute
it a beast; for before this'time it was only the working of ini¬
quity. And now the dragon gave the beast his seat and great
power. That is, he being established by law, takes his place at
the seat of government, and was to continue forty and two
months, which is 1260 years, and was to possess, great power,
which would be greater than the dragon ever possessed; for in
606 he was acknowledged universal Bishop, and obtained the civil
■ supremacy over Kings and Emperors as well as ecclesiastical ju-
; risdiction.
"-And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and
to overcome 'them; and power was given him over all' kindreds,
and tongues;-and nations.. And all that dwell upon the earth
shall worship him, whose names are not written'in the'book of
life of the Lamb, slain fronqthe foundation of the world." And
then another beast came up out of the earth; and he had two
diornslike a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
This beast is evidently the Reformation, and though it had two
horns they never were united; they were called Lutherans and
Calvanists, or finally Protestants. The first beast had one of its
heads wounded and still lived. And although it is said that the
seven heads are the seven mountains on which the woman sittetb,
yet they are seven Kings by which the Catholic religion is estab¬
lished or imposed by law; because the angel said they-are seven
Kings, and the beast is the eighth, and is of thmseveh; that is,
though he makes the eighth, and has no otherhead but himself,
yet he reigns over the seven and they are dependent upon him as
a o-encral head, which makes him of the seven. And the ten
horns are ten Kings thr.t came into power afterwards, which are
the ten Kings of the Western Empire, and represent the ten
592
THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON.
toes of Nebuchadnezzar's image. And the head that was woun¬
ded was England. Heniy "VIII. determined to throw off all re¬
straints and dependence upon the see of Rome, and to abolish en¬
tirely the papal authority in England, which no other King had
ever dared to do only at the peril of his life. Parliament con¬
ferred on him a new title: " Supreme Head, on earth, of the
Church of England," March 20, 1534, with full power to cor¬
rect all abuses, root out all errors and heresies, and exercise all
prerogatives in things spiritual, as the Popes had done before him.
An immense damage was done to the see of Rome during Henry's
reign, for the annuities to the Pope ©eased and the Monasteries
were suppressed and stripped of all their wealth; and for all this
deadly wound (see History of England) still the head lived, for
Henry remained a papist although opposed to the Pope, and he-
fore liis death had laws enacted in favor of the Catholic faith:
and although Edward VI. had laws enacted prohibiting the Cath¬
olics and establishing the reformed church,.still it was of short
duration. And when Mary came to the throne she fully estab¬
lished the Catholic religion with- more rigor than ever, .which for
the time restored the wounded heap But when Elizabeth came
to the throne she caused the Protestant Episcopal church to be
established by law, which was making an image (likeness) to the
beast; and although he had two horns like a lamb, yet he spake
like a dragon, (spake with authority.) He exercised Ml the
power of the first beast.
Who does not know that the church of England exercised as
much power and tyranny as. the church of Rome, and that her
priests and bishops tyranized over the laity equally with the Bish¬
ops of Rome, persecuting all others, even in the United States,
for that churchjwas established here by lay until some time after
the Revolution.
And causeth the earth and them, which dwell therein to worship
the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He causeth for
the reason that the church of England, in .many particulars, rer
sembled the church of Rome. The King was the head ,and pos¬
sessed the same power over the church, and his haughty Riahops,
THE DESTRUCTION O'p' S'lifLON. 593
oSid Archbishops, witli their salaries arid! lordly power Of er a cor¬
rupt ministry, Just in likeness to the btea&t ot Eotne.-
And after this there were three unclean1 spirits- like frogs carrie
«nit of the mouth of the dragon—-out of' the' mouth of the beast
out of the mouth of the false prophet,- and vvrn't to the
Kings of the earth, and of the whole vfoild, to gather to'battle,
<&c., which battle is now to be fought.- And I have said that
these unclean spirits were Missioning- the Tract and Rivnday
School Society, and the Temperance -Society, which are termed
benevolent institutions. The reaseii1 that they are unclean' fe bc-
raiise they are the inventions of men, intended to subserve reli¬
gion and intending to' be -established by law, by their inventors,
Mke the beasts from whom they emanated. They are also un¬
clean because they arc opposed to the truth of God's word. See
the Missions in the Sandwich Islands, in China and in India,
and the distraction they have produced, as I have shown before.
In India it is established by law, and the Missionaries have the
power to bestow offices to assist in converting the nations—be¬
stowed rather as a reward to a convert, just like the beast from
whom it emanated.
The Sunday Seho.il and Tract Societies in England are estab¬
lished by law, and have their fixed salaries; and in the United
States they have a charter, and it is intended by the principal
leaders to train up the children to fill all the offices from Presi¬
dent down, (see Bev. Ely's speech,) which ir just like the dragon
of Borne from whence it caiue. t
And last, the temperance cause, which was established and at¬
tempted to be enforced by law in -several States of the United
States, and also a law in England, which is like Mahomet from
whom it came. And when I urns writing upon that subject two
wears ago, it was causing more noise than any thrag else by poli¬
ticians and religious fanatics; and Old Baptists, because they
would not unite with it, were denounced and said to have leSvS
chance for heaven than a reformed drunkard of the worst grade.
But now, while I write, March 2, 1858. all is as still and silent
594 t THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON.
as any frog poncl in the midst of winter. Like all the invention.**
of men to produce or promote religion, they became so fanatical
that they even destroyed what benefit might be derived from a
more prudent course. The temperance cause had produced con¬
siderable reformation for the better while its friends confined,
themselves to moral suasion, hut when they attempted coercion
by legal enactments, they ruined all, and have left the cause in a
worse condition than if nothing had been done, because the peo¬
ple have lost confidence. These frogs will continue m some sort
•until thoy have the world arrayed in battle.
The beast with seven heads and ten horns was to continue forty
and two months,' and until his number was full, which is the*
number of a man, which'is six hundred three score and six, which
I understand to be six hundred and sixty-six different denomi¬
nations, professing to be the church of Christ, hut in some way
connected with her, either by doctrine or practice, or having"
come out from her by reformation. . The number is nearly full,
and the forty and two months, have,.nearly. expired. But in ,fhe
17th and l&th chapters, the representation is a woman riding;
lip jii a scarlet colored beast. A,nd some of the expositors do. not
know which beast it is the woman is riding, but it seems to me
very clear that it is the first beast, because it has seven heads and
ten horns. And there seems to b; the woman and the beast
both, as if they were two and distinct from each other, and yet
they are connected together.
The beast is the law of the Empire and Kingdoms upon
whose power and authority she is seated. . As the woman here
used is to represent her,being prolific, or increasing to the num¬
ber of G66, she and all her progeny are mounted upon the mon¬
ster; and' the reason why the beast is scarlet is to represent the
blood they have shed .^nationally as well as by religious persecu¬
tion, in the twelve hundred and sixty years. What a vast
amount—enough to astonish any one that will read history and
see. But now her judgment is come, and how much she will
suffer may be imagined from the language of the angel who. says:
f HE; DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON. 595
Reward, her evea. as she rewarded you, and double unto her
double according toi/her works; in the cup which she hath filled,
fill to her double."
But as the beast-did not come into full power at once, so he
will lose his power/at different periods; and as his first coming
into power was at the separation in Rome, A. D. 250, and then
the establishment by Constantine in A. D. 325. -.[It must be
recollected that he ,-must be supported by law to constitute him
beast.] Then the end'of the forty and two months, or the com¬
mencement of liis decline would be at the commencement of the
Reformation and continue up to-1585, which would be the end
of 1260 years at each of these periods, commencing, at 250 and
325. During which time he lost a vast amount of power, as I
have already shown, in England, one of the horns of the two
horned beast; and in 1553, the Elector .pf Saxony extorted by
force of arms from Charles V. a treaty, granting to-the Lutheran
States a free toleration.of their religion. And in -1573, Philip
II. the then champion for papal supremacy, was subdued with
his army in the ..Netherlands, and a treaty obtained from him by
the Prince of Orange, granting to the reformed churches free
ti.deration of their religion, which constitutes the other horn of
the lamb.
Then as he came into full power in A. D. 606,1 and the forty
and two months of the prophecy of the sack cloth witnesses
commenced then-also, they will both end in 1866.
• Revelations xvii. 8: ".The beast that thou sawest was and is
not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and, go into per¬
dition; tand they . that dwell upon the earth shall wonder, whose
names were not written in the book of life from the foundation
of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not,
and yet is."
The true meaning seems to be this: That this beast had seven
heads and ten horns upon which the woman rode. . The seven
heads were seven Kings, which does not necessarily mean regular
Kin^s, but rulers or different forms of government, seated on the
seven mountains, that could be distinguished from each other.-—
596 THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON.
At the time John wrote five had fallen, and the sixth was then
in existence, and the other should come afterwards. Livy says ■
the six orders of the government of Home, from its commence¬
ment, was first Kings, Consuls, Dictators, Decemviers, Military
Tribunes and Emperors." Of these five had passed away, and
the Emperor Nero was then reigning. When this form ot gov¬
ernment passed away,- then the seventh would make his appear¬
ance, and remain for a short space, and then the eighth would
he next, and would: be of the seven. After the decline of Rome
and the downfall of the imperial power, Rome was governed in
connection with the papal power, or by that Dukedom under the
Exarchate of Ravenna, until1 the Pope, in 006, obtained the full
regal power. So the Pope makes the eighth, and yet he is of
the seven, as he reigned with the seven. Then the beast that
thou sawest was and is not. This will apply to the Roman Em¬
pire. It ivas. It had been powerful, and had been said to reign
over all the world. But on the decline, or downfall of the reign
«>f the Emperors of Rome it is not. It looked as if it was entirely
destroyed. Mr. Gibbon says: " But for Gregory the Great
Rome would have been a desolation." • •
And shall ascend from the bottomless pit. That is, the power
that would revive it would be under the influence and spirit of
the Devil. It seems as if it arose from the abyss below. For in
the last of the verse he says, and yet is. Yet it exists in this
eighth Kingdom, and this will be the last, and has continued for
more than 1260 years.
All the power that had heretofore existed in Rome, (in the
seven Kings,) was now-revived and concentrated in the Pope of
Rome, constituting that mighty dominion which was to be set up
for so many centuries over what had been the Roman world. * Not
equal in greatness, but not very dissimilar to what it was.
AVI am treating of spiritual Rome, I am inclined to think
that it will not be a misapplication to apply the term was and is
not', and'yet-is, t'o the' prophesy, or Pope of Rome. That is, he
once swayed the sceptre religiously and politically over all the
Roman Empire. He'i&: not now whaRlie was, because he has*
THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON. 507
lostf Eis political, power, and yet' is. Religiously he controls the
Catholic church all over the world.
A.nd they that dwell upon the earth shall wonder, whose, names
are not written, &c. Wonder is astonishment, amazement—a
strange thing, admiration, all of which have been fulfilled by
them that dwell upon the earth, for they admired and wondered
at his unlimited power—his immense riches and grandeur.
It was only those whose mames were not written in the booh of
life from the foundation of the world. So there were some
whose names were written in the book of life from the founda¬
tion of the - world who did not wonder nor admire,, which shows
that salvation will not be universal. If their names were not.
written, then I would like to know when they will be? or how
they can be saved, for it is too late now. But then the beast is
to yo into perdition, which means destruction, ruin—wrill be en¬
tirely destroyed; and as there was only to be the eight, this will
be utterly destroyed, both nationally and religiously.
12th.verse: "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten
Kings, which have received no Kingdom as yet; but receive
power as Kings one hour with the beast." The ten Kings were
those set up by the barbarians in the. Western.Empire, after
they had destroyed the Roman Government, or the last one of
the seve Kings, as shown above. They had not received their
Kingdom until they received it in connexion with the beast.
They receive power as Kings one hour. Mr. Barnes and others
do not think that this means any fixed period, but is to be un¬
derstood as a short period. But when God uses language it is
always definite and to the point, and always will exactly be ful¬
filled if we could only understand it. I think that as it is to be
taken prophetically, it is the twelfth part of a time, and a time
is 360 years, as the Jewish day was reckoned at twelve hours; so
the twelfth part of a time would be thirty years, about the.
length of time that the ten Kingdoms stood until, they wer&
more firmly fixed or established.
Qto hour mith ih'erbeasti They were connected with the beast
aarJhe horns- grew out of his head.. Indeeddhey wemuot sufffers&i
596
THE DESTRUCTION OF-BABYLON.
to <reign without his permission. So completely did he rule them,
that if he should excommunicate them their subjects were ab¬
solved from all obligations to them, i and might lawfully slay
them wherever they were found.
13th verse: " These have one mind, and shall give their power
and strength uDto the beast."
Although the ten Kings were of different languages, and very
different in many respects, and often at war with each other, yet,
though they were-heathen at first, they were converted to the
Catholic faith, and in that particular were of one mind, and
gave their strength to the beast.
14th verse: "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the .
.Lamb shall overcome them; for-he is Lord of Lords, and King
of Kings; and they that are with him are called, and chosen,
and faithful."
These have made' .war with the Lamb, (with Jesus Christ,)
ever since their connection with the beast. We need not suppose
(as Dr. Thomas does) that it is a war with the Son of God in
2>erson, but that it is' with his body, the church; and they have
cruelly treated them of his spiritual children, as well as his pecu¬
liar people, the Jews. -Some of their cruelty I have shown be¬
fore. He has suffered them all along to make war with his peo¬
ple and to wear them out, but now the great battle is to take
place when he will overcome them,' because he is Lord of Lords
and King of Kings. And then it may be asked, if he does not
come here in person, how will he fight with them? The answer
is.in the. 16th and 17th verses: " And the ten horns which thou
sawest upon the beast—these shall hate the whore, and shall
make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn
her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will
and to agree, and give their Kingdom unto the beast until the
words of God shall be fulfilled."
There will be ten horns (Kings) at the time of the destruc¬
tion of the woman and the beast that carries her, or at the time
of the end as Daniel has it, which are the ten toes of Nebuchad¬
nezzar's image.
O
THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON.
599
GodJiath put-in their hearts to fulfill his will That is,/to
give their strength to her and worship her until she becomes so
haughty, sinful and oppressive that her iniquity is come to the
full and can he endured no longer. Then they shall hate her:~
They shall hate her as much as they once adored her. And shall
maize her desolate and naked. That is, leave her without strength
1 £5
—leave like a desolate widow, [though now^she says "I sit as a
Queen and am no widow/'] Shall strip her of her power and
authority that she has held over all the world—her grandeur,
her riches and her pretended sanctity and glory. Expose her
deformities, her barrenness and hypocritical deception by which
she has so long deceived and misled the world whose names were
not written in the book. They shall not only, strip her, but eat
her flesh and burn her with fire. A figurative expression, or like
that of Jezabel—the dogs eat her flesh and then they burnt her
bones, all of which shows that it will be an gutter and complete
destruction. When they, the horns, have destroyed her, then
the little stone, [which, I shall show in another chapter,] will
strike them, the ten toes, and not only destroy them, but the
entire image."
And as this is that great city that reigned over the Kings of
all the world, I shall show how some of them hate her and begin
to strip her already.
At about the commencement of the Reformation, England
threw off her power and stripped her of a vast amount of wealth
—and then Switzerland, the German States, and then Prussia.
Bonaparte destroyed it in France; or rather by the order of the
Revolutionary government. Afterwards Bonaparte restored it in
part. But in 1856, Spain made a decree to confiscate the vast
wealth of the church, because she had so much power and be¬
came so oppressive. They are in insurrection, or constantly ex¬
pecting it because the Pope, the Bishops and Archbishops are not
willing to lose their great power and wealth.
A similar decree was made in Mexico, (that far off, Priest-rid¬
den and ruined country,) the 22d of June, 1856—to compel
the Bishops and Archbishops to sell their landed estates. Here
coo
THE ^DESTRUCTION 'OF BABYLON.
is what is said by an American resident of the churches, their
officers and estate in Mexico:
" The Archbishop, with nine Bishops under him, all having
Cathedrals and Chapters with 185 prebendaries, 1,200 parishes,
, and a regular and secular clergy, amounting to 10,000 persons,
is no inconsiderable personage."
Of .the regular clergy 2,500 reside in the capital, and the or¬
ders of Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, and Mercedomans,
possess.150 convents. The salary of the Archbishop is $120,000
per annnm, and that of the Bishop of Puebla $110,000. • The
remaining Bishops receive all together $200,000 more. The
real estate is supposed to be worth $300,000,000. In the city of
Mexico, containing five thousand houses worth $80,000,000, the
income is $20,000,000. A single balastrade, about 300 feet long,
in the National Cathedral, is supposed to be worth $1,000,000."
The Government of Mexico is nearly bankrupt, and is not
allowed to make and retain any wholesome or liberal laws for the
benefit of the people. Such laws are always opposed by the
clergy with all their wealth and influence, which keeps the peo¬
ple in a constant ferment, and nearly all the time in a state of
insurrection, which is the case at this time. No .wonder the
great whore is said to be " decked with gold and precious stones
and pearls, and having a golden cup in her hand full of abomi¬
nations and filthiness of her fornication."
If little Mexico could furnish to the Catholic church so much
wealth, what must those large and wealthy Kingdoms and Em¬
pires have furnished? or what a vast amount the Pope and his
dependents have held in all of them? All of which he controls
at his pleasure, either to gratify his passions or to increase his
power. And though these Kingdoms have stripped her and
thrown off herjpower, yet they have all, without exception, sub¬
mitted to the power of the second beast. And although he
looks like a lamb, yet he speaks like a dragon; and yet they are
both united in sending to all the Kings of the earth to gather 1o
battle against the truth. The Pope not only sends his Mission¬
aries to all the Kings of the world, but even to the United StateSj
THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON.
601
-and also serfs of the lowest order, despising a republican gov¬
ernment, or know no government but despotism. They, when
they come here, wish to throw off all restraints, thereby creating
tdisturbances and mobs almost in every city.
To show how they are going into all the world, and how they
boast of it, I will give, in addition to what I have already said
upon the subject of frogs, an extract written by the author of
the Council of Trent, and published by the American Tract So¬
ciety. He says:
" Tracts and books of this character, which are sent forth an¬
nually in vast numbers to every part of the world, have been
productive of incalculable good. By one Society only (the Be-
ligious Tract Society in London) sixteen millions of publications
have been issued in one year, every one of which contained the
words of salvation. (Mark that, will you.) Protestant Schools,
both Day Schools and Sunday Schools, supply Scriptural knowl¬
edge to untold myriads of children."
Thus they are gathering together the first and second beast,
as well as the frogs, " to battle against the great day of God Al¬
mighty, in a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon."—
As I have said before, Armageddon is near Mount Carmel, where
the Prophets Elijah and Elisha dwelt, and where God, by a mir¬
acle and the instrumentality of Elijah, established that he vras
the true God and destroyed all the false prophets of Ahab and
Jezebel. Here is what is said of them in 1st Kings," xvi. 31:—
" And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him,"
(Ahab,) '" to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat,
that he took to wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethball, King of
Zidon, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him."
Now this King of Zidon was a descendant of Ham, and of
course was black, as were all the Canaanites (as shown by the
Jewish Babbi,) and their idolatry was the reason why God for¬
bid the Jews intermarrying with them. And the reason why
idolatry, or any other worship not authorized in the scriptures,
ja ggokcn of a sa lewd woman going after strange flesh, is because
flirt lewdness constituted a part of their worship; especially on
€02
THE DESTRUCTION* OF BAhtXON.
festival days, their idols being so constructed for them to commit
lewdness with them, as well as with each other. And this Jeze¬
bel was impudent and lewd, and had destroyed the Lord's Proph¬
ets, all but the hundred that Obediah hid-.in the caves, and then
induced Ahab to allow her to build a temple in the grove and set
up Baal, ; and have priests from her father's Kingdom, (for they
were not Jews,) four hundred of them all black, 400 of whom
she fed at her own table and with whom she committed the gross¬
est lewdness. - Ahab built another temple to an idol godcss—not
in the grove—where he-entertained four hundred and fifty proph¬
ets more of the same kind,. and of the baser sort, which made
S50 black negro prophets. So says Rabbi Soloman.
In consequence of this gross idolatry God sent a famine that
lasted three years and six months, which made 1260 years—just
the time- of the sack cloth prophecy. After which God com¬
manded Elijah to return to Ahab, and he commanded all Israel
and the false prophets to be assembled, and they made a trial to-
see which was to be God, and after the trial Elijah commanded
Ahab to slay all the false prophets, and this was done at Arma¬
geddon. So" when God shall send our spiritual Elijah he will
command (put it in the hearts) these Kings to destroy the false
prohet (Mahomet) at the end of the famine, (at the end of the
sack cloth prophecy)—and then the Kings (like Jehu destroyed
Jezebel) will destroy the woman that sits a Queen. They have
been ever since 1820, and are still gathering them to Armaged¬
don for the trial, or battle; and as Elijah stood alone and gained
a signal and complete victory, so it will be now, " for the Lamb
shall overcome htem, because he is Lord of Lords, and King of
Kings."
All hough I have shown that there will be literal battles fought
by the nations, under the direction of God's providence, all tend¬
ing to the great battle in the text, the legitimate meaning is,
intellectually and spiritually, that it is, in its nature, producing
a great physical and moral change in the Christian world's his¬
tory, foreseen by John eighteen hundred years ago, or nearly so,
as " the great day of God Almighty." And at every step of that
THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON
603
piegressing conflict the divine truth is destined to gain the vic¬
tory over every mystification, form, kind and character of human
errors, until at length God's works and truth shall he acknowl¬
edged in every Country; for his works will so completely corrobo¬
rate and fulfil tke predictions of the prophets, as to he self-evi¬
dent that his word is true, and that he is the true God,. As
was the case with Ahab and,his prophets; he was compelled to
believe that it wag from God, notwithstanding his former preju¬
dices against the prophet, and dared not to refuse to slay the
false prophets when commanded by a prophet that had caused a
famine for three years and six months, that had produced so
much distress and death, and now had caused fire to come down
and consume the sacrifice. The battle will take place literally,
intellectually and spiritually in Palestine, or Armageddon, be¬
cause the false prophet, (Mahomet,) occupies the country, and
must be overcome. But it will also be spiritually fought all over
the world, because the woman reigned all over the world. The
principal battle will be in Babylon, (Borne,) because that is the
seat of the beast that carries the woman, and because Babylon
originally oppressed and captivated God's people. It is symbol¬
ically represented by Rome, because spiritual Rome has op¬
pressed, persecuted, captivated and put to death millions of God's
spiritual people. " And in her was found the blood of prophets
and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth." "And
the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigueth
over the Kings of the earth."
Revelations xviiL 1: "And after these things I saw another
angel come down irom heaven, having great power; and the earth
was lighted with his glory."
And after. As if John had said, I had seen the woman and
the beast that was scarlet colored (on account of the blood she
had shed) and the woman richly arrayed, and her connection with
tha- Kings of the earth.
I saw an angel, dx. This was Christ the Lamb no doubt—
Daniel says that it was " Gabrael the Prince."
2d verse: " And he cried mightily with a strong voice, (with
39
604
THE D'ESTElTmCH 6W HAE'SHLC^
authority;,) saying, Babylon the great is- fallen, is- fallen, ami $4
become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit,
and the cage oi every unclean and hateful bird/T
How desperately corrupt Babylon must be, for it h the habita*
tion of devils, literally demons, and every foul sprit—all the
evil men and women, the most corrupt and debased in their so¬
cial and spirit rail intercourse with each other, the seat where sa~
tan dwells, as if they were instigated and prrapelled by his sa-
tanie majesty to overturn and destroy the works of God.,
And it is the ca<je of every unclean and hateful bird. It is not
only one kind, but every one that is unclean and hateful. It is
not only Catholicism, Mahometanism and Mormonism, but ever^
thing that is unclean, have not been cleaused by the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost—every one that is
actuated by a spirit of opposition to the truth of God's word
and worships the creature instead of the creator. Some are
more foul than others, hat still they are all unclean. How hate¬
ful and loathsome such a cage must he to them that are cleansed
and purified.
No wonder lie says in the' 4th verse; "And I heard another
voice from heaven, saying, come out of her, my people, that ye
he not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her
plagues." As if God was to speak from heaven to his people,
showing that he has a people that have heen misled and captiva¬
ted by the external show of will-worship—by her gaudy dress
and living in riches and luxury, by the golden cup in her hand,
and by the applause of the world. Come out of her now, when
her deformity is exposed, for she is now being stripped of her
wealth; and her sins have reached to heaven, and I am about to
punish her for all her sins, which will be terrible, for the cup
will be filled to her double, lest you should suffer with her.—'
" How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so'
much torment and sorrow give her." "Therefore shall her
plagues come in one day, (which will be in ope year,) death and
mourning and famine;; and she shall be utterly burned with fire;
for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her." "And the Kings
THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON.
603
fy{ the earth will stand afar off for fear of her torment, saying,
Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one
hour is thy judgment come." If the interpretation I have given
before is correct; that is, if one day is a year, and one year is
the twelfth of a time, which would be thirty years, so that in
one year, death and mourning and famine would come. But it
would take thirty years to inflict all the judgments, as in the
"17th verse: "'For in one hour is great riches come to nought.''
So they will be thirty years in destroying so great riches and pun¬
ishing her. And the merchants during this time will lament her
because they were made rich by it, but now no one will buy her
^lerchandise any more. For her merchandize, [See the I2th and
13th verses,] he closes by saying:, '£ And horses and charriots,
und slaves and souls of men." They traffic in slaves and souls
of men. The merchants—that is Priests, and Bishops, and Con¬
fessors, make by confessions, forgiving of sins, saying mass, and
praying souls out of purgatory, as well as the frog power going
to foreign countries to save souls; they make it a livelihood—a
profession by which they make money, as well as those that
teach them theology to fit them to go. These all stand afar off.
" And saying, Alas, alas! that great city, that was clothed in fine
linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and preci¬
ous stones, and pearls." " And cried when they saw the smoke
of her burning, saying, what city is like unto this great city."—
<£ And they cast dust on their heads, and cried weeping and wail¬
ing, saying, Alas, alas! that great city, wherein we were made
r[cp—all that had ships in the sea—by reason of her costliness!
for in one hour is she made desolate."
In thirty years is she made desolate, and we have lost all, for
we were made rich by her, and we had ships, and went to every
country; but now it is all destroyed, for the Catholic head [Pope]
is destroyed; her fallacy, hypocrisy and corruption exposed; and
all that is in any way connected with her, or ever has been, and
is identified with her by reformation, by faith, by practice, or in¬
stituting any thing else, even the tradition of the Fathers, in¬
stead of the plain declaration of the word of God, must die with
te;e destruction or babylon.
her, as all tlie members die with the head, no matter how remote..
She being the mother and they the children, for she is called the •
mother of harlots, and has a large number of children, 66(>, none
of whom are legitimately Chests, for he has but one, and which ,
one that is time will demonstrate. But a number of his people
are mixed up with all these hateful birds, and he commands
them to come out from them [her] and 'follow him in meekness,
in humility, in the precepts and examples he left us.
Alas, how many broken merchants there will be then, for they
say by her we had our wealth., " And no craftsman, of whatso¬
ever hie be, shall be found any more in thee; for thy merchants
were the great men of the earth; for by their sorceries were all
Nations deceived."
I w;ill here give a short extract from what the Waldenses said
constituted Antichrist. Perriii., says it was dated A. D.}1120,
which would be four hundred years before the Reformation. It
may be found in Jones' Church;.History, p. 279 and 230:
" Antichrist is a falsehood, or deceit, varnished o'ver with the
semblance of truth, and of the righteousness of, Christ and his
spouse, yet in opposition to the,way of truth, righteousness, faith,
hope, charity, as well as moral fife. It is not any particular per¬
son ordained to any degree, or office, or ministry, but it is a sys¬
tem of falsehood in opposition f o the truth, covering and adorn¬
ing itself with a show of beauty and piety, yet very unsuitable
to the church of Christ. He is called Antichrist, because, be-
ipg disguised under the name, of Christ and of bis church and
faithful members, he oppsose the salvation which Christ wrought
out, and which.is truly administered in his church, and of which
salvation believers participate by faith, hope and charity. Thus,
he opposes truth by -the wisdom of this world, by false religion,
by counterfeit holiness, by ecclesiastical power, by secular ty¬
ranny, and by riches, honors, dignities, with the pleasures and
delicacies of this world." " These must be, the wise of this
world, th.Q religious orders, the pharisees, ministers and doctors;
the secular power, with the people of the world, all mingled to¬
gether."
THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYL05T. ' 607
This is "what one of Christ's Ministers said constituted Anti¬
christ /33 years ago. It is this false religion, opposition to the
truth, that constitutes him so now. It is this gathering together
' under the figure of a woman richly clad, a mother and all'her
v children, in every Kingdom and country, to battle against the
truth, and will he destroyed. He is now making a death like
struggle; he has gained some strength I'rom his'union with the
Emperor of Austria; he has gained some in 'France; they re¬
gained some strength in Spain,;; and since I have been writing
this proposition they have regained the secular power in Mexico,
and have reversed the decree that'1 forced them to sell their prop¬
erty. But all this will only be temporary. And as I have said
before, when they see the destruction they (the Kings and mer¬
chants;) " will stand afar off and cry, and weeping and wailing
will say, Alas, alas! that great city Babylon, &c."
Then, in the 20th verse he says: " Bejoice over her, thou
heaven, and ye holy Apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged
you on herA
Bejoice over her destruction. What a contrast in thedail-
guage. While the Kings, merchants and ship merchants, kvho
were made rich by her traffic, lament her, the very heavens,
(church) rejoice over her with the holy AposilesAnd Prophets,
for her destruction, for it was a just retribution, and God hath
avenged you on her—hath punished her for her sin and cruel
treatment to you. The great oppressor of the ehurch and the
corrupter of the world was now destroyed; the grand hinderance
to the spread of the truth is now removed. The meaning 'here
is, that even the redeemed in heaven, Apostles and Prophets, who
she had put to death, had occasion to rejoice at her destruction
which I have no doubt they do, but it literally means the church
and her teachers, because the enemy to the truth of the words of
the Apostles and Prophets is destroyed.
21st verse: " And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great
millstone."
A mighty angeL He must have been great to take up a mill¬
stone. It was not the angel in the first verse,, but it was another
008
THE DESTU'UCTioN OF BABYLON.
cue. A great number of angels have appeared to Jolm at dif¬
ferent times. St. Paul says, " are they not ministering spirits
sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation."-
'"'And cast it into the sea, saying, thus with violence shall that
great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more
at all."
In this violent maimer, like casting a millstone, how suddenly
it would descend to the bottom, never to be found any more.—
The idea is, that it would not be by a gentle and natural decline
but by the application of some foreign power—some power supe¬
rior to its own, that will completely and forever destroy her.—j
And then he enumerates all that was mirthful—the musicians of
every kind—all that constituted festivity, joy and mirth; the
voice of the bridegroom and bride, and amusements, and all that
indicated thrift and prosperity would disappear forever. And
nothing would be left but weeping and lamentation. As there
will be no more candle in her, all will be utter darkness. As if
lie had said, when my people somes out of her, you will never
hear the voice of the spiritual bridegroom or bride, nor see any
more spiritual light in her forever. Then he continues the nar¬
ration, and shows what effect the destruction would produce upon
the saints, the four and twenty elders, and the beasts, in chapter
xix. 1: " And after these things I heard a great voice of much
people in heaven, saying, Alleluia, salvation, and glory, and
lienor, and power, unto the Lord our God."
After I had seen Babylon destroyed, with all her mirth and.
magnificence, I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, (in
the true church of Christ,) saying Alleluia, which means praise
arid adoration to God. There were many who ascribed salvation
and deliverance from this worst enemy, who bath reigned over
the world so long, hut now she is utterly and forever destroyed
without any hope of recovery. So joyful were they that they
exclaimed glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God.
As if they had said, this salvation is so evidently from God, t&at
we want to ascribe all the glory to him, for no other power 'could
have destroyed such a monster. For irue and righteous are Ma
THB DBSTKUCTWN -OF BABYLON. 603
judgments. Thbugh he has home with her long, yet his just
judgment is now inflicted upon her. For he hath judged the' great
whore, which corrupted the earth with her fornications. This
judgment came upon her because she went after' strange God's
(idols) and served them (the devil) instead of the true God, and
by her example and influence corrupted the world, or caused
ihenl to worship her as well as idols.
And have avenged the Mood of his servants at her hands.—
That is, he has now required, and inflicted full satisfaction, at
her hands, tor all the hlood she has shed. So rejoieed were his
servants that again they said Alleluia.
And her smoke rose up forever and ev^r. So utter tvas the
•destruction ,wheo they beheld it, that they said Alleluia again;
that is, praise our God. And then to increase or augment the
praise, the four and twenty elders. The twelve Patriarchs and
twelve Apostles. The Patriarchs represented the twelve tribes of
Israel, and had seen the wonderful works of God in the complete
■fulfillment of the prophecies. The twelve Apostles wore wit¬
nesses of his miracles, of his resurrection, and were inspired to
write his word* which he confirmed by signs and divers miracles
smd gifts of the Holy Ghost
Seeing n >w that this perverter of the word of God is des¬
troyed, and that the word of truth is to prevail, they unite with
the four beasts [four Evangelists] and prostrate.themselves, [the
usual mode of paying adoration in the East,] and worshiped God
that sat on the throne, saying Amen, Alleluia. Amen,, even so,
let it be, we fully approbate the judgment you have inflicted tan
her and you have our full concurrence, because the word fully
justifies it and will now prevail without perversion, for which we
ascribe to you all the glory. And then he says, "I heard a voice
come out of the throne, saying, praise out God, all ye his ser¬
vants.''' His servants should praise him for such great deliver¬
ance, and because he is the living God, and not like idols.—
<« rPhem that fear him both small and great." Let all his praisp
tpm without distinction. , ^
Im flhe hth verse he says; " And J heard as it were the voice of
CIO THE DESTRUCTION OF BABTLON.
a great multitude, and as the voice ©<f many waters, and tin?
voice of mighty thtnsdermgs, saying. Alleluia; for the Lord God!
omnipotent reigneth,"
Hie voice of a great multitude. As if be liad said, 2 heard
them of his servants, without distinction of rich or poor,, in Eu¬
rope, in Asia, its Africa and America, [for many wafers signify
nations,, and tongues, and people,] all units, as they wiB he of
one faith then, and say, Alleluia, praise our God, This is the
fourth time the vrord is used in this chapter, and the only place
it is to be found in the Kew Testament, And; why do they use
itP Because the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Such a multi¬
tude to be heard in the distance would sound like thunder. It
would bo perfectly overwhelming. Let us praise Man:, for the
marriage of the Lamb is- come, and his wife hath made herself
red. And to her it was grafted that she should be aairayed in
fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness-
of saints.
The bride hud been ha sack cloth, as- a widow in mourning,
1260 years, while the harlot had been decked with g.okl and sit¬
ting as a Queen, but now she is stripped and destroyed, and the
true bride has laid aside her mourning, [sack cloth,] and to her
it is granted to be clad like a bride in white linen—an emblem of
innocence. The thing is this; the two witnesses had bee a proph¬
esying in sack cloth, because the truth was not believed, and had
been slain by the monster for the testimony they bore to the-
truth, but now tire bride groom has destroyed him, and has raised
the witnessesjto life again, and granted them a wedding garment
in which they are clad for tire marriage, at which they are so re¬
joiced, because he is the one they [or she] loves. " Be is the
chief among ten thousand." Feel far more rejoiced than a bride
would when she was about to be married to her tree love. Inso¬
much, that they all unite, great and small, rich and poor, in
every country, and tongue, and nation, and say Alleluia
John had been looking through the dirk vi&ta, by the light of
prophecy, at all the calamities that would befall nations and
kingdoms, and especially the church of Christ, for 1800 years*
"THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON. 611
and. no doubt he felt somewhat like Daniel did when he had the
same vision. He says; " I fainted and was sick many days/'*—
After John had seen through all this dark period of suffering
and death, he saw the witnesses arise, the enemy destroyed, and
the bride made ready. He was so elated at the sight, at the tri¬
umph of the church through the lamb, that he fell at the feet, of
him that had shewed him all these things to worship him;—
"And he said unto me, see thou do it not; I am thy fellow ser¬
vant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus:
Worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of proph¬
ecy." No doubt John believed that it was him that appeared
;to him at the commencement, which was his beloved Lord. .But
ibe that as it may, the angel forbade him, as if he had said that
will be idolatry, worshipfGod. I believe that angel was Daniel.
" For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecyDaniel
was a prophet, and had prophesied of these things, precisely in
accordance with what was revealed to John, and who of the
prophets so well calculated to make John understand it as he
would be.
In the 11th verse he says: "And I saw heaven opened, and
behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faith¬
ful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war."
And J saw heaven opened. Here, as it were, a new vision
opens to his view, as if the sky had opened so that he could see
into heaven, the meaning of which is, as if God had revealed
himself his purposes so clear in his church as to see what was
going on, or taking place in this destruction of Babylon that-had
just been shown him. He gives him a vision, or reveals the same
thing over, giving a view of the glorious personage by whom it
was accomplished, and the horse that he rode, and them that
were with him.
And heboid a white horse. With a note of attention to the
horse, his color, which is an emblem of purity, of justice, of
certain victory. And he that sat upon him was called Faithful
and True. He is not designated here by his usual and real name
but by his attributes. There ean be no doubt but this was the
612
THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON.
Saviour, as he is riding forth to conquer the world unto himself
until he has put all enemies under his feet. The attributes here
referred to—Faithful and True—are peculiarly appropuatc, for.
they are not only strongly marked attributes of his character,
but they would be particularly manifested in the events that are
described. He would thus show that he was faithful'—or worthy
of the confidence of his church in delivering it from all its ene¬
mies, and true to all the promises that he has made to it.
And in righteousness doth he judge and make war. He judges
when it is right to make war—that is, the war which he wages is
not merely for conquest, Or of ambition, but it is when justice aI->
solutely requires it to save his people and punish the wicked.
12th verse: II is eyes tvere as a fame of fre. Bright, sharp,
penetrating; as if every thing was light before them, or they
penetrated into the very thoughts of men. Such a representa¬
tion is not uncommon. We speak of a lightning glance, fiery
look, &c. In Daniel x. 6, it is said of the man that appeared to
the. Prophet on the bank of the. river Hiddikel, that his eyes
were "as lamps of fire." All indicating brightness, giving light,
that which consumes, And on his head were many crowns.—
Many diadems, indicative of his universal reign. As if to say
that he wore the crowns and swayed the sceptres of all the Kings
in the world, for he is King of Kings.
And he had a name written, that no man km w hut he himself
Written perhaps on the front of his crown, which name no man
knew. This could not mean that no man could read the name,
but the meaning here is, that no mere man could fully compre¬
hend what the name signified. It involved a depth of meaning
and a degree of sacredness and a relation to the Father, which at
once was incomprehensible to all but himself. This is true of the
name here designated—the word of G-od—the Logos—and is true
of all the names which he bears, See Matthew xi. 27: "All
things are delivered unto me of my Father; and no man know-
oththe Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Fa¬
ther, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will revetd
bim."
THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON.
613
14th verse: "And he was clothed loith a vesture dipped in
hlood. An emhlcm of slaughter, and also of his garments be¬
ing stained with blood when he was so cruelly chastised by Pon¬
tius Pilate, and is similar to what the Prophet Isaiah said when
prophesying of this great destruction and slaughter, as in chapter
lxiii. 1: " Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed gar¬
ments from Bozra? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling
in the greatness of llis strength? I that speak in righteousness,
mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and
thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat?" And
then he answers the question, or gives the reason why his gar¬
ments were red in the 3d verse: " I have trodden the wine press
alone: and of the people there -was none with me;, for I will
tread them in my anger, and trample them in my fury; and
their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will
stain all my raiment." *The expressions here used, I will tread
them in my anger, &c., go to show that the prophet alluded to
this time, and to the veiy same slaughter that John did, and
could not refer to the atonement alone, as most divines suppose,
because he did not then trample upon them 'in his anger: but he
will now trample the wicked nations under his feet, and as the
grape is crushed under the foot, and the garments stained with
the juice, so in like manner will the guilty nations be trodden
under his feet, and there will be none to help. He will not need
any help—although a Lamb, he will overcome then#
And his name is called The Word of God.—This is the same
personage that John speaks of in the first chapter of his Gospel.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God." This word is the name which is said
in the 12th verse no one knoweth but he himself. This name is
the Lo<ms of God. That is, this is his peculiar name; a name
which only belongs to him, and which distinguishes him from all
other beings. The name Logos, as applicable to the son of God,
and expressive of his nature, is found in the New Testament
only in the writings of John, and is used by him to denote the
higher or divine nature of the Saviour. Or as Jolm wrot$ lon$
£14 THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON.
after the other Evangelists, he wrote the name 'to prove the di¬
vinity of Christ, as it had already been denied. Buck says: "To
the Logos, the Apostle attributes eternal existence, distinct per¬
sonality, and strict and proper Deity-—characters which he also
ascribes to him fin his first epistle—besides the profession and
exercise of perfections which absolutely exclude the idea of de¬
rived or created being." But my limits forbid that I should say
any more upon this subject now.
The 14th verse: "And the armies'which were in heaven fol¬
lowed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and
clean."
The armies which were in heaven does not necessarily mean, as
Mr. Barnes thinks, the redeemed now in heaven, because they are
on horseback and represented as soldiers. I believe they are the
faithful soldiers in the Church. They followed him upon white
■horses. They followed ihim faithftilly in all his word, in his or¬
dinances and in his precepts and ■ examples, as white horses ate
emblematical of purity and of certain victory—that they had
now gained the victory Over the beast and the false prophet, not
•by the sword, but by the blood of the Lamb. And they were
<clothed in fine linen, white and clean, which in another place is
said to be the righteousness of saints. In the first place it means
the righteousness of Christ which is unto and upon all them that
believe in him, but here it more particularly represents the right¬
eous, faith^il obedience as rendered by them; as for instance, it
is said, " So let your light shine that others se'eing your good
works may glorify your father which is in heaven."
Erne linen, white and clean, I have said repeatedly, was an em¬
blem of innocence and purity. It is said by the Apostle that
• Christ will present the church to himself a glorious church, not
-having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing."
-15th verse: And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that
■with it he should smite the nations. This sword is his word, for
'-181. Paul says to the Hebrews, that the " word of Grod is quick
and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
When he takes to himself his great power, and doth reign, 0
THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON.
615
How error, falsehood and them that oppose the truth, will . fall
before this two-edged sword, because with it he will smite the
nations. This means in a spiritual sense.
And he shall rule them with a rod of iron. In the first chap¬
ter, where he says a sharp sword proceeded out of his mouth, it
is evidently intended to represent the conversion and slaying of
enmity of heart of his children, but in this place, in connection
with the language "ruling with a rod of iron" shows that it is-
intended to slay the enemies of truth, and to rule the nations
as with an iron sceptre, and refers to the language of David, as
in the ii. Psalm and 9th verse: " Thou shalt break' them with a
rod ,of; iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
David, no doubt, prophesied of this victory that is about to take
place, for he had said in the 2d and 3d verses: " The Kings-of
the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, let us break
their bands asunder, and cast away their chords from us."
But he will now rule the nations for a thousand years, as with
such power and authority, that it will be as firm and unyielding
as a rod of iron, by which he will also dash them in pieces.
And he treadeth the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of
Almighty God. This is a figurative expression of a person
treading, or crushing the grapes in the wine fat; and like the
grapes are crushed or destroyed by tramping upon them, so will
the wicked nations be crushed or broken to pieces under his iron
sceptre; and as the juice of the grapes stained or made the gar¬
ments red of him that tread the grapes, so will the garments be
Stained with blood, (not at the end of the world as Mr. Barnes
says,) but at the great slaughter at the battle of Armageddon.
How intense it must be when he uses the language of the fierce¬
ness and wrath of Almighty God.
16th verse: "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a
name written, KING- OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS,"
His name was conspicuously written on his garments. That is
as Kings and G-enerals could be distinguished by their military-
garments, whether the name was written in letters or characters
616
THE DESTRUCTION Ot1 BABYLON.
or not, so his acts, or the authority with which he is clothed,
shows that he is in fact the sovereign over the Kings of the Uni¬
verse, and that all nobles and princes are under his control, and
a rank that properly belongs to the son of God. And he will
make it as conscicuous and plain to be seen, as if it was written
in capital letters of gold on his vesture.
17th verse: And I saw an angel standing in the sun. An an¬
gel, a different angel from what he had seen before; so a great
number of angels have appeared to John, but each one came on
a different errand. The image here is grand, yet simple as it can
be. The fewest words possible are used, and yet the image is
distinct and clear. The figure is as if a heavenly being were
standing in the blaze of the brightest orb that God permits us
•here to see, yet not consumed, and yet he himself so bright that
he can be distinctly seen amid the dazzling splendors of that lu¬
minary. What a sublime figure or representation—of an angel
or messenger standing in the church of Christ, for as the mate¬
rial sun is the luminary of the earth, so the church is the light
of the world; for when the sun is used in the scriptures, it is
very often used as a figure of the church, and I think it was in¬
tended in this place to represent the church.
This angel eried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that
illy in the midst of heaven, (birds of prey that fly in the air,) to
come to the supper of the great God, as if God was about to
make a feast for them. He says: " That ye may eat the flesh ol
Kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men,
and the flesh of horses, and of them that set on them, and the
flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great."—
This shows how great and how general the slaughter will be, for
it will include Kings and captains, (the commander of a Roman
legion, what we call captains, was then called centurions,) and
mighty men, the strong sturdy soldiers, mighty men of valor,
^nd horses and them that sat on them, the cavalry as well as the
infantry, and then the flesh of all men, bond and free, small and
great, which shows that it embraces them that are not soldiers,
ri<£ and poor, young and old, and then the bond, all showing
THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON. 617
how genera] and great the slaughter will he; and this expression
bond would indicate the United States as the place of the de¬
struction of the bond man. This prediction has never been ful¬
filled yet, and of course it is yet in the future, and if I am not
mistaken in the calculation, it is not very far distant. Ezekiel,
in speaking of the same time, says, xxxix. 4: " Thou shalt fall
upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and tin-
people that are with thee; I will give tlice unto the ravenous
birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
Then, in the 19th verse, he brings up the subject of the same
battle again, and says: ■ " And I saw the beards, and the Kings of
the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war
against him that sat on the horse and against his army." The
beast. The Pope of Rome, with his secular, as well as bis spir¬
itual authority, with all that is in any way connected with him.
And the Kings of the earth. Such as support his cause. For
instance: Austria, France, Naples, Sicily, Spain and others who
are thus nationally united with him; and spiritually the Kings
[rulers or leaders) of the Kingdoms of the world that Satan of¬
fered to give to Christ on the mountain, if he would fall down
and worship him, which are all the Christian Kingdoms [churches,
as they are called] that are not taking the word of God in spirit
and in the letter for their rule. There is an allusion here to
the assembling of hostile -forces, which in the sixteenth chapter
is said to be gathered together in a place called in the Hebrew
tongue Armageddon, for the great decisive battle between Christ
and Antichrist, to see which shall reign—whether the true or the
false religion; and as the false has prevailed and been predomi¬
nant in a good degree for a long time, he will make a powerful
effort for the mastery—he will collect all his forces; gather to¬
gethernot all in one place, but all will unite in determined oppo¬
sition to him that sits upon the white horse—in opposition to the
truth; for when they oppose him they oppose the truth, for he
says, "I am the way, the truth, &c." But the greater the col¬
lection, and the more determined the opposition, the greater will
be the slaughter, for Christ will be victorious this time. Him ami
61$.; THE DESTRUCTION Ort'\|fABY^ON.V
his army. His faithful! followers wh®» are contending ^ for tji^
truth, which is represented; by the white horses they ride and5,
the white garments; they wear, for white is not only an emblem,,
of purity and innocence, but of truth. .
And the beast: was taken. Taken alive—taken prisoner.-r-
u And the false prophet." As these two (the Pope and Ma¬
homet) had been united in opposition to the truth, or the spread
of the true gospel,, they are now taken together as captives, be¬
ing the leaders of the opposition who stirred up the people or
them they had. deceived to war. They are now taken and re¬
served.for a more severe punishment than death on the battle¬
field,would be, for they had stirred up the host and summoned
their; armies from every kingdom to make all the rebellious fight
against the Messiah. The false prophet had wrought miracles
before him, which deceived them that had received the mark of
the beast. And now as they united.in this one particular,
though they ^differed in every thing else, " they both were cast
alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." That is, their
suffering will be as intense as if they were cast into a burning
lake of fire and brimstone, for it is said that the "cup she has
filled to you fill to her double," " and she shall be utterly burned
with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her." So the
destruction will be complete, and the suffering immense; yet it
does not, in this place, mean hell, but it is a figure of what they
will suffer in this life, and will still be reserved for punishment in
the day of final accounts, as I will show in the next chapter.
" And the remnant were slain with ttie sword." The remain¬
der of the assembled hosts—the army at large, were cut down
with the sword; not reserved to be punished like their leaders
were who had deceived them. " Of him lhat sat upon the
horse." The lamb, the son of God, the Logos. " Which sword
proceeded out of his mouth." The same sword as before stated,.
It is his word, or whoever he commands to slay with the sword
literally, for he will put it in the hearts of Kings, to hate he;;,.
and.,then spiritually he will consume them as ^ith the |pirit o|^
his mouth. The general idea here is, that these great Anti-
THE, DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON.
619
christian powers which, had so long opposed tlie gospel and uni¬
ted La opposition to its spread over the earth—which had shed
so much blood in persecution, and had so long corrupted and de¬
ceived mankind, would be subdued. The true religion would be
as triumphant as if the Son of God should go forth as a warrior
in his. own might and secure the leaders for punishment, and give
up their hosts to the birds of prey. The beast and the false
prophet are disposed of, and there remains only the subjugation
of the great dragon—the source of all this evil. -The destruc¬
tion of the dragon, or his being chained, I shall show in the next
chapter.
To recapitulate. In. the first proposition I have shown that
the church at Laodicea corresponds with the opening of the se¬
venth seal, with the sounding of the seventh trumpet, with the
pouring out of the seventh vial, and with the slaying of the two
witnesses, and represents the church of Christ from the year
1820 to 1866.
In Proposition 2d I have shown the four angels standing on
the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds that it
should not Mow upon the earth, to be ministers of different gov¬
ernments, meeting to consult and bring about a reconciliation to
prevent war in Europe, until the angel sealed the servants of
God.
In proposition 3d I have showed the opening of the seventh
seal—that the silence in heaven for the space of half an hour
was in the church, and produced by the unfeeling state of reli¬
gion, or so little of the spirit of truth, or true and vital godliness,
and as the witnesses approach their death, they stand in awe at
the cloomy appearance, and the calamities that are about to fall
upon the nations of the earth, and especially upon Antichristian
powers. Tha# a half an hour should be reckoned one-twenty-
fourth part of a time. We reckon a day for a year, and a time
is 360 days; so it would make 360 years. Then one hour
would be one-twelfth part of a day—so half an hour would be
one-twenty-fourth part of a day, which would make fifteen years.
40
620
THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON.
And then, as the pending calamity approaches, they offer Hp in¬
cense and prayers, and the smoke of the incense, which came
with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the'
ungels hand. Then the angel took fire off the altar and cast it
into the earth, and there were voices, and thunderings,. and light¬
nings, and an earthquake, which represent the calamities polit¬
ically, and accords with the sounding of the seventh trumpet,
and the , pouring of the seventh vial. We are in that silence
now. The calamities and prayers are yet in the future,, most of
them.
In the 4th proposition, I have shown in sounding the seventh
trumpet, that Christ has taken to himself his great power and
doth reign, and that his reigning is the downfall of that perse¬
cuting power, and that the Kingdoms of the world are become
his, which caused the saints to rejoice; so it is said that there
were great voices in heaven (in the church) btcause the last woe
is past and the time they had so long looked for had now come,
and that it is not only the voice of rejoicing, but the voice of
prayer and praise; pray because of the calamity that is coming
upon the world, in his taking to himself his great power, and in
subduing the Kingdoms of the world. And the nations were
angry, and thy wrath is come, as the last great battle wis begun
in which Christ will triumph over all his enemies.
In proposition 6th, I have shown the seventh angel pouring
out his vial into the air, and there came great voices out of the
temple of heaven, from the throne, saying it is done. That is,
this seventh vial is the last of the series of the wrath of Al¬
mighty God, as poured out upon the beast; bis complete over¬
throw, followed by, or attended with tremendous judgments upon
the nations and the beast, by war, by pestilence^, and by earth¬
quakes; and finally, the great battle of Armagecilon, in which
the lamb and his followers will be victorious.
In the 6th proposition, I have shown the destruction of Baby¬
lon or the great whore, liar rich apparel, the beast she rode and
the lamentations of the Kings and merchant* that stand afar,off
THE RETURN OF THE JEWS.
621
smd say Alas, alas, for Babylon, that great city is fallen, is fallen,
in which we had our wealth; for she is utterly destroyed and
burned with fire.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE ANGEL COMING DOWN FROM HEAVEN WITH THE KEY OF TH
BOTTOMLESS PIT.
"And I saw aa angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit
=and a great chain in his hand."
"And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and satan, ant
hound him a thousand years."—Revelations xx. 1 and 2.
In the first proposition I shall treat of the return of the Jews.
The stone breaking in pieces the image.
3d. Christ's reign for a thousand years,
4th. Satan loosed for a little season.
5th. The end of all things that ar.e created.
First then, it will be necessary to show the promise of God to
Abraham and his seed, and their undisputed title to the land of
Palestine.
Genesis xii. 7: "And the Lord appeared unto Abraham and
said, unto thy seed will I give this land.
This is the promise that God made to Abraham when he first
eame into Canaan, although the Canaanites were in the land;
but when he returned from Egypt after the famine and had sepa¬
rated from Lot, God appeared unto him again, as in the 14th
verse: "And the Lord said unto Abraham, after that Lot was sepa¬
rated from him, lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place
THE E®TUKN OF THE JEW?..
where thou art, northward, and southward, and'eastward, audi
westward."
15th verse: " For all;the land which thou seest, to thee will ill
give it. and to thy seed forever."
16th verse: "And I|will make thy seed as the dust of the
earth; so that if a man,can number the dust of the earth,.then
shall thy seed also be numbered.
17th. verse: "Arise, walk through,the land, in the length of
it, and in the breadth of it, for I. will give it unto thee."
18th verse:; " In the same day the Lord made a covenant with
Abraham, saying, unto thy seed have I given this land, from the
river of, Egypt unto the great river Euphrates."
In this covenant that God made with Abraham, there tis not a
word said about going to heaven if they will keep the covenant.
Bjut the blessings of the covenant are of a temporal nature, for
if ye be a willing and obedient people, ye shall eat the good of
the land; for the nature of the covenant was that God gave to
Abraham's seed the-land for an everlasting possession.
This land of Canaan but remotely represents heaven, but it
more clearly represents the gospel church, because they had to
light with the inhabitants which kept up a constant warfare; as
for instance, in the 18th chapter of Ezekiel: " The soul that sin-
eth, it shall die." " But if the wicked will turn from all his
sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do
that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not
die." " All his transgressions that he hath committed, they
shall not be mentioned unto him; in his righteousness that he
hath done he shall live." " But when the righteous turneth
away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth
according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth,
shall he live? all his righteousness that he hath done shall not
be mentioned." " Again, when the wicked man turneth away
from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that
which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul aliye, he shall not
die."
I have been ithus lengthy becausethese spjupj^^a.are. gej^f-
tiie -tlfi^rvrn 'or the jews. '6^3
■•■ally applied to the worldly sitiher, making salvatioh conditional
•—if the sinner will turn from his sins he may go to heaven.
J_>u.t it must he remembered that God is not covenanting with
I o
the world, or requiring conditions of sinners, but he is speaking
to his chosen people, to his church, which is "just in accordance
with what he said to the disciples in Luke xvii. 1: "Then said lie
unto the disciples, it is impossible but that offences will come:
but wo unto him through whom they come."
3d and 4th verses: " Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother
trespass against thee, rebuke-him; and if he repeVt forgive him." (
"" And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven
times in a day turn again to thee, saying I repent, thou shall for¬
give him." As in John v. 1C: "If any man see his brother sin a
sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him
life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death :
I do not say that you shall pray for it."
The sum of the matter is this: If a Jew kept the covenant,
and walked uprightly before God, dealing justly, it Would not
make him a child of Abraham and an heir because he was born
such, but be weuld be entitled to all the privileges and benefits
of the land of Canaan; but if be sinned, he would be cut off
from the society of bis brethren, and from the benefits and privi¬
leges of the land.
So with the church: If he lives uprightly, keeping all tb1
commandments and ordinances as commanded in the New Testa¬
ment,. (new covenant,) (it does not make him an heir of gr^ce,
because he is born such of the spirit,) it entitles him to all the
benefits and privileges of the church; hut if he sin he shall be
cut off, without be repents-; but if he repents thou shalt forgive
birn, excer>t it he a sin unto-death, for which you shall not pray.
The sin unto death is any gross sin, or sins, committed delibe¬
rately-, -wilfully and knowingly, which the church shall never for¬
give, nor even pray for. That is, never restore him to fellowship,
•no matter What lib contrition may be. -
God did not only make a covenant with Abraham, but he es¬
tablished it with his seed after him. See what he says in Gene-
624 THE RETURN OF THE JEWS.
sis xvii. 7: "And I will establish my covenant between me and
thee, and thy seed after thee."
8th verse: "And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after
thoe, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Ca¬
naan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."
Can any one doubt the legal title to the land as an inheritance
.so the seed of Abraham, as conveyed in the covenant for an ever¬
lasting possession, when the boundaries are defined from the river
of Egypt to the great river Euphrates; and then the covenant w. s
made to Abraham for the benefit of his seed after him. "And
confirmed by an oath, and when. God could swear by no greater
he sware by himself, by two immutable things in which it is im¬
possible for God to lie."
Now the nature of the covenant is twofold, and contains two
promises. The first is conditional and pertains to the legal in¬
heritance. Thesecond is unconditional and pertains to the spir¬
itual inheritance. The nature of the conditions are—if you will
observe my commandments and keep them, yon shall possess the
land, and circumcision was the sign or seal of that covenant, and
he that was circumcised was bound to observe the whole cove¬
nant or forfeit his inheritance, which, as I have shown before,
represents a member of the visible church, or kingdom; for if he
becomes disorderly, or departs from the order, ordinances or dis¬
cipline of the church, he forfeits his inheritance in. the visible
church. The nature of the second promise is—at this time I
will come and Sarah shall have a son. No condition whatever
Which represents the spiritual seed and spiritual Kingdom.—
The nature of the promise was so contrary to nature that it looked
impossible, according to human reason, that it could ever take
place, but " Abraham believed God was able to perform what he
had promised, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."—
That is, it was a righteous act to believe what God had said.—
This promise was made to Abraham while in uncircumcision
and before ho was called Abraham, and therefore no part of the
conditional covenant. But Sarah and Abraham became uneasy
about the fulfilment of the promise and undertook to hasten it
THE RETUBST <5F TEE JEWS. 625
l»y efforts their own, but made an entire failure and missed
the time by nearly thirteen years, as our effort systems will al¬
ways fail to do any thing but to produce a mawker and a perse-
cuter <ff the promised child.
If then an individual could forfeit his legal inheritance for the
time being by sinning and not repenting, so also could the whole
nation or seed forfeit theirs as a nation by departing from the cov¬
enant until sufficient repentance proved their sincerity. God
bore with them until the iniquity ol" duel ah was full, when he
punished them according to their just deserts, end until the di¬
vine vengeance was appeased; and as their sins were great, their
sufferings as n, nation have been immense, as I shall give some
few particulars to show presently. See what is said of the con¬
ditions of the covenant being temporal blessings, as recorded in
O 1 K?
Leviticus xxvi. 3d and 4th; " If ye walk in my statutes and
keep my commandments and do then.." " Then will I give you
rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the
frees of the field shall yield their fruit."
14th verse:. " But if ye will not barken unto me, and will not
do all these commandments; and if ye shall despise my statutes,
or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all
my commandments, but that yc break my covenant"
He, for this disobedience, threatens them with pestilence and
hunger, which will cause sorrow of heart. " And if this will
net reform them, and ye will not for all this barken unto me, I
will punish you yet seven times more for your sins."
If thev are not yet reformed by all these things, then as in the
25th verse.: "And I will bring a sword upon you that shall
a verve the quarrel of my covenant; and when ye are gathered
too-ether within your cities, I will send the pestilence amongst
' © ^
you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy."
Having shown the title to the inheritance as promised by God
to Abraham, and the covenant or condition upon which they (his
jgeed) should have ifr for a possession forever, after leading them
through the wilderness forty years, just before entering the land
bjB renews the covenant, because the older part of them were
G26
THE itETtAtN OF THE JfitkS.
dead and Moses was about to die. See Deuteronomy xxix. I:—
""These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded
Moses to make with the Children of Israel in the land of Moab,
besides the covenant which he made with them in Horeb."
It will be seen in the 28tb chapter what are the nature of the
blessings on keeping the commandments, and the nature of the
curses in refusing to,barken to the voice of the Lord thy God:—
u Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in
the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the trait of
thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kind,
aid the flock of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy
sfcore. Blessed shalt thou be when thou com est in, and blessed
shalt thou be when thou goest out."
But if ye will not barken to the voice of the Lord thy God,
which I hare commanded you this day, that all these curse®
shall not come upon thee and overtake thee, "cursed shalt thou
be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field: cursed shall
bo thy basket and thy store; cursed shall be the fruit of thy
body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and
the flocks of thy sheep; cursed shalt thou be when thou comesfc
in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.'"
This shows that the blessings and curses were temporal and
depended on their obedience or disobedience, which they would
receive, which represent the privilege of church membership, as
I have said before. And when he had done pronouncing the bles¬
sings and curses upon them, telling them what they should do-
and what they should not do, which the reader can turn to and
read, he says, in chapter xxx. and 15th: " See, I have set before
thee this day life and good, and death and evil."
19th verse: "I call heaven and earth to. record this day
against you, that I have get before you life and death, blessing
and cursing; therefore -choose life, that both thou and thy seed
may live."
That is, if you obey my words, keep fr<5hi sin and idolatry,
you shall live in the land (in the church) and be blessed, but if"
you disobey, you shall be cursed with pestilence, famine and
THE KETUKN OF THE JEW'S.
-sword, wfliidh will bring deatli. Then lie says iin Levi xxvi. 27:
" And if ye will not for all this barken unto me, but walk con¬
trary untc me." 31st verse: " And I will make your cities waste,
and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell
the savor of your sweet odors!"
32d verse: "And I will bring the land into deoolation; and
your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it."
33d verse: "And I will scatter you among the heathen, and
•will draw out a sword after you; and your land shall be desolate,
and your cities waste."
And in Deut. xxviii. 36-37.: " The Lord shall bring thee, and
thy King which thou shalt set over you, unto a nation which
.neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou
serve other gods, wood and stone." "And thou shalt become an
astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word among all nations whither
the Lord shall lead thee."
This is what was said of their dispersion among all nations,
just befbre they went over Jordan to possess the landi and then
bespeaks of the siege of Jerusalem, the famine and distress in
the 53d verse: " And thou shale eat the fruit of thine own body,
the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy
G-od giveth thee in the siege, and in the straitness wherewith
thine enemies shall distress thee."
56th verse: "The tender and delicate woman among you, which
would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground
for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil towards the
husband of her bosom, and towards the son, and towards the
daughter, for she. shall eat them for want of all things secretly
in the siege and straitness wherewith thy enemy shall distress
thee in thy gates."
These things were literally fulfilled in the destruction of Je¬
rusalem and dispersion of the Jews, although this prediction wa«
one thousand five hundred and twenty-one years before the dis¬
persion .took place, which ought to be sufficient to satisfy a®y on*
of the truth of the word of God.
i5ee also Deut. xxviii, 64: " And the Lord shall scatter the*
628
THE RETURN OF THE JEWS,
amoDg all people, from the one end of the earth even to the
other; and there thoushalt serve other Gods, which neither thou
nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone."
65th verse- " And among these nations shalt thou find no ease,
neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest; but the Lord shall
give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow
of mind."
Then Jeremiah prophesied 669 years before it took plaae,
which was just before the last of Judah were taken captive to
Babylon.
Jeremiah xxiv. 9: " And I will deliver thee to be removed into
all the Kingdoms of the Earth for their hurt, to be a reproach
and a proverb, a taunt and a curse in all places whither I shall
drive them." 10th verse: " And I will send the sword, the fam¬
ine and the pestilence amang them, till they be consumed from
alf the land that I gave unto them and their fathers."
This is testimony sufficient to prove their title to the land of
Canaan for an everlasting possession to the latest generation, and
also to prove that if they did not obey or keep the covenant and
did commit sin, that they should suffer and be dispersed among
all nations until God's wrath was appeased, all of which has
been literally fulfilled. For their sins they are this day dispersed
among all nations upon the face of the globe; but this does not1
lessen their title to Palestine only for the time being. And their
present situction ought to be sufficient to'convince the most skep¬
tical of the truth of prophecy and of God's word.. When he
aays " They shall not be reckoned or numbered among other na¬
tions," and although they have been scattered among all nations
for nearly eighteen hundred years, yet they have never had any
nationality since the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus; for they
are a separate and distinct poople as a nation and still have no
national privileges in any country, except the* United States, not.
even in England. And when their iniquity, or rather that of
Judah, had come to the full, God inflicted the punishment upon
them that was commensurate with the crime, atod when they
havo suffered until they are sufficiently humbled to acknowledge?
TH®. RETURN OF THE JEWS*. 629
God to be just in their punishment, then they will be allowed to
return to their inheritance; and God will punish those nations
that have oppressed them with a besom of destruction. One of
the greatest crimes they ever committed was the rejection of
Christ; and when before Pontius Pilate they said "let his blood
be upon us and our children," not being satisfied with the curse
of innocent blood being upon themselves, but invoking it upon
their children also, which has been the case for eighteen hundred
years, being not only deprived of their national independence and
their legal inheritance, but their oppression by ail nations and
becoming 'a reproach and a by-word, but the blood and treasure
they lost is beyond computation, so that it is a matter of astonish¬
ment that they still exist as a people.
May we not naturally conceive that a people thus preserved
without advance or retrocession; dispersed, yet combined; bro¬
ken, yet firm; without a country, yet dwellers in all; every where
insulted, yet every where influential; without a nation, yet uni¬
ted as no nation ever was before, having maintained their na¬
tional character, though dispersed among all nations, what no
other nation ever has done, and remain about stationary as to
numbers. Major Noah says: " Their present number through¬
out all the world may be reckoned at about six millions. There
are more than a million in Poland and ftussia. In all Asia there
are full two millions—half a million in Austria—in the Barbary
States and Africa a million—in all Europe two millions and a
half." This seems astonishing when we consider the multitudes
that have been slain from time to time; yet it shows the divine
preservation and protection as a people; for any other nation,
would have been extinct as a nation if they had been dispersed
among all nations as are the Jews.
I promised to give a few items of their suffering in conse¬
quence of their having said " let his blood be upon us and upon,
our children." Or, what is said in 1st Thessalonians ii. 15: "They
both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and persecu¬
ted the Apostles, and so filled up their sins, and wrath c.am%
630
THE RETURN OF THE JEWS.
upon them to the uttermost." At Cesarea twenty thousand Jews
•were killed by the Syrians. At Damascus ten thousand Unarmed
Jews were murdered. At Bethshon the heathen caused their
Jewish neighbors to assist them against their own brethren, and
then murdered thirteen thousand. At Alexandria about fifty
thousand were murdered. When "Vespasian took Galilee, Chora-
zin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, '&c., according to the woe pro¬
nounced against them ;by the Saviour for rejecting him, great
numbers were slain. At the siege and destruction ot Jerusalem
they fed upon each other, and delicate ladies broiled their suck¬
ing infants and eat them, which is a complete fulfilment of what
God had said in Dent. xxix. 56. At this siege eleven hundred
thousand were slain, and one hundred thousand taken prisoners.
In subduing other cities two hundred thousand were slain and
vast numbers sent to Egypt as slaves. In a war with Adrian's
forces sixty thousand were slain. After this they were not al¬
lowed for a long time to return to the city, or even to look at it
at a distance only upon the pain of death. They were much in¬
sulted in France and Spain. In the eleventh and twelfth centu¬
ries their miseries rather increased. They were greatly persecu¬
ted in Egypt. Besides, it is shocking to think what multitudes
the eight crusades murdered in Germany, Hungary, Lesser Asia
and elsewhere. They have been at times banished from all the
Kingdoms of Europe and Asia. I cannot follow this picture out
any further at present—but it proves to be like Moses' bush, al¬
ways burning but not consumed, which has caused great aston¬
ishment in the world. And so it might, if God had not said, "I
will not utterly destroy them." That they will return is very
•evident from the language of the scriptures, although it is de¬
nied by many; but the testimony upon this point is so clear that
I do not know how any one can gainsay it; for when God is giv¬
ing commandment by Moses, just before they enter the land of
Canaan, relative to the blessings and curses, 1451 years before
Christ, as in the 30th chapter of Daniel. He says: u Anl it
shall come to pass, when all these things arc come upon thee, the
OF THE jews, 63®
blessings and' the curses, which I have set before tliee, and thou:
shalt call them to mind among^all the nations whither the Lord,
thy God hath driven thee."
And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and;shalt obey hi®-
voice according to all I command thee this'day, tliou, and all thy
children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul."
" That then the Lord thy God will -turn thy captivity, and
have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee
from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God. hath scattered,
thee."
"If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of
Heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and
from thence will he fetch thee."
" And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which
thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do
thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers."
This is what was said even before they entered the land to pos¬
sess it, and speaks of their return as if they had been actually
driven among all nations at that time.
And again he says in Jeremiah xxx. 3: "For lo, the day is
come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again.the captivity of my
people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord; and I will cause them
to return to the land that I, gave to their fathers, and they shall
possess it."
And in.Ezekiel xxxvi. 8*:: " But ye, 0 mountains of Israel, ye
shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my peo¬
ple of Israel; for they are at hand to come.""
9th verse: "For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto
you, and ye shall be tilled and sown."
10th verse: " And 1 will multiply men upon you, all the house
of Israel, even all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited, and
the wastes shall be builded."
11th verse: "And I will multiply upon you man and beast;
and they shall increase and bring fruit; and I will settle you after
your old estate, and do better unto you than at your beginnings;
and ye shall know that I am the Lord."
632
THE RETURN OF THE -JEWS.
24th verse: "For I will take you from among the heathen,
and gather you 'out of all countries, and will bring you into your
own land."
Ezekiel xxxvii. 21: " 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 bring them into their own land."
22d verse: " And I will make them one nation in the land
upon the mountains of Israel; and one King shall be King over
.them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall
they be divided into two Kingdoms any more at all."
25th verse: "And they shall dwell in the land that I have
given unto my servant Jacob, wherein your fathers have dwelt:
and they shall dwell therein, even they and their children, and
their children's children, forever; and my servant David shall ,be
their Prince forever."
As every thing else that was predicted of them has been fill-
tilled, the foregoing is sufficient testimony to prove that they
will return. But some suppose that these scriptures refer to
their return from their Babylonish captivity, which cannot be
true for two reasons. First. In that captivity they were in Bab¬
ylon alone, and from which place they returned; but the testi¬
mony here is they shall return from all the world, from the utter¬
most parts of heaven, and from every nation of the earth where
I have driven them (which is their situation now) will I gather
them, and bring them into the land of their fathers, the moun¬
tains of Israel, &c. And second. " They shall dwell in the land
that I have given my servant Jacob, wherein your fathers have
dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they and their children,
and their children's children forever." This has not been fulfilled
yet, or by the return from Babylon, because the possession is to
be forever after their return, which after their return from Bab¬
ylon they did not inherit forever, because they have not been in
possession of it for near eighteen hundred years, which proves
that it is still in the future.
Others suppose that the entire meaning is their spiritual se-
THE RETURN OF THE JEWS.
turn, which is true in part. That they willl return spiritually 1
will show presently. And others, (Dr. Thomas, for instance,)
make it entirely a literal or national Kingdom having no spiritu¬
ality about it. Both of these positions I conceive to be wrong.
First, they will return to their legal inheritance in the land of
Canaan, which is evident from the general tenor of the scrip¬
tures, a small portion of which.I have here given, and it cannot
mean spiritual Canaan (or the church) only in the figure, be¬
cause God says they shall build the cities and till the waste pla¬
ces—plant vineyards upon the mountains and cat the fruit
thereof: and I will increase their corn, their oil, and their wine,
and I will multiply men upon the mountains, and in the cities,
and the children, little boys and girls, shall be in the streets m
aforetime, and I will increase your flocks and herds, all of which
go to prove that it will be national.
If they do not return then the promise made to Abraham will
fail, notwithstanding God has sworn to it, for he promised it to
Abraham and his seed forever, at the time God promised it to
his seed for a possession forever; but then it may be asked why
have they been driven from their inheritance so long? The an¬
swer is because they did not keep the covenant; but when they
have suffered sufficient then they will be allowed to return.—
Then the question is frequently asked, how long, or when will
that be? I say not until the destruction of the Ottoman power
in Palestine, which I have shown will take place about the year
A. D. 1866. But the scriptures are the best guide in all things
I am fully satisfied. After God pronounced the blessing that
would follow obedience, and the curses and all the plagues that
would be inflicted if tiiey disobeyed, he says, in Leviticus xxvi.
18: " And if ye will not yet for all this harken unto me, then I
will punish you seven times more for your sins." Four times in
this chapter he has threatened to punish them seven times. Not
that he will punish them four times seven, but to enforce it
when he had pronounced other judgments upon them. Read
the chapter and you will find what he has forbidden, and what
he has commanded them, io do—the blessings, 'the curses, the
834' KHE RETURN OP THE JEWS.
dispersion and return all in this chaptsr.. Severn times* is the*
length of the punishment for tlicir sins. A time, according to
the usual interpretation, is 360 dkys. A day for a'year would be
360 years, and seven times would make 2620 days, which are
prophetically equal to the same number of solar years. The dif¬
ficulty is to tell .exactly when to commence the calculation. I
believe it should date from Josiah's passover, although it was the
greatest; and it is said, "And like unto him was there no King-
before him that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with
all his soul, and with all his might." It was a great effort of
the King to bring about repentanee, to avert the judgment with
which they were threatened. But notwithstanding this, it is
mk\ in 2d Kings xxiii. 26: " Notwithstanding die Lord^ turned
not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger
was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that
Manasseh had provoked him with all."
27th verse: " And the Lord said, I will remove Judah also
out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this
city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I
said, my name shall be there."
He had removed Israel, or the ten tribes, for their sin, prior to
this time, but now he removes Judah for Manasseh's sins, for he
caused the streets of Jerusalem to run with innocent blood, and
this took place 624 years before Christ. So to reach the end of
the 2520 days would bring us to 1896.
Since making the above calculation I find that Dr. Thomas has
made the same calculation; but when I made mine I had never
seen a calculation made by any one. He dates his. two years be¬
fore mine; that is, he makes the passover 626 years before Christ.
But another epoch, however, must be sought for as connected
with Judah's captivity, which is the commencement to Babylon's
seven times, which makes 2520 years. This must, therefore, be
calculated from the epoch of Judah's subjection to its dominion.
This happened in the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign, which was
the first of Nebuchadnezzar's and B. C. 608. In this year Jere¬
miah prophesied that Judah and the surrounding nations should
THE RETURN OF THE JEWS, G35
Be subject to the King of Babylon for 70 years ; and at the end of
these 70 years, in the reign of his grand son, many nations and
great Kings should serve themselves of him; that is, make the
Babylonish Kingdom their own, all ot which has come to pass
to the very letter.
There seems to be a remarkable fitness in commencing the
"O
seven times of the Kingdom of Babylon with the beginning of
c O c*>
Nebuchadnezzar's reign, inasmuch as he may be regarded as the
second, or modern founder of the State, Nirnrod being the first.
' O
See Daniel iv. 30; " The King spake and said, is not this great
Babylon that I have built for the house of the Kingdom, by the
might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty."
31st verse; " While the word was in tin4 King's mouth, there
fell a voice from heaven, saying, 0 King Nebuchadnezzar, to
thee it is spoken: The Kingdom is departed from thee." "And
seven times shall pass over thee, until thou knowest that the most
high ruleth in the Kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever
he will."
That is, the Kingdom of men, or Babylon, should be taken
from Nebuchadnezzar's family at the end of seventy years and
given to other Kings, which is represented by another vision that
Nebuchadnezzar had of the tree that spread into all the world,
(thatrepresented himself,) which the watcher cut down, but left
the stump banded with iron and brass, with its roots in the
ground. The brass represents the Greeks or Macedonians under
Alexander, and the iron represents the Romans and Russians—
so the government has changed its phases live several times ac¬
cording to the image. First, the head of gold, which was Cal-
dean, or Babylon, which was destroyed and lias not nor never
will be rebuilt, as Isaiah has shown. The second was th6 Medo
Persian and represented by the silver, and also by the ram with
two horns. The third was the Macedonian or Grecian and repre¬
sented by the brass, and also by the^oat with one horn. The
fourth was the Roman and Russian, represented by the iron and
clay and also by one of the four horns that arose after the horn
of the °"oat was broken, and became very great. The ten toes
41
630
THE RETURN OF THE JEWS.
represented the ten Kingdoms th.it were formed out of the west¬
ern Empire.
The sum of the matter is this: The kingdom of men was first
set up by Nimrod, and afterwards by Nebuchadnezzar, and has
always been in opposition to the Kingdom of God; and although
the tree was cut down by the watcher, still the stump has re¬
mained with its roots in the ground banded with brass and iron
until now. In all the different phases the government has been
as much Caldean as was Nebuchadnezzar's, although they did
not reign at Babylon, because it -was destroyed, which the cut¬
ting down of the tree represented: but the stump still is the
Kingdom of men and in opposition to the Kingdom of God, as
much so as was Nebuchadnezzar's, and will so remain until the
seven times pass over it, which make the 2520 years; and to
date from the first year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, which was
6*08 years before Christ, it would bring us to 1912, when the
tree stump will be destroyed, or the Rusho-Babylon Kingdom
will be destroyed, and there will be no Kingdom of men then,
nor any opposition to the Kingdom of God, as I will show in
the next proposition.
The two witnesses will be raised first, as I have shown in a
former chapter; and wo be to the Kingdom of Babylon when the
political resurrection of Israel occurs; for much torment and Sor¬
row are decreed against its populations during the last fortv
years of its existence. This will appear by the Prophets. See
Micah vii. 14 to 18: "Feed thy people with thy rod, the
llock of jthine heritage, which dwell solitary in the wood, in
the midst of Carmel; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in
the days of old." God answers: "According to the days of thy
cjming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvel¬
ous things. The nations shall see, and be confounded at all their
might; they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears
shall be deaf."
" They shall lick the dust like a serpent; they shall move out
of their holes like worms of the earth; they shall be afraid of
the J. <4od. and shall fear because of thee." (Israel.)
THE RETURN OF THE JEWS,
637
Ezekiel xx. 35 to 37: " As I live, saith tlie Lord Grod, surely
with a mLghty hand, and a stretched-out arm, with fury poured
out, will I rule over you; and will bring you out from the people,
and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered
with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury
'poured out.
" And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and
there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with
your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I
plead with you, «aith the Lord Grod."
These prophecies have not been fulfilled yet, and they go to
show not only the suffering of Grod's people, but that o.f the na¬
tions also, and that they will be 40 years in the wilderness of the
people—that is, 40 years in passing from all the countries where
they are dispersed before they are fully established in the land as
they were in coming from Egypt; and as this is to be like that of
Egypt, it of course has never taken place yet. Then 40 years is
to be deducted from Babylon's seven times, which will bring it
to 1873, which will be the beginning of the destruction of the
Rusho-Babylon power, which is the last Kingdom to be destroyed,
and Israel will be 40 years in destroying them before they will be
fully established in the land.
Jeremi xxx. 16: " Therefore all they that devour thee shall be
devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go
into captivity ; and they that spoiled thee shall be spoiled, and
all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey."
18th verse: " Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring again
Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places; and the
city shall be builded upon her own heaps, and the palace shall
remain after the manner thereof."
There is no want of testimony upon this subject; the greatest
difficulty is to know which to select, and how to condense and
make myself understood by others, and not be too lengthy; but
I will give a few more texts before I leave the subject.
Jeremiah xlvi. 27 and 28: But fear not thou, 0 my servant
638
THE RETURN OF THE JEWS.
Jacob, and be not dismayed, 0 Israel; for beliold, I will save
thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity;
and Jacob shall return, and be at rest and at ease, and none shall
make Mux afraid." "Fear not, 0 Jacob . my servant,, saith the
Lord; ;for I am with thee; :for I will make a full end of all the
nations whither I have driven thee; .but I will, not make a full
end of thee, . but correct thee in measure; .yet will I not leave
thee wholly unpunished."'
Joel iii. 1; •" For behold, in those days, and in that time, when
I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem."
2d verse: " I will also gather all nations, and will bring them
down into the valley of Jehosaphat, and will plead with them
there for my people, and for my heritage Israel, whom they have-
scattered among the nations, and parted my lands."
19th verse: " Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be
a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Ju¬
dah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land."
20th verse: " But Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem
from generation to generation. For I will cleanse their blood
that I have not cleansed; for the Lord dwelleth in Zion."
Amosix/9: "For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the
house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a seive.
yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth."
How completely does that represent the children of Israel and
Judah in their long scattered and sifted state; but not the least
grain of them are to be lost; but then in the 14th and 15th
verses he says: " And I will bring again the captivity of my peo¬
ple of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit
them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof;
they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them. And I
will plant them upon their- land, and they shall no more be pulled
up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord
thy God."
This seems to me to be-sufficient testimony to prove the resto¬
ration ;of the Jews.. It is so clear and so much to the point-that-
'!Tiye -stone breaking'We image. ff39
1 do not see 'how anyone can doubt it for a moment; and similar
testimony might be produced ad infinitum almost, did we con¬
sider it necessary, but we deem it unnecessary to give more.
But it they do not return, then the promise of God will have
failed, because he gave it to Abraham and his-seed or posterity
. for an everlasting , possession, which will not be - realized unless
. they return. I can never believe that they will be disappointed.
For though heaven and earth should pass away, yet not one jot
or tittle of what he has promised, or said, shall fail until all shall
'be fulfilled.
fid. The stone breaking in pieces the image.
Daniel ii. 31 to 36: "'Thou, 0 King, sawest, and, behold a
great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent,
stood before thee, and the form thereof was terrible."
" This image's head was fine gold, his breast and arms of sil¬
ver, his belly and his thighs of brass. His legs of iron, his feet
part of iron and part of clay."
" Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands,
which smote the image upon his feet, that were of iron jmd clay,
and break them to pieces."
"Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the
gold broken to pieces together, and become like the chaff of the
-summer threshing fioor; and the wind carried them away, that
no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the im-
a^c became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth."
There are three prominent features in this dream to be-noticed.
1st. The image represents the Kingdoms of men in five different
phases, fid. The stone cut out without hands will destroy them
and their place will be found no more. And 3d. The stone will
become a great mountain and fill the whole earth.
First This is the Kingdom of men in its several different pha¬
ses and there never has been any other Kingdom of men, nor
never will be! which is now, and always has been, in opposition
to the Kingdom of God. The others are called the beast and
the false prophet, or the Kingdoms of the world, or Antichrist's
iKiimdoms. In the interpretation of the ' dream Daniel says:—
640 THE STONE BREAKING THE IMAGE.
"Thou, 0 King, art a King of Kings; for the God of-heaven
hath given thee a Kingdom, power, strength and glory. Thou,
art this head of gold."
" And after thee shall arise another Kingdom, inferior to
thee." Which is the Medo-Persian, and represented by the sil¬
ver, and in Daniel's vision by the two horns, and the last one
that came up was the highest, which was the Persian, but this
Kingdom was inferior in strength and magnificence to Nebuch¬
adnezzar's.
" And another third Kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule
over all the earth."
This is the Macedonian or Grecian Kingdom by Alexander
the Great, who, it is said, conquered the world, and then wept
because there was no other world to conquer, and is represented
by the brass, and in Daniel's vision by the goat coming from the
West with one horn, and with' sueh rapidity that he touched no^
the ground, but ran at the ram and cast him down to the ground
and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver
the ram ^ut of his hands."
He bore rule over all the earth. Earth and world here means
the extent and boundarres of the Kingdom of men. Cyrus and.
Darius extended the boundaries of the Babylonish Kingdom,
although it was said that Nebuchadnezzar ruled wherever the
children of men dwelt, the beasts of the field, and; the fowls of
heaven." Still, it was only so far as his dominion extended,
which was very great. But Alexander greatly enlarged, the
boundaries, so that it is said he ruled over all the earth.
" And the fourth Kingdom shall be strong as iron;- for as
much as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as
iron breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise."
This is the Roman Empire or Government, and is represented
by the strength of the iron that breaketh all these other King¬
doms, and shall bruise. It is also represented in Daniel'^ vision
by the littte horn. " Out of one of them (the four) came /orth
a little horn which waxed exceeding great, towards the South,
and towards the East, and towards the pleasant land." And also
THE .STONE BREAKING THE IMAGE- 641
described by the beast in Daniel vii, 7: " After this I saw in the
night vision, and, behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible,
and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured
and break in pieces, and! stamped the residue with the feet of it;
and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before itf and
it had ten horns."
These figures describe the Roman government completely, in
her subduing nations, destroying much.flesh, breaking and bruis¬
ing. All these Kingdoms were Assyrian also, but are only the
tree stump banded with iron and brass, with its roots still in the
ground, as I have shown in the first proposition.
And as we have seen the vision this far, and the'title, or name,
of Babylon was transferred to Rome, we will now show the feet
and toes.
Daniel says, in the 41st verse: " And whereas thou sawest the
feet and toes part of potter's clay and part of iron, the Kingdom
shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the
iron, for asmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with the mirey
clay."
The Kingdom shall be divided, which makes the two feet part¬
ly of iron and partly of clay, and represents Rome (Babylon,
when divided into Eastern and Western Empires, which had the
strength of iron and clay, but not the strength of the iron as
when it was united, for they were often at war with each other,
which produced great weakness and caused the heathen to over¬
come them, which weakness is fitly represented by the clay.
42d and 43d verses: " And as the toes of the feet were part of
iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and
partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with mirey
clay, they shall mix themselves with the seed of men; but they
shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with
clay."
The ten toes are the ten Kingdoms into which it was after¬
wards divided, and which is represented by the ten horns of Dan¬
iels "beast. So the Kingdom shall .be partly strong and partly
broken. And they shall mix themselves with the seed of men,
642
THE STONE BREAKING THE IMAGE.
which were the B vrbarians, the Scythians, the 1 uindSals, th^
lloths, &o. That is, they mixed with the Romans in terming;
the ten Kingdoms, but they did not cleave one to another. Now
every one that has- read history knows that this is a good figure
of the .ten Kingdoms, because there was and is now no union (or
cleaving to each other) among them, no more than you can unite
iron and mirey clav. Having given a description of the image
and shown what kingdoms it represents, I shall now proceed to
show its destruction, and by what means it is destroyed; and as
we commenced with bis head in the formation, we will reverse
the thing in its destruction, as the stone was. to commence at the
loot.
Daniel ii. 34; u Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out (of
the mountains) without hands, which smote the image upon his
feet, that were of iron and clay, and break them to pieces."
Here, again, as it regards the stone, I shall have to differ from
any thing that I have seen or heard upon the subject. Most ex¬
positors make it the church, and most of my brethren make it the
kingdom or church of-Christ, while Dr. Thomas makes it lite¬
rally a Kingdom with Christ reigning in person as King, be¬
cause he has said in the days of these. Kings will the Clod of
heaven set up a Kingdom, &c," which he makes a literal King¬
dom, which is not yet set up, but will be commenced in 18.66, in
order to destroy all these Kingdoms.
I consider the stone a republican form of government, partly
connected with the church, inasmuch as .that is the code by
whieh the church is governed, aud was instituted by the Lord
himself; and I have said before, that a church whose government
is not purely republican, or does not allow perfect equality to all
its members, is not the church of Christ, or rather, she is not
governed by the laws of Christ.
One reason why I cannot believe the stone to he the church is
that it is to grind all these Kingdoms to> powder, and the church
never will use any lorce only by her influence. -
The stone was cut out of the mountains without hapdsgthafe
is, without , any visible hands, hut, by invisible power, asihe#
iTOQKBj BREAKING T* E IMAGE'. 643
^ Lord of Lordsand Kingof Kings." There has been an idea of
a kind of republican form of government in the world, taken
from the government first given to Israel, long before the coining
of Christ, as well as after, but was but dimly shadowed forth un¬
til about the commencement of the reformation, when Switzer¬
land, being in the mountains near where the church had been
kept for 1260 years, had an opportunity of knowing something
of. the government of the church, and being tired of the tyranny
of i Rome, attempted to set up a republican government, and
they succeeded to some extent, which continues until now. But
Swingle, their leader, was mistaken in supposing that the church
should be established by law, in struggling to accomplish which
he lost his life. The stone from the mountains of Switzerland
, literally or politically, and spiritually from the mountain of the
Lord's house, commenced rolling, and made considerable revolu¬
tion in the G-erman States, and others, but from persecution
drove many to the United Colonies, among whom was Roger
Williams, who would preach republicanism. For that and his
religious opinions he was persecuted by the puritan fathers, (the
pilgrims,) of Massachusetts, and driven from place to place, un¬
til when he was about to be sent back to Europe, he fled "beyond
their limits, and preferred to live among the Indians rather than
give up his religious liberty, and settled at a place he called New
Providence. The stone was quite small at the start.
Mr. Jefferson declares that he obtained his first notions of a
Republic from the government and discipline of a Baptist church,
near by, that he used to visit with his father when quite young;
which resulted in throwing off British tyranny and forming the
purest republic, politically that has ever been formed. And it
may be said to be a kind of theocracy, because it is governed as
near as may be by the laws that God has given for his Kingdom
or church, and then it may truly be said that he reigns overms
politically as we are governed by his laws.
The stone was to strike the feet and toes first which were part
'iron and part clay. And this country being a colony of Eng¬
land at the time it commenced; which was one of the toes, ijt
644
THE STONE BREAKING THE IMAGE,
will go back—has already gone back and exerted sucli influ¬
ence upon England as to make her a representative government,
the crown being merely nominal. So Mexico and South Amer¬
ica were part of Spain. So France had a portion of the United
States once. And Africa, a part of her population being in the
United States, which may—has already in some degree—proved
to be a curse to us, and may be hard 011 some of them, yet it
will nevertheless prove a blessing to benighted Africa, because a
portion of them have gone back with the word of God which
contains the code of government, and carried with them also re¬
publican principles, which has already greatly enlightened a por¬
tion of the nation. This is one of the mysterious providences of
God, yet proves that he reigns over all and will bring about and
accomplish his purpose as foretold by the prophets. As Danitl
said: "And the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof
sure."
Some of these last mentioned are miserable republics, yet the
clay part may be destroyed, but still the iron bruises and is hard
to-break. There has been considerable bruising in France, in Po¬
land, in Hungary and elsewhere, but all preparing the way and
the people for a republican government. The facilities now for
intercommunication are so great, that persons from all countries-
visit the United States, and citizens of the United States visit
all parts of the world, which exerts a powerful influence over
other nations; those more remote feel the influence less, and of
course will be the last brought in,. or that will be destroyed.—'
The railroad and steam navigation! brings us within* close prox¬
imity to other nations, almost bringing down the Atlantic and
the Pacific oceans to mere straits in comparison to what they
once were. The circumstance of the United States inducing
Japan to open some of her ports to trade with other nations, is
gaining a privilege that had not been allowed for three hundred
years. The Chinese, although England and France have been at
war with the Governor at Canton, yet at this time England,
France, Russia, and the United States have each a commissioner
negociating for peace. These are the four angels in thai quarter
• THE STONli BREAKING THE IMAGE. 645
still holding the four winds; they are also treating for greater
privileges in commerce, so as- to have ministers at the capital of
the Empire and resident consuls, all of which is calculated to
bring about a closer intimacy, the fruits of which will be more
liberal principles.
As the stone rolls, destroying first the iron and the clay, and
then the iron, &e., it will have to pass over England, France,
Spain, Belgium, Italy, &c., and not to make republics of them
peaceably and quietly, but by revolution, producing great de¬
vastation and bloodshed, as I have shown several times already.
It will reduce them to powder, carrying them away like the chaff
of the summer threshing floor whose place will be found no mcfre.
The Pope, or the little horn that sprang up among the horns
and is represented as having eyes and mouth, which is the beast,
will be destroyed according to* the calculation (as I have shown
before) in 1866.
In confirmation of my views upon the subject of civilization,
and the advancement of Republican principles, I will give an
extract from a London correspondent of the National Intelligen¬
cer. He says: "There is yet one other most important part of
the world's progress during the last hundred years which requires
to be noted, and that is the advance in; civilization, political and
personal freedom and education. In point of civilization we
would adduce North America, South Africa, Australia, and New
Zeland, as striking instances of advance. For proof that polit¬
ical power and freedom are now enjoyed by mankind in a1 greater
degree and by a greater number than at any former period, we
should in triumph point to the Republic of the United States.—
What a change has been made there since 1757.
As another evidence of the advancement of civilizations, see
the emancipation of the serfs in Russia by the Emperor, which
has heretofore been the most despotic government in the world.
A report made to the Emperor shows the total number of peas¬
ant serfs of the nobility to amount to eleven millions seven hun¬
dred and sixty thousand, and those of the crown to nine millions.
There are, therefore, twenty millions seven hundred and fifty
646
THE STONE BREAKING TH® I IMAGE.
thousand persons to be released from the .fetters of bondage,A,1I
of which is preparing the way to break down the.monarchy, and
preparing the people for free institutions.
My opinion is that France, Spain,Jtaly,.and the smaller States,
will pass through a revolution according to the Scriptures, and
the indication of the.-signs in these countries at this time, is that
Austria and England will have a handiin it, and as it«rolls 011
Russia will destroy /Turkey, or the little horn, as I have shown
in the former proposition and proved from the scriptures. And
as the Russo-Assyrian government is .the.head of gold it will be
the last that is destroyed.
/)r it will be the head of gold at the time of the end, when he
"the King of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind
and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass
over. He shall enter also into, the glorious holy land, and many
countries shall he overthrow. And he shall plant the tabernacles
of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain;
;,yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him." This
shows that he will sweep of Turkey, and many nations, and Egypt
shall not escape him; and the Lybians and Ethiopians shall be
at his steps.
When that takes place he will be to Judah the Northern Assy¬
rian Kingdom which constitutes him the head of gold, and he
continues to.be the Kingdom of men, and in opposition to the
Kingdom of God; and he will at the^ime of the end hold the
most extensive and powerful kingdom that ever was upon earth.
According to a previous calculation, I have shown that he will
be in possession off Turkey and some of these nations by the year
.A. D. 1866. Then the rpiestion is, how long will he continue?
or when will he be destroyed? I have e shown before that it
would be commenced with the return of the Jews, which will
be in A. D. 1873, and will not be fully completed till A. D.
1912. But notwithstanding the greatness of the Kingdom of
Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged the Kingdom of God
to be superior to his, when,he .had cast the three Hebrews into
the fiery furnace; and then had the vision of the tree and its be-
THE STo^E BREAKING THE IMAGE. . 64T
ihg hewn down and its roots left in the ground—he says, in i
Daniel iv. 2: "I thought it good to shew the-signs and wonders ■
that the high G-od hath wrought towards mo."'
3d verse: " How great are his signs; and how mighty; are his-
wonders; his Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and his do¬
minion is from generation to generation."
Before I conclude this article upon the greatness of-the King¬
doms, I must desire the reader to note the distinction the Holy
Ghost makes between the Empires of the world or the Kingdoms
of men, and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. In the former every
thing externally appears great, splendid and magnificent.—
Strength, power, glory, majesty, seem to he their natural atten¬
dants. In them we see-tliose great warriors, those famous con¬
querors, those thunderbolts of war, who spread terror every
where. But then they are represented by wild beasts of the
most ferocious character, such as dragons, lions, leopards, bears
with iron teeth,- &c., whose sole attribute is to tear in pieces, to
devour and to destroy the animal and human species. "What a
dismal picture to represent great conquerors in the Kingdoms of
men. But in the Kingdom of Jesus Chrfst it is quite otherwise,
for in its external appearance it is weak and feeble, represented
by the leaven, the grain of mustard seed, the little stone, its sol¬
diers and warriors as lambs among wolves.
And yet, in reality, there is no true greatness hut in this King¬
dom. The eternal God is the founder, and the King thereof.—
All the thrones of the earth come to pay homage to his, and to
bow themselves he-fore him. Because (as Nebuchadnezzar said
with all his greatness,) " he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings."
And the object of his reign is to do good to men, and not to de¬
stroy, because he is represented by the innocence and meekness of
a lamb.. Can a writer, who sees in the prophcies of Daniel that
the several Empires of the world, after having subsisted during
the time determined for them by the sovereign dispenser of King¬
doms do all terminate and centre in the Empire of Jesns Christ:
can the writer, I say, admit all these prophecies and keep from
turn in0"- his eyes towards the great and divine character, at least
648 TiHE STONE BREAKING THE IMAGE.
at a distance, as the end and consummation of all other King¬
doms, while his shall be an everlasting and universal dominion.
These signs and wonders that the great God hath wrought to¬
wards the Kings of Babylon, were the j image, the tree with its
stump left in the ground, the three Hebrew children cast into
the fiery furnace, all representing the Kingdom of men and the
Kingdom of God into the distant future, as Daniel said " the
great God has shown unto the King what shall be hereafter."—
No wonder that the King was troubled upon his bed when he
could see that there was a greater King than himself, and that
he would destroy all the Kingdoms of men. And that Daniel,
when he looked by prophesy through the long vista of time, and
saw what the great God would do, and what his people would
suffer, no wonder that he should faint and eat no pleasant bread
for three whole weeks until he could know when would be the
end of all this..
One of the great signs was that the furnace was heated seven
times hotter than was wont to be, jhat is, seven times hotter than
was usual, or than was necessary to kill the three Hebrews if
that was all they wanted, but it was significant, and signified the
punishment of seven times that God had threatened the children
of Israel with, and the seven times that was to pass over the Kiug-
dom of men, which I have said makes 2520 years, so that the
Hebrews are still in the fiery furnace, and the three Hebrews com¬
ing out unharmed is the sign of the return of the Hebrews un¬
harmed, and although they will have suffered so much in the
2520 years, yet (as I have shown) they will be as numerous as at
any former time, and as the three were raised to greater dignity
afterwards, so it will be with the Jews after their return. The
King of Israel who is called a Lamb, shall be captain general of
Israel in the destruction of the kingdoms of men. Speaking of
the papal kings of the west, the spirit says: "These shall make
war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he
is Lord of lords, and King of kings." The white horse that
was the conqueror is Judah, and the sword going forth from his
mouth is Ephraim, or the Ten Tribes of Israel with him, is
THE STONE BREAKING THE IMAGE. 649
proved by the following testimonies: Zacheriah x. 3: "For the
Lord of hosts hath visited his flock, the house of Judah, and
hath made them as his goodly horse in battle," 5th verse: "And
they shall be as mighty men which tread down their enemies in
the mire of the streets in the battle; and they shall fight, be¬
cause the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall lie
confounded."
Jeremiah lx. 19—21: "Israel is the rod of his inheritance;
the Lord of host^ is his name. Thou art my battle-axe and
weapons of war; for with thee will I break in pieces the nations,
and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; and with thee will I
break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I
break in pieces the charriot and his rider. And with thee will
I break in pieces captains and rulers." Isaiah xli. 8, 9, 15, 16:
"But thou Israel art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen,
the seed of Abraham my friend. Thou whom I have taken
from the ends of the earth,, and called from the chief men there¬
of; and said unto thee, thou art my servant, I have chosen thee
and not cast thee away. Fear not, thou worm of Jacob, and ye
men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeem¬
er, the Holy One of Israel, Behold, I will make thee a new
sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the
mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as
chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them
away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt re¬
joice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel."
In the above testimony there are several things affirmed that
have never taken plac.j, either literally or spiritually, since they
were written, as they have a two-fold meaning. Judah has never
been since then Jehovah's goodly horse in the battle, fighting
because the Lord was with them and seen over them. Instead
of Israel breaking in pieces the nations, destroying kingdoms,
and reducing the empires to chaff, they have been themselves
the broken and destroyed. What is here tsetified remains to be
accomplished in the simultaneous breaking to pieces of the gold,
^he silver, the biass, the iron, and the clay of the image, and
650
THE STONE BREAKING THE IMAGE.'
reducing them to the likeness of the chafffiof the summer's
threshing floor. In flife war, which!will1 be-thb last on the Bab-
ylonian earth for a thousand years, Israel 'will do valiently.
This testimony also shows the return of Israel, and that God
will tight their battles, or go forth tvith them to certain victory.
As also in Daniel xii. 1: "And at that time shall Michael stand
up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy peo¬
ple; and there ^shall be a time of trouble, such -as there 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." Ezekiel says in the 38th chapter, "And
thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou and
many people with - thee, all of -them riding upon horses, a great
company, and a mighty army. .
And thou shalt come up against my people Israel as a cloud
to cover the land: it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring
thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I
shall be sanctified in thee 0 Grog, before their eyes.
Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say,
thussaith the Lord God. Behold I am against thee, 0 Gog, the
chief prince of Mesheck and Tubal. And I will turn the back,
and leave but a sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come
up from the North parts, and will bring tliee upon the mountains
of Israel. • Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou
and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee. Thou shalt
fall upon the open field; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord
God.'
That is sufficient testimony to prove that Russia will go up
against Israel, and by them be destroyee all but a sixth part of
them, as the Lord will bring them up, and then be against them,
and on the side of Israel, that the heathen may know him; and
they will know him in his power as much as they did when he
delivered the three Hebrew chrild^n from the fiery furnace.
The King of the North and Gog both mean the same, and are
different names for the Russian Empire. When the stone has
destroyed the image it will increase until it. becomes a great
CHRIST'S REIGN TOR A THOUSAND YEARS. 651
mountain and fills the whole earth; a great mountain means
strength. It will be a powerful government as Jesus will be
.King over it, and it will be a republican form of government.—
These scriptures, many of them, have a two fold meaning, and
will apply to the natural and spiritual Kingdoms of the Jews,
•and are represented b.y Ezekiel's wheel within a wheel, which
goes' to show God's providence and grace, or his temporal and
spiritual governments united together. Then the Roman dragon
will be bound for a thousand years, and there will be no more
war. The Russian ruler will be the Roman dragon at that time,
because he will be in possession of the Eastern Empire, and of
Palestine. There is a temporal and a spiritual dragon both; the
temporal one represents the spiritual one—the temporal is called
by the Prophet "Lucifer, thou son of the morning." When
John speaks of binding the spiritual one he calls him the dragon,
the old serpent, which is the devil and satan. When this is the
case, then all things will be subject unto him. I may haye made
a mistake in the calculation so as not to arrive at the correct
time, but I do not think I have; but be that as it may, it will
take place at the time appointed, because the dream is certain
and the interpretation thereof sure.
3d. Christ's reign for a thousand years.
Revelations xx. 1-2: And I saw an angel come down from
heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain
in his hand."
" And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is
the devil and satan, and bound him a thousand years."
He dons not tell us whether he had seen this angel before or not.
He no doubt saw various angels who were engaged in this great
work; but this one must be Christ himself, because he had the
keys of death and of hell. He had power to shut and to open.
Bottomless pit means a place of such capacity or dimensions
that it can never be filled; but he, having the key, can close it
up so as to prevent any escape—that none can enter or escape
without his permission.
And a great chain in his hand. It is called great because of
42
652 CHRIST'S REIGN tfOR A THOUSAND TEAK!?,
the strength of hipi that was to' he bound. All these expressions:
of course are figurative, for he must use figures to convey to.our
mind what is intended. We do not suppose that .Christ will ac¬
tually have a chain, or key, but satan will be as effectually bound
as if a strong man was to bind another with a chain.
And he laid hold on the dragon. That means as if it way
done by force, and shows that he must possess- a superior power,
which is in accordance with what Christ said: "the strong man
armed keepeth his palace, and his goods are in peace, until a
stronger than he come upon him. and bind, &c." This is a mighty
power, though not Almighty, for it is impossible that two Al¬
mighties could exist at the same time—one must be inferior to
the other or else lie could not be bound. Laid hold on the dra¬
gon. Seized him by violence. The word denotes the employ¬
ment of strength or force, and it implies that he had power su¬
perior to the dragon. We can at once see the propriety of the
use of tfiis word in this connexion. The great enemy to be
bound has himself mighty power, and can be overcome only by
a superior or Almighty power. He h8® been permitted for a long
series of years to exercise his power in persecuting and wearing
out the saints, but now he is to be restrained as effectually as if
he was bound with a chain. There can be eo doubt as to the
meaning of the word here; for it is expressly said to mean the
devil and satan. It appears to refer to some manifestation of the
power of satan that would exfet after the beast and false prophet
was destroyed, that is, after the destruction of the Papacy and
Mahometanism. And that power, politically and civilly, is the
Russian Empire or government, because it is the Kingdom o*
men in which idolatry originated, and constituted the dragon.
He will he bound or lose his power by the rolling of the little
stone, (as I have shown before,) so that he cannot make war any
more for a thousand years. Isaiah ii. 4: " And he shall judge
among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they
shall heat their swords into plough shares, and their spears into
pruniag hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nei¬
ther shall they leern war any more." This has never been fill-
CHRIST'S REIGN FOR A THOUSAND YEARS. 653
filled yet, nor does it mean the spiritual Kingdom, because it
says that they shall beat their swords into plough shares, which
shows that they will have no more need for swords, but they will
tor the plow. And that nation shall not lift up sword against
"nation any more. This shows that it will be national, because
the church never has lifted up the sword against any nation.
I said, when writing nearly a year past upon the subject of
the destruction of Turkey by Russia, that perhaps it might com¬
mence by an insurrection, or revolution by the Greek Christians,
under the government of the Sultan, which in themselves are
nearly, if not quite, able to overturn the Turkish Government
in Europe. In confirmation of what 1 fhen wrote, [though
there was no indication at that time.] I will give a short extract
from a Paris writer. He says:
" Apprehended Rising of the Christians tn 'Turkey.—
There are most alarming reports current in Paris as to a general
.rising of the Christian population, not merely on the frontier of
Albania, but throughout Servia, Rosnia, Thesaly, Macedonia,
Roumelia—in fact, throughout all European Turkey. Whether
Russia is trying a desperate stroke, or whether it be a spontane¬
ous impulse of long compressed impatience o,f Ottoman rule,
time alone will tell: but the Greek soldiers are deserting in mass
over the frontier, to form guerilla troops within the Turkish ter¬
ritory, and this summer will be remarkable by an outbreak of
unprecedented importance, of which the Montenegro victory
gives the signal."
If what this correspondent says-should take place this summer
:and be successful, it will be a few years too soon for my calcula¬
tion, though it may commence now and continue sup to the time.
That old serpent, which is the devil and satan. Thus the one
oreat enemy sometimes has appeared in a form that would be
best represented by a fierce and fiery dragon; at another in a
form that would be best represented by a cunning and subtle
serpent Now in a form to which the word devil or accuser
would be most appropriate; and now in a form in which the
word satan, an adversary, would be most expressive of what he
g54. christ's reign for a thousand tears.
does. Ia these various forms,!an&.under these TariousMBames, ho.,
has ruled the , fallen .world; and when this one great enemy shal
he seized and imprisoned, all these, forms of, evil will of course
come to an end.
As I have, shown that the Russian., power will he hound for a
thousand years as .the . literal dragon, so the.spiritual dragon or
devil will be boynd, go that he cannot prompt the nations to war
any moie,; nor accuse the, children of God, ..or have any false
churches, or ministers to lead them astray. He .will.not onlylhe
hound, but will he shut up in the bottomless pit, and a seal or
mark put upon him so that he shall.not deceive .the nations any
more until the thousand years shall be fulfilled. This consti¬
tutes the Millenium that, has been so- much talked of, for a thou¬
sand years signifies Millenium, and this is the only place in the
Scriptures where it is mentioned. There is great difference of
opinion among commentators as to the length of time that it is
to last. Mr. , Barnes, and others think that each day should
stand for a year, * which would make three hundred and sixty
thousand years. I differ with them in opinion. I believe that
it means just a thousand years,, .fpr the reason that when a day is
to be reckoned for a year in prophecy, the terms are used, an
hour, a day, a month, or months, time and..times, so that a year
is never intended to be reckoned a day for a year only when con¬
nected with the above phrases or terms.
But the Millenium will not be what is generally supposed—
that is,that all will be christians, great and small—-but it will be a
peaceable reign of Christ, satan having been bound and Anti¬
christ destroyed, the truth will prevail. The devil, who is a liar
and deceiver, will have lost his influence.
It may nct.be amiss to remark here that the. doctrine, of the
miiUenium. has been believed in some sense ever since the Apos¬
tles, ,, Indeed, during their time an opinion was gotten up that
the end of the. world was close at hand, because Christ and the
Apostles had predicted it. Peter had said:, " But the end of all
things is at hand." , St^Pa.ul, in 2d. Thessalonians, to comfort
them says: "That.ye .be not, soon shaken in mind, or be troubled,.
CHRIST'S REIGN FOR A THOUSAND WEARS. 655
neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by .letter as from -us, as that
the day of Christ is at hand, &c."
; Soon after, that is during the time of'Justiri-Martyr and Iren-
■JCUS, who had conversed with the disciples'of thd Apostles, it Was
"thought it would take place before the'-end of'that generation,
because they blended together, (as many do now,) the prediction
of Christ of the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of* the
world. Though this was a mistaken notion, yet it had the-effect
to make professors live uprightly, as they were hourly expecting
the coming of Christ.
Mr. Gibbon says, .vol. i. p! 412: " By the same analogy it was
inferred, that the long period of labor and contention, whith was
now almost elapsed/would be succeeded'.'by .a joyful Sabbath of a
thousand years; and that Christ, with the triumphant band of
saints and the elect who had escaped death, or who had been mi¬
raculously revived, would reign upon earth till'the time appoint¬
ed for the last and general resurrection. 1 So pleasing was this
hope to the minds off believers, that the' New Jerusalem, the
seat of this blissful Kingdom, was quickly adorned with all the
gayest colors of the imagination."
iC A city was therefore erected of gold and precious stones, and
supernatural plenty of corn and wine was bestowed 011 the adja¬
cent territory; in the free enjoyment of-whose .spontaneous pro¬
ductions, the happy and benevolent people- were never to be re¬
strained by rny jealous laws of exclusive property. The assu¬
rance of such a millenium- was carefully inculcated by a succes¬
sion of fathers."
br; Thomas -also believes that it will be ' a temporal or literal
government' fore ai-thousand years; that Christ and his Apostles
will come in person, and the! saints (many of them) will be raised
from the dead, and that he'will reign over them in person at Je-
rusalem, all of which I cannot believe, although there are several
texts that seem to favor 'that belief. I believe that it will be
both' national and spiritual, but not in person or in a visible ap¬
pearance; because St. 'Paul said 2d Cor. v. 16:' "Wherefore,
henceforth know we no man after the flesh; yea, though wd> have
656 Christ'S REIGN FOR A thousand ®PIA$6».V
known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth < know, we him i
no more."
Isaiah xxxii. 1-2: "Behold a King shall reign'in righteous¬
ness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And ia man shall he as
an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as
rivers of waters in a dry place; as the "shadow-of a great rock in
aweary land. And the eyes of themdbat see shall not be dim:
and the ears of them that hear shall.harken."
This shows that Christ will reign as. King, and that the Apos¬
tles will rule as princes. That is; by the authority of their word,..
Christ will reign by his laws as King over the nations, and espe¬
cially over the returned Jews;, and over his church or spiritual
kingdom, both Jews and Gentiles, by his spirit; and as the ad¬
versary will be chained and a seal, put upon him, Or shut up in
the bottomless pit and a seal put upon the door by the King so
that none shall loose him, or break the seal, that he shall not go
forth to deceive the nations for a thousand years, so that Christ's
reign will be a reign of, truth,'of righteousness, of peace, of love,
and of great prosperity, both in the temporal and spiritual gov¬
ernment, is abundantly, proven by the scriptures. And the
twelve Apostles will rule in judgment, they will set as it were on.
twelve thrones "judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
The faith, doctrine, ordinances and practice in church govern¬
ment and discipline, will all be judged and tried by their word,
and condemned if in error, or approved if correct, just as if they
were personally present. Then the church will have returned to
primitive order, and nothing will be received into the church but
what Christ and the Apostles have commanded.
Because then the light will be clear, and the truth appear very
conspicuous as in Zecheriah xiv. 6-7: "And it shall .come tepass.,
in that ddy, that the light shall not be clear nor dark."
" But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord,
not day, nor night; but it shall come to pass, that at even time it
shall be light."
There has been great disputing among commentators, and even
among our brethren upon this subject; they do. not disagree, ash)
cheist's heigh. for a* thousand years. $57
Ihe day' meaning the gospel daf, but the time that the "light
shall atot be elk ir, nor dark." I^hey have tried to place it in the
twilight (as they call it)—a space between law and gospel, with
the preaching of John, which would make it in the dawn of the
morning instead of during tlie day.
I will now give my opinion, which is different from any thing
that I have ever seen or heard, and if it is not reasonable, or
more rational than those already given, you ought to believe
them in preference to me. And my opinion is that the gospel
■day is neither light nor dark up to this time. It is not dark as
the Jewish or prophetic dispensation, nor is it entirely clear.
But it skull come to pa?$, that at evening time it shall be light.
hi early two thousand years have passed of the gospel day, and
Antichrist has so obscured or perverted the truth, that it has not
been light or clear only to the wise,' yet not the wisdom of the
world; but the thousand years reign of Christ will be light,
which will clearly make it eventide, or one-third of the day.—
And the prophet goes on to say in the 8th verse: "And it shall
be.in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem;
half of them towards the former sea, and half of them towards
the hinder sea; in summer and winter shall it he.
9 th verse: "And the Lord shall he King over all the earth;
in that day shall there he one Lord, and his name one."
This proves that he will reign over all the world as universal
Enm as I have said before, and there shall be one Lord, which
©7 7
signifies ruler or governor, and he shall rule over the world and
over his church without allowing the literal or spiritual dragon
cither to interfere as they have done heretofore. The Prophet
continues in the 10th verse:
" All the land shall be turned1 as a plain, from G-eba to Bim-
uion, South'of Jerusalem; and it"-shall be lifted up, and inhab¬
ited in he? place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the
first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananecl
unto the King's wine press."
11th verse: " And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no
more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited."
658 cheist's reign for a thousand years.
12th verse: "And this shall be the plagiie wherewith the
Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusa¬
lem ; their flesh shall consume away while they itand upon their
feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their
tongues shall consume awayjn their month."
These texts have never been fulfilled yet, and they also prove
the return of the Jews, so that literally and spiritually, Jerusa¬
lem shall be inhabited and never destroyed.
Micah.iv: " But in the last days it shall come to pass, that
the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the
top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills;
and people shall flow unto it."
" And many nations shall come and say, come, and let us go
up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of
Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we shall walk in
his paths; for the law shall go forth out of Zion, and the word of
the Lord from Jerusalem." "And he shall judge among maw
people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat
their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift, up a sword against nation, neither shall they
learn war any more."
" But they shall sit, every man under his vine and under his
fig tree; and none shall make them afraid; £r the mouth of the
Lord of hosts hath spoken it."
" In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her tbat halteth,
and I will gather her that is driven out, and that I have af¬
flicted."
" And I'will make her that halted a . remnant, and her that
was cast far off a strong nation; and the Lord shall reign over
them in Mount Zion srom henceforth, even forever."
This long quotation from Micah is similar to the one that I
made from Isaiah, second chapter, and shows a two fold mean¬
ing, for it is national and spiritual—proves the return of the Jews
temporally and spiritually, the mild and peaceable reign over
many nations forever, and that they shall learn war no more, all
of which is still in the future, and will constitute- the thousand
-CHRIST'S REIGN FOR A THOUSAND YEARS. 6$9
■years> reign. . .Although it may commence to some extent in A.
D.A366, yet it will not be fully realized, nationally, until the
destruction of Russia, the dragon power, which I have said in a
forpaer chapter 'would be in A. D. 1912, when the Jews will be
fully established in their own land.
Isaiah lii. 8-9: " Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with
the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye,
when the Lord shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy,
sing .together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath
comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem."
Surely the watchmen [the preachers] do not see eye to eye
/■now, but they will when he brings again Zion.
Isaiah xxx. 20-21: "And though the Lord give you the bread
, of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teach¬
ers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see
thy teachers."
" And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, this is
' the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when
ye turn to the left."
Jeremiah xxxiii. 16: "In those days shall Judah be saved,
and "Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is the name where¬
with she shall bt called, the Lord our righteousness."-
Jeremiah xxxi. 6 to 12: "For there sb$ll be a day, that the
watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry. Arise ye, and let
us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God."
"For thus saith the Lord, sing of gladness for Jacob, and
shout anions the chief of the nations; publish-ye, praise ye, and
say, 0 Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel."
"Behold, I will bring them from the North country, and gath¬
er them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind
and the lame. They shall come with weeping, and with suppli¬
cations will I lead them.
"I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a
straight way, wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a father
to Israel, and Ephraim is my first born."
Hear ye the word of the, Lord, 0 ye najtipns, and declare it
660 Christ's reiun for a. thousand years.
in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattereth Israel will gather
him and keep him as a shepherd doth liis flock."
"For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him. from
the hand of him that was stronger than he."
" Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion;
and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord."
Zeeheriah viii. 20 to 23: "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: It
shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people and the in¬
habitants of many cities; and the inhabitants of one city shall
go to another, saying, let us go speedily to pray before the Lord,
and to seek the Lord of hosts; I will go also. Yea, many people
and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jem-"
salem, and to pray before the Lord."
It will be seen by the foregoing quotations that every thing is
tending to a peaceable and quiet reign amongst all nations, and
that it will be more peaceable and prosperous than it has been
heretofore, which proves it to be still in the future. I will give
one other quotation from the Old Testament which may suffice
for the present:
Isaiah xxxv. 1 to 6: "The wilderness and the solitary p>laces
shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom
as the rose."
" It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and
singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excel¬
lence of Carrnel and Sharon; they shall see' the glory of the
Lord: and the excellence of our God."
" Strengthen ye the weak hands, and ctinhrm the feeble
knees."
" Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not;
behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a re-
compence; he will come and save you."
" Then the eyes of the blind shall bcjopened, and the ears of •
the deaf shall be unstopped."
" Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of
the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and
streams in the desert. And the parched ground, shall become a
CHRIST'S- REI&N FOE" A" THOUSAX5) YEARS. 661
pool, and tlie thirsty lhnd springs of water; in the habitation of
dragons, where each» Iky, shall he grass, with reeds and rushes."
This text from'Isaiah' has been claimed and quoted by the
Missionaries as having been fulfilled by their missionary opera¬
tions; but there is no instance of the wilderness and solitary pla¬
ces being made glad by them, because all the different denomi¬
nations send out missionaries, and one teaches one thing and an¬
other something else, and how are the heathen to know which to
believe. It is only calculated to perplex them. But then it
will be said that the word of God is distributed amongst them,
which is true; but then the Methodist and Presbyterian mission¬
aries will tell them that it (the word of God) teaches that to
sprinkle or pour infants is baptism, and to sprinkle, pour or im¬
merse adults is also baptism. The Missionary Baptists tell
them that it teaches that nothing but immersion is baptism,
while the Eeformers tell them that without immersion there is
110 such thing as salvation, and all that it requires is to believe the
record that God has given of his Son and be immersed.
The Catholics tell them that it gives to the Pope the keys,
and that he changed thdPordinance from immersion to sprinkling
and pouring-—that they are the only true church, and that the
Pope and confessors alone have power to absolve from sin, and
even pray the soul out of purgatory after death if the required
sum is paid to say a sufficient number of masses.
The Mahometans tell 1hem that the Alee ran'is- the only au¬
thority to be believed, and that it was a revelation from God to
his prophet Mahomet, and to fight for him and his cause is to gain
paradise. And the Mormons tell them that the Mormon testa¬
ment is a revelation from God, and that Jo Smith was his prophet
and that it teaches and allows a community of wives, and that
all things are common, and that they have a right to it no mat¬
ter to whom fit belongs.
How are the poor benighted heathen to know-who to believe,
with all these contradictions, to say nothing of the contradiction
or difference of opinion in other doctrines and the contradictions of
other, denominations. For instance: the church of England, the
662
CHRISr'S REIGN FOR A THOUSAND" TEARS.
Lutheran, the Greek, the Chinese faith and the Universal inns,
with other minor denominations; for iallbtkese have missionaries
in the field.
But when Antichrist and the false,:prdphef sliall havG been de¬
stroyed and satan. bound for a thousahd years, men will noUbe sent
forth by missionary boards and societies!, ;but God will send the
pure gosjjel by men .of. his own 'choice, and; then there will be
"One body and one "spirit, events ye -are- .dalled in one hope of
your calling;Une.Lord, one faith,, one-baptism, one God and
Father <of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."
Truly then, the-ioilderness aiid the Solitary places shall be made
gladfot them. And the parched grow/id shall become a pool, and
the thirsty land springs of -water. The church shall revive as if
the parched ground of Palestine was to burst forth in fountains
of water and then blossom like the rose. In the habitation of
dragons, where each layj shall be grass, roith reeds and rushes."
Even the habitation of the great red dragon, which has been
desolate, or unproductive so long, shall vegetate as grass, with
reeds and rushes. Every thing spiritual will look fresh and lively
as if veg-tation. was to put forth suddenly in a parched and
„ dreary land. Great numbers will be added to the church, and
the. heretofore parched and dreary wilderness of superstition and
i idolatry, • . will be watered as with the dews of God's spirit and
grace, until it shall blossom and look as fresh as the rose, and
cause joy and singing; and then the saints will corne as Jude
has said in the 14th and 15th verses: " And Enoch also, the se¬
venth from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord
cometh with ten thousand of his saints."
" To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are
ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have
ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly
sinners have spoken against him."
The Lord will come in the truth of his word, with such power
that it will bring ten thousand of his saints into the church as
obedient subjects to their King, and they will execute judgment
upon all; that is, condemn all heresiesv&nd false; systeips, and so
CHRIST'S REIGN TOR A THOUSAND YEARS. 663
plp.in and conspicuous will be the truth that it will convince all
that are ungodly among them of their ungodly deeds, and hard
speeches that they have made against him, his people, his.church
and agaihst his truth.
So then they will be collected whether they be Jews^or G6n-
tiles, bond or free, male .or female, into one spiritual bo'dy or
church, as St. Paul says, in Romans ii. 28-29: " For lie is not a
Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which
is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew which is one .inwardly:
and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the
letter; whose praise is not of men but of God."
Romans ix. 7: "Neither, because they are the seed of Abra¬
ham, are they all children; but in Isaac shall thy seed be called.'
Gallatians iii. 28-59: " There is neither Jew nor Greek, there
is neither bond nor free,, there.is neither male nor female; for ye
are all one in Christ Jesus."-..' "And if ye be Christ's, then are
ye Abraham's seed, and heirs acoording to the promise."
' The Jews will then embrace the Gospel, and will be united
with the Gentiles in one spiritual body, great numbers embra¬
cing the Gospel of the Son of God and yielding obedience to the
osder of his bouse.
Revelations xx. 3: " An? I -saw thrones, and they that sat
upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and.I saw the
souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus,.and
for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the ■ beast,
neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their fore-
heeds, or In their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ
a thousnnd years."
And.I saiv thrones, and they that sat upon them, 'and judgment
was given unto them. There thrones cannot meen the throne of
God, because they are in the plural, and yet he.does not tell us
who .occupied these thrones, so we are left to infer from other
scripture. He speaks of them as if he had related it before,, and
I presume it is similar to what he said in the- 4th chapter and
4th verse: " And tcund "about the throne were four and-.twenty
seats; and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting
d)t)4 CHRIST'S REIGN FOR A iTHQUSAND TEARS.
.clothed with white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns
of gold."
In 1st Corrinthians, vi. 2, Paiil asks the question: •" Do ye not
know that the saints shall judge the world?" It seems from tin-
language here that the saints are to judge the world as well as
the elders. In the.3d .verse: " Know ye not that we shall judge
angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?"
Chapter ii. 15: " But he that is spiritual jedgetk all things,
yet he himself is judged of no man."
The meaning is that the saints will judge and decide who an-
the true worshipers of God—judge and decide which is the trie
church, the true doctrine according to his word, the order and
ordinances of the Lord's house, and also the government and dis-
ripline.
As in the quotation that I have made from Jude: "Behold
the* Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute
jungment upon all, &c." Them to he judged he describes in tin
1Gtli verse: " These are murmurers, eompiainers, walking after
their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words,
.having men's person in admiration because of advantage."
18th verse: " How that they," (tlie Apostles,) " told you
there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after
their own ungodly lusts."
19th verse.: " These be they who separate themselves, sensual,
having not the spirit."
The saints will judge all such—will judge angels, (ministers,)
such as speak great swelling words, having men's person in admi¬
ration because of advantage.
And I saw the souls of them that were behedded for the witness
of Jesus, and for the word of God. This is a very important ex¬
pression in regard to the meaning of the whole passage. John
says he saw the souls of the martyrs, not the bodies; this would
exclude the notion of a literal resurrection, and consequently
overturn many of the theories of a literal resurrection, and of a
literal reign of the saints with Christ during the thousand years.
The doctrine of the last resurrection, as every where statekl i*
CHRIST'S REIGN FOR A THOUSAND YEARS. gff
tKe scripturgs, is, that tile body will be raised up/atod nbtunerely
that the soul will live. The doctrine which has been held, and
is now held by those who maintain that there will be ^ literal
lesunection of the saints to reign with Christ during a thousand
}eais, can receive no support from this passage, for there is no
ambiguity respecting the wo;d souls as used here. By no possi¬
ble construction can it- mean the bodies of the saints.
John does not call it a resurrection, but merely says: "And I
saw the souls, &c." The meaning then is that the truths of the
gospel which they held and contended for, and for which they
suffered martyrdom, will be revived as if they were raised from
the dead. Their nanes would be vindicated; their principles
would be revived; they would be exalted in public estimation
above other men. Similar to the two witnesses that prophesied
in sack cloth for a thousand two hundred and three score days,,
until thc-y were slain for the testimony of Jesus, and after three
days and a half a spirit of life from God entered into them. It
does not signify the literal raising of dead men, but the raising
up of an increased Christian zeal for truth and holiness of life:
the revival of Apostolical principles in the church of Christ, of
the spirit and energy of the noble martyrs of old, (even as John
the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elias,) so that
Christian principles shall he displayed in action throughout the
world in an infinitely greater degree than ever before. As Anti¬
christ has been permitted to reign for his forty and two months,
and thereby greatly obscured the truth, hut when he shall be
bound, Christ and his saints shall reign..
As in Bevelations xi. 15, 16 and 17: " And the seventh angel
sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, paying, The
Kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord
and of his Christ; and be shall reign forever and ever.''
" And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their
seats fell upon their faces, and worshiped God."
" Saying, give thee thanks, 0 Lord G$1 Almighty, whieh art,
and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy
great power, and hast reigned/*
6GG SATAN LOOSED FuR A -SEASON.
He will assume that power that belongs- to him and reign over
the Kingdoms of this world for a thoWsttiifl years; and will raise
the truths of the Gospel which wefe contended tor by those of
his saints and martyrs who had netnY received the mark of the
beast; to be as powerful and convincing as if they were actually
reigning in his Kingdom with him. ',-
This is the first resurrection, the resurrection of the true
church, or the revival of the 'true church- 'in the spirit of life in
the gospel, distinguishing her from alb'others. " Blessed and
holy is be that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the
sreond death hath no power." Hath the'spirit of truth, of life
from God, upon such the'second death hath no power.
4th. Satan loosed for a little season,-
Revelations xx. 6: "And when the- thousand years are ex¬
pired, satah shall be loosed-out of his prison."
When the thousand years of Christ't reign shall have an end,
satan will-be released from his confinement for a short time. As
it is said in the 3d verse: " That he should deceive the nations m>
more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that
hemnst be loosed a little season."
8th verse: " And shall go out to deceive the nations which are
in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them
to battle; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea."
Satan will, when released, go out to deceive the nations for a
little-season; that is the heathen nations, which are in the four
quarters of the earth, called Gog and Magog.
I hate shown before that Russia was Magog, The name Gog
occurs-as the name of a Brince, in Ezekiel xxxviii. 2, 3, 1G, 18;
xxxix. 1-2: "He is an invader of the land of Israel, the chief
Prince of Mesheck and Tubal." Gog then is a Prince, the Em¬
peror of all the Russians, ruling over a people called Magog. It
is commonly supposed that they were Scythians, residing between
the Caspian and Euxine seas, or in the regions of Mount Cauca¬
sus. Josephus renders the word Magog in Ezekiel "Scythians."
Among the Hebrews the name Magog, also would seem to denote
all the unknown barbarous tribes about the Caucassian moun-
SATAN LOOSED FOR A SEASON.
667
tains. The meaning then is this: Ezekiel refers to the time, of
the great battle by Gog (Russia) at, or just before the com¬
mencement-of the thousand year's reign «f Christ; and as he is
the last.power subdued before the reign of. peace, John then re¬
fers to the same power after Satan's release, that he will gather,
to battle at the close of the thousand years against Christ's king¬
dom. He is called by Daniel "the King of the North," and also
the Kingdom of men. Bochart, about the year .1640, observed,
in his elaborate researches into sacred geography, that Bos or
Bosh, is the most ancient form under which history makes men¬
tion of the-name Russia; and he .contended that Bosh.and.
Meshkeh properly denote the nations of Moscovy and Russia.—
They derived their name from Ros, a valliant man, who delivered ^
his nation from the yoke of its tyrants. Thus then we discern,
the modern names of Russia and Moscow in the Bible, names,,
adduced.
It is not difficult also to recognize in Thuvahl, or Tu-bl; or as
the Greeks wrote it, Thobel, a name which naturally connects,
itself with them, and which, in conjunction with them, tends,
in a very remarkable manner, to determine and fix the proper'
location, or object of the prediction. The river Tobol gives name
to the city of Tobolium, or Tobolski, the metropolis of the ex¬
tensive region of Siberia, lying Eastward of the Territories of
Muscovy."
So then, when satan is released he will go to the four quarters
q{. the Earth, to Russia proper, to Muscovy, to Seythia and to the-
far of quarter of Siberia. Those warlike people,- enemies to the
Kingdom of Christ, although their sword had been beaten into
plowshares, and satan not having the liberty to prompt them to
war, they have remained restrained for a thousand years; but
now he stirs them up to battle, or gathers them to battle, tbey
having greatly increased iu numbers; andhuraaft nature being
always the same in all ages; only his nntiehristian principles
having been destroyed for this long period, he dow being released
revives his anti-christian principles again, and the .battle will be1
religiously against the truth, and literally against Christ's King-^
43
668
SATAN LOOSED FOR A SEASON.
dom, all of which goes to show that all men will not be Chris¬
tians as is supposed by many; " but the number of whom is a*
ike sand of the sea."
9th verse: " And they went up on the breadth of the earth,
and compassed the camp of tire saints about, and the beloved
city: and fire came down from God out of Heayen, and destroyed
them."
Just as if ,&n invading army was to spread all over the coun¬
try. The reference here is to the multitude of Gog and Magog
that have been increasing for a thousand years, and haying the
same enmity pr human depravity, and now being gathered to¬
gether by his satanic majesty in such formidable hosts as to com-
pass the camp of the saints about t and the beloved city; at the
same time, when their opposition and sip shall have come to the
full,.then God will destroy them as completely and fully as if fire
was to come from God out of heaven. It is not really necessary
that it should be fire, but as fire is a devoijring element, they will
be as effectually destroyed as was Sodom and Gomarrah. And it
will be as unexpected to them aa it was to those devoted cities;
for they will be as in the days of Noah. They were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until Noah entered
into the Ark. £o shall it be at the coming of the Son of man."
I have promised some time back to give my reasons here, why
I think the world will stand seven thousand years; and as it is
jb^rely my opinion, I will briefly give some of the reasons why I
hnve formed that opinion.
First. The number seven being so frequently used in the Old
and New Testament, has become a very significant number. In
the Revelations are the seven stars, the seven candlesticks, the
seven churches and the seven angels of the churches, the seven
spirits of God, the seven seals, the seven trumpets, the seven
vials and the seven angels with each the trumpets and the vials.
And second. God was six days creating all things, and reBted
on the seventh, which rest represents the thousand years peacea¬
ble reign; and then the seventh, or Sabatic year, represents the
•ame. And then God says that with him one day is as a thou-
THE END OF ALE CREATED THINGS. 669
sand years and a thousand years as one day; so make a day for a
thousand years, and we have seven thousand years.
And then to strengthen the opinion, the thousand years reign
of Christ, according to our calculation, will commence in 1866,
and at the end of the thousand years (during which time he will
he bound) satan must be loosed a little season. It will be a little
season, or short space, compared with the thousand years. Then
Bay 4004 years to the coming of Christ, and then 1866 to the
^commencement of the 1000 years; add that to it and we have
(6870., leaving a balance of 130 years as the little space, at the
clcse of which they will be destroyed by fire. But then the ob¬
jector will say that the day, nor the hour is not to be known,
which is true, but it does not argue any thing against the calcu¬
lation that I have made, for he will come suddenly as a thief in
the night, the day nor the hour will not be known. And then
satan will also be cast into the lake of fire, as in the 10th verse:
" And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of firv
and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and
shall be tormented day and night forever and ever."
From that language it will be seen that at the commencement
of the thousand years the beast and the false prophet will be cast
into the lake., and satan will be bound a thousand years, and then
loosed for a little season, at the end of which time, (which als#
will be the end of the world) the devil will be cast in with them.
5th. The end of all things that are created.
Revelations xx. 11: "And I saw a great white throne, and
him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens
fled away; and there was found no more place for them.''
I will give texts at the close of each of the seven periods t©
show that the view which I hare taken is the correct one. Al¬
though all other expositors that I have overseen or heard, begin
with the seven churches as applying to themselves and to no oth¬
ers and then the seven seals in succession, and the trumpets,,
and so on, through which would make twenty-one different pe¬
riods as that division cannot be reconciled, because he speaks of
the end of the world at the close of each of these wonders, and
670
THfe END OF ALL CREATED THINGS.
the world will not bo des royed so often. So then divide it into
seven principal periods as I have done, and it is easy to reconcile
the scripture language, for one church, one seal, one trumpet,
and one vial all to correspond to the same period of time, and
then we will have seven principal periods, although he uses dif¬
ferent language, when speaking, for instance, of the first church,
the first seal, the first trumpet, and the first vial; because a por¬
tion of the language has reference to the church ©f Christ, a part
to the Kingdoms of the world, and another part to the reign of
the dragon, and so on through.
I will now give a quotation from each of the periods, commen¬
cing with the close of the seven churches.
Revelations iv. 2: " And immediately I was in the spirit; and,
behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat qn the throne."
3d verse: " And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and
a sardine stone; and there was a rainbow round about the throne
in sight like unto an emerald."
4th verse: " And round about the throne were four and twenty
seats; and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting,
clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of
gold"
This shows that the judgment was set, and by reading the con¬
nection, it will be seen what glory the angels and elders ascribe
to the judge.
After the opening of the seals, and the angel had sealed the
hundred and forty and four thousand, he says: " After this I
beheld, and lo, a great multitude which no man could number."
Revelations vii. 6: '• They shall hunger no inore, neither thirst
any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat."
17th verse; "For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne
shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of wa¬
ters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their <ycs."
And after the sounding of the trumpets, " And a mighty ah-
$el-came down and had in his hand a little book open; and he set
his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth."-—
And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, he sayi
THE END OF ALL CREATED THINGS. 671
ill the 10th chapter and 5th verse: "And the angel which I
saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to
heaven."
6th verse: "And swore by him that liveth forever and ever,
who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the
earth and the things that therein are, and the sea and the things
which are therein, that there should be time no longer."
Again, after the appearance of the wonder of the woman in
heaven, the dragon is cast out; the beast with seven heads and
ten horns; and the beast with two horns appears; the Lamb
stands upon Mount Zion, and Babylon is destroyed, or has fallen.
He then closes up time in the 14th chapter and I4th verse: "And
I looked, and beheld a white cloud, and upon the cloud oi e sat
like unto the son of man, having on his head a golden crown,
and in his hand a sharp sickle."
15th verse: " And another angel came out of the temple, cry¬
ing with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, thrust in thy
sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap; for the
harvest of the earth is ripe."
16th verse: " And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle
on the earth; and the earth was reaped."
Then again, after pouring out the seven vials of the wrath of
God Almighty, and the destruction of mystery Babylon the great,
the great battle was fought, and the fowls called to eat the flesh
of the slain; and a mighty angel came down from heaven and
bound satan for a thousand years, at the end of which he is
loosed for a little season. Then in the 20th chapter and 11th
verse he says: u And 1 saw a great white throne, and him that
sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away; and
there was found no place for them."
12th verse: " And I saw the dead, small and great, stand be¬
fore God: and the books were opened; and another book was
opened, which was the book of life: and the dead were jndged
out of those things which were written in the books, according
to their works."
13th verse: a And the sea gave up the dead which were in it;
67*2 THE END OV ALL CREATED THINGS.
death and hell delivered up the dead which were in tlicm; and
they were judged every man according to their works."
14th verse: " And death and hell were cast into the lake of
lire. This is the second death."
15th verse: "And whosoever was not found written in the
book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
It will be seen by reference to the 14th'chapter, that there he
proclaims the destruction of Babylon, after the sounding of the
trumpets, as he does here in the 18th after pouring the vials; and
then in each case speaks of the destruction- of all things tempo-1
ral, using the same language, witlii but little variation, but the
same in substance.
In the 14th chapter and 14th» verse, he says:: " And I lookedj
and beheld a white cloud, and-upon* the cibud one sat like unto
the son of man, &.c." And then in the 20th. chapter and IIth
verse: " And I saw aigreat white throne, and him that sat on it
&c." Showing that they both have reference to the same thing
and the same period^ of time;:, for Babylon' will not be twice de¬
stroyed, neither will the world be. .
As Christ has said in Matthew xxix. After speaking of the*
destruction of Jerusalem, and the awful calamities that they
would suffer, he says, in the 29thi verse:: " Immediately after the
tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened; and the moon
shall not give her light, and the stars shall lall from heaveiij and)
the powers of the heavens shidl be shaken."
This has generally been connected with the end of the world,,
and then it would seem as if the end of the world would take-
place soon after the destruction of Jerusalem; but it ought to-
be recollected that in the 3d verse the disciples ask three distinct
questions: " Tell us, when shall these things be?" That is,
when shall the destruction of Jerusalem take place? for that is
what he had been telling the Scribes and Pharisees in the prece¬
ding chapter would come upon that generation. The next ques-
tien is: " And what shall he the sign of thy coming?" and the
last question is, " and of the end of the world?"
To understand it correctly would be this. Immediately after
THE END OP1 ALL CREATED THINGS. 673
the irihiilation of these dap. After the destruction of Jerusa¬
lem, the sun (church) shall he darkened. Just in accordance
with what John has said in the Revelations, and what has actu¬
ally taken place during the 1260 years of the sack cloth prophecy
of the two witnesses. A fid the moon shall not give her light.—
The Jewish State will be entirely destroyed, which is represented
by the moon. And the stars shall fall from heaven. The Jew¬
ish Priests and ministers, the officers of the law, fell, as I have
shown in the commencement of this work. Then in the 30th
rerse: " And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in
heaveh; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and
they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory."
This will be the sign of his comings (for that is the question
asked.) At the close of the sack cloth prophecy, he will come in
his'power, (not in person,) and destroy the Antichristian powers,
will take to himself his great power and reign, and all the tribes
ef the earth will mourn at the destruction,of Babylon; but he
will appear %oith power and great glory. This power will not
only be seen in the destruction and downfall of the enemy, but in
the resurrection of the witnesses and the revival of the truth
with the true church.
31st verse: " And he shall send 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."
And he shall send his angels. Send his ministers* With a
great sound of a trumpet. Sound of the pure unadulterated
gospel. 0 how they will sound it every where for a thousand
years, and the elect will be collected from the ends of the earth.
When the last of his elect are gathered in, then shall the end
eome. As in the 32d verse: "Now learn a parable of .the fig
tree; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye
know that summer is nigh."
33d verse:: " So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things,
know that it is near, even'at your doors."
674 THE END or AH CREATED THINGS.
34th verse: "Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not
pas?, till all these things be fulfilled."
How beautiful the language of Jesus appears, and without
even a seeming contradiction, when it is thus understood. That
the then generation, (as he told the Jews,) would not pass until
Jerusalem'would be destroyed, which actually came to pass.
That immediately after that the sun would be darkened, and
the moon would cease to give her light, which has taken place,
and we are almost at the end (1260 years) the darkness of the
sun, (of the church.) And then, after the reign of a thousand
years, which time it will takfe to collect all the elect from the
four quarters of the earth, when the last one is brought in, then
know that the end is near, even at your doors. That the genera¬
tion at that time shall not pass till all these things shall be ful¬
filled.
Just in accordance with what I have said; that % that the
world would stand seven thousand years.
Without any ills or ands, or any contingencies wnatever^ he says
in the 35th verse: " Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my
words shall not pass away."
In the 13th chapter of Mark he uses precisely the same lan¬
guage that he has here in reference to the end of the world.
Also in the 21st chapter of Luke it is the same in substance,
2d Peter, 3d chapter, 6th to 14th verse: " Whereby the world
that then was, being overflowed with water, perished."
" But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the Same
word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judg¬
ment and perdition of ungodly men."
"But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day
is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one
day." .
Here Pe;er is speaking of the crca ion of the world, and con¬
nects it with the detraction, and counts one day in the creation
for a thousand years, which proves the position that I have taken.
He goes on to say: " But the day of the Lord will come as a
THB END 0# AlL CREATED THINGS. • tl&
thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away
with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent
heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall he
burned up."
" Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what
manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and
godliness."
" Looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of
God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and
the elements shall melt with fervent heat."
" Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heav¬
ens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
This is also in accordance with what John has said, Revela¬
tions xxi. 1: " And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the
first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was
no more sea."
2d verse: "And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
come down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned
for her husband."
3d verse: " And I heard a great voice from 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."
4th verse: "And God shall wipe away all tears from thefr
eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor cry¬
ing, neither shall there be any more pain*; for the former thing#
are passed away."
5 th verse: "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, 1
make all things new. And he said unto me write; for these
words are true and faithful."
6th verse: " And he said unto me, it is done. I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him
that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely."
Daniel, in speaking of the beasts and their destruction says, in
the 8th, 9th and JOth verses: " I beheld till the thrones wem
east down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garments y?-as
67$ fas end or all created things.
whit© as snow, and the hair of his head like pur© wool; hi»
throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.'
" A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him; thou¬
sands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thou¬
sand stood before him; the judgment was set, and the books were
opened."
Having shown the destruction of the heavens and the earth,
and that they will be succeeded by a new heaven and a new
earth, I will say a few things upon the resurrection of the dead.
And first. Christ said, John v. 28 and 29: "Marvel not at
this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the
graves shall hear his voice. And shall come forth; they that
have done good unto the resurrection of life; and they that have
done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
This is sufficient in itself to prove the resurrection, both of
the just and of the unjust. I deem it unnecessary to enter into
a lengthy detail of scripture testimony to prove the resurrection,
because it is clearly enough laid down in the word of God to con¬
vince every reasonable mind. But I will give one other text
Upon this subject. 1st Thessalonians iv. 16 and "For the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a sliout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the
dead in Chrst shall rise first."
" Then we which are alive and remain shall' be caught up. to¬
gether with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and
so shall we ever be with the Lord."
"When they are thus raised up they will be judged by him
that sitteth upon the throne, according to the things done ih the
body, whether they be good or bad; as he said to the Scribes and
Pharisees in MattHew xxv. 31: " When the son of man shall
come in his glory, and all the holy angelfe with him, then shall
he set upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be
gathered alS nations^ and he shall separate them one from an¬
other, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and h©
shall get the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left."
In his judging he will not call upon witnesses as many sup-
THE END OF ALL CERATED THINGS. (J?7
pose he will, to prove the guilt or innocence of the nations of the
world, because he is infinite, and knows not only the actions, but
the very intent of the heart,- and he will open up to. their under¬
standings their guilt or innocence, and make them acknowledge
it, because he has said that every knee shall bow, and every
tongue confess before him."
Sow glorious he- will appear when seated upon that great
white throne, before whose face the heavens and earth will pass
away; and the saints will be astonished and gratified beyond
measure, to see their glorious head and husband sitting as judge
of quick and dead ;: and when lie, by his soothing voice, shall say
come ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
you before the foundation of the world, then will they unite im
thanksgiving and adoration to him that sitteth upon the throne
and to the Lamb forever and ever, while the ungodly, or those
upon the left hand, which will include not only the attrociously
wicked, but unbelievers, the self-righteous of every grade, the
hypocritical and the deceived, together with the beasts and the
false prophet, will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone and
tormented forever and ever—will have to bear up under the wrath
of Almighty God without the least hope or mitigation of paizL
While the ungodly are sinking down to irretrievable ruin, the'
righteous of every grade will unite, for the cast will- be broken'
4nd national antipathies will' be forgotten. The Barbarian and*
Scythian, the bond the free, the Hottentot and child of civiliza¬
tion, will together adore the wonders of the mercy which raised
them from the moral degradation and pollution where they alike
lay, will mingle their voices in one choral song to him that sits
upon the throne, and the intercession of Christ that we may be
one,, as he and the Father are one, will receive its fruition. The
great and' the good of past ages,, whose memory m the church is
like ointment poured forth, are all there.
We shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the
elders who obtained a good report; with saints of the New Tes¬
tament, and glorious martyrs who have gone up in charriots of
fire. All the church, that have so recently gone of our friends
678 THE END OF ALL CREATED THINGS.
and loved ones with whom we have been associated here, those
living andyet to live, will gather as one flock around one shep¬
herd and bishop of souls.
Angels will also be our associates there. The lowliest chris¬
tian will be the companion of the Son of God. Those that have
ascended from the unnoticed corners of the world, neglected,
treated with contempt and scorned by men, will stand by the
side of Gabrael in the palace of the great King. What a scene
for christian anticipation—to unite with angels—to come into
eternal intimacy with the noblest and holiest beings below God.
With the noblest and holiest beings below God—is that all?—
Nay: wonderous, wonderous gracel We expect to leilize an
eternal union and intimacy with the holiest pf all—the Triune
Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Faith and hope will be turned into
s'ghtand possession, as Christ said to his disciples, "At that day
ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in
you." They are before the throne of God, and serve him day
and night in his temple, and he that sitteth upon the throne shall
dwell among them." "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."
As St. Paul said to the Phillipians: " Who shall change our
vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,
according to the working whereby he is able even te subdue all
things unto himself:" These, when clad in the righteousness of
Christ, he will "present to himself a glorious church without
spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; then he will present them to
the Father, saying, here am I and the children thou hast given
me."
This is the general assembly and church of the first born in
the presence of its head. Justified sinners through the right¬
eousness of Christ, are brought with songs of joy to that holv
city. And the building of the wall of it was of Jasper; and
the city was pure gold, .ike unto clear glass." And the city had
no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine on it; lor the
glory# " G )d di.l light *n it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
THE END OF ALL CREATED THINQ3.
6 79
And the nations of them which are saved walk in the light of it."
And the love and glory of God Sows in every breast and counte¬
nance ot that innumerable multitude.
But we have no human language for speaking of such fellow¬
ship, and no earthly things by which to illustrate it. Language
is too poor, and this world too corrupt to produce them.
If the writer and reader may hereafter stand on the mountain
of Zion, (though we are a great distance apart,) and together sing
and realize these lines—
" Lord, when these awful leaves unfold,
May life's fair book my soul approve;
There may I read my name enrolled,
And triumph in redeeming love.
There streams of endless pleasure flow,
And full discoveries of thy grace,
Which we but tasted here btjlow,
Spread heavenly joys through all the place,"
wa shall then have language to describe that glorious grace, and
discourse of our celestial associations in terms befitting theme.
THE END.