c) 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 Part of the 
 
 ADDISON ALEXANDER LIBRARY 
 
 which was presented by 
 
 i'ESSRR. R. L. AND A. STUART. 
 
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THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES. 
 
THE 
 
 TIMES OF THE GENTILES 
 
 lS revealed in 
 
 %\t ^ptaljjs*. 
 
 KV 
 
 DOMINICK M'CATJSLAND, ESQ., 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 THE LATTER DAYS OF THE JEWISH CHURCH AND STATION." 
 
 " Let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider 
 them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come." — 
 Isaiah, xli. 22. 
 
 DUBLIN 
 
 JAMES M e GLASHAN, 50 UPPER SACKVILLE-STREET. 
 
 T. HATCHARD, AND JAMES NISBET AND CO., LONDON. 
 MDCCCLII. 
 
Dublin • Printed by Georgk Drought, 6, Bachelor's- 
 
l^xtUxt 
 
 There is no portion of the prophetic Scriptures 
 which has, of late years, occupied so much at- 
 tention, and as regards the interpretation of 
 which there has been so much discussion and 
 controversy among those who profess and hold 
 all the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, 
 as that which is the subject of investigation in 
 the following pages ; and the result has been, 
 that while, by reason of such discussions, know- 
 ledge has progressed among the great body of 
 Christian inquirers who seek for information in 
 such matters, the authors of the respective trea- 
 tises on the subject have, in their zeal to uphold 
 the different views to which they are pledged, 
 become blinded to the real merits of the disco- 
 veries and arguments of their opponents. Such 
 is the usual effect of controversy. The author 
 of these pages has long been of opinion that the 
 truth in this, as in most other subjects of con- 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 troversy among parties who concur in first prin- 
 ciples, lies between the extremes ; and he would 
 inculcate on the student of prophecy, that as 
 there is knowledge of real value to be found in 
 the writings of both parties, great care must 
 be taken, that in rejecting what is erroneous, 
 he does not cast away what may, perhaps, be 
 the only lights that can guide him out of the 
 darkness and obscurities of apocalyptic reve- 
 lation. 
 
 In his endeavours thus to approximate to the 
 meaning of these prophecies, the author has been 
 influenced by the spirit of an inquirer rather 
 than that of a controversialist — his method has 
 been to lead his readers, in the first instance, to 
 the recognition and adoption of correct princi- 
 ples and doctrines, and then to draw them on- 
 wards to their natural and inevitable results — 
 and the effect, he humbly trusts, will be to in- 
 duce others to follow out a system of investiga- 
 tion, which he feels assured leads to an enlarged 
 knowledge of this revelation of God's will to 
 man. 
 
 Many have been deterred from such studies 
 by the impression that what has not been hitherto 
 fully and satisfactorily discovered, is past finding 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 out, and must, therefore, necessarily be of minor 
 importance to the Christian. But the following 
 pages may show that difficulties will melt away 
 as we approach and survey them by the light of 
 the other divine records. Non quia difficilia 
 sunt non audemus, sed quia non audemus diffi- 
 cilia sunt. And as regards the importance of the 
 subject, the mere circumstance of God having 
 given such a revelation to mankind is, irrespec- 
 tive of the internal evidence of the same, de- 
 monstrative of the surpassing interest that man 
 ought to have in the study of what it is intended 
 to convey. 
 
 Who that has contemplated the miracle of 
 his own existence, that has not felt an assurance 
 of a continuance of that existence beyond the 
 grave; and to endeavour to trace, in the few 
 pages of" The Book of the Revelation," what 
 God has ordained to come to pass in fulfilment 
 of his purposes with regard to the human race, 
 both in this life and that which is to come, is 
 an inquiry worthy, beyond all others, of the 
 highest, but which will be found, from the 
 contents of the following pages, to be within 
 the reach of the humblest intellect in the com- 
 munity. The qualifications of the inquirer need 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 not, as will appear, extend beyond a knowledge 
 of what is contained in the pages of the Bible ; 
 and such an acquaintance with past and current 
 events as is within the experience and obser- 
 vation of almost every Christian of the present 
 day. This section of God's Word is thus brought 
 within, what was obviously the divine intention, 
 the reach of every mind. And the Author, 
 trusting that many may be found to follow in, 
 and open out, the same paths of inquiry, now 
 casts his bread upon the waters, with an humbLe 
 confidence that whatever of truth may be therein 
 will be found, even though " after many days" — 
 and with a sincere hope that whatever of error 
 shall have proceeded from his pen, may be 
 speedily exposed and rectified, to the advance- 
 ment of true knowledge, and the increase of its 
 fruits. 
 
 D. M'C. 
 
 Dublin, August 20, 1852. 
 
CnttbtttB 
 
 Page 
 Introduction 1 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE CLOSE OF THE JEWISH, AND BIRTH OF THE CHRISTIAN 
 DISPENSATION. 
 
 " But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth 
 his Son, made of a Woman, made under the law, to re- 
 deem them that were under the law." — Gal. iv. 4. .35 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE PROPHECIES OF THE IMAGE, AND OF THE FOUR WILD 
 BEASTS. 
 
 " He revealeth the deep and secret things ; he knoweth what 
 is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him." — 
 Dan. ii. 22 59 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE BEAST RISING FROM THE SEA. 
 
 " Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called 
 God, or that is worshipped ; so that he as God sitteth in 
 the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." — 
 2 Thess. ii. 4 77 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE BEAST RISING FROM THE EARTH. 
 
 " And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power ; 
 and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and 
 practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy 
 people." — Dan. viii. 24 101 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE REFINEMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 
 
 " Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his 
 floor, and gather his wheat into the garner ; but he will 
 burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." — Matt. iii. 12. 129 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE PURGING OUT OF INIQUITY. 
 
 " For the day of vengeance is in mine hand, and the year of 
 my redeemed is come." — Isaiah, lxiii. 4. . . .144 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE SCARLET WHORE. 
 
 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work." — 2 Thess. 
 xi. 7. 154 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE FALL OF BABYLON. 
 
 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof." — 
 1 John, ii. 17 167 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 Page 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE OVERTHROW OF THE BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET. 
 
 "For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the King it is 
 prepared ; he hath made it deep and large : the pile thereof 
 is fire and much wood ; the breath of the Lord, like a 
 stream of brimstone, doth kindle it." — Isaiah, xxx. 33. 185 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE MILLENNIAL DISPENSATION. 
 
 " And Saviours shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the 
 Mount of Esau ; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's." — 
 Obad. 21. 203 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE NEW JERUSALEM. 
 
 " Put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: 
 for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncix- 
 cumcised and the unclean." — Isaiah, la. 1. . . .220 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 "Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." 
 
 Dan. xii. 4. 
 
 All the commentaries which have been written on 
 the Book of Revelations, appear to be distinguished 
 by the writers of the present day as belonging to 
 one or the other of two classes, viz., those in which 
 the prophecies therein contained, commencing with 
 the fourth chapter, have been considered and treated 
 as altogether unfulfilled ; and those in which the 
 same have been regarded and treated as for the most 
 part fulfilled, or in progress of fulfilment. The 
 former of these two modes of viewing these all- 
 important revelations appears to have been prevalent 
 among the members of the Church from the earliest 
 times of Christianity down to the twelfth century ; 
 and during that period, the Antichrist seems invaria- 
 bly to have been interpreted to be an individual who 
 is to arise, and exercise dominion, in the latter days 
 of this dispensation. However, in the twelfth cen- 
 tury, when the Papacy commenced the more open 
 manifestation of its antichristian powers of persecu- 
 tion, the latter mode of interpreting this book began 
 to prevail ; and from that time down to a compara- 
 tively recent period, all commentators seem to have 
 
 B 
 
2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 concurred in the principle of construing the prophe- 
 cies of the Beast, the False Prophet, the Scarlet 
 "Whore, and the other symbolic predictions of beings, 
 or systems of iniquity, to be found in the Apocalypse, 
 as having had their fulfilment in the Romish Apos- 
 tasy. 
 
 Thus, it would appear, that the hinge on which 
 this diversity of interpretation turned, was the nature 
 of the Antichrist — whether the predictions concerning 
 that being have been accomplished in Popery and 
 the Popedom, or whether they remain to be fulfilled 
 in the still future manifestation of an individual. 
 This will be found to be the all-important question 
 for decision; and we hope to be enabled, with God's 
 assistance, to demonstrate, in the course of the in- 
 quiries on which we are about to enter, that those 
 who hold the doctrine of a still future manifestation 
 of the Antichrist predicted by Daniel and St. Paul, 
 must concur in the view taken by us in our previous 
 treatise,* and that which we are about to follow out 
 in this, respecting the meaning and import of those 
 inspired disclosures of God's dealings with mankind 
 in this dispensation. 
 
 We have already, in the 7th chapter of " The 
 Latter Days," explained very fully our views respect- 
 ing Romanism and the Antichrist, which were shortly 
 to this effect — that St. Paul had written to the Thes- 
 salonians concerning a " mystery of iniquity," which 
 had commenced its operations in his days, and was 
 to continue to work until it should have expanded 
 
 * " The Latter Days of the Jewish Church and Nation." 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 itself into an open revelation of "the Man of Sin," 
 who was described by him as one " who opposeth 
 and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or 
 that is worshipped ; so that he as God sitteth in the 
 temple of God, showing himself that he is God ;" 
 and who is likewise condemned to destruction by the 
 brightness of the Lord's coming. This "mystery 
 of iniquity " has a fulfilment in Popery, which will 
 continue its secret workings as the agent of Satan, 
 until, in the fulness of time, its covert perniciousness 
 shall be openly manifested, and revealed without dis- 
 guise, in the avowed principles and proceedings of an 
 incarnation of apostasy and blasphemy, in the person 
 of the being called the Antichrist, who shall be a 
 literal accomplishment of the prediction of "the Man 
 of Sin." 
 
 In conformity with these principles, we shall, we 
 trust, be enabled to trace, in the portion of the Book 
 of Revelations to which we are about to direct our 
 attention — and which we stated in our former treatise, 
 was to be taken as a series of predictions of God's 
 proceedings with the Gentile branch of his Church — 
 prophecies, as well of " the mystery of iniquity," as 
 of " the Antichrist," or " the Man of Sin ;" and 
 both of them revealed as the leading instruments 
 by which Satan deceives and destroys his victims 
 throughout this dispensation. 
 
 From these observations, it will at once appear, 
 that the view which we take of this book cannot with 
 propriety be classed with either of those modes of 
 viewing it to which we have alluded. We, in fact, 
 agree with the first, in regarding the prophecies of 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the Antichrist predicted by St. Paul as unfulfilled ; 
 and we agree with the second, in recognising in the 
 Papacy one of the instruments with which Satan 
 assails the Church; and, consequently, one of the 
 objects of the Revelations we are about to consider : 
 while we differ from both, in not confining the pro- 
 phecies to either the one or the other of these two 
 forms of iniquity — the Papacy, or the Antichrist. 
 
 In this view we are happy to have the concurrence 
 of Mr. Bickersteth, who, in his Prefatory Remarks 
 to his edition of Bishop Hurd's "Introduction to the 
 Study of the Prophecies," observes: — "In our day, 
 and among professing Protestants, another method 
 has been adopted of diverting these prophecies from 
 their application to the Papacy, by applying them to 
 a future infidel power, of sudden rise, and of short 
 duration. That such a power is to appear admits of 
 Scripture proof; and further, that Popery will issue 
 in this, there are fair Scriptural presumptions ; but 
 that the Apocalypse refers to this mainly or exclu- 
 sively, and not to the whole of the Papacy, is neither 
 reasonable in itself, nor true upon any principles of 
 sound interpretation." 
 
 Mr. Birks, in his " Elements of Prophecy," has 
 furnished us with a test by which to distinguish 
 those commentators which belong to the second, from 
 those which belong to the first, of the foregoing 
 classes; and he has placed us among those of the 
 first class, whom he has denominated " Futurists," 
 by reason of our exposition of the symbolic visions 
 of the seals and trumpets as unfulfilled prophecies. 
 We hope, however, to be able to establish the posi- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 tion, that such a view is not only perfectly compati- 
 ble with his own admitted principles, but that, con- 
 sistently with them, it will be impossible for him to 
 refuse his assent to the consequences which we have 
 deduced therefrom. He observes: — 
 
 " Ever since the time of the Reformation, the following max- 
 ims in the interpretation of the sacred prophecies have been gra- 
 dually received by the Protestant Churches : — 
 
 " 1st. That the visions of Daniel commence with the times of 
 the prophet. 
 
 " 2nd. That the events predicted in the Apocalypse begin from 
 the time of the prophecy, or within the first century. 
 
 " 3rd. That the fourth Beast denotes the Roman empire. 
 
 " 4th. That Babylon in the Apocalypse denotes Rome. 
 
 " 5th. That the little horn in Daniel vii. denotes the Papacy. 
 
 " 6th. That the Man of Sin relates to the same powers. 
 
 " 7th. That the prophecy in 1 Tim. iv. is fulfilled in past 
 events. 
 
 " 8th. That Babylon denotes, at least inclusively, Rome 
 Papal. 
 
 " The three following have also been received by the most 
 learned and able commentators of our own country, from the 
 time of Mede down to the present day. 
 
 " 9th. That the two woes relate to the Saracens and Turks. 
 
 " 10th. That the two Beasts in Rev. xiii. denote the civil and 
 ecclesiastical Latin empire. 
 
 "11th. That a prophetic day denotes a natural year, and a 
 prophetic time three hundred and sixty natural years. 
 
 " Of these leading maxims, the first four are held by the 
 fathers of the early Church and most of the Roman commenta- 
 tors, as well as by the Reformed Churches. On the other hand, 
 the three last, though generally received by interpreters of the 
 English Church, are rejected by many foreign Protestant, espe- 
 cially among the Lutheran, divines. All of these maxims, how- 
 ever, without distinction, have been rejected by several late 
 writers. Mr. Burgh, Mr. Maitland, Dr. Todd, Mr. Dodsworth, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Mr. Tyso, and Mr. M'Causland, and more recently, Mr. Govett, 
 are the chief of those whose names have appeared ; and of these 
 the three first are, doubtless, the leaders. To those, several anony- 
 mous writers may be added." * 
 
 Now, with respect to these eleven maxims, we do 
 not dissent from any of them, except the 5th, 6th, 
 9th, and 10th. The 9th we shall not, at present, 
 embarrass ourselves with, as it properly belongs to 
 the subject-matter of our previous treatise. Passing 
 this by, therefore, the only differences that will then 
 be found to exist between our principles and those 
 which Mr. Birks lays down as the maxims of inter- 
 pretation which have been generally received by the 
 Protestant Churches, are, that neither the " Man of 
 Sin," nor the "Little Horn"f in Daniel vii., denote the 
 Papacy ; and that the two Beasts in Rev. xiii. do not 
 denote the civil and ecclesiastical Latin empire. It 
 is obvious, then, that the sole difference which exists 
 between our views and those patronised by Mr. Birks, 
 as regards that part of the Book of Revelations which 
 is the subject of this treatise, turns entirely, as we 
 have before observed, on the nature of the Anti- 
 christ—whether the prophecies relating thereto have 
 been fulfilled in the Papacy, or still remain to be ful- 
 filled in the future revelation of an individual Man 
 
 * " Elements of Prophecy," p. 1. 
 
 t We suggested, in " The Latter Days," that the Little Horn 
 symbolized the Papacy. But our investigation respecting the 
 nature of the beings symbolized by the two Beasts of the Apoca- 
 lypse, have led us to the conclusion that it is primarily symbolical 
 of the Antichrist, who will be the development of the Papacy, as 
 will appear more fully in the following pages. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 of Sin. If the former be the correct view of Scrip- 
 ture truth, then the system which Mr. Birks seeks 
 v to uphold ought to continue to prevail ; but if the 
 latter be the true meaning and import of the prophe- 
 cies, we shall find no difficulty in showing that it 
 must be abandoned, and the scheme or system of in- 
 terpretation which we advocate must be resorted to — 
 and why 1 because the Little Horn, the Man of Sin, 
 and the Beast and False Prophet, all denote the last 
 form in which iniquity shall appear upon the earth 
 before the coming of the Lord to exterminate it; 
 inasmuch as each and all of them are represented in 
 Scripture as being destroyed by Christ at his second 
 coming ; and therefore, to confine those predictions 
 to the Papacy, would be to omit altogether from the 
 Apocalypse, and almost, if not altogether, from the 
 other pages of prophetic Scripture, any revelation of 
 the Antichrist. On the other hand, the Papacy, sym- 
 bolised, as we admit it to be, by the Scarlet Whore, 
 is not the last form of iniquity ; for it is not repre- 
 sented as destroyed by Christ at his second advent, 
 and is, therefore, consistently with our exposition, 
 the preceding "mystery of iniquity," which had 
 commenced its operations in the days of St. Paul, by 
 whom the Man of Sin is represented as destroyed by 
 the brightness of the Lord's coming, while the Scarlet 
 Whore is described in the Revelations as destroyed 
 by the ten horns of the Beast. 
 
 Thus, it is manifest, that those who concur in 
 our view of the prophecies of the Antichrist, or the 
 Man of Sin, viz., that they will be fulfilled in the 
 manifestation of an individual, or of an infidel power, 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of sudden rise and short duration, in the latter days 
 of this dispensation, who will consummate iniquity 
 by exalting himself above the God of Heaven, must 
 reject those maxims of the interpreters which confine 
 the prophecies of the Little Horn of Daniel, the 
 Man of Sin of St. Paul, and the two Beasts of the 
 Apocalypse, to the Papacy alone. 
 
 Now, it is not a little remarkable, that Mr. Birks, 
 who has assailed our views of prophecy, in accusing 
 us of having rejected the maxims of interpretation 
 received by the Protestant Churches, has admitted 
 that he holds the same views respecting the nature 
 of the Antichrist which we hold, and have just now 
 explained; and if our reasoning be correct, it will 
 follow, that he must, in consistency, reject the very 
 same of the foregoing maxims which are rejected by 
 us. Thus, in "The Elements of Prophecy,"* he 
 writes : — " There are few doctrines which the Futu- 
 rists press more earnestly than the application of 
 these words (the abomination of desolation) to a 
 future desolation of Jerusalem, when the infidel An- 
 tichrist shall take his seat in the restored temple. 
 That such events will take place in the Holy City, 
 from various other passages of Scripture, I fully 
 believe'* The same view is to be found enunciated 
 at the close of the 7th chapter of the same book ;f 
 and again, more fully, in his exposition of the latter 
 part of the 11th chapter of Daniel, in "The Two 
 Later Visions of Daniel," c. 19. X 
 
 If, then, there is to be a future desolation of Jeru- 
 
 * Page 204. f Page 181. J Pages 337-341. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 salem, when the infidel Antichrist shall take his seat 
 in the restored temple, as Mr. Birks admits will be 
 the case, will not that event be a literal fulfilment of 
 St. Paul's prediction of the Man of Sin ; "so that he 
 as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself 
 that he is God?" and if so, an interpretation of 
 the Apocalypse which opens out a revelation of "the 
 Man of Sin," as well as a revelation of the precedent 
 "mystery of iniquity," the Papacy, is more con- 
 sistent with itself, and more consonant with God's 
 declared will, than one which concentrates all the 
 predictions, and that too, as we shall presently show, 
 in utter disregard of all harmony and propriety of 
 construction, in Romanism alone. 
 
 If these observations are correct, Mr. Birks, and 
 those who concur in his conclusions, ought to, and 
 must, in consistency with their own principles, amend 
 the 5th, 6th, and #th of the foregoing maxims, which 
 he states to be among those which have prevailed in 
 what he styles Protestant exposition ; and when that is 
 conceded, it will be found that the maxims which they 
 will then hold to be correct, with the exception of that 
 of the two woes relating to the Saracens and Turks, 
 are consistent with every line which we have written ; 
 and we shall have no longer to complain, that while 
 they admit maxims and principles wholly subversive 
 of the systems of interpretation which they are 
 labouring to uphold, they take the advantage of clas- 
 sifying themselves with the highly and deservedly 
 respected authors and upholders of those systems. 
 
 And here we would call attention to certain prin- 
 ciples and doctrines which are generally admitted to 
 
10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 be well-founded Scripture truths, among Christians 
 in the present day, but which, it must be obvious, 
 were either not admitted, or, if admitted, are not to 
 be found holding the prominent position they ought 
 to have held in the writings of those learned divines, 
 with whom originated the system of interpretation of 
 the Apocalypse which we condemn. These princi- 
 ples are the key- stone of the system of interpreta- 
 tion which we advocate ; and the non-recognition of 
 them as leading and important truths, on which all 
 interpreters of prophecy must rest, has, we have no 
 doubt, been the main cause of the darkness which 
 has so long pervaded the Book of Revelations. 
 
 1st. The restoration of the Jews as a nation, and 
 in covenant with God, at the close of the present dis- 
 pensation, and previous to the second advent. 
 
 2nd. The pre-millennial advent of Christ to reign 
 over the kingdom of Israel for 1,000 years. 
 
 3rd. That the various systems of apostasy and 
 infidelity which pervade the world, will issue in the 
 manifestation of an individual, who will be the visible 
 head of a concentration and consummation of open 
 and avowed iniquity, and who, with his rebel fol- 
 lowers, will be destroyed by the Lord at his second 
 coming. 
 
 These are the truths which have guided us in our 
 interpretations of the Apocalypse ; and to all the 
 principles of Mede, Newton, Faber, Elliott, &c, as 
 far as they are not inconsistent with these, we fully 
 subscribe. And it will be found, that those who 
 concur with us in the adoption of these principles as 
 Scripture truths, must also concur with us in reject- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 ing some, at all events, of the expositions of those 
 authors. Such being the state of the case, we are 
 happy to find that Mr. Birks, who we believe to be 
 the advocate of the views of a large class of pious 
 and inquiring Christians, agrees with us in each and 
 all of them. "With respect to the first, he thus 
 writes: — "Hence the events of the apostolic age, 
 before the temple was destroyed, and those of the 
 last times, when the nation shall re-appear in a cove- 
 nant character, like two mountain ranges, are seen 
 blended together; and the times of the Gentiles, 
 though much longer than both, are left obscured and 
 almost hidden from view in the valley between them."* 
 In fact, the latter chapters of the prophecy of Eze- 
 kiel, and several other prophecies in the Scriptures, 
 establish this principle beyond all doubt. As to the se- 
 cond, his concurrence is expressed in his exposition of 
 the twenty-fourth chapter of St. Matthew, in which he 
 admits that the prophecy of the second advent, which 
 had received a figurative construction from Bishop 
 Newton and many others, is to be taken in its natu- 
 ral and literal meaning. f And as to the third prin- 
 ciple, we have already shewn that he interprets the 
 prophecy respecting the "Man of Sin" in conformity 
 with our view of it. 
 
 Now, such being the principles of Mr. Birks, and 
 of the large and influential body of Christians who 
 concur with him, and such being likewise the princi- 
 ples from which the interpretation we advocate natu- 
 rally springs, we do not despair of their ultimate 
 
 * " Elements of Prophecy," p. 235. f Ibid, p. 195. 
 
12 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 conversion to that system of exposition which looks 
 to future events for a fulfilment, or, at all events, a 
 complete fulfilment of many of the most important 
 prophecies of holy writ. Extreme opinions have been 
 advocated by some of those writers with whom we 
 have been classed, which have naturally deterred 
 cautious Christians from taking a step in the same 
 direction ; but it ought to be borne in mind, that the 
 most precious truths and doctrines of Christianity 
 have been frequently neutralized and smothered for a 
 season by the excesses of some of their first promul- 
 gators and expounders. Thus Mr. Maitland, Dr. 
 Todd, and some others of the same school, who have 
 done much to restore correct views of prophecy, have 
 carried the principles of Futurist exposition to an 
 extent, not only wholly untenable, but calculated, we 
 fear, to shake the Scripture evidences of divine inspi- 
 ration to the very foundation. With the strictures 
 of Mr. Birks on the exposition of the prophecies of 
 Daniel by these authors, we, to a great extent, concur. 
 He has, with a few exceptions, established the pri- 
 mary fulfilment of the greater portion of those pro- 
 phecies beyond question; and so far his "Elements 
 of Prophecy" is of real value. How far he has suc- 
 ceeded in his general object of extinguishing the 
 labours of those who have maintained the prophecies 
 of the Apocalypse to be, for the most part, unful- 
 filled, remains to be seen. This brings us back to 
 such of his arguments as affect the principles on 
 which we have founded our inquiries, and to which 
 alone we shall here turn our attention. 
 
 The arguments against the interpretation of the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 Apocalypse as being for the most part a fulfilled pro- 
 phecy, derived from the obscurity of the supposed 
 fulfilment, and the variety and discordancy of the 
 various expositions, has been met and encountered in 
 the following manner: — The proposition is denied 
 " that every fulfilled prophecy must be clearer than 
 those which are unfulfilled ;" and, on the contrary, 
 Mr. Birks insists that they may, and many of them 
 must be, more obscure than those which have not 
 been accomplished, " if one class of them only are 
 given as a sign to the unbeliever, and others are de- 
 signed exclusively for the Church, to exercise the 
 wisdom and humility of her members, and unfold 
 the deeper mysteries of Divine Providence ;" and he 
 then enumerates a variety of fulfilled prophecies from 
 the New Testament, as to the mode of the fulfilment 
 of which there have been controversies. With respect 
 to these, we need only at present observe, that they 
 are all of them detached and isolated prophecies — 
 that is to say, not forming part of a series of pro- 
 phetic events; and without entering into a minute in- 
 vestigation of the causes of obscurity in each of them 
 separately, we shall merely state that the difficulties 
 will, on examination, be found to have their exist- 
 ence and origin in certain omissions, corruptions, or 
 mistranslations of the Old Testament prophecies to 
 which they are references ; or, as Mr. Birks himself 
 observes, "in the difficulties of grammar, phrase, 
 style, or connexion ; and the omission of circum- 
 stantial details ;" or in the fulfilment not being com- 
 plete. 
 
 Then again, as to the discordance of these inter- 
 
14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 preters, it is insisted, that by reason of the wide 
 range of the prophecies, the number of distinct pre- 
 dictions, the symbolical language, and the typical al- 
 lusions, the discordance is not greater than might 
 have been expected ; and it is asserted that there has 
 been a general approach to a fixed interpretation. 
 To this we can only reply, that what is here termed, 
 "an approach to a fixed interpretation," will be found 
 to be nothing more than an agreement among expo- 
 sitors, that certain items of a continuous and con- 
 nected series of prophetic declarations are to be taken 
 as accomplishments of certain events which have 
 been recorded on the varied pages of history, though 
 no two of the same expositors concur as to the ful- 
 filment of the preceding or subsequent predictions of 
 the same series. This reasoning will not appear 
 very conclusive to any person who looks at the pro- 
 phecy as admittedly a revelation of a continued series 
 of events. They will not feel disposed to place much 
 value on the concurrence of expositors with respect 
 to the fulfilment of the fifth and sixth trumpet pro- 
 digies, when they find the same persons differing 
 from each other as to the events which they respec- 
 tively maintain to have been the fulfilment of the 
 opening of the seals and the sounding of the trum- 
 pets which preceded them — and that too, not only in 
 their nature, but as to the time of their occurrence, 
 by whole centuries. Thus, while Newton, Faber, 
 and Cunningham, and Elliott more recently, concur 
 as to the fulfilment of the fifth and sixth trumpets in 
 the history of the Saracens and Turks, the Bishop 
 explains the first four seals, by applying them to the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 history of the Roman empire under Vespasian, 
 Titus, Domitian, and Nerva, and the other seals to 
 the state of the Empire during the subsequent period 
 down to the accession of Dioclesian. According to 
 Mr. Faber, the first four seals symbolize respectively 
 the four kingdoms of Nebuchadnezzar's image, the 
 fifth the suspension of persecution, and the sixth the 
 transition from Paganism to Christianity. Accord- 
 ing to Mr. Cunningham, the first seal denotes the 
 triumphant progress of the Gospel in the first and 
 purest age of the Church, comprehending the first 
 three centuries ; the second, the progress of the 
 same during the fourth and fifth centuries ; and the 
 sixth the final revolution that is to precede the second 
 advent ; while, according to Mr. Elliott, the opening 
 of the first six seals commences at the close of the 
 first century of the Christian era, and continues 
 down to the days of Constantine. The same dis- 
 cordance exists in the interpretations of the first four 
 trumpet prodigies. Why the fulfilment of these 
 prophecies, if fulfilled, should not be as clearly 
 stamped on the records of past events as those of 
 the fifth and sixth trumpets are said to be, it would 
 be difficult to suggest a reason. 
 
 But then it is rejoined, that the expositors who 
 maintain the non-fulfilment of these prophecies, are 
 equally discordant in their views as to what will con- 
 stitute their fulfilment. But to this the reply is 
 obvious, that a diversity of opinion with respect 
 to an unfulfilled symbolic prophecy is naturally to 
 be looked for, and is no evidence of the unsound- 
 ness of the principle that the predicted events are 
 
16 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 still future ; while, on the other hand, a diversity 
 of opinion with respect to the meaning of a prophecy, 
 where the issue is, fulfilled or unfulfilled, is strong 
 evidence in favour of its being still unaccomplished. 
 Concurrence among commentators as to the fact of a 
 prophecy having been fulfilled, proves nothing, though 
 a concurrence as to the events which formed the ful- 
 filment, would be evidence of the prophecy having 
 been fulfilled. 
 
 There is one more argument on this subject to 
 which we shall allude. It is, that " some of these 
 prophecies, or parts of them, are declared to he sealed 
 till the time of the end. This of itself seems to 
 imply that the knowledge of them would not at once 
 be given to the Church, but gradually, in the latter 
 times. Here we have a further explanation of the 
 divergence of interpreters. The divine purpose of 
 revealing the prophecies by degrees could not other- 
 wise have been fulfilled."* This will appear to be 
 a strange conclusion, when we turn to the portion of 
 Scripture from which the text relied on is taken. It 
 will be found in the last chapter of the prophecies of 
 Daniel, immediately after, and referring to, the 
 things "noted in the Scripture of truth;" and Mr. 
 Birks not only admits, but insists, that the meaning 
 and intent of the greater part of that prophecy is so 
 clear and unambiguous, that even infidels have ac- 
 knowledged that the events of history have been a clear 
 fulfilment of them. There was, therefore, no sealing 
 up of this portion of the prophecy; and the remain- 
 
 * " Elements of Prophecy," p. 11. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 ing portion (the obscurity of which, and the diver- 
 sity of opinion which prevails as to the fulfilment, 
 affords a strong contrast to the lucidity of the pre- 
 vious part) is, we contend, on that account, still 
 unfulfilled. That part is, therefore, sealed up, and 
 will continue so till the fulfilment at the time of the 
 end. Consequently, the foregoing text has a ten- 
 dency to establish the reverse of the proposition for 
 which it was brought forward, inasmuch as one part 
 of the prophecy, which is admittedly fulfilled, cannot 
 be said to be sealed up, and no reason can be assigned 
 why the remaining part should be sealed, except that 
 it is unfulfilled, and will remain so until the time of 
 the end. But the truth is, that the text refers to 
 the prophecies of Daniel alone, and is wholly inap- 
 plicable to those of the Apocalypse — nay more, there 
 is a passage in the Apocalypse to the contrary effect : 
 " And he saith unto me, seal not the sayings of the 
 prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand." The 
 true interpretation of the passage in Daniel would 
 appear to be, that the vision, or " scripture of truth," 
 being an exclusive revelation to the Jews, the sealing 
 up of the prophecy implied a sealing up from them 
 alone until the time of the end, when their blinded 
 eyes shall be opened to the truths of Scripture. 
 This we conceive to be the correct meaning of the 
 passage cited above, and is, therefore, very far from 
 affording support to the proposition built upon it. 
 On the other hand, the prophecies of the Apocalypse 
 were never intended to be sealed up from the Church, 
 either before or after the fulfilment. 
 
 Independent of the inconclusiveness of the forego- 
 
 c 
 
18 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ing strictures of Mr. Birks on the reasoning in ques- 
 tion, we shall find further corroboration of its force 
 from the consideration of the argument itself in con- 
 nexion with some of the admitted principles of our 
 opponents. The argument, when correctly stated, is 
 to this effect — that as the concurrence of expositors 
 as to the meaning and purport of certain prophecies, 
 is the strongest and most conclusive evidence of the 
 same having been fulfilled, it follows that the dis- 
 cordance of the same expositors as to the meaning 
 and purport of certain other prophecies, is strong 
 and convincing proof that the same are unfulfilled. 
 This argument is simple, and so easy to be under- 
 stood and appreciated, that it will require more con- 
 clusive reasons than any we have hitherto read, to 
 convince the unprejudiced Christian inquirer of its 
 futility and weakness. As respects Mr. Birks, and 
 those who concur in his views, the argument presents 
 itself in a still stronger light, inasmuch as his own 
 leading argument in favour of the prophecies of Daniel 
 having been fulfilled, in confutation of the views of 
 Maitland and Todd, is founded on the unvarying 
 concurrence of all expositors, both Christian and 
 Jewish, as to the events which fulfilled them. Add 
 to this the special analogy that Mr. Birks asserts, 
 and which we admit, to exist between the visions of 
 Daniel and those of the Apocalypse, and we may 
 conclude, that as the visions of Daniel are predic- 
 tions of historical events, which, in coming to pass, 
 shed a light on the prophecy that disclosed the 
 meaning and purport even to infidels, so ought we to 
 expect that the visions of the Apocalypse, admittedly 
 
INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 analogous in their nature to those of Daniel, should, 
 when fulfilled, carry the same conviction to the mind, 
 and shine forth on the pages of Scripture as evidences 
 of the foreknowledge and goodness of the Divine 
 Author. This admitted analogy between the visions 
 of Daniel and those of the Apocalypse, shows the 
 impropriety of his reasoning with respect to the ob- 
 scurity of unfulfilled prophecy, deduced from a col- 
 lection of isolated and detached prophecies in the 
 Gospels and ..Epistles, inasmuch as no analogy can be 
 said to exist between such predictions and the con- 
 nected chain of visions in the Apocalypse ; while, on 
 the contrary, there is an obvious analogy between 
 the visions of Daniel (in the fulfilment of which, as 
 far as they have been fulfilled, no obscurity exists) 
 and those of the Apocalypse. So that, from his own 
 principles, he ought to have extracted a conclusion 
 directly the reverse of that which he has stated. 
 
 On the same grounds stands the argument derived 
 from the unsuitableness of the predictions of the 
 Apocalypse, if fulfilled, to convict or confute the 
 infidel. The fulfilment of Daniel's prophecies, if 
 they failed to convict, have so far confuted infidels, 
 that the most acute and subtle of the writers of that 
 school have been driven to the desperate and unsus- 
 tainable alternative of insisting that the prophecies 
 were written subsequent to the event. From this 
 circumstance, it has been argued, that they could not 
 have been intended to confute infidels. But we con- 
 tend, that when an infidel has been driven to put for- 
 ward and maintain an untenable and false proposition, 
 he has exhibited the strongest evidence of the ten- 
 
20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 dency and suitableness of the prophecies to convince 
 him. They cannot withhold their assent to the ful- 
 filment of the prophecies of Daniel ; but to challenge 
 their assent to the fulfilment of the Apocalyptic 
 visions, is but to expose that priceless treasure of the 
 Church to obloquy and reproach ; and it may well 
 be retorted by them, that if the divine origin of 
 Daniel's prophecies is to be proved by their fulfil- 
 ment in the events which have occurred, why is not 
 the divine origin of the Apocalypse, if it is likewise a 
 fulfilled prophecy, manifestly and undeniably reflected 
 from the events which have happened ? 
 
 The leading objection which has been urged against 
 the Futurist view of the Apocalypse, is founded on 
 the erroneous supposition, that, according to it, there 
 is no prophecy contained therein of any of the events 
 which were to befall the Church between the ascen- 
 sion of the Saviour and the last generation of the 
 present dispensation. The contents of the following 
 pages will prove that such a principle is neither the 
 foundation, nor the result, of the scheme of interpre- 
 tation which we have been unfolding. True it is, 
 that we have treated the visions of the seals and 
 trumpets as symbolic of events still in the womb of 
 futurity. We have traced them, by the light of the 
 Old Testament prophecies, to be a series of predic- 
 tions of the purification of the Jewish Church in the 
 latter days of its restoration, previous to the full ac- 
 knowledgment and reception of their Saviour and 
 their King by Judah and Israel ; but as to the re- 
 maining portion of the book, commencing with the 
 twelfth chapter, we shall find it to be a revelation of the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 21 
 
 trials, vicissitudes, and final purification of the Gen- 
 tile branch of the Church, and, as such, to contain 
 prophecies affecting it during the whole period com- 
 prised between the first and second advent of the 
 Lord. It will, in fact, be found to be a continuation 
 and expansion of the prophecies of Daniel respecting 
 the last of the four Gentile kingdoms, viz., the 
 Roman dynasty, in all its phases, down to the time 
 of its being struck and crushed by the stone of Israel, 
 which shall thenceforth fill the whole earth. It is, 
 therefore, unnecessary, as far as our scheme of inter- 
 pretation is concerned, to encounter that class of objec- 
 tions to the Apocalypse being an unfulfilled prophecy. 
 
 We concur in many of the observations which have 
 been brought forward, as to the improbability of the 
 divine Author of this book having omitted the times 
 of the Gentiles from his final revelations to the 
 Church of the pages of futurity. The " mystery of 
 iniquity" which began to work in the days of the 
 Apostles, is there pourtrayed in characters, some of 
 which even the members of that apostate system 
 have been constrained to recognise and acknowledge; 
 and though Mr. Burgh, Mr. Govett, Mr. Kelly, and 
 others, have struggled to cast wholly into futurity the 
 fulfilment of the prophecies to which we allude, viz., 
 the symbol of the Scarlet Whore riding on the ten- 
 horned Beast, yet it is obvious that their reasonings 
 and conclusions are anything but satisfactory to 
 themselves, and altogether without a reasonable 
 foundation, as we hope to be able to show hereafter. 
 
 Before concluding these introductory observations, 
 we shall call attention to what we conceive to be the 
 
22 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 only remaining subject of controversy between Mr. 
 Birks and ourselves — we allude to the exposition of 
 the prophecy of the Mount of Olives. Mr. Birks 
 did not fail to see the great importance of our inter- 
 pretation of that passage of Scripture, in supporting 
 and establishing the non-fulfilment of the events 
 pourtrayed in the imagery of the seals and trumpets ; 
 and, therefore, it became necessary, for the mainte- 
 nance of his position, to refute that exposition, as 
 far as it was practicable. To what extent he has 
 succeeded will soon appear. 
 
 The interpretation of this prophecy which appears 
 to have generally prevailed in the Church from the 
 time of the Reformation until a very recent period, 
 was, that it had been fulfilled in the destruction of 
 Jerusalem by Titus; and the expositors give a figura- 
 tive construction to the closing revelation of the 
 coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven 
 with power and great glory, so as to confine that 
 prediction likewise to the same event. Such were 
 the views of Bishop Newton and many others ; and 
 these Mr. Birks, notwithstanding his reverence and 
 regard for the opinions of authors of that school, very 
 properly abandons, as being a violent and unnatural 
 gloss on the closing words of the prophecy. Indeed, 
 subscribing, as he does, to the doctrine of the per- 
 sonal pre-millennial advent, it was wholly impossible 
 for him to uphold them. On the other hand, he was 
 unwilling to adopt the view, which we have advocated, 
 of the whole prophecy being unfulfilled, and still 
 remaining to be accomplished in the proceedings of 
 the Antichrist with the Jews in the latter days, as 
 
INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 foretold by Daniel, inasmuch as the analogy between 
 this prophecy and that of the seals was too obvious 
 to be encountered or explained away. He, accord- 
 ingly, adopts a middle course, and has endeavoured 
 to maintain that the former part of the prophecy, in- 
 clusive of the setting up of the abomination of desola- 
 tion in the holy place, was fulfilled in the destruction of 
 Jerusalem by Titus ; and that the remaining part is un- 
 fulfilled, and to be accomplished at the second advent. 
 Now, the leading predicted event is the setting 
 up of " the abomination of desolation, spoken of by 
 Daniel the prophet, in the holy place ;" and our 
 Saviour warns the witnesses of that event to flee 
 from Judea forthwith, adding : — " For there shall be 
 great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning 
 of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And 
 except those days should be shortened, there should 
 no flesh be saved ; but for the elect's sake those days 
 shall be shortened." Our Saviour then, after warn- 
 ing them against false Christs which should then 
 prevail, adds: — "Immediately after the tribulation 
 of those days shall the sun be darkened," &c. Now, 
 Mr. Birks affirms that the great tribulation, which 
 he admits commenced in the sacking of Jerusalem by 
 Titus, was shortened or suspended for the elect's 
 sake, and is again to be renewed at the period of 
 their restoration in the latter days. He says : — 
 "The woe should be stopped short, before its seve- 
 rity should have exterminated the whole people. It 
 should be resumed and completed only when the 
 elect among the Gentiles should be gathered in, and 
 their long dispersion, and the provocation of them to 
 
24 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 jealousy, by the long course of Gentile privileges, 
 should, as moral antecedents, have prepared the way 
 for the conversion and repentance of a large remnant, 
 when the last dregs of the woe should descend on 
 them in the last days." * Not to say anything of the 
 unseemly and unnatural gap which this exposition 
 leaves in the middle of the prophecy, of 1800 years 
 at the least, and for which, or a similar principle of 
 construction, he has, with some inconsistency, con- 
 demned Dr. Todd and others, we shall prove that the 
 interpretation is wholly untenable. 
 
 The great tribulation here spoken of, is admitted 
 by Mr. Birks to be the same as that spoken of by 
 Daniel at the commencement of his twelfth chapter; 
 inasmuch, as it is, in both places, described as the 
 greatest that should ever befall the Jews, or any 
 other nation. In the prophecy of Daniel, it follows 
 immediately after, what Mr. Birks admits to be, a pre- 
 diction of the Antichrist sitting in the restored temple 
 at Jerusalem, and claiming to be the object of a di- 
 vine adoration, f and is expressly connected with, and 
 followed by the prediction of the first resurrection of 
 the saints, or the second advent of the Saviour. The 
 words of Daniel are these : — " And he (the Anti- 
 christ) shall plant the tabernacles of his palace be- 
 
 * "Elements of Prophecy," p. 219. 
 
 f In his comments on this passage, Mr. Birks observes : — " It 
 may be inferred, from a careful comparison of several Scriptures, 
 that at this time the temple, described in Ezekiel, will have been 
 built, and that here this fierce and mighty king shall seat him- 
 self as a sovereign, and claim to be the object of a divine adora- 
 tion." — The Two Later Visions of Daniel, p. 337. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 25 
 
 tween the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet 
 he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. 
 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great 
 prince which standeth 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 that same time; 
 and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every 
 one that shall be found written in the book. And 
 many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth 
 shall awake," &c. Thus, we have it admitted, that 
 in the prophecy of Daniel there is a prediction of 
 the Antichrist sitting in the restored temple at Jeru- 
 salem, followed by a prediction of " the great tribu- 
 lation," and of the second advent — while in the pro- 
 phecy of our Saviour, there is a prediction of the 
 setting up of the abomination of desolation in the 
 holy place, followed by the same prediction of the 
 great tribulation, and of the second advent ; and yet 
 Mr. Birks refuses to acknowledge, that the setting 
 up of the abomination of desolation in the holy place, 
 is the same event as the setting up of the Antichrist, 
 as the object of a divine adoration, in the restored tem- 
 ple; and prefers to contend, that "the great tribula- 
 tion" commenced with the destruction of Jerusa- 
 lem by Titus — since which, nearly eighteen centuries 
 have already elapsed — thus making two great tribula- 
 tions to which the Jews are to be exposed, separated 
 from each other by eighteen hundred years, at the 
 least, and each of them the greatest which was ever 
 to befall them. Have the Jews suffered no tribula- 
 tion since the destruction of Jerusalem ? Has not 
 their whole history been a series of tribulations, at 
 
26 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 different times and in different places, from that date 
 to the present time ; and if so, is it not a contradic- 
 tion in terms, to insist that their greatest tribulation 
 commenced 1800 years since, ceased, and is to be re- 
 sumed at some still future period 1 How Mr. Birks 
 could have imposed such a construction, not only on 
 himself, but on others of understanding in these 
 matters, it is difficult to conceive ; and that too, 
 when he would not have violated any principle or doc- 
 trine which he holds, or distorted any sentence from 
 its obvious and simple meaning, in adopting the view 
 of the whole prophecy being unfulfilled. This latter 
 view would not, however, have suited his predeter- 
 mination to uphold, what he terms the Protestant 
 interpretation of the Apocalypse, and must, there- 
 fore, be got rid of. He admits that " the infidel 
 Antichrist shall yet take his seat in the restored tem- 
 ple ;" and if so, why hesitate to apply to that event 
 the setting up of the abomination of desolation in 
 the holy place here predicted ? And he also admits, 
 that at the same period, the Jews shall be subjected 
 to their greatest tribulation, which shall be followed 
 immediately by the second advent ; and if so, what is 
 the necessity for resorting to the unnatural division of 
 the greatest tribulation that will ever occur in the his- 
 tory of the world, into two events, separated from each 
 other by a long interval of time, and distinct as respects 
 the individuals which are to be the subjects of it? 
 
 But this is not the only impropriety of construc- 
 tion into which he has been driven, to uphold this 
 novel interpretation ; for, in order to evade the natu- 
 ral explanation of the meaning of the parable of the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 2/ 
 
 fig-tree, and the declaration of the Saviour, "Verily, 
 I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away 
 until all these tilings be fulfilled," as importing that 
 all the events of the prophecy were to occur within 
 the period of a single generation, he maintains that 
 the phrase, " all these things," refers to the former 
 part of the prediction, that is to say, to the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem by Titus, and that the subsequent 
 verse, " of that day and hour knoweth no man," 
 refers to the latter portion of the prediction, viz., the 
 restoration of the Jews and the second advent.* Many 
 inconsistencies might be shewn to flow from such a 
 construction, some of which have been anticipated 
 by the author himself; but we shall call attention to 
 one only, to which he has not adverted, and which 
 appears to us to be insurmountable. After describing 
 the second advent, and the sending of the angels to 
 call in his elect, the Saviour adds — " Now learn a 
 parable of the fig-tree ; when his branch is yet ten- 
 der, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer 
 is nigh : so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these 
 things, know that it (he) is near, even at the doors. 
 Verily, I say unto you, this generation shall not 
 pass, till all these things be fulfilled." We thus see 
 that the phrase " all these things" occurs twice in 
 this passage ; and, as a matter of course, must bear 
 the same signification in both places. But in the 
 first place where it occurs, it obviously denotes, 
 either all of the events predicted in the prophecy, Or 
 those which are more immediately connected with 
 
 * " Elements of Prophecy," p. 230. 
 
28 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the second advent. How, therefore, can Mr. Birks 
 confine it, in the latter sentence, to the events which 
 are predicted in the former part of the prophecy 
 alone, and removed (according to his interpretation) 
 from the second advent by the whole Christian dis- 
 pensation, unless, indeed, he contends, that when 
 the Saviour spoke of his being near, even at the door, 
 he alluded to the figurative advent in the destruction 
 of Jerusalem by the Romans, and not the personal 
 advent which he had been describing in the imme- 
 diately preceding passage of the prophecy in question? 
 We have carefully examined, and reflected on, the 
 foregoing strictures on our exposition of this pro- 
 phecy, and we trust with a sincere desire to be con- 
 vinced of the truth ; and we have arrived at the 
 conclusion, that it is substantially correct. The 
 leading, and we may say, the only arguments of 
 weight which have been put forward against the ex- 
 position we advocate, are, that our Saviour cannot 
 be intended, under the circumstances of the delivery 
 of the prophecy, to have alluded to the second de- 
 struction of Jerusalem foretold in Zechariah ; and 
 that it is altogether inconsistent to construe the pre- 
 diction of the setting up of the abomination of deso- 
 lation, spoken of by St. Matthew and St. Mark, 
 as referring to a different event from that predicted 
 in St. Luke, as to take place when Jerusalem should 
 be seen to be surrounded with armies, inasmuch as 
 the three prophecies were obviously delivered on the 
 same occasion, and at the same period. Now, ad- 
 mitting that these three prophecies are but different 
 versions of one and the same discourse of the Saviour, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 29 
 
 there is nothing inconsistent in the supposition, that 
 one of the Evangelists should have omitted some of 
 the circumstances recorded by the other two, and 
 vice versa. On the contrary, there are many instances 
 of such an occurrence in the Gospels ; and, moreover, 
 a reason can be readily suggested for such an occur- 
 rence in this particular instance, as will presently 
 appear. 
 
 Let us suppose that the Saviour, after his predic- 
 tion of the total destruction of the temple, at which 
 he and his Disciples had been gazing, was questioned 
 by them as to the period of the destruction of the 
 temple and his second coming, as was the fact — is it 
 not manifest to any person who reads the fourteenth 
 chapter of Zechariah, that it was that plain and un- 
 equivocal prophecy of the sacking of Jerusalem, which 
 was to be followed by the appearing of the Lord 
 himself on the Mount of Olives to fight against his 
 enemies, which suggested to the Disciples the inquiry, 
 "When shall these things be, and what shall be the 
 sign of thy coming ?" No other destruction of Jeru- 
 salem is predicted, at all events, in such unambiguous 
 terms ; and what, therefore, more natural than the 
 conclusion, that it was that prophecy which suggested 
 the adding to the inquiry respecting the destruction of 
 the temple, the further inquiry respecting the coming 
 of the Lord ; and if the inquiry was made with this 
 feeling in the minds of the Disciples, as it undoubt- 
 edly was, what more natural than that the Saviour, 
 who knew their thoughts, should have replied in such 
 terms, as to convey all the information that such an 
 inquiry could call forth ? In short, is it not consis- 
 ts 
 
30 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tent with divine goodness, that he should have un- 
 folded to them, in his reply, not only the destruction 
 of Jerusalem, which was shortly to be carried into 
 effect by the Romans, but also that destruction which 
 was connected with his second advent, and which 
 alone was prominent in the minds of his inquiring 
 Disciples at the time? Such we conceive to have 
 been the extent of the Lord's revelation, co-extensive 
 with the inquiry, and, as such, comprising in it pre- 
 dictions of both destructions of the holy city — the 
 first, because the temple which was then destroyed, 
 was before him, and had originated the inquiry ; and 
 the second, because the Disciples naturally associated 
 it with the coming of the Lord. And had the Saviour 
 omitted either the one or the other of those events, 
 his information, having regard to the minds of the in- 
 quirers and their inquiry, would have been incomplete. 
 If such, then, be the true state of the case, there is 
 no difficulty in the conclusion, that while the Evan- 
 gelists St. Matthew and St. Mark recorded that part 
 alone of the divine discourse which spoke of the lat- 
 ter destruction of Jerusalem, St. Luke, whose Gospel 
 was supplementary, and written, moreover, for the 
 edification and comfort of the Eastern converts, re- 
 cords that part of the discourse which alludes to the 
 first destruction by the Romans, which had been 
 omitted by the other Evangelists, but in which those, 
 for whom principally his Gospel was written, were 
 most interested. It is unnecessary to show how fre- 
 quently the Apostles differ in their versions of the 
 same events, and the same discourses, without con- 
 tradicting each other ; and how many instances are 
 
INTRODUCTION. 31 
 
 to be found in the Gospels, of omissions by one of the 
 Evangelists being supplied by another. The lan- 
 guage in which our Lord conveys the prediction of 
 the catastrophe to Jerusalem, is almost identical in the 
 Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark, which is altoge- 
 ther different from that of St. Luke. In the two former, 
 it is described as the setting up of the abomination of 
 desolation in the holy place, and in the latter, as Jeru- 
 salem being compassed with armies ; and such being 
 the case, surely there is less impropriety in concluding, 
 that our Lord spoke of different transactions on the 
 same occasion, than that he spoke of the same trans- 
 actions in different, and wholly dissimilar, phrases. 
 
 In confirmation of this view, we may observe, that 
 the language of St. Luke shows that the destruction 
 of Jerusalem, to which he refers, is a different one 
 from that referred to by the other Evangelists. All 
 of them commenced the prophecy with a description 
 of nation rising against nation, wars, famines, pes- 
 tilences, and earthquakes ; and while it appears from 
 the versions of St. Matthew and St. Mark, that the 
 setting up of the abomination of desolation is to follow 
 these portents, the lauguage of St. Luke leads to the 
 opposite conclusion, viz., that the surrounding of Je- 
 rusalem with armies, of which he speaks, is to precede 
 the same ; for, after the prediction of wars, pesti- 
 lences, famines, and earthquakes, he proceeds — 
 " But before all these things" &c. ; and warning his 
 hearers, that when they should see Jerusalem com- 
 passed with armies, they should flee to the mountains. 
 To these might be added many other internal evi- 
 dences of the correctness of this view ; but as most of 
 
32 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 them have been adduced in our previous treatise, it 
 is unnecessary to recapitulate them. 
 
 For these reasons, we still adhere to our former 
 interpretation of the prophecy of our Lord, as re- 
 corded by St. Matthew and St. Mark, being still 
 future in its accomplishment ; and for the same rea- 
 sons, we are also confirmed in our exposition of the 
 obviously parallel symbolical predictions of the seals 
 and trumpets, being also unfulfilled. That section of 
 the Apocalypse is, as we have already explained it, a 
 revelation of the purification of the Jewish branch of 
 God's Church in the days of its restoration and recon- 
 ciliation, in a covenant state, to God, viz., the last of 
 the seventy weeks — while the part of the same book 
 which is about to occupy our attention, is a prophetic 
 picture of the trials and purification of the Gentile 
 branch of the Church, which is inserted parentheti- 
 cally, in the course of God's dealings with his people 
 Israel, between their expulsion from, and restoration 
 to, his favour. Accordingly, treating, as it does, of 
 Gentile transactions, we shall find the subject matter 
 of it to be an expansion of Daniel's prophetic history 
 of the last of the four Gentile kingdoms upon earth, 
 which were to occupy the government of the world, 
 from the period of the departure of the kingdom 
 from Israel in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, until the 
 restoration and expansion of the same at the advent 
 of the Messiah, to reign over them as "an holy nation 
 and a kingdom of priests," supreme over all the dynas- 
 ties of the world. The Roman empire, in all its forms, 
 from the first to the second advent of Christ, who, 
 under the figure of the stone made without hands, is 
 
INTRODUCTION, 33 
 
 to crush it for ever, will appear on the scene. We 
 shall find in it Rome Pagan, under the form of the 
 seven-headed and ten-horned Beast, with the crowns 
 of dominion on its heads ; Rome Papal, in the 
 form of the Scarlet Whore, riding on the same Beast 
 in a quiescent state, without any crowns either on its 
 heads or its horns; and Rome Antichrist, or Rome 
 in its last form, under the rule of the Antichrist, the 
 king of ten kings, and reigning through, and over, 
 them, symbolized by the same Beast with crowns 
 on his ten horns; and the names of blasphemy, 
 " King of Kings and Lord of Lords," on his 
 heads. 
 
 In this view, the Apocalypse will be found to be a 
 natural and consistent expansion of the prophecies 
 of Daniel, to which all admit that it bears a strong 
 resemblance ; and while it unfolds the destiny of 
 Daniel's own people, who are the objects of his first 
 solicitude and inquiries, it, at the same time, dis- 
 closes what remained in St. John's time, to be accom- 
 plishedof the history of the Gentile dispensation of the 
 four kingdoms, which he (Daniel) was the first to an- 
 nounce to the world. And while, on the one hand, 
 this exposition is not open to the leading, and well- 
 founded, objections of one class of expositors, that in 
 the exposition of their opponents, the Romish apos- 
 tasy is passed by, and the transactions of the present 
 dispensation omitted from the pages of this last reve- 
 lation of God's will to his Church ; so, on the other 
 hand, those who belong to the other class of expo- 
 sitors, cannot complain of the absence of a revelation 
 of the final consummation of iniquity — the Anti- 
 
 D 
 
34 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 christ, who is to arise in the latter days, to persecute 
 the saints, and to be extinguished by the Saviour, 
 when he comes in the clouds of heaven to succour 
 and to save his oppressed and suffering people. 
 
 The object and order of the predicted events are 
 denned and intelligible ; and though, in the details 
 of what is unfulfilled, obscurities must naturally 
 exist, yet as the time of the fulfilment approaches — 
 when the threatening clouds of the latter days are 
 gathering around, the Apocalyptic revelations shall 
 become, to the watchful student of prophecy, as a 
 light shining in a dark place, to warn him of those 
 things that are coming upon the earth, and to prepare 
 him for the conflict with the enemy of his soul. 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 35 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE CLOSE OF THE JEWISH, AND BIRTH OF THE 
 CHRISTIAN, DISPENSATION. 
 
 " But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth 
 his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them 
 that were under the law." — Gal. iv. 4. 
 
 Having, in our previous treatise of " The Latter 
 Days of the Jewish Church and Nation," accompa- 
 nied the Jewish people through the process of refine- 
 ment and purification which has been revealed to us 
 in the portion of the Apocalypse included between the 
 sixth and eleventh chapters, and having established 
 them in their promised inheritance, in the full and 
 complete enjoyment of all the glorious privileges and 
 blessings which have been poured out in the pages of 
 divine inspiration, from the days of Abraham down 
 to those of the Prophet Malachi, we now approach 
 the study and interpretation of the immediately suc- 
 ceeding portion of the blessed revelation of God's 
 will with respect to his Church. We may recollect, 
 that from the time of our Saviour's departure from 
 earth, and the simultaneous flight of the outcast 
 Jewish Church into the wilderness, where she re- 
 mains until the latter days, which are to commence 
 
36 OBJECT OF THE PROPHECY. 
 
 with the one remaining of the seventy weeks of her 
 duration as a Church, previous to her triumphant 
 glorification, another channel of mercy was opened in 
 the crucified Redeemer, through which the loving 
 kindness of God, in bringing a chosen people to him- 
 self, was to be poured during the present dispensation. 
 Another Church, or more properly speaking, a new 
 branch of the primitive Church was formed, of which 
 the first members were the Apostles and other Jewish 
 converts. These were denominated by St. Paul " the 
 remnant according to the election of grace ;" and into 
 the body of which they formed the nucleus, have the 
 Gentiles been grafted, becoming thereby partakers 
 with them of the root and fatness of the olive tree ; 
 or, in other words, of the blessings and privileges 
 which are entailed by promise on the seed of Abra- 
 ham, according to the flesh. 
 
 Thus, in the revelation of the purposes of God, 
 with respect to his Church, it is to be expected, that 
 some disclosure should be made of the vicissitudes 
 and trials of that branch of it which has existed in 
 the world since the cessation and temporary extinc- 
 tion of that which was his visible Church from the 
 days of Abraham down to the death of the Saviour. 
 And as we have traced in the former chapters of this 
 book of " the Revelation," the various trials to which 
 that previous visible Church is to be subjected, when 
 it shall be again restored, and in covenant with their 
 God, so we humbly trust to be enabled by the Spirit 
 of all truth, to unfold in the mystical prophecies of 
 the subsequent chapters — 1st, the trials and perse- 
 cutions to which the Christian branch of the Church 
 
THE CHURCH'S TRAVAIL. 3/ 
 
 has been, since the departure of the Saviour, and will 
 be, until his coming again, exposed, for those purposes 
 of refinement and purification which are necessary 
 for the perfecting of all that is human ; and 2nd, the 
 glorious manifestation of the triumph and power of 
 the Church of God in the millennial dispensation, 
 after that the seed of Abraham shall have looked for 
 mercy and deliverance to him whom they have pierced, 
 and mourned with contrite spirit, until he shall have 
 returned to pour forth for them their long suspended 
 blessings ; and change their heartfelt sighs and lamen- 
 tations into praises of thanksgiving and rejoicing. 
 
 " And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a Woman 
 clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her 
 head a crown of twelve stars : and she being with child, cried, tra- 
 vailing 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 crowns upon his heads. 
 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did 
 cast them to the earth ; and the Dragon stood before the Woman 
 which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon 
 as it was born. And she brought forth a man-child, who was to 
 rule all nations with a rod of iron : and her child was caught up 
 to God and to his throne." — Rev. xii. 1-5. 
 
 The foregoing scene, together with the remainder 
 of the twelfth chapter, are introductory of what we 
 consider to be the subject matter of the revelation, 
 viz., the Christian Church ; and it, therefore, com- 
 mences with the very root and origin of it. The 
 Woman, who appears "clothed with the sun, and 
 the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown 
 of twelve stars," is emblematical of the Jewish 
 
38 THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. 
 
 Church immediately previous to the birth of the 
 Saviour. This may be collected from other parts of 
 Scripture, where we find that Church represented 
 under the figure of a woman, Is. liv. 1 ; and that the 
 sun, moon, and twelve stars with which she is en- 
 veloped, are symbolical of the Jewish people, appears 
 from the dream of Joseph, which is recorded in the 
 thirty-seventh chapter of Genesis, where the whole 
 family of Israel, with the exception of Joseph, are 
 symbolized by the sun, moon, and eleven stars — 
 and, consequently, inclusive of Joseph, by the sun, 
 moon, and twelve stars. " And he dreamed yet 
 another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, 
 behold I have dreamed a dream more ; and behold, 
 the sun, and the moon, and the eleven stars made 
 obeisance to me. And he told it his father, and to 
 his brethren : and his father rebuked him, and said 
 unto him, what is this dream that thou hast dreamed? 
 Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come 
 to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth ?" 
 
 Thus, the Woman denoting a Church, and the sur- 
 rounding emblems the Jewish people, we can have no 
 difficulty in recognising, in the symbol before us, the 
 Jewish Church — which, the fulness of her time hav- 
 ing come, is introduced to our notice as travailing 
 with child, and paining to be delivered. This child, 
 of which she is subsequently represented as having 
 been delivered, is manifestly Christ the Saviour, who 
 is about to come into the world in fulfilment of the 
 prophecy, " unto us a child is born, unto us a son is 
 given ;" but whose identity is confirmed by the sub- 
 sequent description of his birth, where he is described 
 
THE GREAT RED DRAGON. 39 
 
 as one " who was to rule all nations with a rod of 
 iron," which is the authority and power conferred on the 
 Saviour, and on him alone. — Ps. ii. 9 ; Rev. xix. 15. 
 The other wonder which appears on the scene in 
 the shape of a great Red Dragon, is, as we are in- 
 formed in the ninth verse, " the old serpent called 
 the Devil and Satan;" who, for the promotion of 
 his machinations against all that is good, assumes 
 various forms in the world, and who is here repre- 
 sented as having "seven heads, and ten horns, and 
 seven crowns upon his heads." This seven- headed 
 and ten-horned monster occupies a conspicuous place 
 in the prophecies which we are about to consider. It 
 has been interpreted by the great majority of expo- 
 sitors who have written on the subject, as symbolical 
 of the Roman power, the fourth of Daniel's Gentile 
 kingdoms on earth. In this view we concur, though 
 we differ, in some respects, as to the explanations 
 which have been given of the heads and horns. Into 
 this, however, we shall not enter in this place, but 
 reserve our observations on the subject, until we come 
 to the consideration of the same Beast, as presented 
 to us in the thirteenth chapter of the Revelation. At 
 present, it will only be necessary to state, that we 
 have no hesitation in concurring with the generality 
 of expositors, that the seven-headed and ten-horned 
 monster, as here presented to our view, is emblema- 
 tical of the constituent parts of the Roman Empire, 
 as it existed at the period of our Saviour's birth. In- 
 deed, the explanation given by the angel of the same, 
 or a similar Beast, in Rev. xvii., precludes, as we shall 
 presently see, any other conclusion. 
 
40 the woman's flight. 
 
 Thus, the scene before us pourtrays Satan, under 
 the form of the Roman power, standing before 
 the Woman, ready to devour her child as soon as 
 it should be born. This was the exact position of 
 affairs at the time of the Saviour's birth; when we 
 are told that Herod, the Roman governor of Judea, 
 being troubled, consulted the chief priests and scribes 
 respecting the locality of the birth of Christ, and 
 also called the wise men to make inquiries from them 
 on the same subject, with the view of destroying 
 him as soon as he should come into the world. From 
 this fate, however, though Judea was deludged with 
 the blood of the innocents,* he was rescued by the 
 special interposition of Providence; and after per- 
 forming his work on earth, while the same Dragon 
 was still watching to devour him, he "was caught 
 up unto God and his throne." 
 
 " 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. xii. 6. 
 
 It may be recollected, that in our comments on the 
 previous chapters of the Revelations, we traced the 
 meaning and object of the Apocalyptic dates, viz., 
 that they were not introduced as designatory of any 
 definite periods of time, but to serve as indices to di- 
 
 * The stars of heaven, are, in this place, emblematical of the 
 Jewish people, as appears from the first verse of this chapter and 
 our interpretation of it. It would seem, therefore, that the reve- 
 lation of the Dragon drawing the third part of the stars of hea- 
 ven, and casting them to the earth, is emblematical of the slaying 
 of the Innocents by Herod. 
 
APOCALYPTIC DATES. 41 
 
 rect us to the typical event in the Old Testament, 
 which, having been typical, was, therefore, to some 
 extent, illustrative of the antitypical event revealed 
 in the Apocalypse. Thus, in this view of the pur- 
 port of these dates, we traced the typical event of 
 the fifth trumpet portents to have been the five 
 months' flood in the days of Noah ; and that of the 
 sixth trumpet portents, the destruction of Sodom and 
 Gomorrah, whereby we were led to ascertain more 
 distinctly the object and effect of those revealed visi- 
 tations.* In the same manner, we traced that the in- 
 tent of the forty-two months' treading down of the holy 
 city by the Gentiles, and of the equal and synchro- 
 nous period of 1,260 days' preaching of the two wit- 
 nesses, was to indicate the period of the present 
 dispensation^ during which the Jewish Church is 
 to be outcast ; or, like its type, Elijah, in the wil- 
 derness for three years and six months, or 1,260 
 days. In the same manner, in the verse under our 
 immediate consideration, the sojourn in the wilder- 
 ness of the Woman, or the Jewish Church, for 1,260 
 days, commencing with the ascension of Christ, leads 
 us to the same type of Elijah in the desert, and 
 shows us that the imagery discloses the period of the 
 outcast, or wilderness state, of the Jewish Church ; 
 and which Scripture has taught us is to continue 
 during the times of the Gentiles, or until the close 
 of the present dispensation, " blindness in part 
 having happened unto Israel, until the fulness of the 
 Gentiles be come in."^ 
 
 * "The Latter Days," pp. 217-224. f Ibid > 249-252. 
 
 % Primasius, who wrote in the fifth century, appears to have 
 
42 THE TYPICAL EVENT. 
 
 We may also remark, that the language of the 
 Revelation, in some degree, confirms our assumption, 
 that the sojourn of Elijah in the wilderness was the 
 type of the event here predicted ; for we are told that 
 God sent him to hide himself by the brook Cherith, 
 that is before Jordan, where he had prepared for him 
 the necessary means of sustenance, in having com- 
 manded the ravens to feed him there ; and, in the 
 verse before us, the Woman is described as having 
 " 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." It may 
 not be unworthy of observation, as corroborative of 
 the foregoing interpretation, that while the Evange- 
 list describes all the previous imagery of the Revela- 
 tion in the past tense, he does not, in this verse, write 
 that the Woman had a place prepared of God in the 
 wilderness for her, but that " she hath a place pre- 
 pared of God ;" as if he were describing an event 
 
 held a similar opinion, that these Apocalyptic dates of forty-two 
 months (1,260 days), or the time, times, and a half, were in- 
 tended to designate the period of the Christian dispensation. He 
 observes on Rev. xii. 6 — " By that number of days, which makes 
 three years and six months, he denotes in this place also all the 
 times of Christianity from the commencement to the end of the 
 preaching of Christ." And again, in his explanation of the forty- 
 two months, in Rev. xi. 2, he observes : " Numerus mensium non 
 novissimam tantum persecutionem significat, sed etiam Christi- 
 anitatis tempus omne significat." — La Eigne Bibl. torn. i. col. 
 1411-1417. Primasius does not, however, appear to have arrived 
 at this conclusion by the same process of reasoning by which we 
 have been led to it ; nor does he refer to the three years and 
 a-half abode of Elijah in the wilderness. 
 
THE WAR IN HEAVEN. 43 
 
 that was in process of fulfilment at the period of his 
 writing the Revelation. Also, in the fourteenth verse, 
 the same event is spoken of in the present tense, viz., 
 "And to the Woman were given two wings of a great 
 eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, unto 
 her place, where she is nourished for a time, and 
 times, and half a time." 
 
 Thus, in the foregoing vision, we are presented 
 with a very simple and accurate picture of the birth 
 of the Saviour — the Devil watching, under the form 
 of the Roman empire, to devour him as soon as he 
 should come into the world — and his ascension to 
 heaven, to sit down with his Father on his throne. 
 We now proceed to the next portion of the vision : — 
 
 " And there was war in heaven : Michael and his aDgels fought 
 against the Dragon : and the Dragon fought and his angels, and 
 prevailed not ; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 
 And the great Dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the 
 Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world : he was cast 
 otit into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And 
 I heard a loud voice saving in heaven, Now is come salvation, 
 and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his 
 Christ : for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, -which ac- 
 cused them before our God day and night. And they overcame 
 him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testi- 
 mony ; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore, 
 rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell hi them. Woe to the in- 
 habitants of the earth and of the sea ! for the Devil is come down 
 unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath 
 but a short time." — Rev. xii. 7-12. 
 
 This scene, which all writers aver to be, according 
 to their canon of interpretation, highly figurative, and 
 enveloped in considerable obscurity and mystery, we 
 
44 SATAN CAST OUT. 
 
 shall find, with the aid of Scripture, to be as simple 
 and obvious a picture of the event which occurred 
 immediately subsequent to the departure of the Sa- 
 viour from earth, to take his seat at the right hand of 
 God in heaven, as we have found that which imme- 
 diately precedes it, to have been of the events which 
 occurred previous to the ascension. 
 
 That Satan and his angels appeared in the presence 
 of God in heaven during the old dispensation, is 
 clearly and indisputably evidenced by several passages 
 of Holy Writ. For instance, it is recorded in the 
 book of Job, that, " on a day when the sons of God 
 came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan 
 came also among them." — Job, i. 6. A similar 
 event is likewise recorded in the prophecy of Zecha- 
 riah — " And he showed me Joshua the high priest 
 standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan 
 standing at his right hand to resist him. And the 
 Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O 
 Satan ; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem 
 rebuke thee : is not this a brand plucked out of the 
 fire V — Zech. iii. 1, 2. From these testimonies it 
 appears, that Satan was admitted into the presence 
 of God; and it may also be collected from the same 
 passages, that his object in taking his station in such 
 a place as heaven, was to appear as an adversary, or 
 accuser, against mankind; but more especially against 
 God's chosen people, the seed of Abraham after the 
 flesh, "to whom pertained the adoption, and the 
 glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the 
 law, and the service of God, and the promises." 
 And in preferring his accusations against them before 
 
SCRIPTURE EXPLANATIONS. 45 
 
 the throne of God, he was effectually forbidding the 
 fulfilment of the promises to them, for "by the 
 works of the law could no flesh be justified." — 
 Gal. ii. 16. Thus, in the event recorded by Zecha- 
 riah, in which God is represented as restoring Joshua 
 to the priesthood, after the suspension of that office 
 by the Babylonish captivity, Satan is introduced as 
 opposing, or accusing, him in the presence of the 
 Lord, with the view and intention of disqualifying 
 him for that office. In the same manner, previous, 
 and up to the time of, the redemption of the world, 
 by the all-sufficient sacrifice of Christ, none of the 
 faithful among the brethren, who had departed this 
 life before the death of the Saviour, entered into the 
 enjoyment of the blessings promised to the faithful ; 
 for the adversary was there to accuse them before the 
 throne of God, and to demand, what none of human 
 flesh could plead, the fulfilment of the will and com- 
 mandments of God on earth. We are, therefore, 
 informed by the Apostle, at the close of his catalogue 
 of the faithful of the old dispensation, that they, 
 having only " obtained a good report through 
 faith, received not the promises of God; God 
 having provided some better thing for us, that 
 they without us should not be made perfect." — 
 Heb. xi. 39> 40. But when Christ had, as a 
 circumcised Jew, performed every tittle of the 
 law, in obeying its moral injunctions, and observ- 
 ing its ritual appointments — when he had offered 
 up an infinite atonement to satisfy infinite justice, 
 and sat down at the right hand of God, how could 
 Satan any longer remain before the throne of his Fa- 
 
46 SCRIPTURE EXPLANATIONS. 
 
 ther in heaven ? "Who is he that condemneth? — 
 It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen 
 again, who is even at the right hand of God, who 
 also maketh intercession for us." — Rom. viii. 34. 
 When the accusation was preferred, there was the 
 Mediator in the presence of the Judge, to plead 
 their performance of the law through him, and to 
 present himself as the atonement for their sins ; and 
 heaven, therefore, being no longer a sphere for the 
 exercise of his functions, he was, as revealed in the 
 passage under our consideration, " cast out into the 
 earth, and his angels were cast out with him," 
 having been conquered, as we are told in the next 
 passage, "by the blood of the Lamb, and the word 
 of their testimony." 
 
 Independent, moreover, of the foregoing reasons 
 for concluding that Satan was cast out of heaven into 
 the earth, as the consequence of the death and as- 
 cension of Christ, we have it declared by the Saviour 
 himself, that on his reception up into glory, Satan 
 was to be judged — was to be cast out of heaven, and 
 to take up his peculiar abode upon earth, as the 
 Prince of this World. For instance, speaking to the 
 Disciples of his departure from them, and of the 
 consequent advent of the Comforter, who was to con- 
 vince the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, 
 he adds — "Of sin, because they believe not on me; 
 of righteousness, because J go to the Father ; of 
 judgment, because the Prince of this World is 
 judged" — John, xvi. 9-11. Again, speaking of his 
 ascension, " Jesus answered them saying, the hour 
 is come, that the Son of Man should be glorified." — 
 
MICHAEL AND HIS HOST. 47 
 
 John, xii. 23. In the succeeding verses of the same 
 chapter, he alludes to the necessity for his death, 
 and in the thirty-first verse, exclaims, as the conse- 
 quence, "Now is the judgment of this world; now 
 shall the Prince of this World be cast out." Allusion 
 is obviously made by him to the same events, when, 
 previous to his conferring on the seventy " power to 
 tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the 
 power of the enemy" he said, " I beheld Satan as 
 lightning falling from heaven." — Luke, x. 18. And, 
 in fine, the advent of Satan to earth, as his peculiar 
 sphere throughout this dispensation, is manifestly 
 disclosed in the Saviour's declaration — " Hereafter I 
 will not talk much with you; for the Prince of this 
 World cometh, and hath nothing in me." — John, 
 xiv. 30. Thus, we have the testimony of the Sa- 
 viour himself, that at the time of his departure from 
 earth to be received up into glory, Satan was to be 
 judged — to be cast out of heaven — and to come to 
 earth as peculiarly the Prince of this World, through- 
 out this dispensation; at the close of which, when 
 Christ shall return to earth, we shall find Satan de- 
 posed, and chained up in the bottomless pit for 
 1,000 years. And if such be Scripture truth, why 
 should we look to any other event, or series of events, 
 past, present, or to come, for the fulfilment of the 
 prophetic vision before us ; more especially, as it is 
 confirmatory of the simple and obvious interpretation 
 of the immediately preceding scene ? 
 
 Michael, who is here introduced with his angels, 
 as the victorious opponents [of Satan, is frequently 
 mentioned in the Scriptures as the guardian angel, 
 
48 the woman's persecution. 
 
 or prince of the Jews. — Dan. x. 13-21, and xii. 1. 
 We find also, in St. Jude, that he contended with 
 the Devil for the bod) 7 of their lawgiver, Moses ; 
 with what success, or for what object, does not dis- 
 tinctly appear. However, such being his character 
 and office, we should be inclined to construe the 
 host represented by Michael and his angels, as the 
 body of the Jewish saints, who, as St. Paul says, 
 received not the promise on their deaths, and who 
 could only overcome their adversary by " the blood of 
 the Lamb, and the word of their testimony" which 
 were the weapons used, as we are informed in their 
 song of rejoicing for the victory. 
 
 " And when the Dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, 
 he persecuted the Woman which brought forth the man child. 
 And to the Woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that 
 she might fly into the wilderness, unto her place, where she is 
 nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face 
 of the serpent." — Rev. xii. 13, 14. 
 
 The first object of Satan's attack, on his being cast 
 out of heaven into the earth, was the Woman, or 
 the visible Church of God, which was the Jewish 
 Church ; and she, we are told, was provided with 
 eagle's wings wherewith to flee into the wilderness, 
 where she now is, and is to remain until the expira- 
 tion of a time, times, and half a time, which is ge- 
 nerally admitted to designate a year, two years, and 
 half a-year, viz., three years and a-half, which de- 
 notes, as we have already explained, the period of 
 the present dispensation. The imagery of the eagle's 
 wings leads us back to Exodus, xix. 4, Deut. xxxii. 1 1, 
 where the flight of the Jewish Church into the wil- 
 
THE GENTILE FLOOD. 49 
 
 derness of Egypt is described under a similar figure, 
 which, in some degree, confirms our interpretation 
 of the Woman, in this chapter, being emblematical of 
 the Jewish Church. 
 
 " And the serpent cast out of his mouth water, as a flood, after 
 the Woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the 
 flood. And the earth helped the Woman, and the earth opened her 
 mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the Dragon cast out of 
 his mouth." — Eev. xii. 15, 16. 
 
 The next proceeding of the Serpent was that pre- 
 dicted by the Prophet Daniel, as to be accomplished 
 at the time of the cutting off of the Messiah, the 
 Prince, and the rejection of the Jews from being his 
 people. "And after threescore and two weeks shall 
 the Messiah be cut off, but not for himself; and the 
 people of the Prince that shall come (or the Prince's 
 future people, the Gentiles), shall destroy the city 
 and the sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be with 
 ajlood, and unto the end of the war desolations shall 
 be determined." — Dan. ix. 26. The flood of hostile 
 nations, which was, in fulfilment of this prophecy, 
 poured against the Jews and their Church, was at the 
 instigation of Satan. But instead of prevailing in his 
 attempt to annihilate her utterly, she is, we are told 
 in the Revelation before us, preserved in the wilder- 
 ness by a merciful and long-suffering God, to be 
 again, as we have fully explained, established and re- 
 vealed, when the covenant shall be renewed with many 
 for the one remaining of the seventy weeks of her dura- 
 tion (verse 27), which Daniel had been informed in the 
 twenty-fourth verse of the same chapter, was to elapse 
 
50 THE CHRISTIAN PERSECUTIONS. 
 
 before that their transgressions should be finished, an 
 end made of her sins, reconciliation made for iniquity, 
 everlasting righteousness brought in, the vision and 
 prophecy sealed up, and the Most Holy anointed — all 
 which is to be effected by their reception of their Saviour 
 at his second advent, at the close of the Gentile dis- 
 pensation ; while the flood that was poured against 
 her by the Serpent, expended its force on the Holy 
 Land, which is here termed "the earth," and which is 
 figuratively described as having swallowed it up. 
 
 " And the Dragon was wroth with the Woman, and went to 
 make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the com- 
 mandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." — 
 Rev. xii. 17. 
 
 The Dragon, after this persecution of the Woman, 
 or the Jewish Church, and her deliverance by having 
 been removed into her present wilderness state, turns 
 his wrath against the visible remnant of God's Church 
 which remained, and which is correctly termed, " the 
 remnant of her (the Woman's) seed, which keep the 
 commandments of God, and have the testimony of 
 Jesus Christ," viz., the Apostles, and other early Jew- 
 ish converts, who were denominated by St. Paul, " the 
 remnant according to the election of grace." This 
 warfare of Satan against the remnant of early Chris- 
 tians, has never ceased ; and all who have been 
 planted into that remnant, have shared in the perse- 
 cutions of their enemy from that period down to the 
 present ; and thus the war of the Dragon against the 
 remnant of the Woman's seed, is the war that he has 
 been waging against the Christian Church, from the 
 
RECAPITULATION. 51 
 
 days of the Apostles down to the present times, and 
 which will continue until he shall be conquered and 
 bound by the Lord himself at his second coming. Of 
 these persecutions and trials, to which the Christian 
 Church has been, and will continue to be, subjected 
 at the hands of the Devil, or his instruments or agents, 
 we shall find the succeeding chapters to be a revelation. 
 Thus the Apocalyptic vision which we have been 
 considering is, as we premised, an introductory reve- 
 lation to the refining trials and purgations to which 
 the Christian branch of God's Church is to be sub- 
 jected, being a figurative description of the occur- 
 rences which actually took place previous, and imme- 
 diately subsequent to the ascension of the Saviour. 
 His birth is almost literally depicted — the position of 
 the Roman power, at the instigation of Satan, ready 
 to devour him as soon as he should be born — and his 
 ascension into heaven. We have then the casting out 
 of Satan into the earth, where, as the Prince of the 
 World, he exercises his powers of mischief and per- 
 secution; and the rejoicings of the faithful patriarchs 
 on their entry into bliss, purchased by the mediatorial 
 blood of the Saviour, but from which they had been 
 theretofore debarred by the presence of their adver- 
 sary and accuser. We are next presented with the 
 persecution of the Jewish Church by the Serpent, 
 and her escape into the wilderness, where she is to 
 remain during the present dispensation. And lastly, 
 we behold the Dragon turning his wrath against the 
 remnant, which formed the nucleus of the Christian 
 branch of God's Church, and which has ever since 
 been the special object of the machinations and per- 
 
52 OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 
 
 secutions of the Prince of this World, and the 
 enemy of all that is good. 
 
 It may be objected, that all the occurrences having 
 been retrospective at the time of the revelation to 
 the Evangelist, they could not with propriety form a 
 part of a prophetic vision. Such an objection must be 
 founded on the presumption that every part of the Apo- 
 calyptic vision must be wholly prospective. Admit- 
 ting, however, that the leading object of this section of 
 the vision was to disclose future events, it does not fol- 
 low that, when a brief retrospect was requisite for the 
 proper and complete introduction of the subject mat- 
 ter of the prophecy, as it was in this case for the in- 
 troduction of the Christian, as distinguished from the 
 Jewish branch of God's Church, the Almighty re- 
 vealer was precluded from displaying to the eyes of 
 his Evangelist, a particular, though symbolic, picture 
 of its origin and early history, for the more complete 
 elucidation of ensuing revelations. There is some- 
 thing, moreover, in the opening language, that is in 
 some measure corroborative of a retrospective in- 
 terpretation ; for it does not commence, like the 
 other parts of the prophetic vision which were ad- 
 mittedly unfulfilled at the period of the revelation, 
 with a declaration of the Evangelist in the first per- 
 son — "I saw," &c. ; but it commences, in a some- 
 what different style from any other part of " the Reve- 
 lation," in the past tense, viz., " there appeared," or 
 " there was seen (w00?/) a great sign in heaven," &c. 
 It may seem surprising to many, that if this vision 
 had been fulfilled before it was written, how it should 
 have occurred that the fulfilment should not have 
 
CAUSES OF MISCONSTRUCTIONS. 53 
 
 been recognised by expositors and the Christian 
 world at large. To this we reply, that the general 
 intent and meaning is so obvious, that few persons, 
 we would venture to say, have read the passage in 
 question, who have not, in the first instance, given it 
 a construction consistent with the truth. The expe- 
 rience of Christian inquirers will, we feel persuaded, 
 confirm this observation ; while, for the subsequent 
 aberrations, there are several very obvious causes. 
 For instance, as long as the present and future posi- 
 tion of the Jewish Church remained unrecognised 
 and unacknowledged, the figure of the flight of the 
 Woman into the wilderness must have been involved 
 in a mystery : and likewise, while the meaning and 
 intent of the Apocalyptic dates were unexplained, 
 the period of 1260 days, and the "time, times, and a 
 half," must have proved a stumblingblock to the true, 
 and we may add obvious, interpretation of the scene 
 before them. It was, in all probability, the latter of 
 these causes which has misled so many interpreters, 
 and drawn them into erroneous constructions. Had 
 they taken into consideration the past, present, and 
 future position of the Jewish Church, and adopted 
 the view which we have endeavoured to sustain re- 
 specting the Apocalyptic dates, viz., that the 1260 
 days, or 42 months, or the "time, times and a half," 
 are but abstract indices of the indefinite period of the 
 present dispensation, during which the Jewish Church 
 continues, like its type Elijah, in the wilderness, un- 
 visited by the dew of the Spirit, they could not have 
 abandoned, what we cannot but consider, the obvious 
 meaning of this section of the Apocalyptic vision. 
 
54 ERRONEOUS VIEWS 
 
 Thus it was that Mr. Burgh, whose views on the 
 subject of the past, present, and future position of the 
 Jewish Church and nation appear to be most clear and 
 correct, has been led into what we must consider an 
 erroneous view of the meaning of this prophecy. 
 After having treated the visions of the seals and 
 trumpets as unfulfilled, he proceeds to the considera- 
 tion of the imagery in question, and treats it as 
 wholly future. His interpretation is, that the Woman 
 is emblematical of the Jewish nation at the period of 
 their restoration — not at the time of the nativity of 
 the Saviour.* He thus passes over the entire period 
 of the present dispensation, leaving it without any 
 revelation in the Apocalypse, and explains the ima- 
 gery of the parturition to adumbrate "the bringing 
 in again of the first-begotten into the world," and 
 which he afterwards explains as the formation of 
 Christ in their (the Jewish nation's) hearts, the 
 hope of glory. The seven-headed and ten-horned 
 Dragon he interprets as Satan, clothed with the 
 proper characteristics of the Prince of this World, 
 seeking to effect the extermination of the Jewish 
 people ; and the abreption of the Child into heaven 
 is, in his view of it, intended to convey the entire 
 failure of this attempt to prevent the Kingdom of 
 Christ. This explanation, which involves the neces- 
 sary presumption that the vision is highly figura- 
 tive, is, on that account, somewhat at variance with 
 his own principle of literal interpretation ; nor is 
 it at all, as it appears to us, borne out by the 
 
 * Expos, of the Book of Rev. p. 230. 
 
CONSIDERED AND RECTIFIED. 55 
 
 passages of Scripture on which he relies for elu- 
 cidation. 
 
 His first remark is, that the Man child brought 
 forth " was to rule all nations with a rod of iron ;" 
 and, therefore, could not pourtray the first comiug of 
 the Saviour, inasmuch as this was not the character 
 in which Christ appeared at his first and literal birth 
 into the world. This reasoning is built on the prin- 
 ciple, that there would be an inconsistency in a pro- 
 phecy of the first coming, if it included in it any of 
 the characteristics or features of the second. But is 
 it not a fact, that the generality of the prophecies of 
 the first coming do contain many of the features that 
 will be realised only at the second advent ? Take, 
 for example, the prophecy, "Unto us a child is born, 
 unto us a son is given," &c. — Isaiah, ix. 6, 7. Is 
 not this universally admitted to be a prophecy of the 
 nativity ? and yet the principal portion of it is yet to 
 be fulfilled, at the return of the Saviour, in power and 
 great glory, to reign over his people Israel. Again, 
 the third and following verses of the fortieth chapter 
 of Isaiah have been applied by the Baptist to the first 
 advent — Luke hi. 3, 4 — and yet the fulfilment of 
 the principal portion of it is still future. 
 
 But, not to multiply instances, the literal birth of 
 the Saviour is predicted in the following prophecy of 
 Micah, and he is there introduced, as in the passage 
 of the Apocalypse before us, as to be the ruler in 
 Israel: — "And thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though 
 thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet 
 out of thee shall he come forth that is to be ruler 
 in Israel." — Micah, v. 2. Simeon, moreover, an- 
 
56 MISINTERPRETATIONS 
 
 nounced him as, not only " the light to lighten the 
 Gentiles," which is his peculiar characteristic in the 
 present dispensation, but to be "the glory of his 
 people Israel," which is manifestly suspended until 
 his coming again, " to rule all nations with a rod of 
 iron." And, in fine, the Saviour himself, in his re- 
 velation to the Church at Thyatira, announces that 
 he had been invested with the very office in question, 
 though it has not been hitherto developed. " And 
 he shall rule thee with a rod of iron : as the ves- 
 sels of a potter shall they be broken in pieces ; even 
 as I received of my Father" — Rev. ii. 27. Hence 
 we may conclude, that there is nothing inconsistent 
 in an announcement of the nativity of the Saviour, 
 that he was " to rule all nations with a rod of iron." 
 In support of his view of this prophecy, Mr. Burgh 
 also refers to the following passage from the Prophet 
 Isaiah : — " Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye that 
 tremble at his word ; your brethren that hated you, 
 that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the 
 Lord be glorified : but he shall appear to your joy, 
 and they shall be ashamed. A voice from the city, a 
 voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that ren- 
 dereth recompense to his enemies. Before she tra- 
 vailed she brought forth : before her pain came she 
 was delivered of a man child. "Who hath heard such 
 a thing ? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in 
 one day ? or shall a nation be born at once ? for as 
 soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth (because 
 Zion travailed and brought forth children. — Septua- 
 gint). Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to 
 bring forth ? saith the Lord : shall I cause to bring 
 
OF ISAIAH LXVI. 57 
 
 forth, and shut the womb, saith thy God?" — Is. 
 lxvi. 5-9. Mr. Elliott also relies on this passage in 
 support of his interpretation, that the prophecy 
 which we are considering is prefigurative of the es- 
 tablishment of Christianity, and the subversion of 
 paganism by Constantine.* Let us see how far it 
 supports the respective views of these authors. 
 
 In the first place, the foregoing parturition cannot 
 refer to the event prefigured by the parturition in the 
 Apocalypse ; for in the one, the delivery of the Wo- 
 man is represented as being before she travailed, and 
 before her pain came, while in the other, the leading 
 feature of the prophecy is, that "she being with 
 child, cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be de- 
 livered." But independent of this manifest variance 
 between the two prophecies in question, the true 
 meaning and purport of the foregoing passage of 
 Isaiah is, we conceive, very different from Mr. Burgh's 
 or Mr. Elliott's conceptions of it. The Church, or 
 people, which is there represented as bringing forth 
 the man child, is not the Jewish Church, as Mr. 
 Burgh concludes, but the Gentile Christian Church, 
 as will appear from the following explanatory para- 
 phrase of the passage in question : — "Hear the word 
 of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word; your breth- 
 ren that hated you, and cast you out for my name's 
 sake (that is, the Gentiles, who cast out and hated 
 the Jews for the Lord's name's sake), said, Let the 
 Lord be glorified : but he shall appear to your joy, 
 and they shall be ashamed. . . . Before 
 
 * Hor. Apoc, vol. ii. pp. 772, 773. 
 
58 EXPLANATION OF ISAIAH LXVI. 
 
 she (the Gentile Church) travailed, she brought 
 forth ; before her pain came she was delivered of a 
 man child (that is, the Gentile Church, in its very 
 inception, without any of the previous travail or pain 
 of the Jewish Church, became, by the mercy of God, 
 partakers of all the benefits of the Saviour's birth). 
 Who has heard such a thing ? Shall the earth be 
 made to bring forth in one day ? or shall a nation be 
 born at once ? for as soon as (because) Zion has tra- 
 vailed, she (and) brought forth her children" — which 
 conveys, we conceive, an expression of wonder that 
 the Gentile Church should be born in a day, without 
 previous travail, because Zion, or the Jewish Church, 
 had brought forth her children after having travailed. 
 The succeeding verses appear to be the conclusion 
 drawn as to the superior blessings and effect that are 
 to be looked for, from the Saviour's birth, to the 
 Church which had travailed and pained so long to be 
 delivered. Thus, if this view of the prophecy of 
 Isaiah be well founded, it not only does not afford 
 any support to the views of either Mr. Burgh or Mr. 
 Elliott, but is, to a great extent, corroborative of our 
 interpretation of the Apocalyptic imagery which we 
 have been considering. 
 
PROPHECIES OF DANIEL. 59 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE PROPHECIES OF THE IMAGE AND OF THE 
 FOUR WILD BEASTS. 
 
 " He revealeth the deep and secret things : he knoweth what is 
 in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him." — Dan. ii. 22. 
 
 Before entering on the consideration of the pro- 
 phetic symbols of the next chapter of " the Revela- 
 tion, "which opens with an emergence of a seven-headed 
 and ten-horned monster from the sea, it will contri- 
 bute to the elucidation of the subject, to revert to the 
 consideration of the two prophetic visions of the 
 Image and of the four Wild Beasts, which are record- 
 ed in the Book of Daniel ; inasmuch as it appears to 
 be universally admitted, that all expositors, however 
 different their views may be in other respects, har- 
 monise in the conclusion, that the fourth kingdom of 
 Nebuchadnezzar's image, the fourth Beast of Daniel's 
 vision, and this Beast of the Revelations, are identi- 
 cal. It is therefore clear, that the ascertainment of 
 the meaning and purport of the two former of these 
 visions, must be of assistance in opening out the 
 meaning and purport of the latter, which will supply 
 us with a key to the interpretation of the whole reve- 
 
GO 
 
 THE IMAGE. 
 
 lation in question. With this view, we shall com- 
 mence our inquiries with an examination of the pro- 
 phetic vision of the Image which appeared to Nebu- 
 chadnezzar, King of Babylon, in or about the year 
 609, a.c, and which is thus described by the Pro- 
 phet Daniel : — 
 
 " Thou, 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 of tine 
 gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of 
 brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou 
 sawest until that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote 
 the Image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake 
 them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, 
 and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff 
 of the summer's threshingfloors ; and the wind carried them away, 
 and no place was found for them : and the stone that smote the 
 Image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." — 
 Dan. ii. 31-35. 
 
 The interpretation of this vision is also recorded 
 by the Prophet ; and through the medium of this 
 interpretation, other prophecies of Scripture, and the 
 subsequent events which have been preserved for us 
 in history, we hope to be enabled to unfold the true 
 intent and meaning of the vision. 
 
 The image consists of four parts — 1st, the head ; 
 2nd, the breast and arms ; 3rd, the belly and thighs ; 
 and 4th, the legs and feet. These we propose to 
 examine separately. 
 
 First. — With respect to the head, there can be no 
 doubt or controversy as to that of which it is emble- 
 matic ; inasmuch as the Prophet has expressly inter- 
 preted the same to be Nebuchadnezzar himself. 
 
PARTS OF THE IMAGE. 61 
 
 " Thou, O king, art a king of kings. . . Thou 
 art this head of gold."— Dan. ii. 37, 38. 
 
 Secondly. — As to the head a"i arms, we are told 
 by the Prophet, that they are symbolic of a kingdom 
 which was to arise after Nebuchadnezzar, or, more 
 properly speaking, after the expiration of the supre- 
 macy of the Babylonish, or Chaldean and Assyrian 
 empire, over which he was the reigning sovereign. 
 This kingdom was obviously the Medo- Persian em- 
 pire, by which that of Babylon was subdued in the 
 succeeding reign of Belshazzar, as described in the 
 fifth chapter of Daniel — one of the arms denoting the 
 Persian, and the other the Median empire, which 
 became united under Cyrus. — Dan. v. 28, 31. 
 
 Thirdly. — The belly and thighs are, we are told by 
 the Prophet, symbolical of a third kingdom of brass, 
 that should rule over all the earth. This third king- 
 dom is manifestly the Grecian, by which, under their 
 King, Alexander the Great, the Medo-Persian empire 
 was subdued about the year 331 a.c, and in whose 
 geographical extent were comprehended the territories 
 of the humbled Babylonish and Medo-Persian empires. 
 
 Fourthly. — The " legs of iron, and feet part of iron 
 and part of clay," are declared by the Prophet to 
 be " the fourth kingdom," which he describes as to 
 be " strong as iron ; forasmuch as iron breaketh in 
 pieces and subdueth all things." This fourth king- 
 dom is evidently the Roman empire, which subdued 
 that of Greece, and thereby, in addition to its own 
 peculiar territories, extended its iron sway over all the 
 regions which had formed the preceding empires of 
 Babvlon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. It was, in the 
 
62 THE STONE. 
 
 words of the Prophet, strong as iron, forasmuch as it 
 broke in pieces and subdued all the others. 
 
 With respect to the circumstance of the feet and 
 toes being represented as part of clay and part of 
 iron, it is explained by the Prophet, as indicating 
 that " the kingdom shall be divided ; but there shall 
 be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as 
 thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay." The 
 meaning of this we conceive to be, that the Roman 
 empire, which was strong as iron, at the period of the 
 subjugation by it of the preceding kingdoms (symbo- 
 lized by the legs of iron), was not to retain to the last 
 its strength and compactness, but to become diluted 
 and degenerate, and finally to be subdivided into ten 
 inferior kingdoms, symbolized by the feet and ten 
 toes of the image. These ten toes, representing (as 
 we conceive) the same thing as the ten horns of the 
 fourth Beast of Daniel, and of the Beast of the Apo- 
 calypse, we shall have an opportunity of examining 
 the purport of them more fully, when we come to the 
 consideration of those prophetic symbols. "We shall, 
 therefore, in this place merely observe, that the toes 
 being at the extremity of the foot, it would seem to 
 be a natural consequence, that this subdivision of the 
 Roman empire is to take place in its last state, and when 
 it shall be drawing nigh to the close of its existence. 
 
 Such being the meaning of the several parts of the 
 Image, which, as a whole, is obviously emblematic of 
 the kingdoms of the world which were to exist from 
 the days of the revelation to Nebuchadnezzar down 
 to the time when all the kingdoms of the world 
 should become the kingdoms of God and of his 
 
THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST. 63 
 
 Christ, we shall now endeavour to ascertain the anti- 
 type of the Stone, which was to be cut out without 
 hands, and which smote the Image on the feet and 
 broke it in pieces, and afterwards became a great 
 mountain that filled the whole earth. This Stone is 
 manifestly the kingdom of Christ on earth, which is 
 to be hewn out without hands, or the power of man. 
 It is thus described by the Prophet : — " In the days 
 of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a king- 
 dom, which shall never be destroyed ; and the kingdom 
 shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in 
 pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall 
 stand for ever." The kingdom, therefore, is the 
 kingdom, the throne of which shall be the throne of 
 David — the restored kingdom of Israel, which is the 
 only kingdom that is to be indestructible. " He 
 shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the 
 Highest : and the Lord God shall give him the throne 
 of his father David ; and he shall reign over the 
 house of Jacob for ever ; and of his kingdom there 
 shall be no end" — Luke i. 32, 33. And again, 
 Isaiah, in using the same figure of a stone, in a pro- 
 phecy of the Saviour, reveals the seat of his kingdom 
 upon earth. Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation 
 stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure 
 foundation."— Is. xxviii. 16. Thus Christ and his 
 kingdom being identified, as were Nebuchadnezzar 
 and his kingdom, we may conclude that the fifth 
 kingdom, which is to break in pieces and consume all 
 the preceding kingdoms, and to stand for ever, is the 
 restored kingdom of Israel, of which Christ is the 
 precious corner stone ; and which is to swell into a 
 
64 THE ROMAN DYNASTY. 
 
 mountain and fill the whole earth. " In the last days 
 it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the Lord's 
 house shall be established in the top of the moun- 
 tains, and shall be exalted above the hills ; and all 
 nations shall flow into it. . . . For out of Zion 
 shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from 
 Jerusalem." — Is. ii. 1, 2; Mic. iv. ], 2. "For the 
 nation and kingdom that shall not serve thee, shall 
 perish ; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted." — 
 Is. lx. 12. 
 
 The foregoing would appear to be an accurate ac- 
 complishment of this prophetic vision ; nor are we 
 aware of any inconsistencies with which the inter- 
 pretation can be justly charged. It certainly assumes 
 that the Roman dynasty has not yet come to an end ; 
 and that its existence is not to cease until it shall have 
 been smitten by the Stone of Zion, at the close of the 
 present dispensation — and this we are prepared to 
 maintain, notwithstanding the assumption of many 
 expositors to the contrary. Let us, however, in the 
 first place, take the description of the Prophet, and 
 see how consonant it is to the facts as they have oc- 
 curred, and as they now exist. The legs are of iron — 
 that is to say, the kingdom, as it first appears on its 
 succeeding the subdued Grecian, was strong by the 
 force of its arms, and so it continued until the fall of 
 the Emperorship. Then came the feet and toes, part 
 of iron and part of potter's clay, which the Prophet 
 explains as denoting a weakening or dilution of the 
 power of the kingdom ; and which was, and still is, 
 the succeeding state of the Roman dynasty under the 
 Popedom, and the Antichrist, into which, as will 
 
dr. todd's view. 65 
 
 hereafter more clearly appear, the Popedom is to ex- 
 pand. The power which is exercised by the Papacy 
 is spiritual power, symbolized by the miry clay, while 
 the temporal power of Rome, which is now, and is 
 to continue, as we shall presently show, suspended 
 until the latter days of this dispensation, will again 
 revive, and display itself in the iron despotism of the 
 Roman Antichrist. And thus the feet and toes of 
 the Image are part of iron and part of potter's clay — 
 a combination of Popish spiritual ascendancy and the 
 temporal despotism of the Antichrist and his ten 
 subordinate kings; which latter are, as we shall 
 presently see, symbolized by the ten toes of the 
 Image and the ten horns of the fourth Beast in the 
 next prophetic vision. 
 
 Dr. Todd, in his M Donnellan Lectures," has en- 
 deavoured to sustain the view of the fourth kingdom, 
 if not of the two which preceded it also, being alto- 
 gether unfulfilled, maintaining that no nation has 
 hitherto arisen, whose history at all corresponds with 
 the prophetic description of it which is given in 
 Daniel ; and in support of this interpretation, he has 
 enumerated a variety of objections to those of the 
 expositors, who have considered the prophecy of the 
 fourth kingdom to have been fulfilled in the Roman 
 empire. None of these objections, however, are ap- 
 plicable to the interpretation which we have been 
 endeavouring to uphold ; and which, being consistent 
 with the description of the Image, with the interpre- 
 tation given by the Prophet, with the events which 
 have already taken place, and with the events which 
 we know from prophecy are yet to be fulfilled, has, 
 
66 daniel's prophecy 
 
 we conceive, all the requisites to render it satisfac- 
 tory and conclusive. On the other hand, the inter- 
 pretation that would postpone the fulfilment of the 
 last three kingdoms to a period still future, must, in 
 the admission that Nebuchadnezzar was the head of 
 the Image, break its continuity, by introducing a 
 chasm of many centuries between some of the mem- 
 bers of the Image — that is to say, either between the 
 head and the breast, or between the breast and the 
 belly, or between the thighs and the legs. But where 
 is there anything in the vision to warrant such an 
 interruption in the continuity of the Image, every 
 part of which is physically and chronologically con- 
 nected with the remainder ; insomuch that it is im- 
 possible not to conclude, that the expositor who con- 
 tends for such an explanation of the symbol, must, 
 and would, on the same principle of construction, 
 have deferred the fulfilment of the golden head in 
 the person and kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, until 
 the near approach of the final consummation of all 
 things, had not the Prophet stated specifically that 
 the King of Babylon was this head of gold ? 
 
 Having thus stated that we conceive the different 
 parts of the Image to have been emblematic of the 
 four continuous kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, 
 Greece, and Rome, we now proceed to the considera- 
 tion of the vision of the four Beasts, which is mani- 
 festly connected with, and in some degree explanatory 
 of, the previous prophetic vision of the Image and 
 Stone, inasmuch as the fourth Beast, or kingdom, is 
 explained to be "the fourth kingdom upon earth." — 
 Dan. vii. 23. 
 
OF THE FOUR BEASTS. 67 
 
 The vision in question will be found recorded in 
 the first fourteen verses of the fifth chapter of the 
 prophecies of Daniel. The interpretation which was 
 unfolded to the Prophet follows ; and in our inquiry, 
 we propose, in the first place, to describe what we con- 
 ceive to be the meaning of the several parts, and then 
 to test the explanation by what is declared to the Pro- 
 phet to be the purport and intent of the revelation. 
 
 The four Beasts have been considered, almost uni- 
 versally, to be identical with the four kingdoms typi- 
 fied by the several parts of the preceding vision of 
 the Image, viz., the Babylonish, the Medo-Persian, 
 the Grecian, and the Roman; and in this view we 
 concur. The several characteristics and features of 
 the first three Beasts have been traced by commenta- 
 tors, to have been accurately typical of the several 
 particulars disclosed, and realised in their respective 
 histories ; but as the principal object we have in 
 view is to identify the fourth Beast, or kingdom, and 
 trace its prophetic history, we shall not stop to in- 
 vestigate and explain those others in detail. 
 
 The fourth Beast is admitted by all expositors to 
 be identical with the kingdom symbolized by the legs 
 and feet of the Image, and that we have traced to be 
 the Roman — consequently, the Beast under conside- 
 ration is emblematic of the Roman empire, whose 
 despotic and irresistible sway is described as " dread- 
 ful and terrible ; and it had great iron teeth ; it de- 
 voured, and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue 
 with the feet of it." 
 
 The next remarkable characteristic of the Beast tha* 
 is noticed is, that it had ten horns. These ten horns, 
 
68 THE INTERPRETATION OP 
 
 which are afterwards explained to be " ten kings that 
 shall arise," are obviously and admittedly symbolical 
 of the same circumstance as the ten toes of the Image ; 
 and as the ten toes of the Image are typical of the 
 division of the Roman empire in its very last state — 
 the toes being the extremity of the figure — there is 
 no great violence in the conclusion, that the ten horns 
 are typical of the kingdoms into which the Roman 
 empire is yet, and shortly before its final dissolution, 
 to be divided. These ten horns have been generally 
 explained by those who maintain (as we do) that the 
 fourth kingdom is the Roman, to pourtray ten king- 
 doms, into which, it has been alleged, the territorial 
 dominions of Rome have been already divided ; but 
 the very great discordance which has prevailed among 
 that class of expositors, respecting the identifica- 
 tion of these kingdoms, is strong evidence that 
 the division has not yet taken place. The Roman 
 empire, in its present weak and diluted state, is re- 
 presented by the feet of the image, part of clay and 
 part of iron ; and when, at last, it shall become di- 
 vided into ten separate kingdoms, all of them, in a 
 certain sense, as we shall presently explain, con- 
 nected with, and subordinate to, that which shall, up 
 to that time, be the head of the empire, then shall 
 commence the fulfilment of the prophecy of the ten 
 horns and ten toes. 
 
 The next object which presents itself, is another 
 " little horn," which was seen to come up among the 
 ten horns, "before whom were three of the first 
 horns plucked up by the roots," " and behold in this 
 horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth 
 
THE FOUR BEASTS. 69 
 
 speaking great things." The interpretation of this 
 phenomenon, which is disclosed to the Prophet, is as 
 follows : — " And the ten horns out of this kingdom 
 are ten kings that shall arise ; and another shall 
 arise after them ; and he shall be diverse from the 
 first ; and he shall subdne three kings. 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 ; and they shall be given into 
 his hand until a time, and times, and dividing of a 
 time." We can have no difficulty in identifying this 
 little horn thus described, with the Antichrist pre- 
 dicted by St. Paul, "who opposeth and exalted him- 
 self above all that is called God, or that is worshipped ; 
 so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, show- 
 ing himself that he is God." — 2 Thess. ii. 4. This is 
 also corroborated by the descriptions given of the de- 
 struction of this being by the same Prophet. In the 
 prophecy before us, it is thus revealed : — " But the 
 judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his do- 
 minion, to consume and destroy it unto the end." — 
 v. 26. By St. Paul, he is introduced as one " whom 
 the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, 
 and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." 
 This power, symbolized by the little horn, has by 
 the generality of commentators been interpreted to 
 prefigure the Papacy, represented in the person of its 
 supreme head, the Pope ; and it cannot be disputed, 
 but that they have succeeded in tracing in the corrup- 
 tions and abominations of that apostate system, some- 
 thing analogous to the features here depicted of the 
 antitype of the little horn. With those expositions we 
 
70 THE LITTLE HORN. 
 
 so far agree, that the analogy is, as might have been 
 expected, to a certain extent, very obvious, inasmuch 
 as in our previous investigations concerning the na- 
 ture and powers of this awful being, we have traced 
 him to be the incarnation and open manifestation of 
 a pre-existing apostasy, or " mystery of iniquity," 
 at the present time, and ever since the days of the 
 Apostles, pervading the world, but so secretly and co- 
 vertly, as not only to deceive the great mass of its 
 own deluded votaries, but to blind the eyes and the 
 understandings of many sincere believers as to its 
 real nature — and of this "mystery of iniquity," 
 Popery being, perhaps, the most tangible and mani- 
 fest example that presents itself in the wide field of 
 diabolical deceits and perversions of the truth, it is 
 not to be wondered at, that the characteristics of the 
 Antichrist should be traceable in a system of which 
 it will be the open and undisguised revelation. These 
 features it will not be necessary for us to trace. 
 They will be found in the writings of Newton, Faber, 
 Elliott, and many other expositors ; and they bear, 
 as we have already observed, so striking a resem- 
 blance to the leading characteristics of the Romish 
 Church, that those commentators have considered 
 that system to be the complete fulfilment of the pre- 
 diction of the little horn ; and the effect of this, as it 
 appears to us, hasty and erroneous conclusion, has 
 unfortunately been to lead another class of expositors 
 into a still more fatal error. We allude to those, 
 who, to relieve the Romish Church of the stigma of 
 being the fulfilment of the prophecy of the little 
 horn, have been led to deny the accomplishment of 
 
dr. todd's view. 71 
 
 any part of the vision of the four Beasts, or of any 
 part of the vision of the Image with the exception 
 of the golden head. 
 
 This latter view has been ably supported by Dr. 
 Todd, in his " Donnellan Sermons," where he has 
 collected all that can be advanced on the subject. 
 He has even carried out his system to the extent of 
 denying the fulfilment of the vision of the Ram and 
 the He Goat, which has been accomplished with such 
 interesting accuracy in the wars of Alexander and 
 Darius, that even if we had not been told by the Pro- 
 phet himself, that those symbolical animals were 
 the respective Kings of Media, Persia, and Greece, 
 scarcely a doubt could have existed on the subject ; 
 for even infidel writers have admitted the exactness 
 of the correspondence between the prediction and 
 the collisions which have taken place between the 
 monarchs of those two countries. In addition to 
 these prophecies, the vision of the things " noted in 
 the Scripture of truth," as recorded in the eleventh 
 chapter of Daniel, has likewise been included by 
 Dr. Todd in the calendar of unfulfilled prophecy, 
 though, like the preceding, the accomplishment, as far 
 as the thirty-first verse, has been so exact, that sceptics 
 have been driven to accuse the faithful of having 
 written the prophecies after the events had happened. 
 To these, he also expresses an inclination to add the 
 prophecy of the seventy weeks, by which the Jews 
 of old were led to look for the Messiah, at the very 
 hour of his birth. So that the obvious tendency of 
 the method of interpretation which has been adopted 
 and vindicated by Dr. Todd, who follows Maitland, 
 
72 DR. TODD's OBJECTIONS 
 
 is to deprive the Church of its chief evidence of the 
 inspiration of Holy Writ, in the fulfilment of many 
 of its prophecies, thereby yielding up a position 
 never assailed by its adversaries, and putting a 
 weapon into their hands, which would have been 
 powerless had it not been forged by those of a 
 friend. 
 
 But to return to our interpretation of the vision of 
 the four Beasts. — We cannot leave the subject with- 
 out adverting to some difficulties which have been 
 stated by Dr. Todd to be fatal objections to the expo- 
 sitions which explain the prophecy as fulfilled in the 
 Babylonish, Medo-Persian, Grecian, and Roman em- 
 pires. The first of them is to the effect, that the 
 vision having appeared to Daniel in the first year 
 of Belshazzar, the successor of Nebuchadnezzar, if we 
 interpret the first head to be identical with Nebu- 
 chadnezzar, the vision must have been partly symbo- 
 lical of past events, which would be inconsistent with 
 the angel's explanation in the seventeenth verse : — 
 " These great Beasts, which are four, are four kings 
 which shall arise out of the earth." It follows, there- 
 fore, he insists, that the first Beast cannot be identical 
 with the golden head of the image. Now, admitting 
 that the first Beast could not, with consistency, have 
 been symbolic of Nebuchadnezzar, it might have been, 
 as it actually was, symbolic of the Babylonish empire, 
 which was still in existence at the time of the vision, 
 and which could not, therefore, be said to have been 
 a past event. The first kingdom, therefore, having 
 been still in existence, and a portion of its history 
 still future, it was introduced into the prophetic 
 
CONSIDERED AND REFUTED. 16 
 
 vision in order to render the revelation harmonious 
 and consistent, by exhibiting, like the vision of the 
 Image, to the view of the Prophet, a series of poli- 
 tical dynasties, which were to succeed each other, and 
 to continue from his days down to those of the king- 
 dom of Christ upon earth. 
 
 Another objection is, that it may be collected from 
 the prophecy, that the four kingdoms are to be four 
 contemporaneous kingdoms, and that the first three 
 of them are to survive the last — it being stated, that 
 after the fourth Beast was slain, and his body de- 
 stroyed and given to the burning flames, " as con- 
 cerning the rest of the Beasts, they had their do- 
 minion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged 
 for a season and a time." To this objection we reply, 
 that the conclusion drawn by Dr. Todd is not at all 
 warranted by the passage to which he refers, and its 
 context. The twelfth verse is, we conceive, intro- 
 duced after the history of the continuance and final 
 end of the fourth Beast, as an independent account of 
 the ultimate destiny of the other Beasts, or kingdoms, 
 which had been merely introduced on the scene, 
 without further description of their fate, and which, 
 after the interruption caused by the following out of 
 the history of the fourth Beast, it was necessary to 
 recur to, in order that the vision might be complete ; 
 and it is thus summed up : — " As concerning the 
 rest of the Beasts, they had their dominion taken 
 away ; yet their lives were prolonged for a season and 
 a time." In confirmation of this construction, it has 
 actually occurred, that while the dominion, or supre- 
 macy, of the first three kingdoms was taken away, 
 
74 OBJECTIONS REFUTED. 
 
 yet there was a prolonging of life given to them, as 
 experience testifies to this day. In the same manner, 
 in the previous vision of the Image, the destruction 
 of the four kingdoms, including that of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, is represented to be simultaneous, so that 
 there must be, in some sense, a prolonging of life to 
 them, as stated of the kingdoms symbolized by the 
 Beasts. 
 
 The only other objection applicable to this inter- 
 pretation is, that the fourth kingdom is described as 
 "diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the 
 whole earth, and shall tread it down and break it in 
 pieces," which, it is contended, is not at all descrip- 
 tive of the characteristics to be found in the Roman 
 empire — the Romans having been remarkable for 
 moderation, for toleration, and for the gentle govern- 
 ment of nations that submitted to their sway. True 
 it may be, that the great object and aim of the Roman 
 government was to civilize the conquered nations, and 
 to incorporate them into itself ; but the means em- 
 ployed for that end, as the annals of our own and of 
 the other nations of Europe attest, can scarcely be 
 said to be exaggerated in the foregoing language of 
 the Prophet. All local governments were devoured, 
 trampled on, and broken to pieces ; and though the 
 object may have been to supply something more re- 
 fined and civilized in their place, yet the power which 
 they exercised throughout their newly-acquired do- 
 minions, was directed principally to the subversion of 
 all previously established rule and custom. More- 
 over, the prophecy is far from being completed yet ; 
 and we shall find, as we proceed in our inquiries, that 
 
THE FOURTH KINGDOM. 75 
 
 the time is yet in the womb of futurity, at which the 
 Roman power, "the fourth kingdom on earth," shall 
 exhibit, in its dealings with the world, a still more 
 literal fulfilment of the prophetic description than 
 any hitherto experienced. 
 
 For these reasons it is, that we adhere to the line 
 of interpretation which has dealt with these prophe- 
 cies as, for the most part, fulfilled, and in progress 
 of fulfilment. Commentators, by reason of some in- 
 accuracies in their views as to the important posi- 
 tion which the Jews are to hold in the fulfilment, and 
 respecting the nature of the Antichrist, have differed 
 in their explanations of some of the details, though 
 they concur in referring the fulfilment to the four 
 kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and 
 Rome. In this we agree with them ; more espe- 
 cially, as, concurring with Dr. Todd in his views of 
 the nature of the Antichrist, we do not find it at ail 
 necessary to depart from the usual and obvious track 
 of interpretation, to support and establish the con- 
 clusion at which he has sought to arrive, by di- 
 verging into a novel and dangerous path of construc- 
 tion. 
 
 With respect to the future state of the Roman dy- 
 nasty, there is ample evidence, as we shall presently 
 show, in the prophecies of Scripture, to warrant the 
 conclusion, that the Roman dynasty will, previous to 
 its final dissolution, expand into an immensity of 
 power and dominion, and in that state become again 
 the irresistible persecutor of the Christian Church. 
 We also conceive, that ten contemporaneous kings 
 shall, at this time, be the instruments by and through 
 
76 EXPLANATIONS. 
 
 which her power is to be exercised, but who shall ulti- 
 mately annihilate her, in order to confer supremacy 
 on the Antichrist, who is to be the last, most danger- 
 ous, and most powerful of the persecuting agents of 
 Satan. All this, which is to be collected from the 
 prophetic visions of Daniel, we shall find fully con- 
 firmed by the prophecies of the Apocalypse which we 
 are about to examine. 
 
THE FIRST BEAST. 77 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 THE BEAST KISING FROM THE SEA. 
 
 " Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called 
 God, or that is worshipped ; so that he as God sitteth in the tem- 
 ple of God, showing himself that he is God." — 2 Thess. ii. 4. 
 
 We now return to the consideration of the Book of 
 " the Revelation," having, in conformity with the al- 
 most unanimous consent of all commentators, estab- 
 lished the identity of the fourth kingdom of Daniel's 
 Image, and of the fourth Beast, with the Roman dy- 
 nasty. The prophetic vision which is now about to oc- 
 cupy our attention, is that contained in the thirteenth 
 chapter of the Apocalypse, viz., the seven-headed and 
 ten-horned Beast, which appears to the Evangelist as 
 arising from the sea, and the two-horned lamb-like 
 Beast which arises from the earth. We shall examine 
 the prophecies relating to these two Beasts separately ; 
 and, conceiving as we do, that the right understand- 
 ing of this part of "the Revelation" furnishes a key 
 to all that is yet to come, we trust that the Spirit of 
 God may be with us to direct our inquiries, and to 
 guide us in our explanations of the results at which 
 
78 THE FIRST BEAST. 
 
 we shall arrive. The following are the words of the 
 Evangelist : — 
 
 " 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 the name of blasphemy. 
 And the Beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his 
 feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a 
 lion : and the Dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great 
 authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to 
 death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world 
 wondered after the Beast. And they worshipped the Dragon 
 which gave power unto the Beast : and they worsbipped the Beast, 
 saying, "Who is like unto the Beast ? who is able to make war 
 with him ? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking 
 great things and blasphemies ; and power was given unto him to 
 continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in 
 blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his taber- 
 nacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 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 from the 
 foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. 
 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity : he that 
 killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is 
 the patience and the faith of the saints." — Rev. xiii. 1-10. 
 
 We have already observed, that this seven-headed 
 and ten-horned monster is universally admitted to be 
 identical with the fourth kingdom and fourth Beast 
 of the prophecies of Daniel, which have occupied 
 our attention in the preceding chapter. We may, 
 therefore, with safety conclude, that it represents the 
 Roman dynasty in some one of the stages of its ex- 
 istence ; merely observing, what will hereafter more 
 
THE ROMAN DYNASTY. 79 
 
 fully appear, that this identification is fully confirmed 
 by the explanation given of the seven heads in the 
 seventeenth chapter of this book, where they are de- 
 clared by the angel to be typical of (among other 
 things) the seven mountains on which the Woman 
 sits — a description of Rome too palpable for even 
 Romish writers to question. 
 
 The Roman dynasty, therefore, being designated 
 by the Beast, we shall turn our attention to the 
 meaning of the seven heads and ten horns. With 
 respect to the seven heads, we see no reason for 
 being dissatisfied with the generally received expla- 
 nation of them, viz., that they denote the seven forms 
 of government, under which the subjects of Rome 
 have been, or shall be, swayed, from the rise of that 
 power in Romulus, down to its fall at the second 
 advent. On the contrary, we cannot but read a full 
 confirmation of that opinion in the declaration of the 
 angel respecting these seven heads in the seventeenth 
 chapter of this book — " And there are seven kings ; 
 five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet 
 come." Thus showing, that in the days of the Evan- 
 gelist, five of the heads had fallen, one was in exist- 
 ence, and another was to arise. With respect to these 
 heads, then, we concur with previous commentators, 
 that the five which had fallen were, the Kingship, the 
 Consulate, the Dictatorship, the Decemvirate, the Tri- 
 bunate ; and the sixth, which was in existence at the 
 period of the revelation, was the Emperorship. As 
 to the seventh head, we submit that it has not yet 
 arisen ; but that when it shall arise, it will be in the 
 person of the being, denominated in Scripture, "the 
 Antichrist," who shall, in the words of the revelation, 
 
80 APOCALYPTIC DESCRIPTIONS 
 
 " continue for a short space." On this latter point 
 we differ from most, if not all, preceding commenta- 
 tors ; and on this foundation mainly rests the strength 
 of the interpretation we are about to give of this sec- 
 tion of "the Revelation." We shall, therefore, en- 
 deavour to lead the minds of our readers into the train 
 of reasoning from Scripture declarations, by which we 
 have been led to this conclusion. 
 
 The seven-headed and ten-horned Beast is so pre- 
 sented to our view in three several and distinct parts 
 of "the Book of the Revelation;" but in each of them 
 we find a particular connected with it, distinguishing it 
 from the others. First, it is introduced in the twelfth 
 chapter, having crowns on its heads. Second, in the 
 thirteenth chapter, having crowns on its horns. And 
 Third, in the seventeenth chapter, having no crowns 
 either on its heads or its hor?is. We may here observe, 
 what we hope to establish, when it comes under our 
 consideration in its proper order, that the Woman, 
 which is represented in the seventeenth chapter as 
 sitting on the Beast, is Popery, or the Romish Apos- 
 tasy ; consequently, the Roman power, at the time it is 
 presented to us without crowns either on its heads or 
 its horns, is under the influence of, and overridden 
 by, that Apostasy. And how is it then described by 
 the angel ? " The Beast that thou sawest was, and 
 is not, and shall arise out of the bottomless pit, and 
 go into perdition." — Rev. cxvii. 8. And again, in the 
 same verse — " The Beast that was, and is not, and 
 yet is" (or shall be).* It therefore follows incontro- 
 
 * According to Griesbach, this ought to be " xeu #xgi<r<rcu" in- 
 stead of " xai •zu.qiffri't" as it is in our version. 
 
OF THE FIRST BEAST. 81 
 
 vertibly, that, admitting this symbolic Woman to 
 represent Popery, while the Roman power is overrid- 
 den by her, as it has been, and still continues to be, 
 that power {the temporal power as under the Empe- 
 rorship and the preceding forms of government) is in 
 a non-existent state, and yet shall revive before it 
 goes into perdition. Thus, from the prophecy itself 
 we learn, that the Roman dynasty, while Popery is 
 in existence, is to remain in a state of suspended ani- 
 mation — " it is not, and yet shall be ;" and a brief 
 consideration of the nature of the Papal government 
 will evidence the truth of the prophetic description. 
 At no time since the decline and fall of the Roman 
 empire, has the Popedom, which succeeded to the 
 sovereignty of Rome, maintained itself in Christen- 
 dom as a temporal or secular power. Its strength 
 and energy, and their mischievous effects, have flowed 
 from the spiritual influence which it exercises over 
 its adherents in every part of the civilised world. All 
 its domestic institutions are ecclesiastical ; its legis- 
 lative and executive functionaries are ecclesiastics ; 
 its weapons against insults and aggressions have ever 
 been excommunications and interdicts : and nothing 
 could better illustrate its imbecility as a temporal, 
 and its vigour as a spiritual power, than the position 
 it holds in the present day in the face of Europe, 
 where we have seen the Pope and his officials replaced 
 and maintained in the city of Rome by an army of 
 foreigners, who can have no prospect or expectation 
 of advantage from the costly and inconvenient alliance, 
 beyond some exercise in their favour of that spiritual 
 ascendancy which the Papacy retains and exercises 
 
 G 
 
82 THE NATURE OF 
 
 over so large a section of mankind ; and which even 
 infidels feel would be powerless, if its seat were to be 
 removed from the metropolis of " the fourth kingdom 
 upon earth." That it should there remain is the will of 
 God, as declared by the mouth of his prophets ; and 
 vain will be the endeavours of man to remove the 
 Papal potentate from Rome, abridge his power, or 
 lower his pretensions, until the apostate system shall 
 have ripened into one of avowed rebellion against 
 God and his Church, when it shall be crushed by 
 the Stone of Israel, and all its component parts scat- 
 tered " like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor." 
 Thus it is, that the feet of Daniel's image are repre- 
 sented as part of iron and part of clay — the former 
 denoting the temporal, and the latter the spiritual, 
 power ; but which shall not, we are told, " cleave to 
 one another ;" and thus it is, therefore, that during 
 the continuance of the spiritual ascendancy of the 
 Popedom, the temporal power of Rome shall be sus- 
 pended, as described by the Evangelist — "It was, and 
 is not, and yet shall be." 
 
 History and experience testify that there never 
 has been any coherence between these two forms of 
 authority. At no time, since the triumph of Chris- 
 tianity over Paganism, have the civil and ecclesias- 
 tical powers continued to co-exist in any country of 
 Christendom. One or the other has prevailed ; and 
 the struggle has always hitherto, in every nation of 
 Europe, with the exception of Rome, been decided in 
 favour of the civil power. But in Rome, though the 
 ecclesiastical element of the Papal government has 
 maintained the ascendancy, it has been at the sacri- 
 
THE PAPAL POWER. 83 
 
 fice of her position and existence as a temporal 
 power ; for the continued intestine dissensions, arising 
 from the utter incompatibility of the lay and spiritual 
 elements of administration in the same community, 
 has, and ever must, prevent her taking up her posi- 
 tion as a temporal power among the nations. This 
 has become so obvious, that to establish the Pope- 
 dom as an exclusively spiritual power, by separating 
 from her the civil jurisdiction which she has ever 
 been struggling, but in vain, to preserve over her own 
 immediate subjects, has become a problem, the solu- 
 tion of which is now engaging the attention of the 
 profoundest legislators and statesmen of the age.* 
 The solution, however, of that problem must even- 
 tuate in something beyond the ken of mere worldly 
 wisdom, but easily discoverable by the light of pro- 
 phecy; and from what God has disclosed to us of 
 those things that are coming upon the world, we feel 
 assured that the day which shall dawn on a purely 
 spiritual authority, enthroned, by the aid of Euro- 
 pean powers, on the seven hills of Rome, will be the 
 birthday of the Antichrist. Such a power, once so 
 established and recognised, cannot fail — aided as it 
 will be, by the institutions and machinery which 
 the Papacy, for the extension and consolidation of 
 her dominions, has long since spread through all 
 lands — to increase and encroach on the civil govern- 
 ments that shall surround and patronise her. In 
 exchange for a limited domain and a handful of 
 
 * See an article in the Quarterly Review for December, 1851, 
 and another in the Edinburgh Review for April, 1852, on Glad- 
 stone's translation of Farini's " Stato Romano." 
 
84 PAGAN AND PAPAL ROME. 
 
 disaffected and disorganised subjects, she will have 
 gained kingdoms for her territories, and kings for 
 her subjects. And thus all will progress to the 
 development of the Antichrist, who, in the plenitude 
 of pride and power, shall at length proclaim himself 
 to be the " King of Kings and Lord of Lords." 
 
 Hence it is that, the temporal supremacy of Rome 
 being in abeyance during the continuance of the Pa- 
 pacy, the Beast is represented in the seventeenth 
 chapter as having no crowns on any part of it. On 
 this principle of construction, when the Roman power 
 is introduced to view in its Pagan state, the crowns 
 ought to be found on the heads, one or other of the 
 heads having been then the form of government ; 
 and accordingly, we find in the twelfth chapter, where 
 the seven-headed and ten-horned Dragon, or Pagan 
 Rome, is presented to our view as watching for the 
 birth of the Saviour, ready to devour him, that the 
 crowns are upon his heads. 
 
 Thus, the Roman dynasty, " the fourth kingdom 
 upon earth," is to be considered under three different 
 aspects: — 1st, Pagan Rome ; 2nd, Papal Rome ; 3rd, 
 Rome in its future or restored state of temporal 
 sovereignty, which we shall presently show to be 
 Rome under the Antichrist; and which will differ 
 from Pagan Rome, by the admission of the advent of 
 a Messiah, though in the person of the Antichrist ; 
 and from Papal Rome, by the denial that Christ was 
 that Messiah. In the first, viz., Pagan Rome, the 
 Emperorship having been in existence, the crowns 
 were on the heads. In the second, viz., Papal Rome, 
 the Emperorship having passed away (" it was and 
 
ANTICHRIST ROME. 85 
 
 is not"), the crowns are removed from the heads, 
 and are not yet found on the horns. And in the 
 revived Roman dynasty, that shall arise out of the 
 bottomless pit, and go into perdition, the crowns ought 
 to be found on the horns, if our interpretation be cor- 
 rect, that the division of the Roman dynasty among 
 the ten kings, typified by the ten horns and ten toes, 
 is not to take place until the approach of its final 
 destruction. 
 
 Let us now look at the first Beast of the thirteenth 
 chapter, which is under our immediate consideration, 
 and we find the crowns on the ten horns, and on his 
 heads the names of blasphemy. Is not this a confir- 
 mation of our position, that in it, which is admitted 
 to be the Roman dynasty, in some one of its forms or 
 stages of existence, we are not looking at it during 
 the Papacy, when the Beast has no crowns either on 
 its heads or its horns, and when, moreover, it is de- 
 scribed as in a state of suspended existence ; but 
 that we are looking at it in a state of restoration yet 
 to come, when it shall be divided among, and ruled 
 over by, ten kings — all of these, however, as we shall 
 presently see, subordinate to the Antichrist ? Now, 
 with respect to the seventh head, which, according to 
 our view, has not yet arisen, we have already inti- 
 mated that we conceive that it will be the Antichrist 
 yet to arise, and in his person fulfil the prophetic de- 
 scription of him given in the 2nd Thessalonians, as 
 one " who opposeth and exalteth himself above all 
 that is called God, or that is worshipped ; so that he 
 as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing him- 
 self that he is God." Compare this with the de- 
 
86 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. 
 
 scription of the Beast now before us, and we find the 
 same self-exaltation against God, in the words, "And 
 he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to 
 blaspheme his name and tabernacle, and them that 
 dwell in heaven ;" and the same divine honours con- 
 ceded to him — "And they worshipped the Beast, 
 saying, who is like unto the Beast?" and therefore 
 it is, that we have come to the conclusion, that the 
 being here pourtrayed is the Antichrist, and the 
 seventh head of the Roman empire. This we shall 
 find fully confirmed by our future inquiries. Before, 
 however, we proceed farther, we shall call attention 
 once more to our conclusions respecting the nature 
 and origin of the Antichrist. 
 
 Though there have been, and still are, many species 
 of apostasy in the world, yet Popery has always 
 been the most prominent, the most extensive, and 
 the most enduring of all ; and as being connected 
 with Rome, the seat and centre of the fourth king- 
 dom, which is to exist down to the second advent of 
 our Lord, by whom it is to be exterminated, it is 
 peculiarly the subject of prophecy. It is, in truth, 
 that " mystery of iniquity" which has been working 
 in the world since the days of the Apostles, and which 
 will at last be embodied, and, in its naked deformity, 
 openly revealed in " the Man of Sin," the Antichrist. 
 In it are to be traced by the Christian inquirer, an 
 outline of the marks and tokens of the Antichrist — 
 so much so, that in the pretensions and proceedings 
 of its visible head, the Pope, most commentators 
 have, as they imagine, discovered the fulfilment of the 
 prophecies relating to the Antichrist ; while, on the 
 
THE ANTICHRIST. 87 
 
 other hand, others have as strenuously denied that 
 Popery can, with any justice, be so stigmatised : from 
 all which we would infer, that it is still " the mys- 
 tery of iniquity," but that hereafter it will expand 
 into the open revelation of that wicked one, who will 
 actually and unequivocally exalt himself above all 
 that is called God and that is worshipped, and seal 
 his pretensions by miraculous and devilish agencies 
 and machinations. We may, therefore, expect, that 
 when the fulness of the time shall have come, some 
 individual Pope (for such is the tendency of his office) 
 will openly discard the title of God's vicegerent, or 
 vicar upon earth, and assume the character of the 
 Messiah himself — denying that Christ has come in 
 the flesh, claiming divine honours, and assuming the 
 names of blasphemy, "King of Kings, and Lord of 
 Lords." This being is to be the restorer of the Roman 
 temporal dynasty — the seventh, and also an eighth, 
 head of the Beast, who, " when he cometh, shall con- 
 tinue a short space." — Rev. xvii. 10, 11. It is dur- 
 ing this reign that we are told, the ten kings, typified 
 by the ten horns, are to appear in the scene, and who 
 are represented as having one mind, and giving their 
 power and strength unto the Beast. "And the ten 
 horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have 
 received no kingdom as yet ; but receive power as 
 kings one hour (simultaneously) with the Beast. 
 These have one mind, and shall give their power 
 and strength unto the Beast." — Rev. xvii. 12, 13. 
 
 Thus we have a confederation of ten kings, who 
 shall acknowledge the Antichrist as their sovereign, 
 and submit all their power and authority unto him. 
 
88 THE DEADLY WOUND 
 
 These kings are called in another place, " the kings 
 of the earth and of the whole world." — Rev. xvi. 14 ; 
 and it would appear, that at the time when these 
 things shall come to pass, the government of the 
 whole Gentile world will be divided among ten kings, 
 and that these ten kings shall acknowledge the Anti- 
 christ, the head of the Roman kingdom, as supreme 
 and divine — thus investing him with the title of 
 " King of Kings, and Lord of Lords," and thereby 
 stamping " upon his heads the names of blasphemy." 
 " These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb 
 shall overcome them ; for He is the Lord of Lords, 
 and King of Kings." — Rev. xvii. 14. Here, then, 
 is the antitype, or fulfilment of the prophecy, of the 
 Beast "having seven heads and ten horns, and upon 
 his horns ten crowns" "And the Dragon gave him 
 his power, and his seat, and great authority." 
 
 The next part of the description of this Beast is, 
 that " one of the heads was wounded to death, and his 
 deadly wound was healed, and all the world wonder- 
 ed after the Beast." This phenomenon we take to be 
 the same as that described, in the seventeenth chap- 
 ter, of the same Beast, where, after the declaration 
 that the seventh head, when it came, was to "continue 
 a short space" (xvii. 10), the angel goes on to de- 
 scribe, that "the Beast that was and is not, he is the 
 eighth, and is (out) of the seven,* and goeth into per- 
 dition." From this description, it would appear, that 
 the eighth head is to be a continuation of the seventh, 
 but somewhat different in form ; and the explanation 
 
 * " Ex ruv i<7rra.y 
 
OF THE FIRST BEAST. 89 
 
 of the events as they will occur we may collect to be 
 as follows : — The Antichrist will, as we observed, be 
 an individual who shall arise in the Romish apostasy, 
 most probably one of the Popes, who shall claim di- 
 vine honours and supremacy, and re-establish the 
 Roman empire, thus being the seventh head of it. 
 This individual shall be slain in the destruction of 
 Rome by the ten kings, who shall not then have ac- 
 knowledged his claim to divine honours, and in which 
 destruction Popery itself shall be exterminated, as 
 described in the seventeenth chapter ; and after 
 that destruction of Babylon and the Scarlet Whore 
 (Rome and the Papacy), the slain Antichrist shall be 
 raised from the dead by the agency of the Devil, in 
 imitation of the true Christ, when his deadly wound 
 shall be healed, and all the world shall wonder after 
 the Beast ; and then shall his claim to divine honours 
 be acknowledged by the whole world, and the ten 
 kings submit to his pretensions, and confederate to 
 consolidate his empire. " And they worshipped 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 ?" It is not 
 till after this revival (the deadly wound was healed) 
 that he appears, as the eighth head, in the form here 
 presented to us, opening his mouth, " speaking great 
 things and blasphemies " against God, " to blaspheme 
 his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell 
 in heaven," making war with, and overcoming, the 
 saints, and extending his power over " all kindreds, 
 and tongues, and nations." 
 
 It is then said of him, that "it was given him to 
 
90 THE FORTY-TWO MONTHS. 
 
 continue forty-two months." In the original, the 
 words are tcai eBoOrj avriv egovaia 7roirjaac firjva teo- 
 aapaicovTa 8vo, which may, with more propriety, be 
 translated — "And power was given him to make 
 forty-two months." It may be recollected, that we ex- 
 plained the meaning of the Apocalyptic symbol of the 
 forty-two months, to denote a wilderness or outcast 
 state of the Jewish Church ; and we have shewn in 
 "The Latter Davs," that at the period of the rise of 
 the Antichrist, the Jews shall have been restored to 
 their own land, and again in covenant with their 
 God. We have also shewn (which will more clearly 
 appear in the proceedings of the second Beast) that 
 the Antichrist shall, with the assistance of the second 
 Beast, suppress their sacrifices, and set up the abo- 
 mination of desolation in their temple, thereby driv- 
 ing out once more the Jewish Church into the wil- 
 derness, as foretold by Ezekiel: — "And thou, pro- 
 fane wicked Prince of Israel, whose day is come, 
 whose iniquity shall have no end. Thus saith the 
 Lord God; remove the diadem, and take off the 
 crown : I will overturn, overturn, overturn it ; and it 
 shall be no more until he come whose right it is ; and 
 I will give it him." — Ezek. xxi. 25-27. Here, 
 then, is a prediction that from the deposition of Je- 
 hoiachim, the last of Judah's kings, there should be 
 three overturnings of Judah, until he (Christ) should 
 come "whose right it is," and to whom it is to be given. 
 The first of these was brought to pass by Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, the second by Titus, and the third shall be, after 
 the restoration, by the Antichrist. If such is to be the 
 issue of events as revealed to us, the meaning of the 
 
antichrist's captivity. 91 
 
 phrase in the text, as we have translated it, is obvious, 
 viz., that to him (the Antichrist) shall be given the 
 power (egovoia) to make a forty-two months' period, 
 or to drive out the Jewish Church into the wilderness 
 for the third and last time. This passage in the Reve- 
 lation confirms our interpretation of the Apocalyptic 
 dates, inasmuch as no other interpretation will admit 
 of a literal translation of the text. 
 
 The Revelation then describes not only the exten- 
 sion of the power of this Being over all kindreds, and 
 tongues, and nations, but that he shall receive divine 
 worship from "all that dwell upon the earth," except 
 the very elect, "whose names are written in the 
 book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of 
 the world." It then continues — " If any man have 
 an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity 
 shall go into captivity : he that killeth with the sword 
 must be killed with the sword. Here is the faith 
 and patience of the saints." When we look back at 
 the circumstance of the Beast having been revived, by 
 diabolical agencies, from a deadly wound, the faith 
 and patience of the saints who shall have witnessed 
 the miracle must be sorely tried ; and some consola- 
 tion and support will be necessary for them, in a 
 revelation of the ultimate subjection of these rebels 
 against their God. At the same time, having died 
 once, the Antichrist cannot again see death, but he 
 may be taken and put into captivity, while his ad- 
 herents may and shall be slain with the sword : and 
 so it is revealed in the prophetic description of the 
 final conflict between Christ and the Antichristian fac- 
 tion, in the nineteenth chapter, that " the Beast was 
 
92 RESTORED ROME 
 
 taken, and with him the False Prophet. These both 
 were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brim- 
 stone/' while " the remnant were slain with the 
 sword of him that sat upon the horse." — Rev. xix. 
 20, 21. Thus showing, that while those of the 
 persecutors who cannot see death again, are to go 
 into captivity, those who are still mortal shall be 
 slain with the sword. " Here is the faith and pa- 
 tience of the saints." 
 
 Such we conceive to be the meaning and import of 
 the several parts of this all-important prophetic pic- 
 ture of the Beast which appeared to the Evangelist 
 rising from the sea. A.11 commentators, with very 
 few exceptions, concur in opinion, that it is a repre- 
 sentation of the Roman power in some one of its 
 stages — either Pagan Rome, Papal Rome, or Rome 
 in some future state. It is obvious that it cannot be 
 construed to pourtray Pagan Rome, inasmuch as it 
 is to continue in existence until the period of its de- 
 struction at the second advent, as described in the 
 nineteenth chapter of this book ; whereas Pagan 
 Rome has long since ceased to exist. It is equally 
 clear, that neither it nor the second Beast, or False 
 Prophet, can be identified with Papal Rome ; because 
 all commentators who have advocated such an inter- 
 pretation, contend also that the Scarlet Whore of the 
 seventeenth chapter is Rome Papal likewise ; and it ap- 
 pears from the sixteenth verse of that chapter, that the 
 Beast in question is to survive the Whore, or the Papacy, 
 and to be afterwards destroyed along with the False 
 Prophet, at the second advent. Consequently, it must 
 pourtray, as we have interpreted it, the Roman power 
 
THE FIRST BEAST. 93 
 
 in a future or restored state of pre-eminence ; and if 
 we are to understand the words of this prophecy 
 in their obvious and literal sense, in a state of open 
 and undisguised rebellion and blasphemy against 
 God — not in a state of iniquity that could be termed 
 "a mystery of iniquity," but a revelation of a wicked 
 one, who shall exalt himself above all that is called 
 God. 
 
 The Roman power, in a restored state, being, 
 therefore, the fulfilment of this prophecy, we have 
 proved, from comparing this with the exposition given 
 by the angel in the seventeenth chapter, of the same 
 Beast, that it is that power under the seventh and 
 eighth head, or the Antichrist, who will arise in Po- 
 pery, and expand into the natural tendency of Popish 
 principles, Infidelity, or open rebellion against God — 
 the Sovereign over ten kings (the King of Kings), 
 and exalting himself above all that is called God, 
 and that is worshipped (the Lord of Lords) ; which 
 being the titles of Christ, are, when marked on the 
 head of the Beast, "the names of blasphemy" — 
 v. 1. This Beast, therefore, represents, at the 
 time of his appearance, the centre and consumma- 
 tion of all civil and ecclesiastical, temporal and spi- 
 ritual, power on earth, as all kindreds, tongues, and 
 nations are not only to be subject to his dominion, 
 but likewise (with the exception of the very elect) 
 to worship him ; and the necessity for such a head- 
 ing up of iniquity will be apparent from a few reflec- 
 tions on the subject. 
 
 All power and authority in the world is reducible 
 to two classes, civil and ecclesiastical, both of them 
 
94 THE FIRST BEAST 
 
 deeply and extensively, as experience has proved, 
 impregnated with evil ; and as we are told that the 
 great object of our Saviour's second coming in power 
 and great glory is, " to put down all rule, and all 
 authority, and power" (1 Cor. xv. 24), and to ex- 
 terminate all evil, so must we expect that evil will 
 have been headed up and consummated previous to 
 its destruction, so as to be distinct and separate from 
 everything that is good. Now, civil and ecclesiastical 
 governments, while they are, in the present day, 
 tainted with infidelity and apostasy to a grievous ex- 
 tent, have, at the same time, in them an admixture 
 of much that is good and valuable in the sight of 
 God. The supremacy and superintendence of the 
 true God is, in many instances, admitted and ac- 
 knowledged in and by them and their institutions, 
 though they are, at the same time, guilty of many 
 a sad and lamentable departure from his will and di- 
 rections; and experience, independent of revelation, 
 must lead us to the conclusion, that the evil will in- 
 crease while the good shall decrease, until the 
 latter shall vanish altogether : and then will be 
 exhibited the fearful spectacle of the civil govern- 
 ments of the world throwing off all allegiance to the 
 God of heaven, and raising the daring and undis- 
 guised standard of independence and rebellion against 
 the Sovereign of the universe, while ecclesiastical 
 apostasy shall also consummate its iniquity in the 
 Antichrist denial of the Father and the Son — of Him 
 who created and Him who redeemed them — and 
 transfer their allegiance to the impostor before us. It 
 is when this consummation of unqualified evil shall 
 
NOT THE PAPACY. 95 
 
 have taken place — when nothing that is good shall be 
 found to be mingled with it, that Christ shall take unto 
 himself his great power, and exterminate it altogether. 
 Such being the case, the Beast, the subject matter 
 of the prophecy which we have been considering, is, 
 we conceive, the exponent of civil and ecclesiastical 
 government in this state of open and avowed rebellion 
 against God, and of unqualified submission to Satan 
 and his pretensions. His power is represented as a 
 combination of spiritual and temporal authority — un- 
 limited subjection, and voluntary worship; and these 
 worshippers are depicted as the worshippers of Satan 
 as well as of himself; and he is described as opening 
 his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme 
 his name and his tabernacle, and those that dwell in 
 heaven. No language could so clearly and unequi- 
 vocally pourtray a state of government in open and 
 unmitigated rebellion against God ; and it is vain to 
 contend, that in any state of society (except, perhaps, 
 during a short-lived paroxysm of the French Revolu- 
 tion), even a semblance of such principles and pre- 
 tensions have ever been avowed, much less sanctioned 
 or tolerated. To say that Popery has been the fulfil- 
 ment, would be to say that the power of the Pope has 
 extended over all kindreds, tongues, and nations, and 
 that all mankind (except the very elect) have been 
 its worshippers. Such an occurrence has never yet 
 taken place ; and to adapt the language of the pro- 
 phecy to the true state of facts, as recorded in his- 
 tory and known by experience, will be neither more 
 nor less than to alter it, on the principle that the 
 words used by the Evangelist are not to be under- 
 
96 TRIUMPH OF DESPOTISM. 
 
 stood in their usual and natural meaning. In short, 
 that when the inspired penman used the terms, " all 
 kindreds, tongues, and nations," he meant some- 
 thing less than all kindreds, tongues, and nations. 
 
 In truth, the struggle that has long pervaded the 
 kingdoms of the civilized world, has been, and is, 
 between the spirit of despotism on the one hand, and 
 that of democracy on the other ; and though the 
 latter may, as we have seen of late, obtain temporary 
 successes, the former will, no doubt, as we have 
 likewise witnessed, ultimately prevail — and the great 
 and final triumph of despotism will be perfected and 
 manifested in the installation of the Antichrist as the 
 King of Kings. Despotic authority is the very essence 
 of the Papacy ; the atmosphere it breathes is abso- 
 lutism and passive submission. It adopts and sustains 
 in its institutions the theory of an infallible head, 
 whose infallibility is admitted and evidenced by the 
 abject and unquestioning obedience to its mandates of 
 those over whom his authority extends. The private 
 judgments and personal convictions of the members 
 of the Church of Rome are yielded up, without ques- 
 tion or remonstrance, at the bidding of the superior 
 head of their community. Their creed is — 
 
 " My author and disposer, what thou bid'st, 
 Unargued I obey." 
 
 But nevertheless, from experience, we find, that 
 this perfect despotism is, in the present day, ex- 
 ercised, and submitted to, in what may be truly 
 termed mystery or disguise. It is veiled under the 
 somewhat indefinite phrase of " spiritual power ;" 
 
MANIFESTATION OF EVIL. 97 
 
 but, within the sphere of its authority, all things are 
 under its feet. Cardinals, archbishops, and bishops, 
 are supreme over their subordinates ; but the Pope is 
 supreme over all, and rules over and through them, as 
 the Antichrist will reign over and through his ten 
 subordinate kings, but in the plenitude of temporal 
 power, and without the secrecy and dissimulation 
 which now envelope the absolutism of Popery. And 
 thus we see, that the institutions of the Papacy pos- 
 sess all the features and characteristics of the Anti- 
 christ ; but that the reign of the Antichrist will be 
 the open manifestation of this " mystery of iniquity,'' 
 the undisguised, absolute, and acknowledged sway 
 of a single despot over his subjects, through the me- 
 dium of subordinate despots. 
 
 But to return. The necessity of this open mani- 
 festation of iniquity, or undisguised rebellion against 
 God, of both civil and ecclesiastical power previous 
 to their extermination, is very clearly to be collected 
 from several parts of Scripture. We shall, however, 
 only direct attention to one which appears to confirm 
 the position, and which will, at the same time, be 
 found of importance in elucidating other parts of this 
 book which have yet to come under our considera- 
 tion. The passage to which we refer is in the Epistle 
 of St. Jude, who sums up the progress of iniquity 
 and its destruction, in the following words : — "Woe 
 unto them ! for they have gone in the way of Cain, 
 and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, 
 and perished in the gainsaying (or rebellion) of 
 Core (Korah)." — Jude, 11. Now, natural infidelity 
 was the sin of Cain ; the error of Balaam was apos- 
 
 H 
 
98 THE TWO BEASTS, 
 
 tasy, he having been a prophet of God ; and the 
 gainsaying of Korah and his companions was an open 
 rebellion of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities 
 against Moses and Aaron, the supreme and divinely 
 appointed heads of the civil and ecclesiastical autho- 
 rities of Israel. Thus, natural infidelity and ecclesias- 
 tical apostasy being the precursory evils which have 
 in all times pervaded the world, while the text speaks 
 of the wicked being involved in both, it does not 
 speak of their final destruction, until there shall have 
 been an open manifestation and rebellion, when, we 
 are told, "they shall perish in the gainsaying of 
 Core." 
 
 In conclusion, we would observe, that it is im- 
 possible to interpret this revelation as symbolic of 
 any particular infidelity or apostasy that has hitherto 
 existed, or which shall hereafter exist, unless we, at 
 the same time, admit that their existence is to con- 
 tinue until the second coming of Christ, so as to be 
 destroyed by him. The revelation of the Beast and 
 the False Prophet being destroyed by him at his ad- 
 vent, proves this to demonstration ; and if this be 
 true, it must be then admitted that this vision of the 
 two Beasts has not yet been completely fulfilled. And 
 if not completely fulfilled, is not the believer justified 
 in the expectation of a literal accomplishment of the 
 unlimited power, the extensive and unmitigated perse- 
 cutions, the miraculous agencies, and the open blasphe- 
 mies and rebellion against God, that are to be found 
 in the words before us ? It is this construction alone 
 of the prophecy that makes it of so much value to 
 the inquiring Christian; and those who denounce 
 
AN UNFULFILLED PROPHECY. 99 
 
 such a system of interpretation as that which we 
 have been advocating, should pause at the reflection 
 forced on us by the whole tenor of Revelation, that 
 Satan is now the Prince of this World, and that his 
 power must increase, until his army shall rise in open 
 and undisguised warfare against the God of Heaven, 
 and those that are called by his name. Where is the 
 revelation of this consummation of iniquity, if not in 
 the chapter before us 1 In what words could it be 
 described, if not in those which describe the powers 
 and pretensions of these two Beasts ? And, there- 
 fore, while we admit that those who suffered from 
 the persecutions of Pagan and Infidel Rome, and 
 those who have been troubled by the devilish machi- 
 nations and devices of Papal or Apostate Rome, have 
 traced the features of their enemy in the Apocalyptic 
 picture of this Beast, and found consolation and sup- 
 port therein, we must contend, that to look for a fur- 
 ther and more complete accomplishment is more con- 
 sistent with reason, experience, and the analogy of 
 Scripture prophecies. Rome, as we before observed, 
 is " the fourth kingdom on earth," and is to continue 
 in one shape or another until it shall be struck by the 
 Stone and annihilated. Rome, therefore, will never 
 be lost sight of in the revelation of God's dealings 
 with the world, until its destruction be consummate. 
 It is, therefore, consistent with God's will and inten- 
 tion that this prophecy should be a disclosure of the 
 various forms and proceedings of that power ; and we 
 have traced in it a revelation of Rome past, Rome 
 present, and Rome to be, in all its shapes, the con- 
 sistent and continuing enemy of Christ's kingdom, 
 
100 CONSUMMATION OF EVIL. 
 
 and the relentless persecutor of his saints. And it is 
 clear, that any interpretation which does not bring 
 out the future state of this fourth kingdom, and con- 
 tinue it down to the period of its open hostility to 
 God, when it is to perish, must be based on the sup- 
 position, that Daniel's Image has been already crushed 
 by the Stone ; and that, in the expansion of the Stone 
 into the mountain, iniquity is now melting away 
 before the spread of Gospel truth. Few Christian 
 inquirers will be found, in the present day, to uphold 
 a principle so contradictory to Scripture and experi- 
 ence. The increase of evil to a consummation is the 
 ground on which rests the interpretation which we 
 have been endeavouring to uphold ; and where that 
 principle is admitted, we feel satisfied that the con- 
 clusions at which we have arrived, or some similar 
 and consistent with them, must sooner or later be re- 
 ceived. 
 
THE SECOND BEAST. 101 
 
 CHAPTER IY. 
 
 THE BEAST RISING FROM THE EARTH. 
 
 " And his power shall be mighty ; but not by his own power ; 
 and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and practise, 
 and shall destroy tlie mighty and the holy people." — Dan. viii. 24. 
 
 We shall now proceed to the consideration of the 
 prophecy of the second Beast, which appeared to 
 the Evangelist " coming up out of the earth." This 
 Beast we shall find connected in its origin and pro- 
 ceedings with God's people, the Jews ; and we shall, 
 therefore, before entering on the explanation of the 
 particulars revealed concerning it, recall the attention 
 of our readers to the result of the inquiries we made 
 in " The Latter Days," respecting their future state 
 and restoration. 
 
 The national restoration of the Jews is a truth so 
 clearly revealed in Scripture, and so generally admit- 
 ted in the present day, that it would be a mere waste 
 of time to repeat the various prophecies of Scripture 
 in which that truth is set forth. The principal of 
 these will be found in our previous treatise.* But, 
 besides their restoration as a nation, to the land of 
 Judea, we have, as we have likewise traced, abundant 
 revelations in God's Word, of their restoration as a 
 Church in covenant with God : that is to say, not 
 
 * " The Latter Days," c. ii. 
 
102 THE RESTORATION OF 
 
 only will the Jews be restored to their own land, but 
 as Jews, God will again for a time enter into covenant 
 with them, rebuild their temple, and restore their 
 ceremonial law. This is a truth hard to be received 
 by Gentile minds, but nevertheless it is a truth con- 
 firmed by the words of Holy Writ. Many of the 
 evidences of this renewal or revival of the old dispen- 
 sation covenant we have already collected and com- 
 pared; but as the subject is of much importance, 
 and, like many of the most valuable truths of Scrip- 
 ture, only beginning to open itself to inquiring Chris- 
 tians, we shall recapitulate some of them, and bring 
 forward other passages of Scripture to illustrate and 
 confirm our previous conclusions. 
 
 The Prophet Daniel, in the ninth chapter of his 
 prophecies, is introduced in supplication and prayer 
 to his God, to turn away his anger and fury from the 
 city of Jerusalem, and his people the Jews ; and the 
 Angel Gabriel is sent to comfort and enlighten him 
 concerning them, in the following revelation of God's 
 will as regarded their duration as a people or nation, 
 until the blotting out of all their transgressions. 
 " 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 a reconciliation 
 for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, 
 and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint 
 the Most Holy." — Dan. ix. 24. This period of seventy 
 weeks is, in the subsequent verses of the same chap- 
 ter, divided by the angel into three parts — the first 
 consisting of seven weeks ; the second, of sixty-two 
 weeks, ending with the cutting off of the Messiah ; 
 
THE JEWS. 103 
 
 and the third and last, of one week. These seventy 
 weeks, denoting seventy weeks of years, or 490 
 years, commencing "from the going forth of the 
 commandment to restore and build Jerusalem," be- 
 gan to run from the year 450, B.C. ; and, therefore, 
 the seven weeks and sixty-two weeks (sixty-nine 
 weeks) terminated in the year of our Lord 33, which 
 was the year of the Saviour's death — when, as appears 
 from the twenty-sixth verse, the Jews are to be no 
 longer his people (margin) — the old dispensation was 
 finished, and they became outcast. But though they 
 became thus outcast, and have so continued ever 
 since, they are not to continue so for ever ; for we 
 are told in the next verse (v. 27), that "he shall 
 confirm the covenant with many for one week" 
 i. e., for the last remaining of the seventy weeks ; 
 and during that week, the abomination of desolation 
 shall be set up in the restored temple, the sacrifice 
 suspended, and the Jews subjected to the Antichris- 
 tian persecution, or " the great tribulation " so often 
 alluded to in Scripture. 
 
 This renewal of the covenant with the Jewish peo- 
 ple in the latter days, is also spoken of in several 
 other passages of Holy Writ. For instance, in the 
 twentieth chapter of Ezekiel, when God is speaking 
 of gathering the Jews out of the countries through 
 which they are scattered, he says — " I will cause 
 you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into 
 
 the bond of the covenant" (v. 37) 
 
 " For on my holy mountain, in the mountain of the 
 height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all 
 the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me : 
 
104 SCRIPTURE EVIDENCES. 
 
 there will I accept them, and there will I require 
 your offerings, and the first-fruits of your oblations, 
 with all your holy things" (v. 40). Look then 
 to the divine declaration in the first chapter of 
 Isaiah — " And I will turn my hand upon thee, and 
 purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy 
 tin : and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and 
 thy counsellors as at the beginning : afterwards thou 
 shalt be called The city of righteousness, the faithful 
 cityr— Is. i. 25, 26. 
 
 But not to multiply quotations to a similar effect, 
 we would refer our readers to the fortieth and follow- 
 ing chapters of Ezekiel, where not only is the precise 
 model of the Temple, which the Jews are to rebuild, 
 given for their guidance, and our instruction, but the 
 ordinances of the altar, the exact mode of offering the 
 sacrifices, and the regulation of the duties of the 
 priesthood, the prince, and the people ; and that too, 
 in language so literal and unambiguous, that no at- 
 tempt has been made to spiritualise or explain it 
 away. That no such temple has ever yet been built, 
 no such ordinances as those here described instituted, 
 is universally admitted ; and, therefore, to say that 
 the Jewish temple will never again be erected on 
 Mount Zion, and that the Jewish ceremonial law is 
 never to be re-established, and that too, according 
 to God's own direction and institution, is to pro- 
 nounce the words of prophecy to have fallen to the 
 ground, and to have been preserved in Scripture as a 
 record of its fallibility. On this prophecy alone we 
 may rest the position, that not only the Jewish 
 nation, but also the Jewish Church, as such, will be 
 
TIME OF CONVERSION. 105 
 
 restored ; and we shall, therefore, in conclusion, 
 merely call attention to the last passage of the Old 
 Testament, which enjoins on Israel the continued re- 
 membrance of their law and ceremonies, and points 
 to the instrument by whom the restoration is to be 
 accomplished: — "Remember ye the law of Moses 
 my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for 
 all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, 
 I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming 
 of the great and dreadful day of the Lord : and he 
 shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, 
 and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I 
 come and smite the earth with a curse." — Mai. iv. 
 4-6. 
 
 It may be asked, how and at what time is the na- 
 tional conversion of the Jews to the acknowledg- 
 ment of Christ, as their Messiah and Saviour, to take 
 place ? To this we answer from Scripture likewise, 
 that it will occur at, or immediately before, his per- 
 sonal appearance in power and great glory, when 
 they shall receive him as their Saviour and their King 
 at the same time, and mourn for their previous rejec- 
 tion of him. First, we find in the twenty-fourth chap- 
 ter of St. Matthew's Gospel : — " Then shall appear 
 the sign of the Son of Man in heaven : and then shall 
 all the tribes of the earth (the land) mourn, and they 
 shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of 
 heaven with power and great glory." — v. 30. Here 
 the mourning of the tribes (the Jews) being inserted 
 between the sign of Christ's coming, and his actual 
 appearance, shows the close connexion, in point of 
 time, between the events, The same would also ap- 
 
106 SCRIPTURE EVIDENCE OF 
 
 pear to follow from the mourning of the Jews de- 
 scribed in the twelfth chapter of Zechariah, in which 
 their contrition is described as connected with the 
 looking on him whom they pierced, intimating, as 
 appears from St. John, xix. 34-37, that the actual 
 looking on Christ in the flesh, and recognising in him 
 their acknowledged Messiah, the person who was, 
 by their forefathers, crucified and pierced, will be the 
 cause of the unexampled and unparalleled mourning 
 pourtrayed in Zech. xii. 9-14. Again, in the con- 
 cluding chapter of the same prophecies of Zechariah, 
 we find a description of this twilight state of mind 
 with respect to God, when they shall be, once more, 
 in covenant with him as Jews, but not as Christians. 
 The Prophet, after describing the day of the Lord, 
 when all nations shall be gathered against Jerusalem 
 to battle, and when the Lord shall go forth to fight 
 against them, and his feet shall stand once more upon 
 the Mount of Olives, adding, " And the Lord my 
 God shall come, and all the saints with thee," pro- 
 ceeds thus : — " And it shall come to pass in that day, 
 that the light shall not be clear, nor dark : but it 
 shall be one day that shall be known unto the Lord, 
 not day, nor night ; but it shall come to pass that at 
 evening time it shall be light." — Zech. xiv. 6, 7. 
 Thus, in this day of the restoration of the Jewish 
 worship, after the pattern of God's own ordinances 
 preserved for them in the prophecies of Ezekiel, but 
 before their recognition and acknowledgment of the 
 Saviour, or him whom they had pierced, "the light 
 shall not be clear, nor dark," "not day, nor night," 
 but "at evening time," viz., the close of this period 
 
THE JEWISH CONVERSION. 107 
 
 which is to terminate with the second advent, " it 
 shall be light ;" for the blindness shall be taken from 
 their eyes, and " so all Israel shall be saved." 
 
 Thus, it appears that in the latter days of this 
 dispensation, the Jews will be restored to their own 
 land, their temple rebuilt, and their ceremonial wor- 
 ship re-established ; while, at the same period, the 
 Gentile nations, as such, shall have wholly thrown 
 off their allegiance to God, and submitted themselves 
 to the head of the revived Roman empire, the Anti- 
 christ, who shall not only deny Christ, but announce 
 himself to be the Messiah, attesting his claims to 
 divine honours by miracles and prodigies. This is 
 confirmed by the prophecy in Isaiah of this revival 
 of the Jewish Church, where we find, that when its 
 light shall dawn, darkness shall be overspreading the 
 Gentile world. " Arise, shine ; for thy light is come, 
 and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, 
 behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross 
 darkness the people (the Gentiles) : but the Lord 
 shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen 
 upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy 
 light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." — 
 Is. lx. 1-3. 
 
 In this hour, when the coming of the Son of Man 
 is not looked for by the Gentiles, and while the Jews 
 are expecting their Messiah, the only nation on earth 
 by whom the true God shall be acknowledged, will be 
 that of Israel ;* against which, therefore, the powers 
 
 * "We may remark, in confirmation of this, that while it is 
 stated (v. 4), that the whole world " worshipped" (ff^otrxwYiiruv) the 
 Beast on his appearance, it is stated with respect to the Jews, that 
 
108 
 
 ANTICHRIST S AGENT, 
 
 and persuasions of the Antichrist shall be directed ; 
 and in the attempt to subdue which, he shall at last 
 stumble and come to his end, as revealed in the 
 prophecies of Daniel. — Dan. xi. 41-45. At this 
 time, one shall arise from among the Jews themselves, 
 an apostate agent of Satan, armed with miraculous 
 and physical powers, to seduce or compel the Jewish 
 people to submit themselves to the Antichrist, and 
 to acknowledge his pretensions to be the Messiah : 
 one who shall re-enact the proceedings of the apos- 
 tate Jew, Menelaus, the agent of Antiochus Epiph- 
 anus, the antitype of the Antichrist, who set up an 
 image of that vile instrument of Satan in the Temple, 
 and endeavoured to compel the Jews to worship it — 
 in the same manner that the second Beast is here re- 
 presented as compelling " those that dwell upon the 
 earth" to worship the image of the first Beast. 
 
 That the Antichrist will require some such agent, 
 for the accomplishment of his purposes, from among 
 the Jews themselves, is apparent from the position 
 which that people have hitherto held, and which they 
 will then more particularly hold among the Gentiles. 
 Looking for the Messiah with trust and confidence, 
 unshaken by centuries of disappointment and degra- 
 dation, but at this time renewed and confirmed by 
 the tokens of God's returning favour in the restora- 
 tion of all that a Jew looks forward to with undying 
 hope, his city and his temple — in vain shall a Gentile 
 
 " all that dwell upon the earth" shall worship him (tf£offx,uvyffovfft) 
 except the very elect (v. 8). From which we would infer, as in the 
 text, that the seduction of the Jews by the Antichrist and his 
 agent, shall be subsequent to that of the Gentiles. 
 
THE SECOND BEAST. 109 
 
 pretender seek to seduce them by lying wonders, to 
 submit themselves to his pretensions and dominion, 
 until the arch-enemy himself shall, by means of one 
 that is to arise from among themselves, tempt or 
 coerce them to fall down and worship the image of 
 the Antichrist that he shall have set up. This is the 
 Being here revealed to us, as the Beast coming up 
 out of the earth, afterwards denominated the " False 
 Prophet," and who is thus described : — 
 
 " And I beheld another Beast coming iip out of the earth ; and 
 he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 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. And he doeth great wonders, so 
 that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the 
 sight of men. 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 the wound by a 
 sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the 
 image of the Beast, that the image of the Beast should both speak, 
 and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the 
 Beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, 
 rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, 
 or in their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, save 
 he that had the mark, or the name of the Beast, or the number of 
 his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding 
 count the number of the Beast : for it is the number of a man ; 
 and his number is six hundred threescore and six." 
 
 The first remarkable feature of this phenomenon, 
 to which we shall direct our attention, is, that he 
 comes up " out of the earth /' whereas, the previous 
 Beast arose " out of the sea" We have before ob- 
 
110 THE FALSE PROPHET. 
 
 served (and the observation is of importance), that 
 the expression " the earth" (the land, rj 7?/), where it 
 occurs as contra-distinguished from " the sea" (as 
 in this place), denotes the Land of Promise, the Holy 
 Land — the one denoting the territorial position of 
 the Jews, and the other of the Gentiles. This is 
 corroborated, in some degree, by the expression in 
 the twelfth verse of the preceding chapter, " inhabi- 
 tants of the earth and of the sea ;" and also by the 
 description of the new heavens and the new earth, 
 which is to succeed the millennial dispensation, where 
 it is said, " And there shall be no more sea," — Rev. 
 xxi. 1 — signifying that at that period, there shall be no 
 longer a peculiar and distinct people of God, neither 
 Jew nor Gentile, but that the whole earth shall be 
 comprised in the New Jerusalem. And again, the 
 Prophet Isaiah uses the term as descriptive of the 
 Gentile nations in his prophecy of the glory and pre- 
 eminence of the Jewish Church in the latter days — 
 " The abundance of the sea shall be converted unto 
 thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." 
 — Is. lx. 5. This accords with our interpretation of 
 the origin of the first Beast, the Antichrist, who is 
 to arise out of the Gentile world (the sea), while the 
 False Prophet, who is to be his agent in his dealings 
 with the Jews, is to arise from among themselves, out 
 of " the earth." 
 
 Now, let us examine the description here given of 
 the second Beast, or the False Prophet, and see how 
 it accords with our interpretation of his being the 
 agent of the Antichrist, whose office it is to seduce 
 and coerce the Jews, or those " that dwell on the 
 
IMAGE OF THE BEAST. Ill 
 
 earth" to worship or acknowledge the supremacy of 
 the Antichrist : — "'And he exerciseth all the power of 
 the first Beast before him, and causeth the earth and 
 them that dwell therein to worship the first Beast, 
 whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth 
 great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down 
 from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 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 a sword, and did live." — v. 
 12-14. Here we see that all his operations are con- 
 nected with " the earth," and " them that dwell on 
 the earth." He " causeth the earth and them that 
 dwell therein" to worship the first Beast ; he " de- 
 ceiveth them that dwell on the earth by miraculous 
 prodigies, saying, to them that dwell on the earth, 
 that they should make an image to the Beast." This 
 language can scarcely be considered to be accidental, 
 or without a special meaning ; and if we are correct 
 in attributing the expression "the earth," or "the 
 land," to denote the Holy Land, it is clear that the 
 machinations and proceedings of the second Beast, 
 are to, be directed against those that shall dwell 
 therein, viz., the Jewish nation. 
 
 It is then added, that " he had power to give life 
 unto the image of the Beast, that the image of the 
 Beast should both speak, and cause that as many as 
 would not worship the image of the Beast should be 
 killed." This erection of an image of the Antichrist 
 is, we conceive, the setting up of " the abomination 
 
112 MARK OF THE BEAST. 
 
 of desolation," spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, and 
 referred to by our Saviour in his»prophecy upon the 
 Mount of Olives. It is clear, that by miraculous and 
 diabolical agencies, the image shall be endued with life, 
 for the purpose of luring the unfortunate Jews to turn 
 from their expected Messiah to worship and submit 
 themselves to the " Destroyer of the Gentiles." This 
 will be the season of their last trial, denominated by 
 the Prophet Daniel, and by the Saviour, as " the great 
 tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the 
 world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." And it 
 is confirmed by the continuation of the Lord's pro- 
 phecy — " And except those days should be shortened, 
 there should no flesh be saved ; but for the elect's 
 sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man 
 shall say unto you, lo ! here is Christ, or there ; be- 
 lieve it not. For there shall arise false Christs and 
 false prophets, and shall show great signs and won- 
 ders ; insomuch, that if it were possible, they shall 
 deceive the very elect" — Mat. xxiv. 21-24. Here 
 there is a reference to the false Christs (the Anti- 
 christ, or the first Beast) and to false prophets (the 
 second Beast, which is afterwards styled " the False 
 Prophet "), and to their miraculous signs and won- 
 ders ; and here also, we find a reference to the "very 
 elect," or those written in the Lamb's book (v. 8), 
 who are to be the remnant that shall refuse to wor- 
 ship, or pay homage to, the arch-impostor. 
 
 The next part of the description of the second 
 Beast is, that he shall institute a mark for his fol- 
 lowers, so as to exclude from civil communion all 
 who have not the mark, or the name of the Beast, or 
 
PARALLEL PROPHECY. 113 
 
 the number of his name. "We do not profess to explain 
 the precise meaning of this part of the description ; 
 but we would suggest, that those whom this False 
 Prophet shall fail in seducing or coercing to worship 
 the image of the Antichrist, shall be exposed to the 
 temptation of yielding to a less glaring apostasy, in 
 the adoption of some distinguishing mark, which 
 shall operate as an admission of a mere political, 
 though not a religious or divine, supremacy of the 
 Antichrist. We are disposed to this inference by 
 the words, " That no man might buy or sell save he 
 that had the mark," &c, intimating that it was no 
 longer a question of life or death, but of civil or poli- 
 tical advantages. 
 
 Such a descent from deadly persecution and co- 
 ercion to sophistical flatteries and seductions, is, we 
 think, conveyed in the description of the proceedings 
 of the Antichrist with the Jews, in the eleventh chap- 
 ter of Daniel : — " And arms shall stand on his part, 
 and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and 
 shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall 
 place the abomination that maketh desolate. And 
 such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he 
 corrupt by flatteries ; but the people that do know 
 their God shall be strong, and do exploits ; and they 
 that understand among the people shall instruct 
 many ; yet they shall fall by the sword, and by 
 flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. And 
 when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little 
 help ; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 
 And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try 
 them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to 
 
 i 
 
114 NUMBER OF THE BEAST. 
 
 the time of the end." — Dan. xi. 31-35. Here there 
 is manifestly a transition from the sword, flame, cap- 
 tivity, and spoil, to subtle flatteries, by which " some 
 of understanding shall fall," who, under persecution, 
 were strong and did exploits, and instructed many. 
 And looking round the world, even in the present 
 days, we shall find the Devil, who is at all times con- 
 sistent in his mode of warfare against the truth, se- 
 ducing, by sophistical expediencies, those whom the 
 hottest flames of persecution would have failed to 
 coerce to worship his image. How many are there 
 in the present times, who would have defied the fires 
 of the Inquisition, and have yielded up life itself, 
 rather than have given their strength to the apostasy 
 in the days of its power and persecutions ; and yet, 
 to advance some political object, have now received 
 its mark on their right hands, and lent the best 
 powers of their minds and bodies to forward its de- 
 signs, and place it in a position every hour drawing 
 nearer to supremacy. 
 
 Lastly, the Prophet announces — " Here is wisdom. 
 Let him that hath understanding, count the number 
 of the Beast ; for it is the number of a man ; and 
 his number is six hundred threescore and six." With 
 respect to this number of the Beast, it is probable 
 that until the Being arises to whom the number shall 
 be applicable, it can never be fully understood ; and 
 that it will then be one of the circumstances, by which 
 the suifering saints shall be strengthened and sup- 
 ported in their hour of trial. Were we to venture on 
 a speculation with regard to it, we should be inclin- 
 ed to say that the title cnroraTrja, whose letters, ac- 
 
JEWISH ANTI-MESSIAH. 115 
 
 cording to Greek numerals, number 666, * was that to 
 which the prophecy pointed. The first Beast, as the 
 Antichrist, is an incarnation of the apostasy, which 
 expands into open rebellion against God. He may, 
 therefore, with propriety, be termed "the Apostate," 
 an individual, whose number, therefore, is the number 
 of a man. However, this is merely offered as a con- 
 jecture ; our own impression being, that until the 
 rise of the Antichrist, the number of his name will 
 remain a mystery. 
 
 In corroboration of the foregoing interpretation of 
 this prophecy as to the Jewish origin of the second 
 Beast, or the False Prophet, we may observe, that it 
 was a prevailing opinion among the Fathers of the 
 Church, f that some such Anti-Messiah was to arise 
 out of the tribe of Dan ; and that opinion appears to 
 have been founded on sound Scriptural grounds. The 
 general supposition was, that the Being in question 
 was to be the Antichrist himself; but this arose from 
 their not having perceived the distinction between the 
 first and second Beasts — the former of which is to be 
 the Antichrist, the Gentile head of the Roman empire ; 
 and the latter, the False Prophet, of Jewish origin, 
 who is to be the agent employed for the seduction and 
 corruption of that people, as Menelaus was the agent 
 and instrument of Antiochus Epiphanus in a similar 
 work. With this distinction, all the Scriptural evi- 
 dences will be found to be equally applicable to the 
 
 * a. ir o t a. r r\ <r 
 
 1 80 70 6 1 300 8 200 = 666. 
 f "De tribu enim Dan Antichristus traditur nasciturus." — 
 Primasius Sup. Apoc. c. xi. 
 
116 
 
 JEWISH ANTI-MESSIAH 
 
 proof that the False Prophet shall be of the tribe of 
 Dan. These evidences have been collected by Mr. 
 Govett in his " Revelation Literal and Unfulfilled," 
 though he has fallen into the common error of con- 
 cluding that the Antichrist is to be of Jewish origin. 
 We shall here briefly enumerate them. 
 
 In the first place, Dan was an illegitimate son of 
 Jacob, born of the concubine Bilhah, after the impious 
 language of Rachel, which was reproved by her hus- 
 band ; and on his birth, Rachel's ejaculation was, 
 " God hath judged me." Moreover, the tribe of 
 Dan was always encamped on the north (Numb, 
 ii. 25), and its city was the most northern of those 
 of Israel's tribes; and it is from the north, that the 
 last great visitation is to descend upon Israel. Again, 
 the tribe of Dan is omitted in the catalogue of the 
 tribes in the seventh chapter of " the Revelation ;" and 
 it may also be observed, that it appears from the Song 
 of Deborah, that Dan did not come forward to the 
 assistance of the Lord at the battle of Megiddo — from 
 which it may be implied, that at the battle of Arma- 
 geddon (supposed to be identical in locality with 
 Megiddo), the same tribe will not be found among the 
 armies of Christ, in their conflict with those of Anti- 
 christ. It also appears in Lev. xxiv. 10-16, that one 
 of the tribe of Dan was found guilty of blasphemy 
 against Jehovah, and put to death ; which is the 
 only recorded instance of an Israelite having been 
 convicted of such a crime. And again, we find in 
 the eighteenth chapter of Judges, that the graven 
 image was set up in Mount Ephraim by the children 
 of Dan, and that the presiding priesthood thereto 
 
OF THE TRIBE OF DAN. 117 
 
 were of that tribe. It is also recorded, that Dan was 
 the place fixed on by Jeroboam, " who made Israel to 
 sin/' as the position for one of his golden calves; 
 " and this thing became a sin, for the people went to 
 worship before the one, even unto Dan. — 1 Kings, 
 xii. 30. 
 
 In addition to these recorded instances of the ten- 
 dency of this backsliding tribe to blasphemy and 
 idolatry, we find the voice of prophecy sounding a 
 similar note of warning. In the first place, the pro- 
 phecy of Jacob with reference to that which should 
 befall the tribe of Dan "in the last days," is of a 
 similar import — " Dan shall judge his people, as one 
 of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by 
 the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse 
 heels, so that his rider falleth backwards." — Genesis, 
 xlix. 1-16. From this it would appear, that from 
 Dan is to spring the serpent which, in the form of the 
 False Prophet, shall arrest the progress of the Jewish 
 people to the final consummation of their glory " in 
 the last days," and cause them to fall backwards. 
 Again, in the following prophecy, the mention of the 
 tribe of Dan in connexion with the invasion of Judea 
 by the Antichrist in the latter days, is another evi- 
 dence of our suggestions respecting them : — " Set up 
 the standard toward Zion : retire, stay not : for I will 
 bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. 
 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the 
 destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way ; he is gone 
 forth from his place to make the land desolate. . . 
 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth 
 affliction from Mount Ephraim." — Jer. iv. 6-15. 
 
118 PARALLEL PREDICTIONS 
 
 To the same effect, is the prophecy in the eighth 
 chapter of Jeremiah, where we find the following 
 passage: — "The snorting of his horses was heard 
 from Dan : the whole land trembled at the sound of 
 the neighing of his strong ones ; for they are come, 
 and have devoured the land, and all that is in it ; the 
 city, and those that dwell therein. For, behold, I will 
 send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will 
 not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the 
 Lord. — Jer. viii. 16, 17. There is also a remarkable 
 expression concerning the God of Dan, in the pro- 
 phecies of Amos : — " They that swear by the sin of 
 Samaria, and say, Thy God, Dan, liveth ; and the 
 manner of Beer-sheba liveth; even they shall fall, 
 and never rise up again." — Amos, viii. 14. From 
 these passages it is obvious, that from the tribe of 
 Dan some enormity is, in all probability, to arise, 
 who shall, like another Judas, be a blaspheming 
 traitor, an idolatrous persecutor, and a stumbling- 
 block to the Jewish people; and we are not, there- 
 fore, as we conceive, without warrant in concluding, 
 that out of this tribe shall spring " the False 
 Prophet," who is to be the instrument and agent of 
 the Antichrist, in setting up the abomination of de- 
 solation in the temple of Jerusalem, in the form of 
 the animated image described in this revelation ; 
 and in bringing the Jews to submit to his blasphemous 
 pretensions, and to acknowledge his supremacy as the 
 only God of the Universe. 
 
 These two Beasts are the beings pourtrayed in the 
 prophecies of Daniel — one of them as the little horn 
 that springs up among the ten horns on the fourth 
 
in daniel's prophecy. 119 
 
 Beast, or the Roman empire in its last stage ; and the 
 other, as the little horn which springs out of the four 
 horns of the He Goat, or the Grecian empire. The 
 first of these is thus described : — " 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 : and they shall be given into his 
 hands until a time, and times, and dividing of a time." 
 The characteristics of this horn are exactly similar to 
 those of the first Beast, viz., blasphemy, persecution, 
 and great power ; and we may, therefore, conclude, 
 that as they are both of them connected with " the 
 fourth kingdom upon earth," and both of them to be 
 destroyed by the Lord at his coming, that they are 
 one and the same being. Again, the other little 
 horn springs up among the four kingdoms which 
 succeeded that of Alexander, of which Judea was 
 territorially a part, and was to arise in the latter, 
 or the last times, of their kingdom (Dan. viii. 23), 
 which is to be prolonged till the destruction of the 
 fourth kingdom (ibid. v. 12). The being predicted 
 is thus described: — "A king of fierce counte- 
 nance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand 
 up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his 
 own 'power : and he shall destroy wonderfully, and 
 shall prosper and practise, and shall destroy the 
 mighty and the holy people. And through his policy 
 also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand : and 
 he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace 
 shall destroy many : he shall also stand up against 
 the Prince of princes ; but he shall be broken with- 
 out hand." — Dan. viii. 23-25. There is a remark- 
 
120 BALAK AND BALAAM 
 
 able resemblance in many particulars between this 
 Being thus described and the False Prophet — " His 
 power shall be mighty, but not by his own power" — 
 so the False Prophet " exerciseth the power of the 
 first Beast (not his own power) before him." " He 
 shall destroy wonderfully . . . and shall destroy 
 the mighty and the holy people (the Jews). And 
 through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper," 
 &c. So, of the False Prophet, it is said, that " he 
 deceiveth them that dwell upon the earth" (the 
 Jews) ; and causeth " that as many as would not 
 worship the image of the Beast, should be killed." 
 Both of these work their ends by persecution and 
 deceit — the scene of their operations shall be among 
 the Jews — and both of them shall fall before the Lord 
 at his second coming ; and, therefore, we have some 
 reason for concluding that they are identical. This 
 harmony between the two prophecies is a strong 
 additional circumstance in favour of our foregoing 
 interpretations. See also, Isaiah, xxvii. 1, where the 
 Lord is represented as punishing the " crooked ser- 
 pent" (the False Prophet), and slaying " the Dragon 
 that is in the sea" (the Antichrist).* 
 
 The Old Testament episode of the proceedings of 
 Balak and Balaam with the people of Israel, will be 
 found to be an illustration, and has, no doubt, been 
 
 * We suggested in " The Latter Days," that the little horn of 
 the fourth Beast symbolized the Papacy, and that the little horn 
 of the He Goat symbolized the Mahometan power, which has arisen 
 in the East ; but our subsequent study of the two Beasts of the 
 Revelations, has led us to the conclusion in the text. 
 
TYPICAL OF THE TWO BEASTS. 121 
 
 recorded for our learning, as a type, of these proceed- 
 ings of the two Beasts of the Apocalypse. Balak 
 was the infidel King of the Moabites — Balaam was 
 a Prophet of the Lord ; and yet Balak, in carrying 
 out his project of subjugating the Jews, and with- 
 drawing them from their allegiance to God, employed 
 this false prophet to further his designs, as the first 
 Beast will employ the second Beast, or False Pro- 
 phet, to coerce and seduce the people of Israel in the 
 latter days. Moreover, we find that though Balak 
 was restrained from open violence against Israel, yet 
 that Balaam " taught him to cast a stumblingblock 
 before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed 
 to idols, and to commit fornication" (Rev. ii. 14), 
 in the seduction of the Israelites to idolatry, and 
 fornication with the daughters of Moab, as recorded 
 in the twenty-fifth chapter of the Book of Numbers. 
 So, in like manner, the False Prophet of the Apo- 
 calypse " deceiveth them that dwell upon the earth" 
 " saying to them that dwell upon the earth, that they 
 should make an image to the Beast." 
 
 This analogy between the past, as recorded in 
 Scripture history, and the future, as predicted in the 
 Apocalypse, is confirmed by what followed, when 
 Moses was summoned by God to " avenge the chil- 
 dren of Israel of the Midianites;" for he was di- 
 rected to levy a chosen band of Israelites, of every 
 tribe one thousand, who slew the kings of Midian 
 and their hosts, without the loss of one man of the 
 12,000. — Numb. xxxi. 49. So, at the opening of 
 the next succeeding vision of the Apocalypse, we are 
 presented with a band of 144,000 (12 X 12,000), 
 
122 OTHER INTERPRETATIONS 
 
 who are described as a chosen and selected com- 
 pany of the faithful ; and whose leading charac- 
 teristic is, that "they are they which are not de- 
 filed with women," in evident allusion, in a spiritual 
 sense, to the fornication of the Israelites with the 
 daughters of Moab. These analogies between the 
 recorded events of the past, and the predicted events 
 of the future, warrant us, to some extent, in reading 
 the one as typical of the other ; and if so, they 
 strongly corroborate the view which we have taken 
 of the meaning of the vision of the two Beasts, viz., 
 that the fir^t will be an infidel Gentile king, typified 
 by the Moabite King Balak ; and the second, or 
 False Prophet, his Israelitish agent, typified by the 
 false prophet Balaam.* 
 
 Before concluding our comments on this all-im- 
 portant part of the Apocalypse, we shall make a few 
 observations respecting the interpretations of it which 
 have prevailed among commentators, and which ap- 
 pear to us to be wholly untenable, and inconsistent 
 with the language of the Revelation. The interpreta- 
 tion to which we allude, and which has been adopted 
 by the most respected and influential writers who 
 have written on the subject, is, that the first Beast 
 denotes the secular, and the second Beast the ec- 
 clesiastical, Roman dynasty. These same authors, 
 among whom are included the names of Newton, 
 Faber, and Cunningham, concur also in interpret- 
 ing the second Beast, or the False Prophet, and the 
 Scarlet Whore, as being identical, and each of them 
 
 * See Kelly's Apoc. Interp., vol. ii. p. 285. 
 
CONSIDERED AND REFUTED. 123 
 
 symbolic of Popery. Now, not to dwell on the in- 
 consistency and impropriety of symbolizing Popery, 
 or any other system, by a ten-horned Beast in one 
 part of the prophecy, and by a Woman riding on a 
 ten-horned Beast in another, we would call especial 
 attention to the revealed fact, that the two-horned 
 Beast, or False Prophet, outlives Popery ; because 
 we are told by the Angel, in the seventeenth chapter, 
 that the ten kings shall desolate and burn the Whore 
 with fire, for that God hath put it into their hearts 
 to give their kingdom to the Beast — while it is re- 
 vealed in the nineteenth chapter, that the Beast and 
 the False Prophet are afterwards taken, and cast into 
 the brimstone lake together, by the Lord himself at 
 his coming. So that the False Prophet survives 
 the Scarlet Whore, or Popery, and yet is, according 
 to their interpretations, Popery itself. This fact of 
 the False Prophet being destroyed subsequent to the 
 extermination of the Papacy, appears likewise from 
 the song of triumph at the commencement of the nine- 
 teenth chapter, which precedes the announcement of 
 the marriage of the Lamb, and his coming with his 
 saints, to encounter and subdue the Beast and False 
 Prophet. This is a contradiction which cannot, as 
 we conceive, be explained away ; and of itself suffi- 
 cient to establish the unsoundness of the interpreta- 
 tions which identify the False Prophet with Popery. 
 Mr. Elliott, in his " Horse Apocalypticse," inter- 
 prets the first Beast to be the succession of Popes — 
 the False Prophet, to be the Papal clergy — and the 
 Scarlet Whore, to be the Papal Church : and thus, if 
 his view be correct, consistently with the language 
 
124 Elliott's interpretations 
 
 of the prophecy, the Papal Church is to be wholly 
 extinguished, being made desolate, and naked, and 
 burned with fire by the ten kings, in order that they 
 may give their kingdoms unto the Beast (the succes- 
 sion of Popes) — while the Beast and False Prophet, 
 or the Pope and his Clergy, whose church and city 
 have just been swept away by the ten kings, are to 
 enter into close alliance with the same ten kings, and 
 to be afterwards taken and destroyed with them on 
 the field of Armageddon. This difficulty did not 
 escape the observation of Mr. Elliott ; and he has 
 endeavoured to explain it away by several sugges- 
 tions, not very consistent with each other, and wholly 
 at variance with the language of the prophecy. 
 
 First. — He states, that " the predictive clause 
 (v. 16) must be understood of the locality or city ; 
 not of the Church so far associated with it ; the 
 Apostate Church's False Prophet being to the last 
 in company with the Beast."* This is a petitio 
 pri?icipii, assuming the question in dispute. But 
 there is not anything in the prophetic announcement 
 that warrants us in confining the destruction of the 
 Whore to the destruction of the city. Whatever 
 the Whore represents (and according to Mr. Elliott, 
 she represents the Papal Church) is to be wholly ex- 
 tinguished; for no more appropriate language could 
 be used by the Prophet, to express the utter extinc- 
 tion of all that is symbolized by the Whore ; and not 
 only is her final extermination by the ten kings pre- 
 dicted in terms that cannot be intended to convey 
 
 * Hor. Apoc, p. 1256. 
 
CONSIDERED AND REFUTED. 125 
 
 anything else, but she does not again appear on the 
 scene, nor is she again mentioned, except in the song 
 of rejoicing of the people in heaven, at the com- 
 mencement of the nineteenth chapter, for the judg- 
 ment which had befallen her. 
 
 Secondly. — Mr. Elliott, alluding to the downfall of 
 the Whore, " towards the end of her career , from 
 the ten kings," adds, that there is an intimation also 
 " of her partial recovery therefrom prior to final de- 
 struction."* But for this position there is no war- 
 rant whatever in the book of "the Revelation." In the 
 announcement of the destruction of the Whore, utter 
 and final destruction is predicted ; and, as we have 
 observed before, the only subsequent mention that is 
 made of her, is in the song of triumph for her down- 
 fall, which precedes the prophetic description of the 
 extermination of all the remaining systems or forms 
 of iniquity which have been introduced in the scenery 
 of the Apocalypse. 
 
 Thirdly. — Alluding to the destruction of the Beast 
 and False Prophet, Mr. Elliott suggests, that "fthe 
 circumstances of their destruction following after, 
 and so being in point of time distinct from that of 
 Rome, is accounted for on the supposition of Anti- 
 christ and his army being, at the time, gathered to 
 some country or place without the territories of the 
 Popedom." But how is this consistent with Mr. 
 Elliott's interpretation, that the Whore is the Papal 
 Church, and the prophetic declaration that her ex- 
 termination by the ten kings is for the purpose of 
 
 * Hor. Apoc, p. 1260. \ Ibid., p. 1278. 
 
126 THE TWO BEASTS 
 
 giving their kingdom to the Beast (the Pope) ; and 
 who, with the False Prophet (the Papal clergy), is 
 afterwards found in close alliance with the same ten 
 kings on the field of Armageddon ? Can it be con- 
 tended, that the meaning of the prophecy is, that the 
 ten kings are to extinguish the Papal Church and 
 City, in order to confer pre-eminence on the Pope 
 and the Papal clergy — unless, indeed, this Pope 
 shall have abandoned his nominal allegiance to Christ, 
 and assumed the rebellious attitude and titles of " the 
 Antichrist," in open defiance of God and his Christ, 
 as he is there represented ? Then, indeed, will the 
 language of the prophecy be consistent throughout ; 
 and the Beast of the thirteenth chapter will repre- 
 sent, not the Popedom, or the succession of Popes, 
 but the natural development of Popery — open and 
 avowed Antichristianity, and an open and avowed 
 Antichrist. 
 
 It is clear, therefore, that these suggestions of 
 Mr. Elliott are only put forward to support the fore- 
 gone conclusion, that the two Beasts are respectively 
 the succession of Popes and the Papal clergy ; and 
 do violence to the language and structure of the pro- 
 phecy. No such difficulties present themselves in 
 the view which we have taken of its meaning and 
 import. As we have endeavoured to explain the di- 
 vine revelation, the first Beast is the Antichrist — the 
 second Beast is his ally, or agent, of Jewish origin, 
 by whose power and craft the restored people of 
 Israel are to be persecuted or seduced, and, with the 
 exception of the very elect, to be coerced or deceived 
 into submission to, or acknowledgment of, his bias- 
 
SYMBOLIZE INDIVIDUALS. 127 
 
 phemous pretensions — while the Scarlet Whore, we 
 shall find to be the precursory apostasy, " the mystery 
 of iniquity," that has its seat in the metropolis of the 
 Roman dynasty throughout this dispensation ; and 
 from whose ashes shall spring the Antichrist, who, 
 openly denying the Father and the Son, shall no 
 longer content himself with the office and title of 
 99 The Vicar of Christ on earth," but proclaim him- 
 self to be " the King of Kings and Lord of Lords;" 
 and whose seat shall be no longer at Rome, but, in 
 imitation and assumption of the kingdom of Christ, 
 " he shall plant the tabernacle of his palace between 
 the seas in the glorious holy mountain," at Jeru- 
 salem, when " he shall come to his end, and none 
 shall help him." — Dan. xi. 45. 
 
 It is difficult to conceive how any person, holding 
 the doctrine of the premillennial advent of Christ, 
 and the literal destruction of his enemies on the 
 mountains of Israel at the time of the end, can, at 
 the same time, hold that these two Beasts can pri- 
 marily symbolize anything but individuals. The 
 Beast, as he appears in the nineteenth chapter, is 
 either an individual — it may be the last of the Popes, 
 after the extinction of his Church and City — or the 
 succession of Popes. But as he is to be taken and 
 cast alive into the lake of fire, the succession of 
 Popes cannot be there symbolized. Consequently, 
 the Beast of the nineteenth chapter symbolizes an 
 individual. And, if so, must not the same Beast, 
 when presented to our view in the thirteenth chapter, 
 also symbolize the same individual, and one that is 
 yet to arise ? more especially, as a similar fate is pre- 
 
128 UNSOUND INTERPRETATIONS. 
 
 dieted for him in that chapter, viz., "to go into 
 captivity" as that which befalls him on the field of 
 Armageddon, in the nineteenth chapter, viz., to be 
 taken, and cast alive into the brimstone lake. The 
 same reasoning applies to the second Beast, or False 
 Prophet, to prove that it also symbolizes an indi- 
 vidual. 
 
 We have dwelt on this subject of the nature of 
 these two Beasts more particularly, as we conceive it 
 to be one of paramount importance to a right under- 
 standing of the whole book of "the Revelation," and 
 of the principles on which our interpretations of it 
 are to be founded. For if the seven-headed and ten- 
 horned Beast of the thirteenth chapter pourtrays an 
 individual yet to arise, it is clear that Mr. Elliott's 
 scheme of interpretation must fall to the ground, in- 
 asmuch as the Beast who is to slaughter the two 
 witnesses, as predicted in the eleventh chapter, being 
 identical with that in the thirteenth chapter, has 
 not yet appeared in the world. Consequently, Mr. 
 Elliott's interpretation, and all the other interpreta- 
 tions, in which the slaughter of the two witnesses as 
 a past event, is not only a chief, but a necessary in- 
 gredient, must be abandoned. This will appear more 
 fully hereafter, in our comments on the nineteenth 
 chapter of " the Revelation." 
 
THE CHRISTIAN'S REFINEMENT. 129 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 THE REFINEMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 
 
 " Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his 
 floor, and gather his wheat into the garner ; but he will bum up 
 the chaff with unquenchable fire." — Mat. iii. 12. 
 
 The chapter of "the Revelation" which is about to 
 occupy our attention, we shall find to contain a pro- 
 phecy of events, the object and effect of which are 
 to be similar to those adumbrated in the opening of 
 the seals. The events prefigured in the opening of 
 the seals, are, in the view which we took of them, 
 destined by God to be the means of refining and se- 
 parating God's elect among the Jewish people, from 
 the wickedness with which they shall be mingled in 
 the latter days — the days of their restoration to their 
 own land, and of reconciliation with their offended 
 God — when he shall have renewed his covenant with 
 them for the last remaining of the seventy weeks of 
 their duration as a Church and a nation, previous to 
 the coming of the Messiah to reign over them on 
 Mount Zion, as predicted in the ninth chapter of 
 Daniel. In like manner, the prophecy which we are 
 
 K 
 
130 THE JEWISH 
 
 about to examine, is a prediction of the refining pro- 
 cess by which God shall, in the latter days of this 
 dispensation, separate the purity of the Gentile 
 Christian Church from the mass of impurity and 
 corruption with which it shall be mingled. 
 
 "And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, 
 and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his 
 Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice 
 from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a 
 great thunder : and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their 
 harps. And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and 
 before the four beasts, and the elders : and no man could learn that 
 song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, -which were 
 redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled 
 with w r omen ; for they are virgins. 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. 
 And in their mouth was found no guile : for they are without fault 
 before the throne of God." — Rev. xiv. 1-5. 
 
 This branch of the prophecy opens with a revela- 
 tion of 144,000, having the name of their Father 
 written on their foreheads, who were introduced in 
 the previous part of the Revelation, as sealed up (c. 
 vii. 4-8) ; and whom we explained to be those faith- 
 ful Jews, who, during the former dispensation, and 
 during the continuance of God's primitive Church, 
 having seen the promises afar off, embraced them, 
 and have received the blessings of redemption through 
 the blood of their Saviour. The description here 
 given of them confirms this interpretation. They are, 
 in the first place, described as having the name of the 
 Lamb's Father upon their foreheads — not the name 
 
FIRST FRUITS. 131 
 
 of Christ himself, who had not come into the world 
 at the period of their conflicts and labours on earth. 
 They are also represented as singing " as it were a 
 new song." The "new song" which the Beasts and 
 elders are represented as singing before the Lamb in 
 the ninth verse of the fifth chapter, is the song of 
 redemption. " Thou art worthy to take the book and 
 to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain and 
 hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every 
 kindred, and tongue, and nation, and people ; and 
 hast made us unto our God kings and priests : and 
 we shall reign on the earth." Now, the 144,000 are 
 here described, not as singing the " new song," but 
 " as it were a new song ;" denoting that their re- 
 demption was, in some manner, different from the 
 redemption of those who have received, and shall 
 receive, redemption under the new dispensation. 
 Christ died for those that were under the law, as well 
 as for those who have never been under the law ; but 
 the revelation before us tells us, that the song of re- 
 demption of the former is not to be learned by any 
 of the latter — all which is very intelligible, if we con- 
 sider that there may be some distinction between the 
 redemption of those, who, like the band of faithful 
 Israelites described in the eleventh chapter of He- 
 brews, embraced the promises afar off, and before 
 fulfilment, and those who have embraced the pro- 
 mises when fulfilled. 
 
 They are also described as virgins, and undefiled 
 with women, which denotes their freedom from the 
 gross apostasies which characterised their rebellious 
 nation — apostasy being always designated in Scrip- 
 
132 THE GOSPEL PROCLAMATION. 
 
 ture as fornication and harlotry. The description 
 also of their being redeemed from among men, 
 "being the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb," 
 confirms this view ; for the Prophet Jeremiah declares 
 that "Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the 
 "first-fruits of his increase" (Jer. ii. 3); and St. 
 James, addressing the twelve tribes scattered abroad, 
 calls them & kind of first-fruits of his creatures." — 
 St. James, i. 18. 
 
 Having thus introduced the Jewish or primitive 
 Church of God, purified and separate from the dross 
 of iniquity with which it had been mingled, the pro- 
 phecy goes on to disclose the refinement or purifica- 
 tion of the Gentile, or new dispensation, branch of the 
 
 " And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having 
 the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the 
 earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people : 
 saying, with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him ; for 
 the hour of his judgment is come ; and worship him that made 
 heaven and earth, and the sun, and the fountains of water — 
 Rev. xiv. 6, 7. 
 
 This passage not only reveals the subject matter of 
 the prophecy, but also the period of the fulfilment 
 of the events foreshadowed in this part of the pro- 
 phetic vision, to be at the close of the present dispen- 
 sation ; for, independent of the declaration that the 
 hour of God's judgment is come, our Lord himself 
 has declared, in Matthew, xxiv. 14 — "And this Gospel 
 of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for 
 a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end 
 come ;" showing that as soon as the Gospel should 
 
THE OTHER PROCLAMATIONS. 133 
 
 have been preached to all nations for a witness, then 
 should the end come. This fixes the period of the 
 events we are about to contemplate, to be the close of 
 the present dispensation, and the subject matter of 
 the prophecy to be the Christian Church. 
 
 " And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, 
 is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the 
 wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed 
 them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the Beast and 
 his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 
 the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is 
 poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation ; and 
 he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of 
 the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb : and the smoke 
 of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever : and they have 
 no rest day nor night, who worship the Beast and his image, and 
 whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience 
 of the saints : here are they that keep the commandments of God, 
 and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven, saying 
 unto me, Write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from 
 henceforth : yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their la- 
 bours ; and their works do follow them." — Kev. xiv. 8-13. 
 
 This passage discloses the process of refining the 
 Church, in separating the purity from the impurities 
 of the same, in like manner as we traced* the imagery 
 of the second, third, and fourth seals, to be a revela- 
 tion of the refinement of the Jewish branch of God's 
 Church, in the latter days, by the separation of those 
 who could not, like Noah, withstand the temptations 
 of the world ; or like Job, the temptations of the 
 Devil ; or like Daniel, the allurements of the carnal 
 spirit, seducing the professor from obedience to the 
 
 * " The Latter Days," pp. 81-84. 
 
134 THE TRIALS OF 
 
 positive law of God, which was added to the Jew 
 until the seed should come to whom the promise was 
 made. In the same manner, we shall find the pro- 
 phecy under our consideration, to be an adumbration 
 of the refinement of the Christian Church, by cutting 
 off from it those who shall be unable to withstand the 
 peculiar temptations to which the Christian is ex- 
 posed, for the trial of lus faith and steadfastness in 
 Gospel truth. 
 
 These peculiar temptations or trials to which the 
 Christian, as such, is exposed, are declared by our 
 Saviour in his explanation of the parable of the 
 sower : — "The sower soweth the word. And these 
 are they by the way side, where the word is sown ; 
 but when they have heard, Satan cometh imme- 
 diately, and taketh away the word that was sown in 
 their hearts. And these are they likewise which are 
 sown on stony ground ; who, when they have heard 
 the word, immediately receive it with gladness ; and 
 have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a 
 time : afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth 
 for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. 
 And these are they which are sown amony thorns ; 
 such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, 
 and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other 
 things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh 
 unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on 
 good ground ; such as hear the word, and receive it, 
 and bring forth fruit, some thirty-fold, some sixty, 
 and some an hundred." — Mark, iv. 14-20. Thus, 
 the three trials of the Christian Church are here 
 disclosed to be — the World, the Devil, and Tribula- 
 
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 135 
 
 tions or Persecutions. Consequently, we may expect, 
 that in a revelation of the purification of the Christian 
 Church, there should be a disclosure of the cutting 
 off of its enemies, viz., the World, and the Devil, 
 and the cessation of Persecutions ; and this it is, 
 which we shall find to be revealed in the imagery 
 before us. 
 
 Babylon of " the Revelation," or, as it is commonly 
 termed, the Mystic Babylon, though it has been, for the 
 most part, interpreted as only designatory of Popery, 
 is, we conceive, also symbolical of the first of the fore- 
 going enemies of Christianity, viz., the World — by 
 which is denoted all that exists in creation, the love 
 of which withdraws us from the love of God, and 
 which is thus defined by St. John — "All that is in 
 the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, 
 and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the 
 World :" thus dividing all that is in creation into 
 two classes — those of the Father, and those of the 
 World — God and Mammon. If we consider the 
 nature of the literal Babylon in itself, and in its 
 position relative to God's people, as revealed in 
 Scripture, and recorded in history, the propriety of 
 the meaning which we have given to it will be more 
 apparent. Its peculiar characteristics were wealth, 
 luxury, pomp, and power — all that could minister to 
 the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the 
 pride of life; and with regard to God's chosen 
 and separate people, the Jews, it is everywhere in- 
 troduced in Scripture as the overwhelming flood that 
 was ever threatening to swallow them up. The Jews 
 and Babylon stood in the same relation to each other, 
 
136 THE angels' proclamations, 
 
 in the Old Testament Scriptures, as God's people 
 and the people of the World do at the present 
 moment ; and if the Jew was a type of the faithful 
 Christian, so, therefore, is Babylon an appropriate 
 type of the World, or of all in the sublunary creation, 
 the love of which is distinct from the love of God. 
 
 The third Angel, in the passage before us, de- 
 nounces and depicts the final destruction of the 
 worshippers and adherents of the Beast and his 
 image, i. e., the Antichrist (the incarnation of the 
 Devil) and his followers, as explained in the pre- 
 ceding chapter. This denunciation of the third 
 Angel is, therefore, predictive of the cutting off of 
 apostasy, the deceits of the Devil, as that of the 
 second was of the deceits of the World. 
 
 The succeeding announcement by the Prophet of that 
 which the Voice from heaven declared, is very similar 
 to the imagery of the fifth seal, with which, according 
 to our scheme of interpretation, it is synchronical, or 
 nearly so ; and is, we conceive, like it, a revelation of 
 tribulation and persecutions of the saints of God — 
 " Write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord 
 from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may 
 rest from their labours, and their works do follow 
 them." The force of this passage rests on the phrase, 
 " from henceforth," as denoting a peculiarity of bless- 
 ing to those, who, from that period, shall die in the 
 Lord ; and which can only arise from the magnitude 
 of the labours or persecutions from which they shall 
 be withdrawn, inasmuch as all who die in the Lord 
 are blessed. 
 
 Thus, the announcement of the three Angels, and 
 
AND THE VOICE FROM HEAVEN. 137 
 
 of the Voice from heaven, is a revelation of the sowing 
 of the seed of God's Word through all the earth, 
 and the cutting off or separation from the good 
 ground, of the thorny soil of the World, the way side 
 soil, where the snares of the Devil are laid, and the 
 stony ground in which Persecutions offend ; and 
 this series of prophetic images fully discloses the 
 refinement of God's Church of this dispensation. 
 Where the seed is sown, if it falls not on good soil, 
 it falls on thorny ground — on the way side — or on 
 stony places ; that is to say, according to the Saviour's 
 explanation, it may fall on worldly minds, where it is 
 choked at once — or on minds that are not worldly, 
 but which the Devil may have power to deceive and 
 pervert into apostasies — or on minds that are neither 
 worldly nor to be deceived into apostasies, but over 
 which the Devil may, nevertheless, prevail, by perse- 
 cutions and afflictions ; and more especially, by those 
 awful persecutions which are to be introduced in the 
 days of " the great tribulation" — the days of the 
 Antichrist. All these instruments, by which the 
 fruits of Gospel truth are blighted in the hearts of 
 the hearers of the Word in this dispensation, are 
 depicted in the foregoing revelation ; and the warn- 
 ings of the Angels, and of the Voice from heaven, 
 are intended, we conceive, to convey predictions of 
 the refining process by which God's Church is to be 
 purified before the coming of the Saviour. 
 
 "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud 
 one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a golden 
 crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came 
 out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on 
 
138 
 
 THE HARVEST. 
 
 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. And he that 
 sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth ; and the earth 
 was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is 
 in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel 
 came out from the altar, which had power over fire ; and cried 
 with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle saying, Thrust 
 in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the 
 earth ; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his 
 sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it 
 into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress 
 was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the wine- 
 press, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and 
 six hundred furlongs." — Rev. xiv. 14-20. 
 
 The imagery of the Harvest and Vintage is a revela- 
 tion of the judicial sifting of the Gentile nations, 
 and which is also revealed in the opening of the 
 sixth seal, being introduced in both revelations, as im- 
 mediately succeeding " the great tribulation," or per- 
 secution of the faithful, whether Jew or Gentile, by 
 the Antichrist. It is evidently a parallel prophecy to 
 that in the third chapter of the prophecies of Joel : — 
 " For behold, in those days, and in that time, when 
 I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jeru- 
 salem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring 
 them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will 
 plead with them there for my people and for my heri- 
 tage Israel, whom they have scattered among the 
 nations, and parted my land. . . Proclaim ye this 
 among the Gentiles ; Prepare war, wake up the 
 mighty men, let all the men of war draw near ; let 
 them come up : beat your ploughshares into swords, 
 and your pruning hooks into spears : let the weak 
 say I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, 
 
THE VINTAGE. 139 
 
 all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round 
 about : hither cause thy mighty men to come down, 
 O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened and come up 
 to the valley of Jehoshaphat ; for there will I sit to 
 judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the 
 sickle, for the harvest is ripe : come, get you down ; 
 the winepress is f u 11, the fats overflow, for their 
 wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the 
 valley of decision ; for the day of the Lord is near 
 in the valley of decision.* The sun and the moon 
 shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their 
 shining. The Lord, also, shall roar out of Zion, and 
 utter his voice from Jerusalem ; and the heavens and 
 the earth shall shake ; but the Lord shall be the 
 hope of his people, and the strength of the children 
 of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the Lord your 
 God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain ; then shall 
 Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass 
 through her any more." 
 
 This divine proceeding of gathering in the Harvest, 
 described in both of these prophecies, pourtrays the 
 gathering of the faithful into the kingdom of God, 
 as our Lord himself has described it, immediately 
 after the parable of the sower: — "And he said, so is 
 the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed 
 into the ground ; and should sleep, and rise night and 
 day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he 
 knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth 
 fruit of herself ; first the blade, then the ear, after 
 that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is 
 brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, 
 because the harvest is come? — Mark, iv. 26-29. 
 
140 THE TREADING OF 
 
 While, on the other hand, the imagery of the Vintage 
 and Winepress is used by the Prophet Isaiah in the 
 parallel prophecy of the Lord coming in vengeance, 
 to destroy and trample on his ungodly enemies : — 
 "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed 
 garments from Bozrah ? this that is glorious in his 
 apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength 1 
 I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Where- 
 fore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments 
 like him that treadeth in the winefat ? I have trod- 
 den the winepress alone; and of the people there was 
 none with me : for I will tread them in mine anger, 
 and trample them in my fury ; and their blood shall 
 be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all 
 my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in my 
 heart, and the year of my redeemed is come." — 
 Isa. lxiii. 1-5. 
 
 The parallel prophecy in Joel, to which we have re- 
 ferred, furnishes the particulars of the time and place 
 of this divine visitation. We are told, in the commence- 
 ment, that it is to take place after the restoration of 
 Judah and Jerusalem, and the scene of it to be the 
 valley of Jehosaphat in the Holy Land. This is cor- 
 roborated by the description of the position of the 
 Winepress in the concluding paragraph of the passage 
 of the Revelation, now under our consideration : — 
 "And the winepress was trodden without the city, 
 and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the 
 horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six 
 hundred furlongs ;" for it has been remarked by 
 some writers, that this is the exact measure of the 
 extent of Palestine, which is to be the sceneof this 
 
THE WINEPRESS. 141 
 
 last consummation of God's retributive wrath on the 
 Gentile nations, whom he has used as instrumental 
 in scourging his own people Israel, but who shall, in 
 their turn, as in the instances of Egypt, Babylon, 
 and Assyria, be visited by the retributive wrath of 
 God (Is. xxii. 23), as more fully revealed in the 
 portents of the seven vials. 
 
 Thus, we have disclosed to us, in the chapter of 
 "the Revelation" which we have been considering, a 
 series of prophetic images, analogous in their object 
 and effect, and, as we conceive, synchronous in time, 
 to the events predicted in the imagery of the opening 
 of the seals — the object and effect of both being the 
 refinement and purification of the Church of God ; 
 that of the seals relating to the Jewish Church, and 
 that in the interpretation of which we have been en- 
 gaged, relating to the Christian or Gentile branch, 
 previous to their final amalgamation in the one glo- 
 rious and triumphant Church of God upon earth, 
 which will take place on the reception of the Saviour 
 coming in the clouds of heaven to his mourning and 
 repentant people Israel. 
 
 If this view be correct, the events pourtrayed in 
 the imagery of the Vintage are analogous to, and 
 synchronize with, the opening of the seventh seal, 
 which, as we have observed, and obviously, from the 
 structure of the prophecy, embraces within it the 
 events pourtrayed in the seven trumpets. So here 
 the Vintage and Winepress is a concentrated prophecy 
 of the retributive wrath of God on the several iniqui- 
 ties of the Gentile Church, which is more fully 
 detailed in the portents of the seven vials ; or, in 
 
142 RECAPITULATION. 
 
 other words, the seven vials are an enlarged portrait 
 or description of the treading of the winepress. 
 
 But before we proceed further, it will conduce to 
 the elucidation of the subject, to revert to the several 
 parts of the prophecy before us, and which is, like 
 the imagery of the seals with reference to the Jewish 
 branch of the Church, a prophetic vision of the re- 
 finement and purification in the latter days of the 
 Gentile Church of God, or "the remnant that keep 
 the commandments of God, and have the testimony 
 of Jesus." In other words, the separation of the 
 children of God from the children of the World and 
 of the Devil, which, like the process of the seals, is 
 sevenfold. 
 
 First. — We have a Revelation of the 144,000, or 
 the holy band of the faithful patriarchs of Israel, who 
 saw and embraced the promises afar off; and have 
 received the blessings of redemption, being the first- 
 fruits unto God and the Lamb. 
 
 Second. — We are presented with a Revelation of 
 the Gospel preached to all nations as a witness, so 
 that those who believe might be saved, and those 
 that believe not might be damned ; and which, as 
 appears from our Lord's prediction, in Matt. xxiv. 
 J 4, brings us to the time of the end, or the latter 
 days. 
 
 Third. — In the Angel's declaration of the destruc- 
 tion of the mystic Babylon, we behold in the warning 
 the cutting off from the Church of the children of 
 the Worlds or the thorny places where the seed was 
 sown. 
 
 Fourth. — The denunciation of the worshippers and 
 
RECAPITULATION. 143 
 
 adherents of the Beast and his image, presents us, in 
 the warning of the effects of apostasy, with a pro- 
 phetic picture of the cutting off of the children of the 
 Devil, out of whose way -side hearts the enemy of 
 mankind has taken the seed of the Word that had 
 fallen there. 
 
 Fifth. — In the declaration of the Voice from hea- 
 ven of the blessedness of those who depart, "from 
 henceforth" in the Lord, is adumbrated the Anti- 
 christian 'persecution, which, in the latter days, shall 
 prove whether the seed was sown on good ground, or 
 on the stony places where it had no root. 
 
 Sixth. — The Harvest discloses the gathering in of 
 the faithful, when the fruit shall be ripe ; and 
 
 Seventh. — The Vintage and the Winepress, the 
 trampling of the enemies of God in his final fury, 
 as more fully to be developed in the portents of the 
 seven vials. 
 
 The foregoing summary shows, at a glance, the 
 analogy, and the similarity in object and effect, be- 
 tween the septenary of events prefigured in the imagery 
 of this section of the Apocalypse, and those pre- 
 figured in the opening of the seals. This will appear 
 more clearly as we proceed in our exposition of the 
 imagery in the ntrt chapter. 
 
144 THE SEALING UP 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 THE PURGING OUT OF INIQUITY. 
 
 " For the day of vengeance is in mine hand, and the year of 
 my redeemed is come." — Is. lxiii. 4. 
 
 Previous to the prophetic demonstration of God's 
 retributive wrath on the several impurities of the 
 Jewish branch of his Church, as revealed in the 
 imagery of the seven trumpets, we were presented 
 with a picture of the safety and blessedness of the 
 purified portion of the same, in the revelation of the 
 sealed 144,000, and the great multitude that no 
 man could number, who had passed through the Anti- 
 christian tribulation, and washed their robes in the 
 blood of the Lamb. In the same manner, before the 
 Prophet discloses the final outpouring of God's wrath 
 on the Gentile nations, in the portents of the seven 
 vials, we are, in the chapter we are about to con- 
 sider, furnished with a similar revelation of the safety 
 and blessedness of the purified members of the Church, 
 which have been gathered into the garners of Christ 
 in the preceding imagery of the Harvest. This is 
 
OF THE FAITHFUL. 145 
 
 the general outline of the chapter before us, and 
 which we now proceed to examine in detail : — 
 
 " And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, 
 seven angels having the seven last plagues ; for in them is filled 
 up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass 
 mingled with fire : and them that had gotten the victory over the 
 Beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the num- 
 ber of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of 
 God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and 
 the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy 
 works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou 
 King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, Lord, and glorify 
 thy name ? for thou only art holy : for all nations shall come and 
 worship before thee ; for thy judgments are made manifest." — 
 Rev. xv. 1-4. 
 
 Here we have the array of those who shall be 
 subjected to, and triumphant over, all the trials 
 which have been revealed to be put in force by the 
 Dragon, against " the remnant who keep the com- 
 mandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus," 
 viz., the Beast and his image, his mark, and the 
 number of his name. They are represented as 
 standing on the "sea of glass, mingled with fire," 
 having apparently passed through, and emerged from 
 it. The sea of glass is, as we have before explained, 
 typical of the blood of Christ, that cleanseth from all 
 sin ; and, therefore, the " sea of glass mingled with 
 fire," through which the triumphant Christians have 
 passed, is typical of their baptism " with the Holy 
 Ghost, and with fire," as predicted in Matt. iii. 11, 
 gathering the wheat into his garners, and burning 
 up the chaff with fire unquenchable. 
 
 This sacred throng are heard to sing " the song of 
 
146 THE SONG OF THE REDEEMED. 
 
 Moses and of the Lamb." The first is the song of 
 rejoicing for their deliverance from the awful perse- 
 cutions of Pharaoh's antitype, the Antichrist, and 
 which is preserved in the fifteenth chapter of Exodus ; 
 and the song of the Lamb is the song of praise and 
 thanksgiving to the Saviour and Redeemer, who has 
 led them through the red sea of persecutions and 
 afflictions in safety. 
 
 This song of the redeemed, as connected with the 
 impending wrath of God, or the wickedness which is 
 about to be swallowed up in the outpouring of the 
 seven vials, is revealed in a parallel prophecy of the 
 Prophet Isaiah : — " Behold the name of the Lord 
 cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the 
 burden thereof is heavy ; his lips are full of indigna- 
 tion, and his tongue is a devouring fire. And his 
 breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the 
 midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve 
 of vanity ; and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of 
 the people, causing them to err. Ye shall have a 
 song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept ; 
 and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe 
 to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty 
 One of Israel. And the Lord shall cause his glorious 
 voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down 
 of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and 
 with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, 
 and tempest, and hailstones. For through the voice 
 of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which 
 smote with a rod. And in every place where the 
 grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay 
 upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps : and in 
 
THE SMOKE OF THE TEMPLE. 147 
 
 battles of shaking will he fight with it. For Tophet 
 is ordained of old ; yea, for the King it is prepared : 
 he hath made it deep and large ; the pile thereof is 
 fire and much wood ; the breath of the Lord, like a 
 stream of brimstone, doth kindle it." — Is. xxx. 
 27-33. 
 
 Here we have, in the first place, the solemn song 
 and gladness of heart of the redeemed and trium- 
 phant Christian, followed, as in the passage of " the 
 Revelation" before us, with the lighting down of 
 God's arm, with the indignation of his anger, and 
 with the flame of a devouring fire ; and in the thirty- 
 third verse, the Prophet proceeds to declare the 
 special judgment on the head and front of all this 
 accumulation of iniquity and rebellion, the Anti- 
 christ — " For Tophet is ordained of old ; yea, for the 
 King it is prepared." This is evidently a parallel 
 prophecy to those now under our consideration. 
 
 " And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the taber- 
 nacle of the testimony in heaven was opened : and the seven an- 
 gels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed iu 
 pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden 
 girdles. And one of the four Beasts gave unto the seven angels 
 seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever 
 and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory 
 of God, and from his power ; and no man was able to enter into 
 the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were ful- 
 filled."— Rev. xv. 5-8. 
 
 The prophetic incident of the temple being filled 
 with smoke from the glory of God, leads us to two 
 recorded instances of a similar character in the Old 
 Testament history, which will be found of assistance 
 
148 THE GLORY OF THE LORD. 
 
 in unfolding the nature of the events which are here 
 foreshadowed. The first of these is to be found in 
 the last chapter of the Book of Exodus, which de- 
 scribes the completion of the tabernacle of the testi- 
 mony by Moses, and the entry of the glory of God 
 into it : — " And he reared up the court round about 
 the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging 
 of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. 
 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and 
 the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And 
 Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the con- 
 gregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the 
 glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." — Exodus, 
 xl. 33-35. The other passage to which we have 
 alluded, is the description of the events which took 
 place on the completion and dedication of the temple, 
 by Solomon, where, after recording the induction of 
 the Ark of the Lord into the most holy place, the 
 sacred historian proceeds : — " And it came to pass 
 when the priests were come out of the holy place, 
 &c. . . . that then the house was filled with a 
 cloud, even the house of the Lord, so that the 
 priests could not stand to minister by reason of the 
 cloud ; for the glory of the Lord had filled the house 
 of God " — 2 Chron. v. 11-14. Thus, on the occa- 
 sion of the completion of the tabernacle of the testi- 
 moii} r , and of its antitype, the Temple of Jerusalem, 
 the glory of the Lord filled them like a cloud, so as to 
 prevent the entry of any person therein. In like 
 manner, the filling of the symbolic temple of the 
 Apocalypse with " the smoke from the glory of the 
 Lord," denotes the completion of that temple of the 
 
THE SEVEN VIALS. 149 
 
 Most High, of which both the tabernacle in the wil- 
 derness, and the same glorious Temple of Solomon, 
 were but the types and shadows, viz., the glorified 
 and triumphant Church of Christ, which has fre- 
 quently been described by the Apostles as a temple 
 of which believers are the stones, and which is not 
 to be complete until every separate stone shall have 
 been perfected, and fitted into its peculiar place. 
 
 This prophetic imagery, therefore, fully corrobo- 
 rates and confirms the view which we have been hi- 
 therto taking of this section of the Apocalypse ; for 
 if, as we have been explaining, the Harvest of the 
 preceding chapter denoted the gathering in of the 
 ♦ believers into the garners of their Saviour, it is mani- 
 fest that the number of the elect has been completed, 
 that all the living stones of Christ's Church have 
 been shaped out and fitted into their appropriate 
 places, and that it is ready for his visible entrance into 
 it, as symbolized by the imagery before us of " the 
 smoke of the glory of the Lord" filling the temple. 
 
 From this perfected temple, which is filled with 
 the presence of Christ, go forth the seven angels, 
 bearing the vials of his retributive wrath on the se- 
 vered iniquity and impurity with which his Church 
 had been hitherto mingled ; and the outpourings of 
 which are to sweep it away into the unquenchable 
 fire, with which God is to burn up the chaff when 
 separated from the wheat, which is to be laid up in 
 his garners of everlasting blessedness and purity. 
 
 " And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the 
 seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath 
 
150 THE SEVEN VIALS, 
 
 of God upon the earth. 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 
 which worshipped his image. 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. And the third angel poured 
 out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and they 
 became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou 
 art righteous, O Lord, which art, and was, and shalt be, because 
 thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and 
 prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink ; for they are 
 worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord 
 God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. 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 blasphemed the name of God, which hath 
 power over these plagues : and they repented not to give him glory. 
 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the Beast ; 
 and his kingdom was full of darkness ; and they gnawed their 
 tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of 
 their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. And 
 the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates ; 
 and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of 
 the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like 
 frogs come out of the mouth of the Dragon, and out of the mouth 
 of the Beast, and out of the mouth of the False Prophet. For 
 they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth 
 unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather 
 them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, 
 I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his 
 garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he 
 gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue 
 Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the 
 air ; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, 
 from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and 
 thunders, and lightnings ; and there was a great earthquake, such 
 as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earth- 
 quake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three 
 
AND SEVEN TRUMPETS. 151 
 
 parts, and the cities of the nations fell : and great Babylon came 
 in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine 
 of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and 
 the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great 
 hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent : and 
 men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail ; for the 
 plague thereof was exceeding great." — Kev. xvi. 
 
 The chaff of wickedness having been severed from 
 the wheat of righteousness, which has been laid up 
 in the garners of Christ, as revealed in the last chap- 
 ter, we now come to consider the outpourings of the 
 last vials of God's wrath. These we shall find to be 
 prophetic of the extermination of the separated in- 
 iquity, or, as described by our Saviour, the burning 
 up of the chaff with unquenchable fire. This process 
 is strictly analogous to that pourtrayed in the symbols 
 of the trumpets, which was the extermination of the 
 wickedness in the Jewish branch of God's Church — 
 while that of the vials pourtrays the extermination of 
 the same ingredients which are now, and will con- 
 tinue to be, mingled with the Gentile Church, until 
 the very last times of this dispensation. The series 
 of events predicted in both are, we conceive, synchro- 
 nical ; the one, as we have before stated, being pre- 
 dictive of the last judgments on the iniquity of the 
 Jewish branch, while the other is predictive of the 
 last judgments on the iniquity of the Gentile branch, 
 of God's Church. A glance at their respective sub- 
 ject matters will be sufficient to satisfy us of their 
 synchronism. 
 
 The subjects of the first four visitations of the 
 trumpets and of the vials respectively, are the earth — 
 
152 THE OBJECT AND EFFECT 
 
 the sea — the fountains and rivers — and the celestial 
 bodies. The subject of the fifth trumpet is the flood 
 of Antichristian infidelity; and that of the fifth vial, 
 which is poured out on the seat of the Beast (the 
 Antichrist) is manifestly the same. The portents of 
 the sixth trumpet, and those of the sixth vial, are 
 connected respectively with the river Euphrates. 
 The seventh trumpet, announcing the commencement 
 of the millennial reign, and the proclamation, on the 
 outpouring of the seventh vial, of the completion of 
 the present dispensation — " It is done" — together 
 with the accompaniments, common to both, of light- 
 nings, voices, thunderings, an earthquake, and hail, 
 lead to the conclusion, that the events predicted in 
 both are synchronical. Thus the subject matters of 
 these two classes of prophecied events being identical, 
 and the termination of both, viz., the close of this 
 dispensation and the commencement of the next, 
 being also identical, we have every reason to conclude 
 that they will commence at the same time — and if 
 so, they are obviously parallel predictions of the same 
 events, or predictions respectively of parallel events. 
 While, however, we have arrived at the conclusion, 
 that the object and effect of these portents, are the 
 purification of the Christian Church, and the cutting 
 off of the mass of impurities which shall have been 
 separated from it, we do not profess to be able to give 
 any specific explanation of the nature and 'particulars 
 of the events themselves, which are still in the womb 
 of futurity. It would appear, however, that these 
 agents of Satan, the Beast and the False Prophet, will 
 be the instruments of God's vengeance on the great 
 
OF THE SEVEN VIALS. 153 
 
 body of their followers, and then become themselves 
 the victims of the Divine wrath. Into minute specu- 
 lations of the manner and time of these events, we 
 shall not enter ; it is sufficient for us to be thus 
 warned, that though infidelity and apostasy shall, 
 as the days of this dispensation are drawing to a 
 close, increase in extent and power, yet that Christ 
 will, at length, going forth conquering and to con- 
 quer, crush and exterminate the iniquitous confe- 
 deracy, and sweep them from the earth, in " the 
 battle of the great day of God Almighty." 
 
 Babylon and the Dragon, the Beast and the 
 False Prophet, are the forms of evil which are to be 
 swept away in the outpourings of the Seven Vials — 
 and the succeeding chapter of "the Revelation" 
 we shall find to be an expanded detail of this retri- 
 butive wrath of the Almighty on these concentrations 
 of the iniquity of this dispensation. 
 
154 THE GREAT WHORE. 
 
 CHAPTER TIL 
 
 THE SCARLET WHORE. 
 
 " For the mystery of iniquity doth already work."— 2 Thess. xi. 7. 
 
 With the seven last plagues, as the outpourings of 
 the seven vials are termed in " the Revelation," xv. 1, 
 in which shall be swept away the impurity and dross 
 which are to be separated from the Church of God 
 by the previous process of refinement, pourtrayed 
 in the announcements and proceedings of the an- 
 gels revealed in the fourteenth chapter, the time for 
 the opening of the. millennial or new dispensation has 
 arrived. Before, however, the glorious scene is re- 
 vealed to the Prophet, he is presented with three dis- 
 tinct visions, which occupy respectively the next three 
 chapters. The first of these is the judgment of the 
 Great Whore — the second, commencing with the 
 distinctive announcement, " after these things I saw, 
 &c," is a revelation of the final destruction of Baby- 
 lon — and the third, which also commences with a 
 similar declaration, is a revelation of the final con- 
 flict with, and conquest of, the Beast and False Pro- 
 phet, or the two Beasts revealed in the thirteenth 
 chapter. 
 
THE APOSTASY. 155 
 
 These three distinct and separate revelations, we 
 conceive to be special prophetic announcements of 
 the final destruction or subjugation of the enemies 
 of God's Church, which, as we have explained in our 
 interpretation of the fourteenth chapter, were to be 
 separated from the Church by the refining process 
 therein adumbrated, whatever that process might be ; 
 and which were afterwards swept away in the out- 
 pouring of the seven vials. These enemies of the 
 Church, we traced, from the parable of the sower, to 
 be Apostasy, or the deceits of the Devil — the deceits 
 of the World — and Persecutions; and these three are 
 here specially alluded to under the respective figures 
 of the Scarlet Whore, Babylon, and the Beast, with 
 his Jewish agent, the False Prophet, which may be 
 described as, respectively, the exponents of Spiri- 
 tual Apostasy, Political Apostasy, and the open ma- 
 nifestation of both. 
 
 Before we come to the separate consideration of 
 each of these prophetic symbols, we would observe, 
 that, in considering the destruction of those adver- 
 saries of God's Church, we must never lose sight of 
 the important consideration, that they are here pre- 
 sented to us in the last form in which they shall be 
 found before their final extermination. Nor must we 
 forget, that in Rome, the revived fourth kingdom 
 upon earth, which is to be smitten and crushed by 
 the Stone, previous to its expansion into Christ's 
 kingdom over the whole world, is to be embodied 
 and condensed all the iniquity that is to be swept 
 away in the final conflict between Christ and Anti- 
 christ. Consequently, when apostasy, in the state 
 
156 THE DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 in which it shall be finally destroyed and swept away, 
 is presented to us, it is to be expected that it will be 
 in the form of the most manifest, permanent, and 
 extensive of all apostasies, and which will, in the 
 end, swallow up or concentrate in itself all other 
 apostasies, viz., the apostasy of the Church of Rome. 
 And also, when a revelation of the Deceits of the 
 World, in their last form, is to be given to us, a pic- 
 ture of "all that is in the World, the lust of the 
 flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life" 
 (St. John, ii. 15), as existing in Rome, or mystic 
 Babylon, the head-quarters of the apostasy, will be 
 disclosed. Keeping these remarks in view, we shall 
 now proceed to examine the prophecy of the Judg- 
 ment of the Great Whore : — 
 
 " And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven 
 vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither ; I will 
 show unto thee the judgment of the Great Whore that sitteth 
 upon many waters : with whom the kings of the earth have com- 
 mitted fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been 
 made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me 
 away in the spirit into the wilderness : and I saw a Woman sit 
 upon a scarlet-coloured Beast, full of names of blasphemy, having 
 seven heads and ten horn3. And the Woman was arrayed in 
 purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones 
 and pearls, having a golden cup hi her hand full of abominations 
 and filthiness of her fornication : And upon her forehead was a 
 name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE 
 MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE 
 EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the 
 saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus : and when I 
 saw her, I wondered with great admiration. And the angel said 
 unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel ? I will tell thee the mys- 
 tery of the Woman, and of the Beast that carrieth her, which hath 
 the seven heads and ten horns. The Beast that thou sawest was, 
 
THE GREAT WHORE. 157 
 
 and is not ; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into 
 perdition : and they that dwell on 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. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven 
 heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And 
 there are seven kings : five are fallen, and one is, and the other 
 is not yet come ; and when he cometh, he must continue a short 
 space. And the Beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, 
 and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. 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. 
 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto 
 the Beast. 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. 
 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the 
 Whore sitteth, are peoples, and midtitudes, and nations, and 
 tongues. 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. 
 And the Woman which thou sawest is that great city, which 
 reigneth over the kings of the earth." — Rev. xvii. 
 
 Three matters are presented for our consideration 
 in this prophetic announcement — first, the Great 
 Whore ; second, the Beast on which she sat ; and 
 third, the final destruction of the Whore. These we 
 shall examine separately. 
 
 First. — There is no prophecy in this Book, in the 
 interpretation of which there appears to have been 
 so much harmony among Protestant commentators, 
 as the one now under our consideration ; and it is 
 a source of heartfelt satisfaction to us to have arrived 
 
158 THE ROMISH APOSTASY, 
 
 at the conclusions respecting its precise meaning and 
 intent, which have so long prevailed among the mem- 
 bers of our Church. We conceive, with them, that 
 this "Great Whore that sitteth upon many waters," 
 is the Romish apostasy. A woman, in Scripture 
 imagery, has always been symbolical of a Church. 
 In the Book of Psalms, in the Proverbs, in Solomon's 
 Song, and the writings of the Prophets, we find the 
 Church so represented ; and, in consistency with 
 that symbol, a faithless or apostate Church is pro- 
 perly symbolized by a harlot. 
 
 This faithless Woman, then, being an apostate 
 Church, we have no difficulty in identifying or con- 
 necting her with Rome. In the first place, the Beast 
 on which she sits, is the Roman dynasty, pourtrayed 
 under its well-known symbol of the seven-headed and 
 ten-horned monster. The imagery of her sitting 
 on it, denotes, that during her existence in this state, 
 she exercises power and control in and over the 
 seat of the Roman empire, which has been hitherto 
 verified by the events of history. Another evidence is 
 to be found in the titles stamped on her forehead — first, 
 "Mystery," denoting her as a " mystery of iniquity," 
 or secret agent of Satan — Christian in her profession, 
 but infidel in her practice ; second, Babylon, the 
 worldly enemy of God's people ; third, the Mother 
 of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth — the chief 
 of all the apostasies and idolatries of Christendom. 
 How true these are, as regards Popery, we need not 
 pause to explain more fully. 
 
 The next description is, that St. John " saw the 
 Woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and 
 
NOT PAGAN ROME. 159 
 
 with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus ;" and to this 
 the Prophet adds, "and when I saw her, I won- 
 dered with great admiration." The annals of every 
 nation in Europe can attest how copiously the blood 
 of saints and martyrs has been already shed by Papal 
 Rome ; and the astonishment expressed by St. John 
 is, as well observed by Vitringa, conclusive, that the 
 martyrdoms of heathen Rome were not here pre- 
 sented to his view, as he was no stranger to them. 
 But to find a professing Christian power drunk 
 with the blood of the saints might well excite his 
 amazement. 
 
 In addition to these evidences of the identity of the 
 Harlot with Papal Rome, we need only add the de- 
 claration of the Angel, that the seven heads of the 
 Beast on which she rides, are " seven mountains, on 
 which the Woman sitteth ;" and that she is " that 
 great city which reigneth over the kings of the 
 earth." 
 
 This identification with Rome is too obvious to call 
 for any remark. Its conclusiveness has been ad- 
 mitted by the most eminent among even Popish com- 
 mentators themselves, who have vainly attempted 
 to shift the fulfilment from Papal to Pagan Rome. 
 On this subject, we need only remind our readers of 
 the foregoing observation of St. John, at the spectacle 
 of the outpouring of the blood of the saints, which 
 would be inconsistent with the supposition of Pagan 
 Rome being the guilty power ; as also of the unan- 
 swerable dilemma put by Bishop Newton, that if Pagan 
 Rome were the Babylon of the Apocalypse, Pagan Rome 
 having been destroyed, she (Rome) is now become "the 
 
160 THE BEAST. 
 
 hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean 
 and hateful bird," as we are told in the second verse 
 of the next chapter — a description of Rome Papal 
 that will scarcely be adopted by any of her members, 
 or by those who would endeavour to palliate her 
 enormities. 
 
 Second. — We shall now direct our attention to the 
 seven-headed and ten-horned Beast on which the Wo- 
 man sitteth. With respect to this, we cannot be at a loss 
 to recognise the well-established symbol of the Roman 
 dynasty ; and we have only to ascertain how far the 
 description here given of it is consistent with our 
 explanation of the meaning of the symbolic Harlot. 
 It is evident, that if our explanation of the Woman 
 being the Romish apostasy be correct, the description 
 of the Beast here given by the Evangelist, must be 
 likewise consistent with what the Roman dynasty 
 has been since the rise of the Papacy, and still con- 
 tinues to be. St. John is told by the Angel, " the 
 Beast that thou sawest was, and is not, and shall 
 ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into per- 
 dition." This is obviously a description of the 
 Beast, as it exists at the time the Woman is sitting on 
 him ; and bearing in mind, that the Roman dynasty 
 is to be in existence at the close of this dispensation, 
 and that its existence, as a secular power, has been 
 suspended since the rise of the Papacy, the descrip- 
 tion here given of it is interestingly accurate. The 
 Roman empire did exist — it does not now exist — for, 
 during the continuance of the Papacy, the spiritual 
 has extinguished the temporal power, as we have al- 
 ready shewn — and it will hereafter revive in an infidel 
 
THE SEVEN HEADS. 161 
 
 form, and be finally exterminated. It is, therefore, 
 aptly described by the Angel, speaking of it during 
 the dominion of Popery — "it was, and is not, and 
 shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into 
 perdition." It is, moreover, consistently represented 
 without the crowns on its heads, which it had during 
 the Emperorship, and as it appeared in the twelfth 
 chapter — and also without the crowns on its horns, 
 which it will have under the Antichrist, as represented 
 in the thirteenth chapter. 
 
 The Angel then continues : — " And this is the mind 
 that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven moun- 
 tains, on which the Woman sitteth. (And there are 
 seven kings : five are fallen, and one is, and the other 
 is not yet come ; but when he cometh he shall con- 
 tinue a short space. And the Beast that was, and is 
 not, even he is the eighth, and is [out] of the seven, 
 and goeth into perdition.) And the ten horns which 
 thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no 
 kingdom as yet ; but receive power as kings one 
 hour (simultaneously) with the Beast." We have 
 written this passage as we conceive it ought to be 
 read, including what relates to the seven kings in a 
 parenthesis. And reading it thus, it fully corro- 
 borates the view we have taken of the prophetic pic- 
 ture. Rome, as a temporal power, is in a non-existent 
 state during the Papacy, that is to say, while the 
 Woman is connected with it in the manner she is, 
 and has been. Such being the case, the connexion 
 between the Papacy and Rome is a mere territorial 
 connexion. It would, therefore, be an inconsistency 
 in the prophetic announcement, to say, in this place, 
 
 M 
 
162 THE TEN HORNS. 
 
 that the seven heads of the Beast, while the Papacy 
 was overriding it, were symbolic of the seven heads 
 of the temporal dynasty of Rome — viz., Kings, Con- 
 suls, Dictators, Decemvirs, Tribunes, Emperors, and 
 Antichrist, the temporal government being then, as 
 we have observed, in abeyance. Consequently, the 
 Angel declares to the Evangelist, that these seven 
 heads of the Beast, during the existence of the Pa- 
 pacy, symbolize, not the seven heads of the Roman 
 dynasty, but the seven hills of Rome, which alone 
 constitute the connexion of the Papacy with Rome, 
 as we have already observed. At the same time, the 
 Angel adds, parenthetically, that there are seven kings, 
 or forms of Roman government ; and which we have 
 seen are symbolized by the seven heads of the Beast, 
 when his temporal power was existent under the 
 Emperors, and when his temporal power shall revive 
 in the days of the Antichrist — thus preserving that 
 meaning to the symbol of the seven heads, which 
 would otherwise have been excluded by confining it to 
 the seven hills of Rome. This shows the consistency 
 of our view of the prophecy with the prophetic 
 imagery, on the one hand ; and the extreme accuracy 
 and consistency of the prophetic imagery with his- 
 toric and existent facts, on the other. 
 
 The Angel's description of the seven heads we 
 shall discuss and explain more fully hereafter ; and 
 as regards the ten horns, we have only to observe, 
 that they are here represented, consistently with our 
 previous anticipations, as ten kings reigning contem- 
 poraneously (fxiav ivpav) with the eighth head of the 
 Beast, constituting him " King of kings," giving 
 
the whore's destruction. 163 
 
 their united power and strength unto the Beast, and 
 making war with the Lamb, who shall overcome 
 them, " for he is the Lord of Lords, and King 
 of Kings ;" and in their fall, the feet of Daniel's 
 image shall be struck by the Stone, and broken to 
 pieces. 
 
 Lastly. — The destruction of the Whore, or the 
 Romish apostasy, is thus revealed: — "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. These have one 
 mind, and shall give their power and strength unto 
 the Beast. 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. 
 . . . 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 ful- 
 filled. And the Woman which thou sawest is that 
 great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." 
 Thus, the destruction of this apostate system will 
 be completed by the ten kings, who shall reign co- 
 temporaneously with, and give their power to, the 
 Beast ; and the extermination of it will be for the 
 purpose of giving their kingdom unto the Beast. 
 That Beast, as we have before explained, is to be the 
 open manifestation of infidel power, which is ob- 
 viously inconsistent with a mere " mystery of ini- 
 
164 OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED, 
 
 quity," such as the Papacy is ; and, therefore, the 
 first proceeding of this Antichristian confederation, 
 will be to put an end to the very name and appear- 
 ance of Christianity, in the destruction of even an 
 apostate system of it. 
 
 And here we may again remark, that the circum- 
 stance predicted in this passage, of the Beast surviv- 
 ing the Whore, and the circumstance of the Beast 
 and False Prophet being taken together, and together 
 cast into the lake of fire, as depicted in the nineteenth 
 chapter, are demonstrative of the inconsistency of 
 an interpretation which has widely prevailed, of the 
 False Prophet being identical with the Whore, and 
 both of them symbolic of the Papal power. This 
 alone, independent of many other inconsistencies 
 to which such an interpretation would give rise, is 
 sufficient to lead our minds to the conclusion, that a 
 system of infidelity which shall condemn and abolish 
 even Popery itself, as too religious and godly a system, 
 is yet to arise and survive the fall of that apostasy ; 
 and that, therefore, the two Beasts of the thirteenth 
 chapter depict something that shall not come into 
 existence, until the Papacy shall have been swept 
 away. 
 
 We have stated, at the commencement of this 
 chapter, that almost all Protestant commentators 
 have concurred in the interpretation of the Romish 
 apostasy being symbolized by the Whore. There 
 have, however, been some dissentients from this 
 opinion ; and among these, we find that Mr. Burgh 
 has raised, as an objection, and, we may say, the 
 only objection to it, that the Woman having been 
 
AND REFUTED. 165 
 
 disclosed by the angel to be " a city," cannot, with 
 propriety, be interpreted to be"" a system." To this 
 we reply, in the first place, that such an identification 
 of a Church with a City, is to be found in this same 
 book of " the Revelation," chap. xxi. v. 2 ; and more- 
 over, the Church of Rome is so identified, in point of 
 fact, with the city of Rome, even at the present day, 
 that a prediction of the destruction of the city of 
 Rome, the heart from which flows all the vitality of 
 the system, would be tantamount to a prophecy of 
 the extermination of Popery itself, as a system. And 
 when Rome shall, as Mr. Burgh admits it will, rise 
 again into the wealth, magnificence, and power de- 
 scribed in the next chapter, Popery will, in all pro- 
 bability, as being the moving cause of its worldly 
 pre-eminence, be the breath of life to it ; and will 
 have so centralised and localised its powers, that with 
 the fall of Rome itself, the whole fabric of the 
 Romish apostasy will be extinguished. 
 
 Let us picture to ourselves the occurrence of such 
 an event, even in the present day, as the utter de- 
 struction and desolation of Rome, so as never more 
 to be inhabited by anything but the beasts of the 
 forest, and will it be deemed too rash an expectation 
 to be indulged in, that the whole framework of the 
 Papacy would receive such a shock, as to insure the 
 speedy dissolution of the system, though to be suc- 
 ceeded, perhaps, by something even more abominable. 
 Add to this, that the name of " Mystery" is branded 
 on her forehead, as also the title of being " the Mother 
 of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth" — that is to 
 say, of fornications or idolatries, which are only appli- 
 
166 PROPHECY OF POPERY. 
 
 cable to some system of religion — and we may con- 
 clude, that the objection raised by Mr. Burgh is not 
 of such weight, as that it ought to have prevented 
 him from concurring in his interpretations, with those 
 who have identified the Great Whore with the Romish 
 apostasy. 
 
 There is nothing exaggerated in the language of 
 the Prophet, as applied to Popery. The Kings of 
 the earth have, even already, committed spiritual 
 fornication with her ; and the inhabitants of the earth 
 have been intoxicated with her pernicious dogmas — 
 her raiment is, almost literally, purple and scarlet — 
 it is her boast and pride to be decked with costliness 
 and splendour — while her dominion, or spiritual in- 
 fluence, even now, extends over, and is acknowledged 
 by, peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 
 The other parts of this imagery — viz., the Beast on 
 which she is seated, and the explanation given of it, 
 harmonise with all that we hear and see of Popery ; 
 and, therefore, even though something farther is to 
 be evolved from the womb of time, more consistent 
 with the imagery before us, yet still we are justified 
 in the conclusion, that Popery is the system from 
 which it shall be expanded ; and that the continuance 
 and destruction of the one, will be coincident with 
 the continuance and destruction of the other. 
 
BABYLON THE GREAT. 167 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE FALL OF BABYLON. 
 
 " And the world passetli away, and the lust thereof." — 
 1 John, ii. 17. 
 
 We have, in the preceding chapter of " the Reve- 
 lation," traced the destruction of Apostasy, or the 
 deceit of the Devil ; and in that which we are about 
 to consider, we shall find a revelation of the ex- 
 tinction of the deceits of the World. Rome, in her 
 revived state of commercial prosperity, refinement, 
 and luxury, will present a combination of apostasy 
 and wordliness never surpassed on earth, even by her 
 type Babylon ; and in the destruction of her apostate 
 system, and of her wealth, pomp, and grandeur, we 
 are presented with prophetic pictures of the exter- 
 mination of all Apostasy, and of all Wordliness, by the 
 Lord, when he shall enter into judgment with them. 
 This we conceive to be the object of the prophecies of 
 the immediately preceding chapter, and of that which 
 is now about to come under our consideration. 
 
 " And after these things I saw another angel come down from 
 heaven, having great power ; and the earth was lightened with 
 his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, 
 Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation 
 
168 DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every 
 unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine 
 of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have 
 committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth 
 are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I 
 heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my 
 people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive 
 not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and 
 God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she 
 rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: 
 in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much 
 she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment 
 and sorrow give her : for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and 
 am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her 
 plagues come in one day — 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 of the earth, who have com- 
 mitted fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, 
 and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, 
 standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, 
 that great city Babylon, that mighty city ! for in one hour is thy 
 judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and 
 mourn over her ; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more : 
 the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of 
 pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all 
 thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner 
 vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, 
 and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and 
 wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and 
 horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the 
 fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all 
 things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and 
 thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these 
 things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the 
 fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, 
 that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and 
 scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls ! 
 for in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every 
 
THE FALL OF BABYLON. 169 
 
 shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many 
 as trade by sea, stood afar off, 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 
 wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made 
 rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness ! for 
 in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, 
 and ye holy apostles and prophets ; for God hath avenged you on 
 her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, 
 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. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, 
 and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee ; and no 
 craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in 
 thee ; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all 
 in thee ; and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in 
 thee ; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be 
 heard no more at all in thee : for thy merchants were the great 
 men of the earth ; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. 
 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of 
 all that were slain upon the earth." — Rev. xviii. 1-24. 
 
 The language of this lament is almost identical 
 with the language in which the Prophets Isaiah, 
 Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, have predicted the downfall 
 of Babylon and Tyre, the two powers most prominent 
 in their days for commercial prosperity, pride, and 
 hostility to the people of God ; and here it is used 
 to describe the destruction of a city which will, as 
 appears from the contents of this and the preceding 
 chapter, be remarkable for the same characteristics. 
 So far the language of the prophecy confirms the 
 view we have taken of its meaning. But we have 
 said, that it was intended to convey to us a picture 
 of the destruction of the second enemy of God's 
 
1T0 BABYLON SYMBOLIC OF 
 
 Church, viz., the things of the World. Let us, there- 
 fore, examine its contents, to ascertain how far this 
 position can be established. 
 
 The opening words, " After these things I saw," 
 show that it is a distinct prophecy from that which 
 preceded it, though they obviously relate to the same 
 subject matter — viz., the destruction of Babylon. 
 There must be, therefore, some difference in the pur- 
 port and intent of the two prophecies, or why should 
 they be divided as they are ? And what can be more 
 satisfactory than our conclusion respecting them — 
 viz., that the former depicts the destruction of the 
 spiritual apostasy, and the latter, the material world- 
 liness of the city ; or, in other words, the system of 
 the Papacy, and the city of the Papacy. 
 
 But while it manifestly pourtrays the things of the 
 World which are contained in this city, we have stated 
 that it also conveys a revelation of the destruction of 
 the things of the World in general ; and this may 
 likewise be collected from the language of the pro- 
 phecy, where we are told, that "the merchants of the 
 earth waxed rich through the abundance of her deli- 
 cacies ;" and it is added, " the oner chants of the earth 
 shall weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth 
 her merchandise any more." It then goes on to enu- 
 merate the various descriptions, or items of that 
 merchandise, which we shall find to be employed in 
 what St. John, in his Epistle, sums up as " all that 
 is in the world, the lust of the eye, the lust of the 
 flesh, and the pride of life." For instance, the 
 enumeration commences with " the merchandise of 
 gold, and silver, and precious stones, and pearls, 
 
THE THINGS OF THE WORLD. 1/1 
 
 and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and 
 all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and 
 all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of 
 brass, and iron, and marble." All these are, pro- 
 perly speaking, to be classed under the " lust of the 
 eye," inasmuch as they are valued by their pleasing 
 effect on the vision, which is enhanced in proportion 
 to their variety. The prophecy then goes on to enu- 
 merate further, "and cinnamon, and odours, and 
 ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and 
 fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep" (cattle) — 
 these are obviously to be classed under " the lust of 
 the flesh" all of them administering to carnal enjoy- 
 ments, and the luxuries of appetite. And the re- 
 mainder — viz., " horses, and chariots, and slaves, 
 and the souls (bodies) of men," may, with propriety, 
 be classified under " the pride of life," all of them 
 being the emblems of that superiority and dominion, 
 which it is the great object of human pride to attain to. 
 An inspection of the Greek version of this passage, 
 will show the reader, that the division which we have 
 suggested, of the several items composing this cata- 
 logue of merchandise, is countenanced by the struc- 
 ture of the passage in the original — the first and 
 third clauses being in the genitive, and the second in 
 the accusative case. 
 
 The prophecy then describes the lamentations of 
 the " merchants of these things which were made 
 rich by her," and of "the shipmasters," and "as 
 many as trade by sea" — that is to say, of all con- 
 nected with the things of the World, whether on the 
 
172 THE REVIVAL OF 
 
 land or on the sea, the desires of whose hands are 
 declared to have come to nought in one hour. 
 
 Thus, in the prophetic wailing for the fall of Ba- 
 bylon the great city, we have the lamentations of 
 " the Kings of the earth, who have committed forni- 
 cation and lived deliciously with her" — of the mer- 
 chants of the earth, who " have waxed rich through 
 the abundance of her delicacies," deploring the de- 
 struction of their trade in the things of the world, 
 " the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the 
 pride of life" — and, also, of the shipmasters and 
 traders by sea, who were equally interested in the 
 fatal traffic. And in this description of the universal 
 ruin of the worshippers of Mammon, is obviously 
 conveyed a prophetic declaration of the extermination 
 of the second great enemy of God's Church, revealed in 
 the parable of the sower — viz., the things of theWorld 
 choking the seed that has fallen among the thorns. 
 
 Such, then, is, in our view, the purport and in- 
 tent of these two prophecies — viz., the destruction 
 of Babylon, or the revived apostate and worldly 
 city of Rome ; and in it a revelation of the exter- 
 mination of apostasy and worldliness in general — 
 in like manner as the overthrow of Sodom and 
 Gomorrah are referred to by St. Peter and St. 
 Jude, as being set forth for an example, suffering 
 the vengeance of eternal fire, unto them that after 
 should live ungodly. — 2 Pet. ii. 6 ; Jude, 7. 
 
 This destruction of Rome by the ten Kings, who 
 shall share the dominion of the world with the then 
 infidel eighth head of the Roman empire, and that, 
 too, for the purpose of concentrating all power in him, 
 
THE CITY OF ROME. 173 
 
 requires some explanation — as, at first sight, there is 
 an apparent inconsistency in such a proceeding, if 
 Rome is to be the metropolis of the revived Roman 
 empire. Independent, however, of such being the 
 inevitable result of the events, as here predicted, we 
 can very well conceive that such will be the natural 
 course of events, if the principles which we have 
 extracted from these and other prophecies in Scrip- 
 ture, and on which we have been explaining those of 
 this book in particular, are well founded. 
 
 The great instrument by which the Devil has been 
 enlarging his kingdom from among the inhabitants 
 of the world, since the rise of Christianity, has been 
 Apostasy, or " the Mystery of Iniquity ;" and as 
 time rolls on, it will be found, that this evil will in- 
 crease in subtilty and extent, and become enlarged 
 in power, by concentration. Popery has always 
 been the most prominent, extensive, and systematic 
 of all apostasies, and, on that account, may well be 
 termed "the apostasy ;" and Popery will, no doubt, 
 be the form of apostasy that will swallow up all 
 the others, and stand out, at the last, the chief, if 
 not the sole, manifestation of apostasy properly so 
 called, as distinguished from infidelity. 
 
 Those who may hesitate to adopt this conclusion, 
 on the ground of the improbability of the revival of 
 the decaying power of Rome, as well as of the con- 
 centration of other apostasies in her system, know 
 but little of the depth and tenacity of her roots. To 
 such we would observe, that the religion of Ro- 
 manism, when sifted and examined, will be found to 
 be the religion of the natural and unregenerated 
 
1/4 PREVALENCE OF 
 
 heart of man, clothed in the garb, and assuming the 
 titles of Christianity, though it has had existence 
 since the fall of Adam. And if the hearts of man- 
 kind were, at this moment, laid bare, and their mo- 
 tives and principles of action exposed to view, many 
 an one of those, who pride and plume themselves 
 on their hatred of Popery, and whose tongues are 
 among the loudest in denunciation of her errors and 
 abominations, would be found acting on the very 
 same motives, and harbouring those identical prin- 
 ciples in their hearts, that in the earliest ages of the 
 Christian Church, expanded into a system, which, 
 under the name of Christian, is but a reproduction 
 of heathen superstition and idolatry. The natural 
 heart of man remains the same in the present day, that 
 it was from the earliest hour of the creation — the same 
 feelings actuate, and the same principles guide him, 
 though, from the influence of external circumstances, 
 the forms of their development may be controlled 
 or varied. Those, whose sacred profession, as minis- 
 ters of the Gospel, has led them to the sifting of the 
 inmost minds of men on the subject of their religious 
 sentiments — and more especially when the approach 
 of death lays bare many a deeply-concealed feeling — 
 can testify how prevalent in the unregenerate heart 
 are the principles on which the whole fabric of 
 Popery is built; and the wide welcome that has, of 
 late years, been given to the advent of Tractarian 
 principles, is sad evidence that the same seed is to 
 be found, even in the (humanly speaking) best edu- 
 cated and best informed of this enlightened and pro- 
 fessedly Protestant nation; and that a very little en- 
 
THE PRINCIPLES OF POPERY. 1/5 
 
 couragement, indeed, would be required, to produce 
 an awfully extensive defection from our own Church 
 to that of Rome. 
 
 On the other hand, look at the position in which 
 that apostate system has placed herself with respect 
 to all other religious systems. Uncompromising and 
 unchanging, she has ever refused to surrender or 
 adopt one doctrine or principle of action, in concilia- 
 tion of those who have evinced and expressed every 
 desire to meet her. She has, in point of fact, en- 
 trenched herself behind the wall of infallibility and 
 unchangeableness ; and the consequence has been, 
 that while many have, in the late Tractarian move- 
 ment, openly cast off their adhesion to Protestantism 
 and embraced Popery, many more are only deterred 
 by worldly interests from following their example. All 
 this has been taking place, as we have seen, among 
 the members of one of the most learned communities 
 in the world, and is but an index of the depth and 
 strength, in the human heart, of the principles on 
 which Romanism has been built. 
 
 If, then, the tendency of the natural heart of man 
 is to Popery, in substance and reality, though in 
 many instances, not in name ; and if Popery has so 
 framed her system, as to have precluded herself from 
 yielding up any of her forms and doctrines, the re- 
 sult must be, that sooner or later, the unregenerate 
 hearts of men will be drawn, in their natural ten- 
 dency to apostasy, into her subtle and pernicious 
 snares. The political prejudices and antipathies 
 which have so long kept so many, whose feelings 
 and principles are, unknown to themselves, essentially 
 
1/6 THE INCREASE OF ROMANISM. 
 
 Popish, from open communion with that Church, will 
 not last for ever : and to the inquiring eye, the cloud 
 not larger than a man's hand, has already appeared 
 in the horizon, that will ere long spread over the 
 heavens, and wrap the earth again in that mystery of 
 iniquity. 
 
 Open rebellion against the God of heaven will be 
 the last form in which the human race will manifest 
 their unregeneracy ; but they will, we doubt not, 
 pass through Romanism in their progress to infide- 
 lity — and in the meantime, what will be the condi- 
 tion of Rome, the immutable centre from which, and 
 to which, flows all the vitality of the system ? One 
 of her leading objects has ever been to centralise her 
 power ; and another, to accumulate around her, 
 wealth, pomp, and magnificence. This is the at- 
 mosphere in which she lives, and moves, and has her 
 being; and the great aim and end of her practical doc- 
 trines, have ever been to draw around her the dazzling 
 decorations of which the raiment of the Woman is 
 composed — "purple, and scarlet colour, with gold, 
 and precious stones, and pearls." It is clear, there- 
 fore, that the result of a general defection to Popery 
 would be, to aggrandise and enrich Rome, the focus 
 of all ecclesiastical power ; and, in fact, to identify 
 her in wealth and luxury with the Babylon described 
 in the prophecy before us. Thus, this natural incli- 
 nation to apostasy, while it tends to realise the pic- 
 ture of the Scarlet Whore, tends also to realise, in 
 Rome herself, the picture here disclosed of Babylon 
 previous to its final desolation. 
 
 In considering the transition of the world to apos- 
 
INFIDELITY OF ANTICHRIST. 177 
 
 tasy, and from apostasy to open infidelity, it must 
 be borne in mind, that in speaking of infidelity, we 
 do not mean by that term Atheism properly so called, 
 or the negation or rejection of all and every superior 
 and superintending power in the universe. That 
 species of infidelity has never been the occupant of 
 the human mind, since the commencement of the 
 world, even in its most savage, uncivilised, and un- 
 regenerate state. Where the true God has not been 
 acknowledged and worshipped, some Baal has been 
 set up in his place. The history of the Bible, and, 
 indeed, all history and experience attests this super- 
 stitious inclination of the mind of man to look up to 
 a supreme superintending influence over the affairs of 
 the world ; and, in the present dispensation, while 
 God is gathering his own people out of the world, it 
 suits the purpose of Satan to permit his subjects to 
 call themselves by the name of Christ, and yet to be, 
 at the same time, practically and effectually serving 
 himself. And, therefore, as long as he suffers them 
 to remain in this state of nominal allegiance to God, 
 apostasy must always be his adopted and principal 
 agent in working out his own ends. As soon, how- 
 ever, as the fulness of the time shall have arrived, 
 when the name of Christ is to be rejected, and the 
 Devil is to take unto himself his power, and to be 
 openly acknowledged as the Prince of this world, 
 apostasy is to be cast aside, before the rising standard 
 of open and avowed infidelity and rebellion ; and its 
 adherents will be called on to crush and extinguish 
 the then useless and obstructive agent, and to give 
 their kingdom to the Beast from the bottomless pit, 
 
178 THE VITALITY AND 
 
 on whom Satan shall have bestowed " his seat, and 
 power, and great authority.'* And so it is here re- 
 vealed, " the ten Kings shall hate the Whore, and 
 shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her 
 flesh, and burn her with fire." 
 
 Such will be the end of Rome — hurled into the 
 abyss, with the millstone of Popery round her neck, 
 never to rise again ; being carried down to her de- 
 struction by that which shall have raised her to the 
 pinnacle of worldly pre-eminence and grandeur. 
 More than once in the history of the world, has she 
 been made desolate and naked by her enemies ; but 
 again and again, has she been revived and restored, 
 and again and again, has she made use of her return- 
 ing strength, to persecute religion, and slay the saints 
 of God ; but at this time, God shall at length enter 
 into final judgment with her, as the Angel announces, 
 " Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy Apos- 
 tles and Prophets, for God hath avenged you of her." 
 
 This vitality and endurance of the Papacy, amid 
 the vicissitudes and revolutions of the nations of the 
 world, has been correctly and vividly pourtrayed by 
 Mr. Macaulay, in one of his " Critical and Historical 
 Essays :"* — 
 
 " There is not, and there never was on this earth, a work of 
 human policy so well deserving of examination, as the Roman 
 Catholic Church. The history of that Church joins together the 
 two great ages of human civilisation. No other institution is left 
 standing, which carries the mind back to the times when the 
 smoke of sacrifice rose from the Pantheon, and when came- 
 
 * " Ranke's History of the Popes," by Thomas Babington 
 Macaulay. 
 
ENDURANCE OF POPERY. 1/9 
 
 lopards and tigers bounded in the Flavian amphitheatre. The 
 grandest royal houses are but of yesterday, when compared with 
 the line of the supreme pontiffs. That line we trace back in an 
 unbroken series, from the Pope who crowned Napoleon in the 
 nineteenth century, to the Pope who crowned Pepin in the 
 eighth ; and far beyond the time of Pepin the august dynasty 
 extends, till it is lost in the twilight of fable. The republic of 
 Venice comes next in antiquity. But the republic of Venice was 
 modern when compared with the Papacy ; and the republic of Ve- 
 nice is gone, and the Papacy remains. The Papacy remains, not 
 in decay, not a mere antique, but full of life and youthful 
 vigour. The Catholic Church is still sending forth to the farthest 
 ends of the world missionaries as zealous as those who landed in 
 Kent with Augustin, and still confronting hostile kings with the 
 same spirit with which she confronted Attila. The number of her 
 children is greater than in any former age. Her acquisitions in 
 the New World have more than compensated for what she has lost 
 in the Old. Her spiritual ascendancy extends over the vast coun- 
 tries which lie between the plains of the Missouri and Cape Horn — 
 countries which, a century hence, may not improbably contain a 
 population as large as that Avhich now inhabits Europe. The 
 members of her communion are certainly not fewer than a hundred 
 and fifty millions ; and it will be difficult to show that all other 
 Christian sects united amount to a hundred and twenty millions. 
 Nor do we see any sign which indicates that the term of her long 
 dominion is approaching. She saw the commencement of all the 
 ecclesiastical establishments that now exist in the world ; and we 
 feel no assurance that she is not destined to see the end of them 
 all. She was great and respected before the Saxon had set foot 
 in Britain, before the French had passed the Rhine, when Grecian 
 eloquence still flourished in Antioch, when idols were still wor- 
 shipped in the temple of Mecca ; and she may still exist in un- 
 diminished vigour when some traveller from New Zealand shall, 
 in the midst of a vast solitude, take his stand on a broken arch of 
 London Bridge, to sketch the ruins of St. Paul's." 
 
 Thus, from the past history and present position 
 of the Papacy, we have every reason to expect that 
 
180 THE DESTRUCTION 
 
 her final doom is not to be consummated by the pro- 
 gress of the Christian religion, and the enlighten- 
 ment and conversion of mankind. On the contrary, 
 all her antecedents, independent of the voice of pro- 
 phecy, warrant the conclusion, that she is destined 
 to outlive the present political and religious systems 
 of the world, and to continue to exist until her 
 triumphant and intolerant zeal shall have trampled 
 out the last spark of Gospel truth among the human 
 race. 
 
 But it may be asked, as we have already suggested, 
 how is this utter destruction of Rome compatible 
 with the continued, and even expanded, existence of 
 " the fourth kingdom," or Roman empire, as here re- 
 vealed ? Even if this were a difficulty, the words of 
 the Revelation are too plain and unequivocal to be 
 rejected. But it will appear from our former obser- 
 vations, that there is no difficulty to be encountered. 
 The Beast, as represented in the thirteenth chapter, 
 is, as we have already seen, " the fourth kingdom " in 
 its infidel state — that is to say, when it shall be under 
 the acknowledged dominion of Satan, or his agents, 
 recognising him as the sole God of the World. This 
 can only be effected by the removal of the last sem- 
 blance of allegiance to the true God, the Apostasy, 
 with which must fall its seat and centre, Rome. And 
 then shall commence the days of the Antichrist, who 
 denieth the Father and the Son — the seat of whose 
 government will be no longer Rome, but Jerusalem, 
 the predicted seat of the Messiah ; when, as we are 
 told in the Prophecies of Daniel, "he shall plant the 
 tabernacle of his palace between the seas, in the glo- 
 
OF ROME. 181 
 
 rious holy mountain ;" and where, it is added, " he 
 shall come to his end, and none shall help him." 
 This is, in all probability, the meaning of the tread- 
 ing of the winepress " without the city," as describ- 
 ed in Rev. xiv. 20. 
 
 This removal of the seat of the Antichristian 
 power to Jerusalem is confirmed by the revelation, 
 in the eleventh chapter of this book, of the slaughter 
 of the two witnesses by the Beast, and of the exposure 
 of their dead bodies in the streets of the city " where 
 also our Lord was crucified" Moreover, Jerusalem 
 is geographically the centre of the habitable world, 
 and the declared throne of Christ, who will be imi- 
 tated in every external particular, as nearly as may 
 be, by the Antichrist ; and nothing can be clearer in 
 the pages of Holy Writ, as we have fully proved in 
 " The Latter Days," than that the last remnant of 
 faith (not in Christ crucified, but in God the Father 
 and his expected Messiah) shall be found among the 
 Jews, who shall oppose a stubborn front, as in the 
 days of Antiochus, to the pretensions of the Anti- 
 christ, and shall fall, a glorious company of martyrs, 
 beneath his and the False Prophet's merciless perse- 
 cutions — " How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost 
 thou judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell 
 on the earth V 
 
 The destruction, therefore, of Rome, the city of 
 the Apostasy, will be but the first act of the great 
 Antichristian deceiver, when iniquity shall have 
 come to its fulness, and when, as the next chapter 
 reveals, the time is approaching that Christ shall 
 come into collision with Antichrist on the field of 
 
182 THE DEADLY WOUND. 
 
 Armageddon, and exterminate his host from the face 
 of the earth. We are now in a position to explain 
 more fully the circumstance of the deadly wound 
 inflicted on the Beast, which is mentioned in the thir- 
 teenth chapter as one of his characteristics, and also 
 the circumstance of the eighth head out of the seven. 
 In the portrait of the Whore sitting on the Beast, 
 which is presented to our view in the seventeenth 
 chapter, we perceive that there is an intimate con- 
 nexion between the Papacy and the Beast ; and while 
 that connexion subsists, the Beast is pourtrayed as 
 being in a state of suspended existence (it "was, 
 and is not, and yet shall be"), and stripped of tem- 
 poral power, having no crowns either on its heads or 
 its horns. This is easy to be recognised as the 
 state of the Roman dynasty, " the fourth kingdom 
 on earth," at the present time, and throughout the 
 continuance of the Papacy, with whom the kings of 
 Christendom have been, and are now, committing 
 spiritual fornication. But when the time of the end 
 is approaching, the head of the Papacy will, no 
 doubt, proceed to assume and assert temporal autho- 
 rity, and seek to extend, and again to aggrandise, 
 the Roman Empire, so as to obtain supremacy over 
 the nations of the world. At this time, it is pro- 
 bable that the head of the Papal power, a Pope, 
 shall become the seventh head of the Beast, thereby 
 reviving and restoring the temporal sovereignty of 
 Rome, which is now, and has been since the rise of 
 the Popedom, in abeyance or suspension. This shall 
 be the Antichrist ; but still, as being the head of the 
 Papacy, not the open and avowed Antichrist, who 
 
THE EIGHTH HEAD. 183 
 
 shall, without disguise, deny the Father and the Son. 
 But prophecy further discloses, that the Papacy (the 
 Whore) is to be made desolate, and to be burned by 
 the ten Kings, and her seat of dominion, Rome, to 
 be destroyed ; and in that devastation, the head of 
 the Papacy, the seventh head of the Beast, the inci- 
 pient Antichrist, must receive his deadly wound, and 
 expire. Then shall come the miraculous revival, by 
 which he shall be restored to life, and stand forth the 
 avowed antagonist of God and his Christ, and the 
 usurper of his kingdom and power. In this form it 
 is, that he is styled " the eighth head, and of the 
 seven," or out of the seven (e« rtvv cirra), a con- 
 tinuance of the seventh head — the same person, the 
 same power — only that, instead of being covertly the 
 Antichrist, or "mystery of iniquity," the Vicar of 
 Christ on earth, he has become openly and without 
 disguise the usurper of the powers and attributes of 
 God and his Messiah — the Antichrist — the Man of 
 Sin — " the son of perdition, who opposeth and ex- 
 alteth himself above all that is called God, or that is 
 worshipped ; so that he as God sitteth in the temple 
 of God, showing himself that he is God ;" and who 
 shall be received and recognised as their supreme, by 
 the ten Kings, " the Kings of the earth, and of the 
 whole world," who are " to agree, and give their 
 kingdom unto the Beast, until the words of God shall 
 be fulfilled." 
 
 It is at this stage of existence, that the Beast is 
 introduced to our view in the thirteenth chapter, with 
 the crowns upon his ten horns, and upon his heads 
 the name of blasphemy, "King of Kings and 
 
184 the antichrist's power. 
 
 Lord of Lords ;" and when, it is stated, the 
 Evangelist saw " one of his heads, as it were, 
 wounded to death ; and his deadly wound was healed ; 
 and all the world wondered after the Beast." The 
 prophecy then discloses, that they worshipped, not 
 only the Beast, but the Dragon, or the Devil, that 
 gave him his power, and by whose agency his mira- 
 culous restoration to life shall have taken place — lead- 
 ing to the conclusion, that, in consistency with our ex- 
 planation, this death and miraculous revival of the 
 Antichrist — this healing of his deadly wound, will be 
 the source of the power which he shall acquire over 
 " all kindreds, and tongues, and nations," and the 
 origin of the worship which is to be accorded to him 
 by "all the world." 
 
the beast's destruction. 185 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE OVERTHROW OF THE BEAST AND THE FALSE 
 PROPHET. 
 
 " For Tophet is ordained of old ; yea, for the king it is pre- 
 pared ; he hath made it deep and large : the pile thereof is lire 
 and much wood ; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, 
 doth kindle it." — Isaiah, xxx. 33. 
 
 In the symbolic imagery of the two immediately pre- 
 ceding chapters, we have traced revelations of the 
 extermination of the Apostasy, symbolized by the 
 Scarlet Whore, and of the World, symbolized by 
 Babylon, the seat of the Apostasy, and which are the 
 enemies of the Church of Christ in the present day. 
 These being disposed of, the revelation of the downfall 
 and destruction of the remaining consummation of evil, 
 viz., the open and avowed manifestation of civil and 
 ecclesiastical apostasy, typified by St. Jude, in the gain- 
 saying or rebellion of Korah and his rebel compa- 
 nions (Jude, 11), remains to be presented to our view. 
 This we shall find to be the subject of this next chap- 
 ter of the Apocalypse, which appears to be a distinct 
 and separate prophecy in itself; commencing, like 
 that which precedes it, with the distinctive announce- 
 
186 THE PROPHECY THREEFOLD. 
 
 merit — " And after these things I heard," &c. The 
 following are the words of the prophecy : — 
 
 " And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in 
 heaven, saying, Alleluia ; salvation, and glory, and honour, and 
 power, unto the Lord our God : for true and righteous are his 
 judgments : for he hath judged the great Whore, which did cor- 
 rupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood 
 of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And 
 her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four-and-twenty 
 elders and the four Beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat 
 on the throne, saying, Amen : alleluia. And a voice came out 
 of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye 
 that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the 
 voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and 
 as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia : for the 
 Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and 
 give honour to him : for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and 
 his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that 
 she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white : for the fine 
 linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, 
 blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the 
 Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 
 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See 
 thou do it not : I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that 
 have the testimony of Jesus : worship God : for the testimony of 
 Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. And I saw heaven opened, and 
 behold a white horse ; and he that sat upon him was called 
 Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make 
 war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many 
 crowns ; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he 
 himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood : and 
 his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which 
 were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine 
 linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp 
 sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule 
 them with a rod of iron : and he treadeth the winepress of the 
 fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his ves- 
 
THE SONG OF TRIUMPH. 187 
 
 ture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND 
 LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun ; 
 and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in 
 the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto 
 the supper of the great God ; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, 
 and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the 
 flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all 
 men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the 
 Beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered to- 
 gether to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against 
 his army. And the Beast was taken, and with him the False 
 Prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived 
 them that had received the mark of the Beast, and them that wor- 
 shipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of 
 fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with 
 the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded 
 out of his mouth : and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." — 
 Rev. xix. 
 
 This prophecy is properly divisible into three parts — 
 the first is the song of triumph in heaven for the pre- 
 viously revealed judgments on the Great Whore of 
 Babylon — the second is the announcement of the 
 marriage of the Lamb — and the third is the final 
 encounter with, and conquest of, the Beast and the 
 False Prophet. These we shall consider separately. 
 
 First. — The song of triumph for the destruction of 
 Babylon the great requires no explanation as to its 
 meaning, the language being as simple and intelli- 
 gible as it is beautiful and sublime. The only ob- 
 servation, therefore, which it will be necessary to 
 make respecting it is, that it fixes the time of the 
 fulfilment of the prophecy to be posterior to the de- 
 struction of the Great Whore and Babylon or Rome, 
 and proves the entire distinctness of the Romish 
 
188 the lamb's marriage. 
 
 apostasy from the Beast and the False Prophet, 
 whose destruction is here predicted. The two latter 
 are, in fact, forms of evil openly manifested and 
 avowed, without mystery or disguise, whose power 
 shall be built upon the ruins of the Papacy, and shall 
 survive its fall. 
 
 Secondly. — The announcement of the marriage of 
 the Lamb, is the announcement of the visible union 
 of Christ with his Church, at this time perfected and 
 made ready to be presented to himself, "a glorious 
 Church not having spot or wrinkle, or any such 
 thing." The present dispensation is one of gathering 
 in to the marriage, as described in the parable (Matt, 
 xxii.) ; and the close of it will be, when all the elect 
 shall have been gathered unto the marriage supper. 
 Therefore, at the time of the fulfilment of this pro- 
 phecy, the Church of Christ shall have been perfect- 
 ed ; all of its members having been brought into it ; 
 and the advent of Christ with his saints is at hand, 
 as revealed in the next section of the prophecy. 
 
 Third. — The overthrow of the Beast and the False 
 Prophet, with their attendant hosts of the Kings of 
 the earth, is introduced in a vision of Christ coming 
 in glory, with the myriads of his saints, to judgment, 
 to put down all his enemies, and take the kingdom 
 unto himself and reign — " As Enoch also, the seventh 
 from Adam, prophesied of them, saying, The Lord 
 cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute 
 judgment upon all." — Jude, 14. This advent of 
 Christ to earth for the destruction of his enemies, 
 has been predicted by all the Prophets of the Old 
 Testament, some of whom have also fixed the locality 
 
THE MARRIAGE SUPPER. 189 
 
 of it in the Holy Land. It is here pourtrayed as 
 " the treading of the winepress of the fierceness and 
 wrath of Almighty God ;" and the same image is 
 presented to us in the Prophecies of Isaiah — "Who 
 is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments 
 from Bozrah ? this that is glorious in his apparel, tra- 
 velling in the greatness of his 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 winefat ? / have trodden the 
 winepress alone ; and of the people there was none 
 with me ; for I will tread them in mine anger, and 
 trample them in my fury ; and their blood shall be 
 sprinkled upon my garments ; and I will stain all my 
 raiment. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, 
 and the year of my redeemed is come." — Is. lxiii. 1-4. 
 It is also described as " the supper of the great God ;" 
 and in Isaiah we find the same image of judgment — 
 " And in this mountain shall the Lord of Hosts make 
 unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on 
 the lees." — Is. xxv. 6. These prophecies fix the loca- 
 lity of this encounter in the Holy Land ; and the tread- 
 ing of the winepress in the Book of " the Revelation" 
 is likewise, as appears from Rev. xiv. 20, to take place 
 on the same spot. There can, therefore, be no doubt 
 but that all these prophecies refer to one and the 
 same event ; and are connected with the final deliver- 
 ance and redemption of the Jewish people in their 
 own land, when suffering under persecutions, and their 
 last " great tribulation," at the hands of the Anti- 
 christ and his False Prophet. 
 
 This is further established by the invitation of the 
 
190 THE FINAL ENCOUNTER 
 
 Angel standing in the sun " to all the fowls that fly 
 in the midst of heaven, come and gather yourselves 
 together unto the supper of the Great God ; that 
 ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of cap- 
 tains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of 
 horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh 
 of all men, both free and bond, both small and great." 
 Compare this with the obviously parallel prophecy in 
 Ezekiel, which fully and accurately describes the ob- 
 ject and effect of the proceeding to be the destruction 
 of the enemies of his people Israel, and their full and 
 final reconciliation with their God in their own land — 
 " And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God, 
 speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of 
 the field, assemble yourselves and come ; gather your- 
 selves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice 
 for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of 
 Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye 
 shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood 
 of the princes of the earth, of rams, and lambs, and 
 of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bash'an. 
 And ye shall eat till ye be full, and drink blood till 
 ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed 
 for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with 
 horses and chariots, with mighty men, and all men 
 of war, saith the Lord God. And I will set my glory 
 among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my 
 judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I 
 have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall 
 know that I am the Lord their God from that day 
 forward. And the heathen shall know that the house 
 of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity ; be- 
 
IN JUDEA. 191 
 
 cause they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my 
 face from them, and gave them into the hand of their 
 enemies ; so fell they all by the sword. According 
 to their uncleanness, and according to their trans- 
 gressions have I done unto them, and hid my face 
 from them. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, 
 now I will bring again the captivity of Jacob, and 
 have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will 
 be jealous for my holy name ; after that they have 
 borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby 
 they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt 
 safely in their laud, and none made them afraid. 
 When I have brought them again from the people, 
 and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and 
 am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations ; 
 then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, 
 which caused them to be led into captivity among the 
 heathen : but I have gathered them unto their own 
 land, and have left none of them any more there. 
 Neither will I hide my face any more from them : for 
 I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, 
 saith the Lord God." — Ezekiel, xxxix. 17-29. 
 
 Thus, it is manifest, that this final encounter 
 between the powers of light and darkness — between 
 Christ and Antichrist — is to take place in the land of 
 Judea. The xlntichristian host, composed of the 
 Beast, his False Prophet, and the Kings of the 
 earth, with their armies, leads us back to the portents 
 of the sixth vial, where we find the opposing forces 
 thus described — " And the sixth angel poured out his 
 vial on the great river Euphrates ; and the water 
 thereof was dried up, that the way of the Kings of 
 
192 THE OPPOSING HOSTS. 
 
 the East might be prepared. And I saw three un- 
 clean spirits like frogs, come out of the mouth of 
 the Dragon, and out of the mouth of the Beast, and 
 out of the mouth of the False Prophet. For they 
 are the Spirits of Devils working miracles, which go 
 forth unto the Kings of the Earth and of the whole 
 world, to gather them to the battle of the great day 
 of God Almighty. Behold I come as a thief. Blessed 
 is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest 
 he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he 
 gathered them together unto a place called in the 
 Hebrew tongue, Armageddon." Thus, the two 
 earthly armies which shall be opposed to each other 
 on the plains of Armageddon, will be the Kings of 
 the East, or the returning Ten Tribes, on the one 
 side, and the Beast and the Kings of the Earth 
 with their armies, on the other side ; as described in 
 the nineteenth verse of the chapter of " the Revela- 
 tion" which we are considering. "And I saw the 
 Beast 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." And it is at this 
 crisis, that Christ and his saints shall suddenly come 
 in power, as foreshadowed in the announcement, " Be- 
 hold, I come as a thief," &c. ; and openly revealed in 
 the imagery before us, as "King of Kings and 
 Lord of Lords;" advancing "with the armies which 
 were in heaven," " to smite the nations," and to " rule 
 them with a rod of iron," and to tread the " wine- 
 press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." 
 The issue of this conflict is, that the Beast and 
 False Prophet are taken, and cast alive into a lake of 
 
CAPTURE OF THE DRAGON. 193 
 
 fire burning with brimstone, perishing utterly, like 
 Korah and his rebel company, in their avowed ini- 
 quity; while the remnant are represented as slain 
 with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, and 
 the fowls were filled with their flesh. 
 
 " 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 ; and cast him into the 
 bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he 
 should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should 
 be fulfilled : and after that he shall be loosed a little season." — 
 Rev. xx. 1-3. 
 
 The only member of this Antichristian confedera- 
 tion that remains is the Dragon — the Devil himself, 
 the origin and promoter of all this wickedness thus 
 cut off and exterminated. He was not one of those 
 who appeared in open rebellion on the field of Ar- 
 mageddon ; and therefore it is that he does not here 
 meet with his final end. However, on Christ's advent 
 to earth, as on the occasion of his ascension to hea- 
 ven, as described in the twelfth chapter of the book 
 of " the Revelation," the Devil is to be cast out of the 
 place of his bodily presence ; and, accordingly, an 
 angel is sent to shut him up in the bottomless pit, 
 that he should deceive the nations no more until the 
 expiration of a thousand years — the duration of the 
 millennial reign — the nature of which, as revealed in 
 Scripture, we shall, in our next chapter, endeavour 
 to ascertain. We shall conclude this section of our 
 inquiries with a few observations, to show how neces- 
 
 o 
 
194 MR. BIRKS' EXPLANATION 
 
 sarily the scheme of interpretation, which we have 
 been following out, flows from the doctrines and 
 principles which are avowedly held by Mr. Birks, 
 Mr. Bickersteth, Mr. Elliott, and other eminent 
 divines of the present day — we mean, those of the 
 Jewish restoration, the personal reign of Christ, and 
 the individuality of an Antichrist yet to arise. 
 
 Mr. Birks states, in his explanation of the closing 
 verses of the description of the Wilful King in the 
 eleventh chapter of Daniel, that — 
 
 " It may be inferred from a careful comparison of several 
 Scriptures, that at this time (the Jewish restoration), the temple 
 described in Ezekiel will have been built, and that there this fierce 
 and mighty king will seat himself as a sovereign, and claim to be 
 the object of a divine adoration.' 1 ''* And again — "The Papacy, di- 
 rected by the Wilful King, in its last hours will fill up the mea- 
 sure of its apostasy, and gather to itself those partial features of 
 Antichrist which are now to be seen in the Mahometan delusion, 
 and its open rejection of the Son of God. At the same time a leader 
 will arise, the last personal head of the compound system of evil, 
 and the heathen Antiochus, the Pope, and the Turk, contribute 
 to supply the features of this iniquity. The Wilful King, in this 
 last stage of his power, and represented now by this leader, will 
 gather in himself the predicted character of a King of the North, 
 and then come down like a whirlwind on the land of Israel. Suc- 
 cess for a time will attend his banners, so that, in the words of 
 Habakkuk, ' he will gather to himself all nations, and heap unto 
 himself all people.' The faithful witnesses, who protest against 
 his idolatry and blasphemy, will be persecuted with great wrath, and 
 hunted out for destruction. The king of pride will take Jeru- 
 salem, the holy city, for the seat, where he will plant his standard, 
 and probably claim divine honours from the subject nations ; a 
 
 * " The Two Later Visions of Daniel," p. 337. 
 
OF THE WILFUL KING. 195 
 
 worship to be paid, in his person, to the dignity of regenerate and 
 glorified humanity, freed from the long delusion of past ages."* 
 
 The Being described in the foregoing passages, is 
 manifestly the same as that which is predicted by St. 
 Paul, as the Man of Sin, "the son of perdition; who 
 opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called 
 God, or that is worshipped; so that he as Godsitteth 
 in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 
 — 2 Thess. ii. 4. And it is equally manifest, that the 
 same Being is identical with the first Beast of the thir- 
 teenth chapter of the Revelation ; for, independently 
 of the similarity, we might say the identity, of the 
 distinguishing characteristics of each of them, viz., 
 rejection of God, and the setting himself up as an 
 object of divine adoration, the end of each is the 
 same, in point of time and manner, by the hand of 
 the Lord at his second advent. Indeed, Mr. Birks 
 admits the identity of the Man of Sin with the first 
 or second Beast of the thirteenth chapter of " the Re- 
 velation ;" for he states, " that the Wilful King and 
 the first or second Beast of Rev. xiii., are in truth dif- 
 ferent expressions for one single power ;"f and, in the 
 next page, that St. Paul's description of the Man of 
 Sin identifies him with the Wilful King.J Therefore, 
 as Mr. Birks admits, that an individual, " a fierce 
 and mighty king," is to seat himself in the restored 
 temple at Jerusalem, and claim divine adoration, we 
 are warranted in our conclusion, that this circum- 
 
 * " The Two Later Visions of Daniel," p. 338. 
 | Ibid. p. 267. % Ibid. p. 268. 
 
196 THE PRETERIST SYSTEM 
 
 stance will, when it shall take place, be the obvious 
 fulfilment of St. Paul's prediction of " the Man of 
 Sin," who shall sit "in the temple of God, showing 
 himself that he is God." And, as " the Man of 
 Sin" is, according to him, as we have shewn above, 
 the same power as that symbolized by the Beast of 
 Rev. xiii., it follows, that this Beast of "the Revela- 
 tion" will be an individual, "a fierce and mighty 
 king," who is yet to arise, take his seat in the tem- 
 ple at Jerusalem, and cause " all that dwell upon the 
 earth to worship him, whose names are not written 
 in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the 
 foundation of the world." That he is to be an indi- 
 vidual, appears also from the description of his de- 
 struction — being " taken, and cast alive into the lake 
 of brimstone." 
 
 But this Beast is to slay the two witnesses, as pour- 
 trayed in the eleventh chapter of the Revelations ; 
 and Mr. Birks, we may observe, intimates, in his 
 foregoing description of the proceedings of this 
 Being, that such will be the case. That event is, 
 therefore, still future ; and if so, the second woe, 
 which is not to expire until after the resurrection of 
 these two witnesses, has not yet passed away. Con- 
 sequently, the portents of the sixth trumpet cannot 
 symbolize the Turkish inroads on Christendom, which, 
 according to all preterist expositors, have long since 
 come to an end.* This will be found to displace the 
 chronology of the fifth trumpet portents, commonly 
 
 * According to Mr. Elliott, the Turkish woe came to an end in 
 the year 1688. 
 
CONSIDERED AND REFUTED. 197 
 
 denominated, in the preterist system, the Saracenic 
 woe, and of all the preceding trumpets and seals ; 
 and proves, at all events, that if the imagery of the 
 seals and trumpets is a fulfilled prophecy, the fulfil- 
 ment is yet to be discovered. 
 
 It is true, that though Mr. Birks interprets this 
 prediction of the Wilful King to be one that is yet 
 to be fulfilled, in the manner he has stated above, yet 
 he also interprets it to have had a past fulfilment in 
 the wars of the Saracens and Turks — in fact, that the 
 prophecy has a double fulfilment — one precursive, 
 and the other full and complete. Admitting this — 
 though there are strong grounds for questioning the 
 position — it may be contended, in like manner, that 
 the symbolic predictions of the two Beasts may have a 
 double fulfilment — one in the Papacy, which is partly 
 past and partly in progress ; and the other, in the 
 proceedings of the individual Antichrist, who is to 
 fall before Christ at his second coming. That such 
 may be the case to some extent, we are far from de- 
 nying. It may be that God, in his wisdom, has 
 framed this divine revelation, so as, in some portions 
 of it, to be capable of a double fulfilment. But, 
 however that may be, all that we now contend for is, 
 that there is to be a fulfilment of the symbolic pre- 
 dictions of the Apocalyptic Beasts, in the future pro- 
 ceedings and final doom of an individual Antichrist 
 who is yet to arise ; and this, we submit, has been 
 established. 
 
 Now, as regards the system of Mr. Elliott, who 
 appears to have been adopted as the exponent of the 
 views of those of the Millenarians who still adhere 
 
198 mr. eluott's interpretation 
 
 to the preterist expositions of the Apocalypse — Mr. 
 E. admits that the Wilful King, whom he styles ' * the 
 Papal chief," will be an individual ; and he also, in 
 consistency with his views of the premillennial advent, 
 construes the conflict on the field of Armageddon to 
 be a literal conflict, which shall take place between 
 Christ and his adversaries, in which the Beast and 
 False Prophet are to be taken, and cast alive into the 
 burning lake, and the remnant are to be actually slain 
 with the sword on the mountains of Israel. Thus Mr. 
 Elliott admits the individuality of the Beast in the 
 nineteenth chapter, which involves, as we before ob- 
 served, the individuality of the same Beast in the 
 eleventh and thirteenth chapters of this book, and 
 the futurity of the predictions of the seals and trum- 
 pets. The same consequence follows from the pre- 
 dicted slaughter of the remnant. For, if the slaugh- 
 ter of the remnant is to be a literal slaughter, on 
 what principle can we exempt the slaughter of the 
 witnesses in the eleventh chapter from being a literal 
 slaughter also ? If the adherents of the Beast, in the 
 nineteenth chapter, are to be actually slain, as pre- 
 dicted, surely the overcoming and killing of the wit- 
 nesses by the Beast in the eleventh chapter, as there 
 predicted, cannot, with any consistency, be taken to 
 be a figurative slaughter of them — as a mere Papal 
 proclamation of their testimony having been silenced 
 would be. This also disproves the preterist scheme 
 of interpretation, inasmuch as it is not pretended 
 that any such literal slaughter has ever taken place. 
 
 It will not be an answer to these observations, to 
 contend that the Beast of the thirteenth chapter 
 
INCONSISTENT. 199 
 
 symbolizes the Popedom, or the whole succession of 
 Popes, and that the Beast of the nineteenth chapter 
 symbolizes the last one of that succession. We ap- 
 prehend, that when a symbol is used in Scripture or 
 elsewhere, to represent or indicate any matter or 
 thing, all that is predicated of that symbol is predi- 
 cated of, and must be applicable to, all the consti- 
 tuent parts of the same. So that if a symbol is used 
 to represent a collective body of successors to an office, 
 whatever is predicated of that symbol must be pre- 
 dicated of that body collectively, and be applicable to 
 it collectively. Therefore, to predicate of the Beast, 
 that he is to be taken, and cast alive into the burning 
 lake, must, if the Beast designates the succession of 
 Popes, be applicable to the whole succession of Popes, 
 which is an obvious absurdity. 
 
 According to Mr. Elliott, Leo X. and the Lateran 
 Council overcame and killed the two witnesses ; and 
 the last of the Popes is to be taken, and cast alive 
 into the burning lake — could it be predicated of the 
 last of the Popes that he slew the witnesses, or could 
 it be predicated of Leo X. that he is to be taken, and 
 cast alive into the burning lake ? To illustrate this 
 position — suppose the dynasty of the Sovereigns of 
 England to be symbolized by a Lion. One of the So- 
 vereigns caused the burning of the reformers, Ridley 
 and Latimer ; and another of them was beheaded by 
 his own subjects ; — could it, with propriety, be predi- 
 cated of the Lion, that he caused the martyrdom of 
 these two reformers, and that he was beheaded by 
 his own subjects ? Whatever, therefore, may be ad- 
 vanced by Anti-millenarians, in support of the pre- 
 
200 THE CHRONOLOGICAL TEST 
 
 terist system of interpretation, we conceive it to be 
 impossible for a Millenarian to maintain that the Beast 
 of the thirteenth chapter can primarily designate the 
 Papacy as a system, or the Popes as a collective body. 
 Consistently with their principles, it must symbolize 
 an individual, which, as we have already shewn, is fatal 
 to the preterist scheme of interpretation of the Apo- 
 calypse. This nineteenth chapter of "the Revela- 
 tion* ' is the test of the principles of the expositor — 
 whether he is a Millenarian or the reverse ; and it is 
 remarkable that Mr. Elliott's observations on it do 
 not occupy more than half-a-dozen pages of his very 
 voluminous work. Could the previous positions of 
 his interpretations have been strengthened by his ex- 
 planation of this all-important chapter of " the Re- 
 velation," his observations on it would not, we feel 
 assured, have been comparatively so limited in ex- 
 tent. 
 
 The time is approaching when the truth of the 
 interpretations of the preterist commentators will be 
 tested by events. According to their system and 
 calculations, the final consummation and completion 
 of this dispensation are to occur within the period of 
 the next thirty years, at the farthest. The ne plus 
 ultra of our present mundane chronology, according 
 to Mr. Elliott, will be from 1877 to 1882.* Other 
 commentators bring the completion still nearer, and 
 within the period of the next twelve years. And 
 within this period, ranging from twelve to thirty 
 years, according to the sure "Word of God, as ad- 
 
 * Hor. Apoc. p. 1431. 
 
OF PRETERIST INTERPRETATION. 201 
 
 mitted by these commentators, if their system of ex- 
 position is correct, Rome is to be raised to the state of 
 worldly prosperity and importance that is described 
 in Rev. xviii., and then to be destroyed by the in- 
 strumentality of the ten confederated Kings ; while 
 the Jews are to be taken out of every country on the 
 face of the globe — to be restored to, and established 
 in a covenant character in, their own land ; and their 
 temple to be rebuilt, according to the gorgeous and 
 extensive pattern laid down in the latter portion of 
 the Prophecies of Ezekiel. All this, we admit, may, 
 and must, be accomplished within the allotted time, 
 if such be the will of God; but when there is a 
 question whether such be the will of God, few will 
 be found to bring their minds to the belief of the 
 probability that events of so momentous, extraordi- 
 nary, and extensive a character, will be condensed 
 into so limited a period. And hence it may be 
 in the counsels of God, that the futurist expo- 
 sitions of this book, which have recently become 
 so prevalent, are to take the place of those which 
 may, and we think, must, in all human proba- 
 bility, become falsified by the lapse of a very few 
 years. The times and seasons of the restoration of 
 the kingdom to Israel, and of all that is to accom- 
 pany that leading event, are not, we conceive, to be 
 discovered by human calculations of days and years. 
 God has, we are told, put them "in his own power" 
 (Acts, i. 6, 7), and not in the power of man. But 
 the chronology of the Christian is to be deduced 
 from the comparison of the events which he finds 
 predicted in Scripture, with those that have passed 
 
202 the believer's chronology. 
 
 and are passing in the world around him. The con- 
 flict of the principles of Satan with the principles, 
 promises, and doctrines, which the goodness of God 
 has bestowed on mankind for their guidance, in the 
 pages of Holy "Writ, affords to the observing and be- 
 lieving mind, ample evidence of those things that 
 are coming upon the earth, and of the nearness of 
 their approach; and, as time progresses, and the 
 evil principle waxes stronger, and becomes more 
 triumphant, as it will, the true believer's chronology 
 will become more defined, and the guiding stars of 
 Revelation shine forth more distinctly to his inquiring 
 eye, in proportion to the intensity of the darkness 
 that is falling around him. 
 
THE MILLENNIUM. 203 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 THE MILLENNIAL DISPENSATION. 
 
 "And Saviours shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the 
 Mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's." — Obad. 21. 
 
 The Beast and the False Prophet having been taken, 
 and cast into the lake of fire, and their adherents 
 slain by the sword of Christ at his second advent, 
 and Satan himself having been bound and cast into 
 the bottomless pit, that he should deceive the nations 
 no more until the expiration of one thousand years, 
 the present dispensation, or " the Times of the Gen- 
 tiles," is closed. Here, therefore, in accordance with 
 the title of this volume, our inquiries ought to con- 
 clude — the remainder of the Apocalypse being a re- 
 velation of another dispensation, which is to inter- 
 vene before the final judgment and consummation of 
 all things. We shall, however, briefly consider those 
 remaining prophecies — not with the view of entering 
 into and explaining so extensive and momentous a 
 subject as fully as its importance demands ; but to 
 trace their consistency with the exposition which we 
 
204 CONNEXION OF THE MILLENNIUM 
 
 have given of those prophecies that we have been 
 examining. 
 
 After the revelation of the binding of Satan, and 
 of the casting of him into the bottomless pit, there 
 to remain for the space of one thousand years, during 
 which time he is not to be permitted, as hitherto, to 
 deceive the inhabitants of the world, the Prophet 
 continues : — 
 
 "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment 
 was given unto them : and I saw the souls of them that were be- 
 headed for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and 
 which had not worshipped the Beast, neither his image, neither 
 had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands ; 
 and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But 
 the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were 
 finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he 
 that hath part in the first resurrection : on such the second death 
 hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, 
 and shall reign with him a thousand years." — Rev. xx. 4-6. 
 
 This passage is a succinct prophetic description of 
 the millennial dispensation. Taken in what may be 
 termed its obvious and literal meaning, it presents no 
 difficulties to those who are content to read the 
 Scriptures with submissive and unprejudiced minds, 
 and are willing to adopt the revelations of the Holy 
 Spirit in their simplicity. The subject is so inti- 
 mately connected with the restoration of the Jews, 
 that it is vain to expect that those on whom that 
 truth, and the importance of it, have not dawned 
 from the pages of Scripture, should have recognised 
 and adopted the true and simple doctrine of the mil- 
 
WITH THE JEWISH RESTORATION. 205 
 
 lennial dispensation ; while, on the other hand, it 
 cannot long remain concealed from those who look 
 forward to the re-establishment of the seed of Abra- 
 ham according to the flesh, in the Land of Promise. 
 
 And what was the promise to Abraham regarding 
 the settlement of himself and his posterity in the 
 land of Canaan? "And the Lord said unto Abram, 
 after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now 
 thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, 
 northward, and southward, and eastward, and west- 
 ward : For all the land which thou seest, to thee will 
 I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 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. Arise, walk through the 
 land, in the length of it and in the breadth of it, for 
 I will give it unto thee." — Gen. xiii. 14-17. And 
 again, God says— " And I will give unto thee, and 
 to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a 
 stranger (the land of thy sojournings), all the land 
 of Canaan for an everlasting possession." — Gen. 
 xvii. 8. The same promise was afterwards repeated 
 to Isaac and to Jacob ; and it is an absolute and un- 
 conditional promise, which could not be annulled or 
 avoided by any subsequent promise, act, or event ; 
 and, therefore, the conditional promises afterwards 
 made to the Israelites could not alter or modify it. 
 
 Now, such being the promise, has it been fulfilled ? 
 That it has not is clear from many passages of Scrip- 
 ture. The testimony of Abraham himself is conclu- 
 sive on the subject, when he addressed the children of 
 Heth after the death of Sarah — " I am a stranger 
 
206 THE PROMISES 
 
 and a sojourner with you ; give me a possession of a 
 burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead 
 out of my sight." — Gen. xxiii. 4. David, likewise, 
 when king over Israel, made a similar confession 
 (Psalm, xxxix. 12) ; and St. Paul, in his Epistle to 
 the Hebrews, repeats it (Heb. xi. 13). Again, we 
 find God, long after the deaths of Abraham, Isaac, 
 and Jacob, repeating his promise to Moses, and in 
 language which shows that it had not been fulfilled 
 in their days, and yet was to be fulfilled to them per- 
 sonally — " And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, 
 and unto Jacob . . . And I have also establish- 
 ed my covenant with them, to give them the land of 
 Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they 
 were strangers." — Exod. vi. 3, 4. Thus, the pro- 
 mises that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob should person- 
 ally inherit the land of Canaan, and that their poste- 
 rity should likewise inherit, not merely occupy as 
 sojourners and pilgrims, the same land, remains to be 
 accomplished, and will, as sure as God is truth, be 
 accomplished to the letter. " He hath remembered 
 his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded 
 to a thousand generations. Which covenant he made 
 with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac. And con- 
 firmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel 
 for an everlasting covenant, saying, unto thee will I 
 give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance' 1 
 — Ps. cv. 8-11. ; Mic. vii. 20. 
 
 There is another class of promises of the throne of 
 this kingdom of Israel, the throne which David filled, 
 to Christ the Saviour, which are yet to be accom- 
 plished. — "He (Jesus Christ) shall be great, and 
 
TO THE PATRIARCHS. 207 
 
 shall be called the Son of the Highest ; and the Lord 
 God shall give unto him the throne of his father 
 David : and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for 
 ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end." — 
 Luke, i. 32. " Behold the days come, saith the Lord, 
 that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and 
 a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute 
 judgment and justice in the earth" — Jer. xxiii. 5 ; 
 Acts, ii. 30-32. There are many passages of the 
 prophetic Scripture to the same effect ; and the Pro- 
 phet Ezekiel, under the name of David (the beloved 
 one), expressly connects this enthronement and go- 
 vernment of Christ on earth, with the temporal and 
 spiritual restoration of the Jews (Ezekiel, xxxvii. 
 20-25). 
 
 Thus, there are three classes of promises remain- 
 ing to be fulfilled. First — the restoration of the 
 children of Israel to the land of promise. Second — 
 the personal enjoyment of the inheritance of the same 
 land by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the other saints. 
 Third — The personal reign of Christ over the re- 
 stored kingdom of Israel. 
 
 Now turn to the New Testament, and we there 
 find that when all the tribes of the earth (the land) 
 shall mourn, Christ is to come in the clouds of hea- 
 ven, with power and great glory (Matt. xxiv. 30) — 
 that he is to come to the Mount of Olives " in like 
 manner" as he was seen by the Apostles to ascend 
 into heaven (Acts, i. 11) — that he is to be accompa- 
 nied by his saints (Zech. xiv. 5, Jude, 14), and 
 the dead in Christ shall rise first (1 Thess. iv. 16). 
 From these and many parallel prophecies, we may 
 
208 THE MILLENNIAL REIGN. 
 
 conclude, that when Christ shall come again, he shall 
 be accompanied by all his saints, including the pa- 
 triarchs of Israel, to sit on the throne of his father 
 David, and to restore the kingdom to Israel — to be 
 from thenceforth " an holy nation, a kingdom of 
 priests," exalted above, and supreme over, all the 
 nations of the world. Satan, the tempter and de- 
 ceiver of mankind, the Prince of this dispensation, is 
 to be chained up for a season ; and in his absence, 
 the earth will be restored to the state of peace and 
 fecundity which has been lost by the fall of man. 
 Then will be accomplished the predictions, that " the 
 wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall 
 lie down with the kid ; and the calf, and the young 
 lion, and the fatling together ; and a little child shall 
 lead them," &c. (Is. xi. 6-9) — and "the plowman 
 shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes 
 him that soweth seed ; and the mountains shall drop 
 sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt" (Amos, ix. 
 13) — " and they shall build the old wastes, they shall 
 raise up the former desolations, and they shall re- 
 pair the waste cities, the desolations of many gene- 
 rations" (Is. lxi. 4) — "and they shall say, This land 
 that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden ; 
 and the waste, and desolate, and ruined cities are be- 
 come fenced, and are inhabited" (Exek. xxxvi. 35). 
 Thus, considered in connexion with the restoration 
 of the Jews, the unfulfilled promises to Abraham, 
 Isaac, and Jacob, of the inheritance of the land of 
 Canaan, and the unfulfilled promise of the throne of 
 Israel to Christ, the doctrine of the millennial dispen- 
 sation is simple and intelligible ; and it will be found, 
 
CAUSES OF OBSCURITIES. 209 
 
 on inquiry and reflection, that the obscurity and 
 doubt which have pervaded the Christian Church on 
 this momentous subject, have arisen from the high- 
 mindedness of those who have been grafted into the 
 olive tree, and who, in despite of St. Paul's warn- 
 ings and remonstrances, boast themselves against the 
 natural branches. Is it not a truth that, until within 
 a very recent period, the hopes of the Jew, as such, 
 have been, if not literally, at all events practically, 
 denied by GeDtile Christians to have any existence? 
 The writings of the fathers of the Church, of the 
 wisest and best among the champions of Christen- 
 dom, who have fought the good fight against the 
 wiles of Satan, disclose little or nothing of the pe- 
 culiar hope and expectation of the Jews in their res- 
 toration to the land of their forefathers. Some few 
 incidental observations may here and there be found 
 respecting the restoration of Israel ; but that res- 
 toration is nowhere dwelt upon as a receiving of life 
 from the dead to the Gentile Christian Church. 
 On the contrary, we do not hesitate to affirm, that 
 the prevailing doctrine of Christian divines, more 
 especially since the Reformation, and the doctrine 
 which is even now held by the great majority of those 
 of the present day is, that Christ's kingdom is to be 
 established by grace, and not by judgment — that by 
 their exertions as preachers and teachers, the know- 
 ledge of the Lord is to be spread over the earth, as the 
 waters cover the sea ; and that Christ will come to a 
 world smiling like the garden of Eden, instead of, as 
 he himself has told us, to a world like the earth in the 
 days of Noah, and like Sodom and Gomorrah in the 
 
 p 
 
210 SCRIPTURE EVIDENCES 
 
 days of Lot ; and when, according to his own word, 
 it is questionable if a particle of faith shall be found 
 among the human race (Luke, xviii. 8). Such er- 
 roneous views of a subject so important, must have 
 tainted all their inquiries and conclusions respecting 
 the nature and meaning of these prophecies of the 
 millennial dispensation, and have shut out the truth 
 from their eyes. 
 
 But to return. — A reference to the historical and 
 prophetical records of the Old Testament dispensa- 
 tion will furnish us with much useful information on 
 this subject. We are there told, that the glory of 
 God dwelt, in the visible form of a cloud, in the taber- 
 nacle in the wilderness, and in the temple at Jeru- 
 salem. We there also find (in the Prophecies of 
 Ezekiel, c. x. and xi.) an affecting description of the 
 departure of the visible glory of the Lord from the 
 temple, when the sin of Israel had reached its sum- 
 mit — descending to the threshold of the temple, 
 going up from the midst of the city, and lingering 
 on the Mount of Olives ; and then, in the forty- 
 third chapter of the same prophecies, after the accu- 
 rate delineation, in the three preceding chapters, of 
 the temple that is to be rebuilt in the days of the 
 restoration, we are presented with a prophetic picture 
 of the return of the same glory of the Lord to Israel, 
 and to their restored temple. "And, behold, the 
 glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the 
 east ; and his voice was like the noise of many waters ; 
 and the earth shined with his glory. . . And the 
 glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of 
 the gate whose prospect is towards the east." — Ezek. 
 
OF THE MILLENNIUM. 211 
 
 xliii. 2-4. And in the succeeding verses, the Pro- 
 phet describes this glory as the actual and personal 
 advent of the Lord. " So the spirit took me up, and 
 brought me into the inner court ; and, behold, the 
 glory of the Lord filled the house. And I heard him 
 speaking unto me out of the house ; and the man 
 stood by me. And he said unto me, Son of man, 
 the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of 
 my feet , where I will dwell in the midst of the chil- 
 dren of Israel for ever" (v. 5-7). Compare this with 
 the description of the same event in the Prophecies 
 of Zechariah — " And his feet shall stand on that day 
 upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem 
 on the east ;" and also with the testimony of the 
 angels at the ascension — " This same Jesus which is 
 taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like 
 manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" — and 
 we shall have little difficulty in arriving at the con- 
 clusion, that as sure as the glory of the Lord dwelt 
 visibly with, and departed and continues absent from, 
 Israel — and as surely as the Saviour pressed with his 
 feet the Mount of Olives, and rose in human form 
 to heaven, so surely shall the glory return in the 
 bodily form of the glorified Saviour, to reign over the 
 kingdom of Israel, and to subdue all nations, and 
 bring them under his dominion. Of the manner in 
 which the Lord shall communicate with, and exhibit 
 himself to, the inhabitants of the world, we are not 
 told, and, therefore, it is not for us to speculate on the 
 subject. It is sufficient to know, that Christ shall 
 reign at Jerusalem with his saints, gloriously ; and 
 
212 THE SECOND RESURRECTION. 
 
 that then shall be fulfilled to the letter the promises 
 to the patriarchs and their seed. 
 
 There is another Scripture doctrine, the clear un- 
 derstanding of which will be found to be of the utmost 
 importance in elucidating the subject under conside- 
 ration — we mean the doctrine of the first and second 
 resurrection ; or, in other words, the pre-millennial re- 
 surrection of the saints of Christ, to reign with him 
 on earth during the millennial dispensation. There 
 is no truth better established by revelation than that 
 all who die must rise again — that there will be a re- 
 surrection both of the just and of the unjust. On this 
 there can be no controversy among Christians. At 
 the same time, it is an equally incontrovertible truth, 
 that there will be a resurrection of saints at the se- 
 cond advent of the Saviour — that those who have suf- 
 fered with him shall reign with him. For instance, 
 in the Epistle to the Thessalonians, we are told — 
 " The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with 
 a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with 
 the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise 
 first." — 1 Thess. iv. 16. Again, our Saviour speaks 
 of certain persons being recompensed at " the resur- 
 rection of the just ;" and of others being " accounted 
 worthy of that world and the resurrection of the dead." 
 And St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Philippians, ex- 
 presses an anxiety to " attain unto the resurrection 
 of the dead" — not, of course, alluding to a general 
 resurrection, or even to simple salvation at the last, 
 of which he must have been well assured, but to a 
 peculiar and distinctive resurrection, the privilege 
 
THE RISEN SAINTS. 213 
 
 and reward of the true and consistent believer in 
 Christ. The same Apostle testified likewise before 
 Agrippa, that the resurrection from the dead was 
 " the promise made of God unto the fathers " (Acts, 
 xxvi. 6, 8), viz., that they should inherit the land; 
 and therefore, the resurrection of the dead to which 
 St. Paul alludes, is the resurrection of the saints to 
 enjoy the promises to the fathers. Thus, it is clear, 
 that there is to be a resurrection of those that are 
 called the just, distinct from, and preceding, the re- 
 surrection of the rest of the dead ; but, apart from 
 the Book of the Revelation, the period that is to inter- 
 vene between the two events is not disclosed. This 
 we shall find supplied in the chapter under considera- 
 tion, and to the explanation of which we shall now 
 return. 
 
 Those who fill the thrones which appear to the 
 Evangelist, are the saints who are introduced to our 
 notice in the preceding chapter, as accompanying 
 Christ "upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, 
 white and clean," which is explained in a preceding 
 verse (v. 8) as denoting the righteousness of saints. 
 These are they who, in the regeneration, are to sit on 
 thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 
 xix. 28) — those who, having suffered with Christ, 
 shall be privileged to reign with him (2 Tim. ii. 1 2) — 
 to whom the Lord has appointed a kingdom, as his 
 Father hath appointed to himself (St. Luke, xxii. 29) 
 — those to whom, having overcome the enemy, it is 
 granted by the Saviour to sit with him on his throne, 
 even as he himself overcame, and is set down with 
 his Father on his throne (Rev. iii. 21) — and to whom, 
 
214 THE REIGNING SAINTS 
 
 moreover, it is granted, that they shall judge the 
 world (1 Cor. vi. 2; Obad. 21). From these refe- 
 rences it is obvious, that this revelation of the saints 
 sitting on thrones to judge the world in the regenera- 
 tion or millennial dispensation, is not for the first and 
 only time introduced to our notice in the passage of 
 Holy Writ before us. It is a simple, and ought to be 
 a familiar, doctrine of Scripture. As Christ has suf- 
 fered in the flesh on earth, so shall he return in the 
 flesh to reign personally on the earth, until he shall 
 have subjugated and put all his enemies under his 
 feet : and those who have not shrunk from taking 
 part with their suffering and despised Lord, shall, 
 according to his benignant and unfailing promises, 
 sit with him on his throne, and become partakers of 
 his glory. 
 
 Among this happy band, we find those especially 
 designated who shall have submitted to and suffered 
 martyrdom " for the witness of Jesus, and for the 
 word of God, and (those who) had not worshipped 
 the Beast, neither his image, neither had received his 
 mark upon their foreheads or on their hands." This 
 special notice is, doubtless, introduced as a peculiar 
 consolation to the saints of the latter days, who shall 
 be exposed to the fiery persecutions and subtle de- 
 ceits of the Antichrist and his False Prophet. The 
 mention of them is an evidence of the severity of their 
 trials ; and the triumphant result and reward of their 
 faith and patience that is here depicted, will, no 
 doubt, in their hour of trial, strengthen and support 
 them in their sufferings, and enable them to persevere 
 and endure even unto the end. 
 
IN THE MILLENNIUM. 215 
 
 These saints, we are told, "lived and reigned 
 with Christ a thousand years." This expression we 
 take in its literal sense, and conclude, that the mil- 
 lennial dispensation, the period of the personal reign 
 of Christ on earth, will be one thousand years. The 
 phrase is repeated four times in this and the three 
 following verses ; and, as there is nothing figurative 
 or symbolical in the language of the passages in which 
 it occurs, we are warranted in taking the words in 
 their literal sense. 
 
 As to the nature of this millennial reign of Christ 
 and his saints, we conceive that Jerusalem will, in 
 fulfilment of the prophecies, become the metropolis 
 of the world ; and that all the other nations of the 
 earth shall have been subdued and become subordi- 
 nate to the kingdom of Israel, restored to God's fa- 
 vour, and in possession of the blessings promised and 
 secured by covenant to the fathers, with Christ their 
 acknowledged King, sitting on the throne of David, 
 and ruling gloriously with his saints on Mount Sion. 
 "The nations shall see and be confounded at all their 
 might. . . . They shall lick the dust like a ser- 
 pent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of 
 the earth : they shall be afraid of the Lord their God, 
 and shall fear because of thee." — Mic. vii. 16, 17. 
 " For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee 
 (Israel) shall perish ; yea, those nations shall be ut- 
 terly wasted." — Is. lx. 12. And that all these nations 
 shall be required to do homage periodically to the 
 ruling powers at Jerusalem, is plainly predicted in 
 the prophecy of Zechariah — " And it shall come 
 to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations 
 
216 THE LAST REBELLION. 
 
 which came against Jerusalem, shall even go up from 
 year to year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, 
 and to keep the feast of tabernacles." — Zech. xiv. 16. 
 They shall be witnesses of, but not communicants 
 in, the glory of Christ and his saints, as the Israelites 
 were witnesses of God's presence with Moses on 
 Mount Sinai ; and as Peter, James, and John beheld 
 the glorified Saviour in company with Moses and 
 Elias, on the mount of transfiguration. 
 
 "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be 
 loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations 
 which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to 
 gather them together to battle : the number of whom is as the 
 sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, 
 and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city : 
 and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 
 And the Devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire 
 and brimstone, where the Beast and the False Prophet are, and 
 shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." — Rev. xx. 
 7-10. 
 
 Thus it appears, that at the close of the millennial 
 dispensation, Satan is to be loosed out of prison, and 
 to recommence his long-suspended labour of deceiv- 
 ing the nations, and exciting them to rebellion against 
 the reigning powers at Jerusalem ; and, at his insti- 
 gation, the nations of the earth shall combine, and 
 march their hosts, in number like the sand of the sea, 
 to encompass "the camp of the saints about, and the 
 beloved city," when they shall be signally discomfited 
 and destroyed by fire from heaven ; and their deceiver, 
 Satan, shall be again taken, and cast into the lake of 
 fire, where, with his former agents, the Beast and 
 
THE GREAT WHITE THRONE. 217 
 
 False Prophet, he is to be tormented for ever and 
 ever. All this is, for the most part, a repetition of 
 the prophecy of Ezekiel concerning the descent of 
 Gog and Magog, like a cloud, on the land of Israel 
 " in the latter days," when the inhabitants are de- 
 scribed as dwelling safely " without walls, and having 
 neither bars nor gates," and when the Lord shall 
 plead against their assailants " with blood and pesti- 
 lence, hailstones, fire, and brimstone," and cause 
 them to fall upon the mountains of Israel, they and 
 all their bands. — Ezek. xxxviii. and xxxix. 
 
 " And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from 
 whose face the earth and the heaven fled away ; and there was 
 found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, 
 stand before God ; and the books were opened : and another book 
 was opened, which is the book of life : and the dead were judged 
 out of those things which were written in the books, according to 
 their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it ; 
 and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them : and 
 they were judged every man according to their works. And death 
 and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 
 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast 
 into the lake of fire." — Rev. xx. 11-15. 
 
 The millennial dispensation having closed with the 
 destruction of Satan and his rebellious host of the 
 nations of the world, we are presented with a picture 
 of the great and final judgment, in which the dead, 
 both small and great — those to be saved and those 
 to be damned — appear before God to receive their 
 final doom. " The Books were opened," and we are 
 told that " the dead were judged out of these things 
 
218 THE NEW HEAVEN 
 
 which were written in the books, according to their 
 works;" from which we may collect that these are 
 the Books of the law, and by which all being judged 
 according to their works, are therefore all to be con- 
 demned ; and would be for ever lost, but for the mercy 
 of God in providing another book, which is " the Book 
 of Life" in which are entered the names of the saved 
 through Christ. It is styled, in the thirteenth chap- 
 ter, " the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the 
 foundation of the world," " and whosoever was not 
 found written in the Book of Life was cast into the 
 lake of fire." The final abode of those who shall be 
 found written in the Book of Life will be depicted in 
 the next chapter. 
 
 " And I saw a new heaven and a new earth : for the first hea- 
 ven and the first earth were passed away ; and there was no more 
 sea." — Rev. xxi. 1. 
 
 It is of importance to observe, that this verse, 
 though it has been placed at the commencement of 
 another chapter of "the Revelation," is obviously the 
 concluding paragraph of the prophecy we have been 
 considering ; and is not, as is generally supposed, the 
 commencement of the next. This appears from the 
 passage immediately preceding it, where we are told, 
 that before the face of him who sat upon the great 
 white throne, " the earth and heaven fled away ; and 
 there was found no place for them" — to be succeeded, 
 as is here announced, by a new heaven and a new 
 earth ; " and there shall be no more sea." The sea, 
 we may recollect, when introduced in the Book of the 
 
AND THE NEW EARTH. 219 
 
 Revelation, as distinct from the earth, symbolizes the 
 Gentile nations. This announcement we, therefore, 
 conceive to be a prediction, that at this time there 
 shall be neither Jew nor Gentile ; all shall be God's 
 people — all of them inhabitants of the New Jeru- 
 salem, with which this blessed revelation of God's 
 dealings with mankind closes, and to the investiga- 
 tion of which we shall proceed in the next chapter. 
 
220 THE NEW JERUSALEM. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE NEW JERUSALEM. 
 
 " Put on the beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city : 
 for henceforth there shall no more come unto thee the uncircum- 
 cised and the unclean." — Isaiah, lii. 1. 
 
 " And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down 
 from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her hus- 
 band. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, 
 the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, 
 and they sball be his people, and God himself shall be with them, 
 and be their God. And God shall -wipe away all tears from their 
 eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor cry- 
 ing, neither shall there be any more pain : for the former things 
 are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, 
 I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write : for these 
 words are true and faithful. 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 athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 
 He that overcometh shall inherit all things : and I will be his 
 God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, 
 and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sor- 
 cerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the 
 lake which burneth with fire and brimstone : which is the second 
 death. And there came unto me one of the seven angels which 
 had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with 
 me saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's 
 wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high 
 mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, 
 descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God : 
 and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a 
 jasper stone, clear as crystal ; and had a wall great and high, 
 and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names 
 written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the 
 
THE NEW JERUSALEM. 221 
 
 children of Israel ; on the east three gates ; on the north three 
 gates ; on the south three gates ; and on the west three gates. 
 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the 
 names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked 
 with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates 
 thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and 
 the length is as large as the breadth : and he measured the city 
 with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the 
 breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall 
 thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the 
 measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of 
 the wall of it was of jasper ; and the city was pure gold, like 
 unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were 
 garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first founda- 
 tion was jasper ; the second, sapphire ; the third, a chalcedony ; 
 the fourth, an emerald ; the fifth sardonyx ; the sixth, sardius ; 
 the seventh, chrysolyte ; the eighth, beryl ; the ninth, a topaz ; 
 the tenth, a chrysoprasus ; the eleventh, a jacinth ; the twelfth, 
 an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls ; every 
 several gate was of one pearl : and the street of the city was pure 
 gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein : 
 for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 
 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to 
 shine in it : for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is 
 the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall 
 walk in the light of it : and the kings of the earth do bring their 
 glory and honour unto it. And the gates of it shall not be shut 
 at all by day : for there shall be no night there. And they shall 
 bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there 
 shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither what- 
 soever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie : but they which are 
 written in the Lamb's book of life. And he showed me a pure 
 river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the 
 throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, 
 and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which 
 bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month : 
 and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And 
 there shall be no more curse : but the throne of God and of the 
 
222 THE MILLENNIAL EXISTENCE 
 
 Lamb shall be in it ; and his servants shall serve him : and they 
 shall see his face ; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And 
 there shall be no night there ; and they need no candle, neither 
 light of the sun ; for the Lord God giveth them light : and they 
 shall reign for ever and ever." — Rev. xxi. 2-27, and xxii. 1-5. 
 
 The foregoing is a description of the final abode of 
 those "which are written in the Lamb's Book of 
 Life." It is styled, "The Holy City, new Jeru- 
 salem," "the Bride, the Lamb's Wife." But whe- 
 ther it is to come into existence during the millennial 
 dispensation, or only after that it shall have closed, 
 is a question on which there has been much discus- 
 sion and diversity of opinion. One class of expo- 
 sitors maintain that the New Jerusalem is to be in 
 existence throughout the millennium, while another 
 class insist that it is not to come into existence until 
 after the millennium, and the creation of the new 
 heaven and new earth. Difficulties present them- 
 selves to both of these constructions, which neither 
 of the foregoing parties have been able to explain 
 away to their own satisfaction, much less to the satis- 
 faction of their opponents. We conceive that the 
 New Jerusalem shall come into existence at the com- 
 mencement of the millennium, at the time of the 
 marriage of the Lamb — that it shall be the abode of 
 the risen and reigning saints during the millennium, 
 and that it shall continue after the close of the mil- 
 lennium, and throughout all eternity. This, on a 
 critical examination, we shall find to be disclosed in 
 the prophetic announcements before us; and we hope 
 to be able to convince our readers that this view is 
 not chargeable with any of the difficulties and in- 
 
OF THE NEW JERUSALEM. 223 
 
 consistencies which its opponents have alleged as 
 objections against it. We shall first state these ob- 
 jections : — 
 
 To those who maintain that the New Jerusalem is 
 to exist during the millennium, it is objected — 
 
 1. That the New Jerusalem is subsequent in point 
 of time to the creation of the new heaven and the 
 new earth ; and that, therefore, as the new heaven 
 and the new earth do not come into existence until 
 the first heaven and earth shall have passed away, 
 which occurs at the close of the millennium, the 
 New Jerusalem cannot be in existence during the 
 millennium. 
 
 2. The sea is to be in existence during the millen- 
 nium, inasmuch as, at the close of it, the sea shall 
 give up its dead ; whereas there is to be no sea when 
 the New Jerusalem shall come into existence. 
 
 3. Death is to exist during the millennium ; for 
 death is not destroyed until the close of it; whereas, 
 in the New Jerusalem " there shall be no more 
 death." 
 
 4. The exclusion from the New Jerusalem is de- 
 scribed as " the second death," which is the final 
 award of the lost, and after the millennium. 
 
 5. The title to enter the New Jerusalem is, that 
 " they are written in the Lamb's Book of Life," 
 which is not to be opened until after the millennium. 
 
 Now, as we have before observed, the view which 
 we have taken of this prophecy is not open to any of 
 these objections. This we shall proceed to show. In 
 the first place, it does not appear from the language 
 or structure of the prophecy, that the New Jerusalem 
 
224 DIFFICULTIES CONSIDERED 
 
 is to be wholly subsequent in point of time to the 
 creation of the new heaven and the new earth ; for, 
 as we have before stated, the announcement, " I saw 
 a new heaven and a new earth, &c," is the closing 
 paragraph of the preceding prophecy of the final 
 judgment, which is described at the conclusion of the 
 previous chapter ; and the vision of the New Jeru- 
 salem commences, as a separate vision, with the next 
 verse, "And I John saw the holy city, &c." So 
 that the New Jerusalem may exist during the conti- 
 nuance of the first heaven and the first earth, and 
 continue to exist after that they shall have passed 
 away. In the same manner, the New Jerusalem 
 may, consistently with the language of the prophecy, 
 exist when there is sea, and continue to exist when 
 there shall be no more sea. This disposes of the 
 first two of the foregoing objections. We shall now 
 proceed to dispose of the others ; and a critical exa- 
 mination of the language and structure of the pro- 
 phecy will show that they are equally untenable. 
 
 The prophetic vision opens with a declaration by 
 St. John, that he saw " the holy city, the New Je- 
 rusalem, coming down from God out of heaven ;" and 
 then, after a certain announcement of " a great voice 
 out of heaven," and another announcement from him 
 " that sat upon the (great white) throne," the Prophet 
 again declares that one of the seven angels showed him 
 " that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out 
 of heaven from God." Thus there is a repetition of 
 the vision of the descent of the New Jerusalem, after 
 the intermediate announcements of the voice from 
 heaven and of him that sat upon the throne ; and 
 
AND EXPLAINED. 225 
 
 these announcements, which are thus inserted be- 
 tween the two declarations of the vision of the de- 
 scent, are, we conceive, intended to convey to us the 
 knowledge of the commencement and duration of the 
 New Jerusalem, viz., that it is to commence with the 
 millennium, and to continue through the millennial 
 reign, and after the session of the Saviour on the great 
 white throne of judgment, from whose face the first 
 heaven and earth are to fly away, to be succeeded 
 by the new heaven and the new earth. This we shall 
 proceed to explain. 
 
 The announcement of "the great voice out of hea- 
 ven," is, " 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. And God shall wipe away all tears from 
 their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither 
 sorrow, nor crying ; neither shall there be any more 
 pain : for the former things are passed away." This 
 we conceive to be a succinct description of the New 
 Jerusalem, and of the state of those who shall be the 
 inhabitants of it during the millennium. The voice 
 coming from heaven, shows that the announcement 
 takes place before the creation of the new heaven, 
 and is therefore, descriptive of a millennial scene, 
 when "the tabernacle of God is with man" (Ezek. 
 xxxvii. 27) — and of the state of the inhabitants of 
 the New Jerusalem during that period, in the pro- 
 phetic declaration that they shall be God's people, 
 without tears, without death, without sorrow, and 
 without pain. It is obviously a description of the 
 state of those within the heavenly Jerusalem during 
 
226 OBJECTIONS REFUTED. 
 
 that period, and nothing is here revealed of the state 
 of those who shall be without it, at the same time. 
 The exemption, therefore, from death, is only predi- 
 cated of those within the New Jerusalem. 
 
 Next comes the announcement of him "that sat 
 upon the throne" — " Behold, I make all things new; 
 and he said unto me, Write : for these words are true 
 and faithful. 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 athirst of the fountain of the 
 waters of life freely. He that overcometh shall in- 
 herit all things ; and I will be his God, and he shall 
 be my son. But the fearful and unbelieving, and the 
 abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and 
 sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their 
 part in the lake which burnetii with fire and brim- 
 stone : which is the second death." This manifestly 
 conveys a declaration of the existence of the New 
 Jerusalem, when the Great White Throne shall have 
 been set up — and, therefore, after the millennium — 
 but, unlike the immediate preceding description, it 
 discloses the state of those who shall be without the 
 heavenly Jerusalem at that time — viz., that all with- 
 out shall have their portion in the lake of fire. 
 
 Thus, these two announcements, inserted, as we 
 have seen, between the two declarations of the vision 
 of the descent of the New Jerusalem, disclose, respec- 
 tively the state of the blessed within the new Jerusalem 
 during the millennium, and before the final judgment, 
 and the state of the damned without the new Jerusalem 
 after the final judgment. Nothing is revealed of the 
 state of those who shall be without the New Jerusalem 
 
OBJECTIONS REFUTED. 227 
 
 during the millennium ; and it is only with respect 
 to those that are within, that we are told, there shall 
 be no more sorrow, death, or pain. It is clear that 
 the exemption from death must be limited to those 
 within the new Jerusalem, inasmuch as, if it were 
 to be taken as a general extinction of death, Ave must 
 also conclude that there is to be, at the same time, 
 a general extinction of pain ; and then, what be- 
 comes of the prophetic declaration, that " the smoke 
 of their torments cometh up for ever and ever?" — 
 Rev. xiv. 11. 
 
 These observations, if well founded, dispose of the 
 third and fourth objections to the existence of the 
 New Jerusalem during the millennium. For if the pro- 
 phecy, that " there shall be no more death," is con- 
 fined to those within the new Jerusalem during the 
 millennium, there is no inconsistency in the fact that 
 death shall exist during the same period ; for it may 
 and shall exist among those who shall be ivithout — 
 viz., the nations of the world. Again, the description 
 of the exclusion from the New Jerusalem being the 
 second death, is not inconsistent with the existence of 
 the New Jerusalem during the millennium ; because, 
 as we have shewn, that is a description of those who 
 shall be excluded after the setting up of the Great 
 White Throne and the final judgment, and not of 
 those who shall be excluded during the millennium. 
 
 The only remaining objection is, that those only who 
 are found written in the Lamb's Book of Life shall 
 be entitled to enter into the New Jerusalem, and that 
 title cannot be discovered or manifested until the 
 books shall have been opened at the close of the mil- 
 
228 INTERPRETATION CONFIRMED 
 
 lennium. The words, however, of the prophecy are, 
 that "they only which are written in the Lamb's 
 Book of Life" shall enter, without limiting the time 
 of entry to the opening of the books. It is the fact 
 of being entered in the Book of Life, and not the 
 opening of the book, that constitutes the title to be 
 an inhabitant of the New Jerusalem. Thus, it ap- 
 pears, that the existence of the New Jerusalem during 
 the millennium does not involve any contradictions or 
 inconsistencies. On the other hand, there is much 
 in the prophecy before us to lead to the conclusion 
 that the foregoing interpretation is not only correct, 
 but that any other would be open to insurmountable 
 objections. In the first place, the new Jerusalem 
 is styled "the Bride, the Lamb's Wife;" and when 
 Christ is represented as coming to crush his enemies, 
 and to reign for the thousand years, the song of con- 
 gratulation and rejoicing is, that "the marriage of 
 the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself 
 ready ;" and the marriage supper is announced and 
 described. It would, therefore, do violence to the pro- 
 phetic order of events, were the coming of the Bride 
 to be suspended till after the marriage supper, and 
 throughout the millennial dispensation. In the next 
 place, St. John is represented, when the approach of 
 the Bride is announced to him before the commence- 
 ment of the millennium (Rev. xix. 9, 10), as falling 
 down to worship the angel, and receiving a rebuke : 
 and afterwards, on witnessing the descent of the same 
 Bride from heaven, in the prophecy before us, he is 
 represented as falling down in the same manner to 
 worship the angel, and receives a similar rebuke. 
 
BY SCRIPTURE. 229 
 
 Now, it is more probable that the Evangelist should 
 have been guilty of this offence but once, than that 
 he should have repeated it ; and if so, the repetition 
 of the incident identifies the pre-millennial advent of 
 the Bride with the descent of the new Jerusalem, 
 "the Lamb's Wife," from heaven. 
 
 Finally, the kings of the earth, it is stated, shall 
 bring their glory and honour into the New Jeru- 
 salem (v. 24, 26). This, we need scarcely observe, 
 could not occur after that the kings of the earth, 
 and the earth itself, shall have passed away. For 
 these reasons it is that we have arrived at the con- 
 clusion, that the New Jerusalem will be in existence 
 during the millennium, and that it will then be the 
 abode of the risen and translated saints of Christ. 
 It will be the seat and centre of all power, dominion, 
 and glory ; and all the nations of the earth shall be 
 coerced to acknowledge its supremacy, and to submit 
 themselves to the iron rod with which they shall be 
 ruled. 
 
 In confirmation of the foregoing conclusion, we 
 shall find, in the structure of the description of the 
 New Jerusalem, a sort of duplicate revelation of it : 
 one part of it (as it appears to us) relating to the 
 time of the millennium, and the other to something 
 beyond. We have it, in the first place, portrayed 
 as being without the need of sun or moon, for the 
 glory of God was the light of it ; that its gates were 
 never shut, and that there was no night there ; that 
 the nations walked in the light of it, and that the 
 kings of the earth shall bring their glory, and that 
 of the nations, into it ; and that nothing that defileth 
 
230 DUPLICATE DESCRIPTION 
 
 shall enter therein. The Angel is then represented, 
 in the next place, as showing to the Evangelist the 
 River of the Water of Life, and the Tree of Life; and 
 then comes another description, that there is no more 
 curse — that the throne of God and the Lamb is in 
 it — with a repetition of the description, that there 
 shall be no night, nor need of the sun, moon, or 
 candle ; for the Lord giveth them light, and they 
 shall reign for ever and ever. 
 
 On a comparison of these two pictures, we are in- 
 clined to conclude, that the first is descriptive of the 
 New Jerusalem during the millennium ; and the se- 
 cond, of the same place subsequent to the millennium ; 
 and for these reasons. In the first place, the former 
 of these descriptions is a repetition of all the features 
 of the glorified Church which is given in the sixtieth 
 chapter of Isaiah, and which is obviously a prophecy 
 of that Church during the millennial dispensation, 
 when the nations and kings of the earth shall be in 
 existence. It is there represented, as it is in the 
 passage of " the Revelation" before us, as having 
 no need of the sun or of the moon, for that God is 
 its everlasting light (v. 19, 20) — that its gates 
 should be open continually, that men might bring 
 the forces of the Gentiles (the nations), and 
 their kings into it (v. 11) — and that the people 
 should be all righteous (v. 21) — or that nothing 
 that defileth should enter into it ; all which is mani- 
 festly a picture of the glorified Church during the 
 millennial dispensation, when the kingdoms of the 
 earth shall have been given to the saints, who shall 
 exact the homage of the nations and their kings. On 
 
OF THE NEW JERUSALEM. 231 
 
 the other hand, there is nothing to be found in the 
 prophetic description of Isaiah, of the Water of Life, 
 or of the Tree of Life, or of there being no more curse. 
 We are, therefore, disposed to the conclusion, that 
 the further revelation by the Angel of these particu- 
 lars, is intended to be a revelation of something be- 
 yond the millennium, viz., of the New Jerusalem 
 after the final judgment. Moreover, the otherwise 
 needless repetition of the circumstances of there 
 being no night, and of there being no need of the 
 light of sun or moon, can only be explained or ac- 
 counted for, on the supposition that there are two 
 revelations — one of the New Jerusalem during, and 
 the other of the same place subsequent to, the millen- 
 nium. It is also worthy of remark, that the second 
 of these revelations concludes with a declaration that 
 the servants of God, or the saints, shall reign for 
 ever and ever — not, as in the millennium, for a thou- 
 sand years. 
 
 Comparing this latter description of the New Je- 
 rusalem with that of Paradise, in the second chapter 
 of the Book of Genesis, we shall find a striking 
 resemblance between them. The leading features of 
 Paradise are the Tree of Life, the Tree of Knowledge 
 of Good and Evil, and the River which went out of 
 Eden to water the Garden. In the apocalyptic pic- 
 ture of the New Jerusalem, we have presented to us 
 the Tree of Life, and the River of Water of Life, 
 but the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is 
 absent, and the curse is withdrawn. It would appear, 
 then, that the New Jerusalem will be the restoration 
 .to man of the blessings of the Paradisiac state, with- 
 
232 RETURN TO PARADISE. 
 
 out the Tree of Knowledge, which was the origin of 
 his disobedience, and without the attendant curse, 
 under which the earth has been withering since ,the 
 day of Adam's temptation and fall. And thus, the end 
 and aim of the dealings of God with mankind is this 
 restoration to Paradise, purged of the curse that fol- 
 lowed the disobedience of the first man. His re- 
 demption has been already purchased by the atone- 
 ment of his Saviour. God, in his infinite love, has 
 long since satisfied infinite justice ; mercy and truth 
 have met together, and man's justification is com- 
 plete in the sight of his Creator. But sin and all its 
 attendant evils must be exterminated before the glo- 
 rious work shall have been perfected in the sight of 
 the Creator. Satan still exists in the world. He has' 
 sown his tares among the wheat, and they cannot be 
 rooted up until the harvest. Wickedness must be 
 consummate before it can be effectually cut off and 
 finally destroyed ; and the object of the prophecy 
 which we have been considering is, to reveal to the 
 believer the progress and increase of evil; and that 
 its progress and increase will find a termination in 
 the triumph of righteousness, the manifestation of 
 God's glory and power, and the return of man to the 
 Paradise in which God had originally placed him — 
 
 " New heaven, new earth, ages of endless date, 
 Founded in righteousness, and peace, and love ; 
 To bring forth fruits — joy, and eternal bliss." 
 
 And thus, as the Bible opens with a picture of man 
 in Paradise, so it closes with a similar scene of man 
 restored to the same state of blessedness and commu-' 
 
CONCLUDING REVELATION. 233 
 
 nion with his God — while all that is intermediate is 
 an inspired record of his Creator's work of mercy, in 
 bringing him back to a state of innocence and bliss 
 through the atoning love of his Saviour and Re- 
 deemer, by which alone he could be restored to God's 
 favour, consistently with the divine attributes of 
 truth and justice. 
 
 After the vision of the New Jerusalem, " the Re- 
 velation" concludes thus : — 
 
 " And he said unto me, These things are faithful and true : and 
 the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his 
 servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold I come 
 quickly : blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of 
 this book. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And 
 when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet 
 of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto 
 me, See thou do it not : for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy 
 brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this 
 book : worship God. And he saith unto me, Seal not the say- 
 ings of the prophecy of this book : for the time is at hand. He 
 that is unjust, let him be unjust still : and he which is filthy, let 
 him be filthy still : and he that is righteous, let him be righteous 
 still : and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, 
 I come quickly ; and my reward is with me, to give every man 
 according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the be- 
 ginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that 
 do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of 
 life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For with- 
 out are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and 
 idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a he. I Jesus have 
 sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. 
 I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and 
 morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And 
 let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. 
 And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I 
 
234 CONCLUDING REVELATION. 
 
 testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of 
 this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add 
 unto him the plagues that are written in this book : and if any 
 man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, 
 God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the 
 holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. 
 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. 
 Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ be with you all. Amen." — Rev. xxii. 6-21. 
 
 The incident of the Evangelist falling down to 
 worship before the feet of the angel, we have already 
 considered. It is one of the evidences, as we ex- 
 plained, that the existence of the New Jerusalem is 
 to commence with the pre-millennial advent of Christ, 
 inasmuch as the same incident is recorded as having 
 taken place when the preparation of the Bride (the 
 New Jerusalem) for the marriage of the Lamb is re- 
 vealed to the Evangelist, in Rev. xix. 10. This is 
 followed by an injunction, that the Book was not to 
 be sealed, or its meaning veiled from the inquiring 
 Christian, as the closing prophecy of Daniel was de- 
 clared to have been shut up from those for whom it 
 was written until " the time of the end ;" and an inti- 
 mation, that the intervening period before the final 
 fulfilment, should be one in which injustice and 
 righteousness, filthiness and holiness, are to be inter- 
 mingled, like the tares and the wheat in the present 
 dispensation. Then, after a pledge of the blessing 
 that is to attend the acquisition of a title to the 
 "Tree of Life," and an invitation to all to become 
 partakers of the "Water of Life," the revelation 
 concludes with an anathema on those who shall dare 
 
CONCLUDING REVELATION. 235 
 
 to meddle with the integrity of this book, by adding 
 to, or detracting from, it. This warning threat is 
 addressed to all generations of Christians throughout 
 this dispensation. But the time is, in all probability, 
 still in futurity, when the necessity for such a warning 
 will be more manifest than it has ever yet been. The 
 Holy Scriptures were sealed up from the inspection 
 of Christendom for centuries, during which period 
 no voice was heard proclaiming the glad tidings it 
 contained; and though now extensively circulated, 
 and apparently within the reach of all Christians, 
 still the Bible is, to many, a book prohibited by their 
 blind leaders of the blind. Even within the pale of 
 the professedly Protestant community, a class of 
 theologians has, of late, arisen, who have not hesi- 
 tated to discredit and discountenance it as the rule of 
 faith, and as containing all things necessary for salva- 
 tion ; and those who still cling to their inestimable 
 treasure, are stigmatised as " Bibliolators." The ex- 
 istence of such principles are, to the watchful Chris- 
 tian, indications that the time may, and most pro- 
 bably will, come, when the agents of Satan shall add 
 to their condemnation the anathemas denounced on 
 all who shall add to, or take away from, the words of 
 this prophecy ; and when the blessing promised to 
 him who " readeth, and they that hear the words of 
 this prophecy, and keep those things which are 
 written therein (Rev. i. 3), shall be sought and ac- 
 quired amid the fires of persecution, and at the peril 
 of martyrdom. 
 
 Thus closes this revelation of God's dealings with 
 man — restored to the enjoyment of all the blessings 
 
236 CONCLUDING REVELATION. 
 
 prepared for him by the inestimable love of his Creator 
 and Redeemer, before the foundations of the world 
 were laid. What lies beyond are among the secret 
 things of God — they are not revealed for us or for our 
 children ; and to speculate thereon would be pre- 
 sumptuous and vain ; " for eye hath not seen, nor ear 
 heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man to 
 conceive what God hath prepared for them who love 
 him." Enough has been disclosed for our warning 
 and guidance, if our investigations are based on true 
 principles and sound doctrine. A right understand- 
 ing of the meaning and purport of the earliest reve- 
 lations of God's intentions with regard to mankind, 
 we have found to be not merely all-important, but 
 absolutely necessary ; and the absence of it has taint- 
 ed the labours of the wisest and best of Christian in- 
 quirers, in their endeavours to elucidate the meaning 
 of this, the last of God's revelations. Without a 
 clear knowledge and constant recognition of the res- 
 toration of the Jews, in fulfilment of the promises to 
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the nature of the king- 
 dom of Christ, and the commencement of it in the 
 extermination of the Roman dynasty, "the fourth 
 kingdom on earth," could not have been understood; 
 and all the apocalyptic prophecies relating to the 
 millennial dispensation must have been sealed up to 
 them, rendering their other interpretations indistinct 
 and comparatively unprofitable. Again, while the in- 
 crease and consummation of evil was an unrecog- 
 nised truth — while the investigations of the Christian 
 interpreter proceeded on the false notion that the 
 kingdom of Christ was to be established by grace, and 
 
RECAPITULATION. 237 
 
 not by judgment, how could the revelations of the 
 development of that kingdom have been understood 
 and appreciated ? These principles are to be col- 
 lected from the Old Testament prophecies ; and as 
 all the revelations of the Apocalypse must be consistent 
 with them, they must naturally prove a lantern to the 
 path of the commentator who recognises and adopts 
 them, while the rejection or non-recognition of them 
 must necessarily darken the scenery, and mislead 
 those who seek to explore its recesses. 
 
 The true test of sound constructions of prophecy 
 will be found in their consistency with themselves, 
 and with the other parts of the Scriptures. We shall, 
 therefore, before we conclude, briefly recapitulate our 
 interpretations of the portion of "the Revelation" 
 which we have been considering, to enable our readers 
 to satisfy themselves, by a comparison of the several 
 parts with each other and with the Scriptures at 
 large, how far our conclusions can bear such a test. 
 
 First. — The Revelation opens with a vision of the 
 Church's travail and the birth of the Saviour, while 
 Satan, under the form of Pagan Rome, symbolized 
 by a seven-headed and ten-horned Red Dragon, is 
 watching to devour him — as Herod, the Roman Go- 
 vernor of Judea, was watching to destroy Christ at 
 the time of his birth. The Saviour is, however, 
 caught up to heaven ; and, having purchased the 
 
238 THE WAR IN HEAVEN. 
 
 redemption of his saints — the first fruits of whom 
 were those who had seen and embraced the promise 
 afar off — Satan, their accuser and antagonist, is cast 
 out before the presence of the Mediator and Pur- 
 chaser of their redemption, and takes up his abode 
 on earth as the Prince of the World (aitvvog) through- 
 out this dispensation. The first proceeding of Satan 
 is to persecute the Woman, or the Jewish Church, 
 which flies into the wilderness, where, like her pro- 
 totype Elijah, a place is prepared for her for the 
 apocalyptic period of three years and a-half, until 
 the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled, which is 
 symbolized throughout the book of " the Revelation" 
 by that period. Satan then turns his wrath against 
 " the remnant of the Woman's seed,* which keep the 
 commandments of God, and have the testimony of 
 Jesus" — the Christian Church — and against whom 
 he has ever since been waging his unholy warfare. 
 All this we have found to be consistent with the pro- 
 phetic symbols, with the other Scriptures, and with 
 historic facts ; while every other system of interpre- 
 tation imposes the necessity of spiritualising the lan- 
 guage of the prophecy to an extent that is dangerous 
 in principle, and which renders all reasoning unsatis- 
 factory and inconclusive. 
 
 That such a principle is most dangerous, is mani- 
 fest, when we consider, that to construe the casting 
 of Satan out of heaven as a figurative incident, entails 
 as a consequence, that the presence of Satan in hea- 
 ven is also figurative ; and then the record in the 
 books of Job and Zechariah, of Satan appearing in 
 the presence of God in heaven, as the accuser, must 
 
THE TWO BEASTS. 239 
 
 be taken to be figurative likewise. Admitting that — 
 how can the Christian resist the •conclusion of the 
 free-thinker, that the temptation and fall, or any- 
 other supernatural incident among the inspired re- 
 cords, is but an allegory or a myth ? And that the 
 reasonings from such a principle are inconclusive, ap- 
 pears from the fact, that while Mr. Burgh has, from 
 the spiritualised imagery of the war in heaven, and 
 the casting out of Satan, and a passage from Isaiah, 
 (Is. lxvi. 5-9) drawn the conclusion that the prophecy 
 is unfulfilled, Mr. Elliott has, from the same spiri- 
 tualised imagery and the same text of Isaiah, arrived 
 at the conclusion that it has been fulfilled. 
 
 Second. — Satan has gone forth, as we have seen, to 
 make war with the Christian Church ; and the first 
 instrument of his warfare is presented to our view in 
 the form of a seven-headed ten-horned Beast, with 
 crowns on his horns, rising from the sea. Whatever 
 may be the instruments of persecution which Satan 
 may make use of, from the departure to the return 
 of Christ, it is to be expected that the forms in 
 which they are presented to our view in a revelation 
 of this nature, ought to be in those forms which will 
 comprise and manifest all the worst and most remark- 
 able of their features. And as it is plain, that these 
 diabolic agencies must become more and more aggra- 
 vated in their Antichristian characteristics, as the 
 time progresses, the forms in which they are pre- 
 sented will be the last, most apostate, and most 
 rebellious forms which they shall assume, before the 
 Lord himself shall come to exterminate them alto- 
 gether. 
 
240 the church's refinement. 
 
 Accordingly, we have interpreted the Beast rising 
 from the sea — "the Destroyer of the Gentiles" — to 
 be apostasy in its last form, impersonated by a blas- 
 phemous and rebellious persecuting potentate, claim- 
 ing and receiving divine honours from all the Gentile 
 world, and from "all that dwell upon the earth" 
 (the Jews), except the very elect. This is the Anti- 
 christ, the King of ten kings, and the sovereign 
 head of Rome, "the fourth kingdom upon earth," 
 in its last stage, when it is to be struck by the 
 Stone of Israel, that is thenceforth to fill the whole 
 earth. 
 
 The second Beast is the agent of the first Beast 
 (the Antichrist), to persecute, or seduce to his 
 worship, " those that dwell upon the earth" (the 
 restored Jews), who shall, at this time, be again 
 in their own land, in covenant with God, and looking 
 for their promised Messiah. He arises oat of the 
 earth, and all his revealed proceedings, his mira- 
 culous, coercive, and seductive powers, are exercised 
 in, and connected with, " the earth and them that 
 dwell upon the earth ;" while those of the first Beast 
 from the sea are connected with "the whole world," 
 and " all kindreds, tongues, and nations," denoting, 
 as we conceive, the Gentile world. 
 
 Third. — Having disclosed the instruments of Sa- 
 tan's persecutions, the next revelation is a septenary of 
 prophetic angelic announcements, which adumbrate a 
 season of refinement and purification of the Christian 
 branch of God's Church, by which the peculiar trials 
 and frailties of the believer, in the present dispensa- 
 tion, as enumerated by our Saviour in the parable of 
 
GREAT BABYLON. 241 
 
 the sower, are represented as cut off and separated 
 from the good seed of God's word, in the harvest — 
 while, under the figure of the treading of the wine- 
 press, all the severed impurities are exterminated, as 
 more fully detailed in the portents of the seven vials ; 
 and which end with the conflict between Christ and 
 Antichrist on the field of Armageddon, in which Great 
 Babylon is stated to come in remembrance before 
 God. 
 
 This septenary of angelic announcements of God's 
 dealings with the Christian Church, are similar in 
 object and effect, and synchronous in time, to the 
 portents of the seals which affect the Jewish Church ; 
 while the portents of the seven vials are, in like man- 
 ner, analogous and synchronous to those of the seven 
 trumpets — the one relating to the Christian, and the 
 other to the restored Jewish Church. The interven- 
 ing revelation of the redeemed on the sea of glass, 
 singing the song of Moses, is analogous to the reve- 
 lation which intervenes between the seals and trum- 
 pets of the sealed 144,000 of the tribes of Israel. 
 The object and effect of these portents can alone be 
 ascertained — the nature and particulars of the events 
 predicted can only be disclosed by the fulfilment. 
 
 Fourth. — The Great Babylon having been men- 
 tioned as coming in remembrance before God in the 
 seventh vial, an expanded descriptive revelation is 
 given of her fall, under the figures of the Scarlet 
 Whore and Babylon — a system and a city embodied 
 and identified — the exponents of apostasy and world- 
 liness come to their full. Papal Rome is manifestly 
 portrayed under these figures — not merely as she is 
 
 R 
 
242 THE FINAL CONFLICT. 
 
 and has been, but as she shall be hereafter, extended 
 and exalted in spiritual supremacy. She is repre- 
 sented as riding a seven-headed, ten-horned, uncrown- 
 ed Beast, " which was, and is not, and yet shall be" — 
 symbolizing the Roman dynasty, stripped of her tem- 
 poral supremacy, during the existence of the spiritual 
 ascendancy of the Papacy. Her extinction as a sys- 
 tem, and her utter extermination as a city, are por- 
 trayed, at the hands of the Ten Kings that are to arise 
 and confederate to give their kingdom to the Beast 
 (the Antichrist), which has been exhibited to our view 
 in the thirteenth chapter. The Papacy, apostate as she 
 is, must give way and fall before that the rebellious 
 usurper of divinity can be developed, and assume 
 the temporal supremacy of " King of Kings," and 
 the spiritual ascendancy of " Lord of Lords." In 
 this struggle Rome shall be burned, as described in 
 the eighteenth chapter ; and the Antichrist, with the 
 aid of his False Prophet, shall seek to establish him- 
 self on the Messiah's throne on Mount Zion, where 
 he shall stumble and come to his end. 
 
 Fifth. — The Papacy and Rome being extinguish- 
 ed, the next section of the Apocalypse (Rev. xix.) 
 opens with a song of rejoicing for their destruction ; 
 and the Whore being destroyed, the approach of the 
 Bride and the marriage of the Lamb is announced ; 
 and Christ appears, with his saints, to take ven- 
 geance of, and to exterminate his foes, who at last 
 appear in open rebellion, like Korah and his com- 
 pany, on the field of Armageddon, on the mountains 
 of Israel. The Beast, and the Kings of the earth 
 (the Ten Kings), with their armies, are vanquished. 
 
THE MILLENNIUM. 243 
 
 The Beast and his False Prophet are taken, and cast 
 alive into the fire burning with brimstone, and the 
 remnant are slain with the sword — they perish in the 
 gainsaying of Core (Jude, 11). The remaining enemy, 
 Satan, appeared not on the field of Armageddon ; 
 and therefore, not having been captured in the con- 
 flict, an angel is sent down to bind and cast him into 
 the bottomless pit, where he is to remain throughout 
 the one thousand years of the millennial dispensation. 
 Sixth. — The enemies of Christ having been slain 
 or taken captive, and the earth having been purged 
 of the originators and promoters of iniquity, the next 
 section of "the Revelation" discloses a picture of 
 the millennial dispensation — the period of "the res- 
 titution of all things," when the glory shall return 
 to Israel, and when Christ and his saints shall sit on 
 thrones, and reign gloriously on Mount Sion, the cen- 
 tre of power and dominion over the nations of the 
 earth, subjugated and submitting to his rule for a 
 thousand years. At the close of this period, Satan is 
 let loose, and is again to go forth to deceive the na- 
 tions, and excite them to revolt against their King. 
 Their hosts are to march against the beloved city 
 Jerusalem, and to encompass the camp of the saints, 
 where they meet their final doom ; and their leader, 
 Satan, is again captured, and finally cast into the lake 
 of fire, " where the Beast and False Prophet are." 
 Then appears the Great White Throne of judgment 
 of the dead, both great and small ; and whosoever 
 shall not be found written in the Book of Life shall be 
 cast into the lake of fire. The heaven and the earth 
 pass away before the face of Him who sitteth upon 
 
244 THE NEW JERUSALEM. 
 
 the throne ; and this sketch of the millennium closes 
 with a vision of " a new heaven and a new earth ;" 
 when, it is said, " there shall be no more sea" — no 
 more Gentiles ; but all shall be inhabitants of the 
 New Jerusalem. 
 
 Seventh. — The Evangelist closes his prophecy with 
 a vision of the New Jerusalem, the holy city, the 
 Bride, the Lamb's wife ; and which we have shewn, 
 from the structure and language of the prophecy, to 
 be a revelation of the New Jerusalem, the abode of 
 the blessed, as it shall exist during the millennium, 
 as well as subsequent thereto, when the new heaven 
 and the new earth shall have come into existence. It 
 will be, as we have likewise shewn, the restoration of 
 man to the Paradise in which he had been originally 
 placed by his Creator, and which shall have been re- 
 covered for him by his Redeemer, but divested of the 
 Tree of Knowledge which caused his transgression, 
 and purged of the curse that was entailed on it by 
 his fall. And thus, in the prophecy which we have 
 been unfolding, we find a history of God's dealings 
 with the human race, from the birth of the Saviour 
 to the perfection of the work of redemption and " res- 
 titution of all things, which God hath spoken by the 
 mouth of all his holy Prophets since the world began." 
 
 Let the reader compare the foregoing outline and 
 summary of our interpretations with the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, with history, sacred and profane, and with his 
 own observation and experience, and he will find that 
 they are consistent with God's past dealings with 
 mankind, corroborated by his prophecies, whether 
 fulfilled or unfulfilled, and confirmed by passing 
 
THE CHRISTIAN'S DUTY. 245 
 
 events. What has been fulfilled, or is in progress of 
 fulfilment, is depicted with an accuracy that is as in- 
 teresting as it must be astonishing to the eye of un- 
 derstanding. The origin of the New, and the ejection 
 of the Old Dispensation Church, are almost literally 
 described ; and the perversion of Christianity in the 
 aggressive usurpations of Papal Rome, is depicted 
 with the fidelity of an inspired pen. And the more 
 closely we examine and study the progress and pre- 
 tensions of the Papacy, the nature of her connexion 
 with Rome, and the state of the Roman dynasty 
 during her existence, the more exact do we find the 
 correspondence between the system of Romanism and 
 the Harlot of " the Revelation " — a correspondence in 
 feature and outline which, as time and events pro- 
 gress, is becoming each day more and more defined 
 and manifest to the eye of the Christian inquirer. 
 This knowledge of the fulfilled portion of " the Reve- 
 lation," leads, as we have seen, to such a knowledge 
 of that which is unfulfilled, as is sufficient to point 
 out the nature, object, and result of the perils and 
 trials which the believer of the latter days will be 
 called on to encounter, and to strengthen him to en- 
 dure unto the end, that he may be counted worthy to 
 sit with Christ on his throne, even as Christ over- 
 came and is set down with his Father on his throne. 
 Thus it is manifest from these prophecies, that, 
 whatever may be the form in which the consumma- 
 tion of evil shall appear, and whatever may be the 
 time of its appearance, it will be a development of 
 "the mystery of iniquity" that is connected with 
 Rome, " the fourth kingdom upon earth," which is 
 
246 the christian's duty. 
 
 to be struck and exterminated by the S,tone of Israel 
 at the close of this dispensation. It is, therefore, the 
 duty as well as the interest of the Christian, whether 
 in his individual capacity or as a member of a Pro- 
 testant community, to watch with jealous vigilance, 
 and meet with uncompromising hostility, the untir- 
 ing encroachments of Rome, and the no less fatal 
 insinuations of Romish principles. The ultimate 
 triumph of Romanism and apostasy is inevitable ; for 
 the pages of prophecy reveal, what daily experience 
 and observation is confirming to the inquiring mind, 
 that this unchanging system shall spread like a cloud 
 over the face of the earth, and extinguish Gospel 
 truth, before that it shall be itself extinguished. And 
 when once the final triumph shall have commenced, 
 the progress will be sure and rapid. As a system, it 
 has, as we have seen, much to recommend it to un- 
 regenerate minds, which are influenced by events, and 
 estimate the propriety of principles by results to the 
 eye of sight, being wholly blind to that which is 
 only discernible to the eye of faith. England has 
 hitherto been hostile to Rome, and opposed a stub- 
 born front to her aggressions even in the dark ages ; 
 and England may yet be permitted to continue to be 
 a witness, defying her open hostility, and withstanding 
 her covert machinations. But, if we have rightly 
 interpreted these prophecies, the time will come when 
 she, too, will be drawn into the vortex of apostasy and 
 infidelity — when the people of God must enter into 
 their secret chambers, and shut their doors about 
 them for a little moment, until the indignation be 
 past. 
 
THE PROGRESS OF EVENTS. 247 
 
 Nor is it difficult for the reflecting mind to con- 
 jecture the progress of events that may lead to such 
 a consummation. The spirit of liberty that stirs 
 within the breasts of the great body of mankind, but 
 more especially of those of the Saxon race, has been 
 the barrier, under God, that has long kept out the 
 flood of Popery from this nation. That very spirit is, 
 in its expansion, engendering principles of action 
 which are obviously leading to democracy and licen- 
 tiousnesss, and which must eventually, in their pro- 
 gress, rouse, in self-defence, the spirit of despotism, as 
 we have lately seen exemplified in France. The aid of 
 the Papacy, the right arm of despotic power, will be 
 evoked, thus rendering it triumphant here as else- 
 where, and opening the way for the development of 
 the Antichrist, who shall reign over all the earth 
 through his subordinate kings. Such will be the pro- 
 bable course of events. Let the Christian put on 
 the whole armour of God, and be prepared, under 
 all circumstances, to uphold His principles and His 
 precepts. It is in our times, as it was in those of 
 Eli, "the Word of the Lord was precious in those 
 days — there was no open vision" — Sam. iii. 1. May 
 God enable each of us thus to hold fast the faith, 
 and to vindicate and maintain in their integrity and 
 sufficiency the Scripture evidences of it which have 
 been committed to us, that we may "be accounted 
 worthy to escape all these things that shall come to 
 pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." — Luke, 
 xxi. 36. 
 
 THE END. 
 
CORRIGENDA. 
 Page. 
 
 9, I. 18, for "9th" read " 10th." 
 123, I. 3, for "ten- headed" read "two-headed." 
 181, I. 4 from the bottom, for "deceiver" read " dr .ma. 
 
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