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 16 — 47372-1 OPO 
 
A 
 
 SOLEMN WARNING 
 
 TO ALL THE 
 
 DWELLERS UPON EARTH, 
 
 GIVEN FORTH 
 
 IN OBEDIENCE TO THE EXPRESS COMMAND 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LORD GOD, 
 
 AS COMMUNICATED BY HI3I, IN SEVERAL EXTRAORDINARY 
 VISIONS AND MIRACULOUS REVELATIONS, CON- 
 FIRMED BY SUNDRY PLAIN BUT WON- 
 DERFUL SIGNS, UNTO 
 
 SIMBOD HUGHES, 
 
 Of the County of Washington, in Virginia. 
 
 Upon whom the Awful Duty of making this Publication luis 
 been Laid and Enforced, by many Admonitions and se- 
 vere Chastisements of' the Lord, for tlie space of Ten 
 Months and Nine Days of unjust and close 
 Confinement in the Prison of Abingdon, 
 wherein he was shewn that the Certain 
 
 DESTRUCTION 
 OF ONE THIRD OF MANKIND, 
 
 AS FORETOLD IN THE SCRIPTURES, 
 
 MUST TAKE PLACE ON THE 
 
 Fourth Day of June, 1812. 
 
 PRINTED B¥ LARGIN 8c THOMPSON, NO. 5 BURLING-SLI?. 
 
 1812. 
 
a¥?V t -a. 
 
A 
 
 SOLEMN WARNING 
 
 TO ALL THE 
 
 DWELLERS UPON EARTH. 
 
 THE truth of the existence of 2l great first cause o>i allthingSv 
 so forcibly impresses itself on every rational mind, upon the 
 first attainment to the use of our faculties, that to question, or 
 doubt, for one moment, of the real being of a God, would be to do 
 violence to our reason, and prove the absence of even common 
 sense* Taking it to be entirely unnecessary to say any thing in 
 proof of the Divine existence, it is sufficient to call the atten- 
 tion of the reader to some of the universally received attributes 
 of our Great Creator, 
 
 As GOD is universally acknowledged to be Almighty > so aT« 
 so must we be convinced that he is All-wise ; knowing all 
 things past, present and to come. For as U he worketh all 
 things according to the counsel of his own willy* so also he hath 
 all-wisdom to direct, and power to bring into being, whatso- 
 ever his holy will ordaineth to come to pass. 
 
 His fore knowledge hath been made manifest by the fulfil- 
 ment of many of the ancient prophecies concerning nations 
 and individuals, which in his boundless love for mankind, he 
 was pleased to reveal to his servants, the prophets, that they 
 might testify them before the world, so that " whether they 
 will hear or whether they will forbear, yet shall they know 
 that there hath been a firofihet am ng them.'" Ezek'el ii. 5, 
 
 For the Lord, although his i( sjiirit shad not always strive 
 with man" yet hath he not ceased to warn mankind of those 
 judgments which by sin and wickedness they have brought, 
 and still are bripging upon the earth, in or Jer that they might 
 have an opportunity of escaping the calamities which the just- 
 ice of God bringeth upon the world for the offences of its in- 
 
4 
 habitants ; that those who will turn to the Lord by repentance 
 and with prayer, may obtain faith and deliverance in the clay, 
 when thi Wrath of God shall be poured out upon the children 
 of men for their transgressions and obstinacy of heart. 
 
 And herein hath God shewn to the world, his infinite good- 
 ness, which as the royal prophet David hath frequently declar- 
 ed in the Psalms, " endureth for ever ;" and if the mercy and 
 goodness of God endureth for ever, then surely the same good- 
 ness may be hoped for by his chosen ones in these tim-s of 
 givat peril and danger, as was to the people of Nineveh, 
 when they repented at the warning voice of the pi ophet Jor.ah, 
 whom the Lord in mercy, sent to warn the inhabitants of that 
 great city, of impending judgments: or can we without blas- 
 pheming, deny the power of that God who sent Jonah to Nine- 
 veh, that they might be warned of their wicked ways, repent 
 and be spared ; to send even in this day, his warning voice un- 
 to an erring world. Or can we say that He, who in pity to 
 six score thousand persons of that city, who could not discern 
 between their right hand and their left, as also in pity even to 
 their cattle; should on their repentance, avert their threat- 
 ened destruction, would be less merciful and compassionate 
 to his own elect, who are now scattered abroad in the world : 
 doomed very shortly to experience, what was foretold by the 
 prophet Daniel, that there shall be a time of trouble^ such as 
 never was known since there was a nation. No, the Lord is 
 gracious, and his merey endureth for ever ; and he will not 
 destroy his people without his usual gracious warnings, he will 
 send to admonish them, " and he will send by whom he will 
 send ;" and those who repent and call upon his name, may be 
 saved from the great destruction, now very near at hand. 
 
 And as it has happened in every age, that when the Lord 
 commissioned any of his servants,, the prophets, to bear his 
 word to the children of men, he qualified them for their awful 
 mission by such visions, direct revelations, and often severe 
 trials and exercises, as convinced Ihem that 'they must obey 
 his voice, or perish ; so also hath he prepared him, whose task 
 it is, to publish these words, in obedience to the Lord's com- 
 mand, and that he may at least deliver his own soul. 
 
 But surely it is not a pleasant task to flesh and blood, to bear 
 the tremendous messages of the Almighty God to an unbeliev- 
 ing, scoffing world, which appears to be not only indifferent 
 about the greatest concerns of this life, a preparotion for a fu- 
 ture ; but who can mock at, and treat with scorn, every idea 
 of any revelation on record, as well as every precept, doctrine 
 and authority of the Holy Scripture Nay, amongst those 
 who are most attached to the Sacred Writings, and profess to 
 believe them as the word of God ? few can be found who would 
 
 
countenance the man, who could declare himself commissioned 
 by the God of Daniel, to explain any hidden or mysterious 
 matter which they of themselves did not perceive to be con- 
 tained in the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 For even the evangelically inspired prophet Isaiah, com- 
 plained in his d-.y, saying, * who hath believed our refiort" 
 and even the surprising miracles performed by the word spo- 
 ken by Elijah, could not secure him from the scorn and perse- 
 cution of many of those to whom he was sent ; and every pro- 
 phet, even to John the Baptist, have suffered persecution from 
 that world, unto whom they were in mercy sent, in order to 
 turn them from the evil of their own ways, lest iniquity might 
 prove their ruin. Nay, even the Lord of life and glory him- 
 self, when he came, not only to prophecy, but to redeem the 
 world, was frequently laughed at, traduced, ridiculed and des- 
 pised ; and finally persecuted, mocked, bound, spit upon, scourg- 
 ed and put to death, and that by the very people who professed 
 a veneration for the prophets who foretold his coming ; they 
 who builded the tombs of the prophets whom their fathers had 
 slain, because they admitted that these persecuted and mur- 
 dered prophets were inspired by the spirit of God: Yet these 
 were the murderers of Jesus, in whom dwelt the fulness of the; 
 Godhead bodily II ' Yea, and we<e that blessed personage to 
 make his second Advent now, and to preachand reprove as he 
 did when before upon earth, it is most likely that he would be 
 consid red as a lunatic, and an impostor ; rejected by the dif- 
 ferent, congregations that profess his name and religion, and 
 refused to occupy a single one of the many pulpits, now dedi- 
 cated 1 1 his honor, by those who profess to believe in his resur- 
 rection from the dead!! And if any one should perform a 
 miracle in his name, or by Divine Revelation explain some of 
 the mysteries of the scripture for the benefit of mankind, he 
 may safely calculate on being treated with contempt, and being 
 despised by those Avho profess faith in those very scriptures of 
 the New Testament, which positively enjoins them, that they 
 •* desjiise not lirofihecyings" 1st Thess. c. 5, v. 20. 
 
 But those whom the Lord appoints to bear his word must be 
 content to suffer the reproach of men, and venture all hazards, 
 rather than disobey ; for in vain would Jonah fly from God, to 
 avoi 1 his duty. Even the depths of the sea could not hide him 
 from his master's eye, nor could death itself overtake him 
 until he executed the commands of the Lord ; therefore, wkat- 
 ever may be the consequences in this life, to him whom the 
 Lord shall call, and drive into his work, the person so com- 
 manded must obey; for* however desirous he might be to be 
 released from the work of the Lord, and to pursue his own! 
 inclinations, he cannot be released until he has accomplished 
 A 2 
 
his mission ; nor can he say or do any thing in it but what he 
 is commanded, nor in any other manner but as he is shewn and 
 directed. 
 
 If then the manner in which the mysterious parts of the scrip- 
 tures, which are unfolded in this work, shoula, to any one ap- 
 pear inadequate to the purposes intended, or should ^ny one 
 be offended on account of the simplicity in which their respec- 
 tive coincidences are made to appear, I would caution such 
 persons to beware, and judge not least they be judged: but let 
 them " search the scri/itures to find if these things are true." 
 
 For in the scriptures are many important mysteries, so 
 concealed from common eyes, that those who read them daily, 
 and think they understand them, are nevertheless totally blind. 
 to their most important meanings. 
 
 It was the manner of the inspired penmen of antiquity, to 
 wrap up the richest treasures of their divine knowledge in 
 mysterious figures, types, shadows and symbolic allusions ; so 
 that they who would obtain the true understanding of their 
 works, must evidei.ee their love for wisdom by a close and 
 atcentive application, and laborious research, before they could 
 obtain it, unless it were revealed in some vision, or direct in- 
 spiration from God. 
 
 It has frequently been asserted, and not without reason, that 
 not one word, letter nor figure in the scriptures, has been in- 
 serted in vain, nor without some special design ; and even 
 their divisions into books, chapters, verses and words, had 
 their particular reasons and meanings ; and even the numbers 
 of the books, the numbers of the chapters, the numbers of the 
 verses, and even the numbers of the letters contained in each 
 •word ; but especially the initial letters, were said to have their 
 uses for various purposes, in explaining the grand revelations 
 which the Almighty has been pleased in this way to deliver to 
 mankind j but yet in so dark and mysterious a manner, that 
 none were judged capable of understanding the meanings or 
 allusions, except the learned Rabbins who composed the ancient 
 Cabala ; and who frequently met in conclave to explain the 
 mysterious matters, anagramatically contained in the different 
 letters, words and figures of the scriptures. 
 
 As to the manner in which the Cabalistic Rabbins foretold 
 future events, or explained the mysteries contained in the dif- 
 ficult parts of scripture, the author had no knowledge nor con- 
 ception at the time that the construction of the foregoing and 
 succeeding tables were revealed unto him, nor did he even 
 know, that there ever existed any person, or body of people 
 possessed of such a knowledge, either by art or revelation, un- 
 til this work was in forwardness for publication ; but since he 
 has been in Richmond for the purpose of getting this "work 
 
printed, it was suggested to him that his tables and calculations 
 resembled the ancient Cabala ; which is thus spoken of in the 
 Encyclopaedia Britanica Vol. 4, page 2, Art. Cabala. 
 
 •• Cabala according to the Hebrew style has a very distinct 
 signification from what we understand it, in our language. 
 The Hebrew Cftbala signifies tradition, and the Rabbins who 
 are called Cabalists, study principally, the combination of 
 words, letters and numbers, by this means to discover what 
 is to come, and to see clearly into the sense of many difficult 
 passages of scripture — They infoim us that the secrets of the 
 Cabala were discovered to Moses on Mount Sinai.'"— * 4 This 
 is likewise termed the Oral law." 
 
 Much more is related shewing that the words, letters and 
 numbers of which the holy scriptures are composed, were con- 
 red by the learned of antiquity, as containing w.thin them- 
 es certain keys for unlocking the treasures which they 
 eontained, but could be clearly discovered only by those to 
 -whom the Almighty thought proper to reveal them, as he had 
 done to his servant Moses. 
 
 But although the history of this Cabalistic method of dis- 
 covering the hidden mysteries of the scriptures may strongly 
 support the method here used, yet the author is far from re- 
 lying on any such proofs for the correctness of those facts 
 which he here delivers, because whether that history be true, 
 or whether it be erroneous, he well knows the voice of the 
 Lord as revealed to him is true, and will most assuredly be 
 fulfilled in the very time as herein laid down ; and blessed are 
 all those who on hearing or reading these words, shall take 
 due warning, and shall truly repent and turn with full purpose 
 of heart unto the Lord God ; and through earnest prayer and 
 purity of life, obtain the Grace of faith ; that they may be de- 
 livered with all those whom the Lord hath resolved to save 
 from the approaching destruction spoken of by Daniel, 12th 
 chapter and first verse " And at that time shall Michael 
 stand up, the great prince which standethfor the children of 
 thy people* and there shall be a time of trouble such as never 
 was since there wax a nation, even to that time — and at that 
 time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found 
 written in the book." This awful time of trouble hath not yet 
 arrived, but is now near at hand, for no trouble hath happened 
 since the days of Daniel, that can be said to have fulfilled this 
 prophecy : But the Lord has been pleased to reveal to his ser- / 
 
 vant N. H. that at the end of two years and sixty-two days 
 from the date of this book, this dreadful prophecy must be 
 accomplished, and in its accomplishment, the one third of all 
 mankind throughout the earth shall be destroyed, and all 
 those whom it shall please the Lord to spare must also suffer 
 such trouble as never was before, 
 
. 8 
 
 Let no one presume to slight this warning : for it is deter- 
 mined and will positively take place upon that very day ap- 
 pointed, that is June 4th 1812. That is from the birth of our 
 Lord one thousand eight hundred and twelve years, five months 
 and ten days ; ftom the crucifixion, one thousand seven hun- 
 dred and seventy-nine years and sixty-two days; from the 
 author's birth, forty years, three months and ten days ; and 
 four years from the day he was condemned to prison. Woe 
 be to those who can disregard the voice ot this warning, and 
 who shall fall in that great destruction, which now hangs over 
 the earth, because the earth is full of iniquity and violence, 
 deception, fraud and blasphemy, with every species ot polu- 
 tion and uncleanness, so that it has been only typified by an- 
 cient Babylon against whom the prophet Jerenmh cries, 
 ;< Thus saith the'Lord : Behold! I will raise u/i agai?ist Ba- 
 bylon and against them that dwell in the midst of them that 
 rise u/i against me, a destrpying wind ; and will send into Ba- 
 bylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land ; 
 For in the day of trouble they shall be against her roundabout.'* 
 Ch. 51, v. l/2. 
 
 And what is this Babylon, against whom the Lord denoun- 
 ces this great judgment? It is not merely the ancient city of 
 that name, but comprehends the wicked and ungodly of all 
 nations whom the Lord hath devoted to destruction, and they 
 shall not by force, nor by cunning, nor by the greatness of 
 their possessions, be able to save themselves in that clay of 
 their fearful visitation and dreadful calamities; for even John 
 in the Revelations, long after that great city was no more, 
 prophesied against Babylon in exceedingly strong language, 
 and remarkably similar to the style used by the prophetJere- 
 miah ; John most certainly spoke of the same judgments upon 
 Babylon, which were foretold by the prophet Jeremiah ; the 
 prophet and apostle both speaking of the same Babylon in a 
 mystical sense; forjhe prophecies are the same, and the 
 threattnngs of Jeremiah had not b^-en fulfilled in the days of 
 John, although the city called Babylon had long before been 
 destroyed by Cyrus, who turned the course of the river Eu- 
 phrates, which ran through that city, under arches of the, 
 strong walls that surrounded it, and marching his army in the 
 dry channel, entered the city and destroyed it. How then 
 could the belpved disciple speak of Babylon as yet to be de-? 
 stroyed, if the prophecy of Jeremi th had been fulfilled ? 
 
 Let us but compare the two dreadful predictions, and they 
 will she,w that they both relate to the same tremendous judg- 
 ments, which hath not yet come to pass, but which will be 
 executed as the word of the Lord has been declared by noe. 
 
 Saint J hn in the 17th chapter of Revelations, speaking of 
 «* the great whore that sit tith upon many waters" saysc. 17, 4, 
 
" And the woman was ar- Jeremiah, chap. 51, v. 7, 
 rayed in purple and scarlet Babylon hath been a golden 
 colour, and decked with gold cup into the Lord's hand, that 
 and precious stones and pearls, made all the earth drunken of 
 having a golden cup in her her wine : therefore the na- 
 hand full of abominations and tions are mad. 
 lilthiness of her fornications. 
 v. 5. 
 
 And upon her forehead was 
 a name written MYSTERY, 
 BABYLON THE GREAT, 
 THE MOTHER OF HAR 
 LOIS, AND ABOMINA- 
 TIONS OF THE EARTH 
 Chap. 18, v. 2". 
 
 ° And he cried mightily 
 with a very strong voice, say- 
 ing, Babylon the great is fal- 
 len, is fallen, and is become 
 the habitation of Devils, and 
 the hold of every foul spirit, 
 and a cage of every unclean 
 and hateful bird. 
 3d verse. 
 
 •• For all nations have drunk 
 of the wrath of her fornica- 
 tions, &c. 
 
 4th verse- 
 
 " 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 : 5th. For her sins 
 have reached unto Heaven, 
 and God hath remembered 
 her iniquities. 
 
 And from the whole tenor of the 17th and 18th chapters of 
 Revelations, we may perceive that the prophecies are the 
 same, and meanethby Babylon the wickfonessof all nations, 
 and the sudden destruction of the wicked and finally impeni- 
 tent who shall be found upon earth in 'he day when the Lord 
 shall take vengeance upon the sins of the wold. Arid this 
 great destruction will come on the day andyear first mention- 
 ed J remiab says suddenly, but J hn as he approached rTear- 
 er to ».he time, sai h pi ,mlv that it >hall happen in one d >y. 
 Rtv. 18, 8. M Therefore shall her plague come in one day/' 
 
 Verse 8. 
 44 Babylon is suddenly fal- 
 len and destroyed : howl for 
 her ; take balm for her pains 
 if so be she may be healed. 
 
 6th verse. 
 
 l| Flee out of the midst of 
 Babylon, and deliver every 
 man his own soul : be not cut 
 off in her iniquity, for this is 
 the time of the Lotd's ven- 
 geance : he will render unto 
 her a recompense 
 9th verse. 
 
 w Her judgment reacheth 
 unto Heaven, and is lifted up 
 unto the skies. 
 
10 
 
 &c. and again, verse 10— " Forin one hour is thy judgment^ 
 come" And again, verse 17th,—" Forin one hour so great- 
 riches is come to nought." And again, verse 19th—" For in 
 Giie hour she is made desolate.'* But now as the awful judg- 
 ment draweth very near indeed, the Lord is pleased to make 
 known by me, that very day, when his faithful word shall be 
 accomplished ; namely, on that day which will not be soon 
 f ^"gotten by the survivors, that great ?nd dreadful day, June 
 the 4th, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred 
 and twelve. 
 
 O ! ye inhabitants of this devoted Babylon, who think ye sit 
 at ease, and are possessed of your comfortable habitations and 
 store of all the good and valuable things of this worid's pro- 
 duce. Ye who boast of your wisdom, your learning, ycur deep 
 philosophy, and all sorts' of worldly attainments, beware how 
 you treat this warning slightly, or say, " who is this that pre- 
 tends to su^h superior penetration into the secrets of futuri- 
 ty?" I say to you again, pause, and judge not too hastily. 
 
 " For who art thou who judgeth another's servant ? To his 
 own master he must rise or fait." And what will avail your 
 strong and comfortable dwellings, your rich furniture, your 
 extensive freeholds, your numerous slaves your honorable 
 connections, your wealthy stores, your brilliant genius, your 
 eloquence, learning, or philosophy; when the great God, who 
 made the world and all that now surrounds it. shall sweep the 
 earth with the besom of destruction r" Think not that be- 
 cause the threatenings of the Lord hath been so long delayed, 
 that therefore they will never be put in execution. Alas! 
 what profane thoughts enter into the minds of men, whom 
 the deceitfulness of sin hath so misted, that they cannot dis- 
 cern the great difference between their own purblind faculties, 
 and the clear broad eye of JEHOVAH. " in whose sight a 
 thousand years are but as yesterday " Nay, before whom the 
 remotest periods of antiquity, as well as the present time and 
 the immense extent of tutun'.y, are all present at a single 
 glance. Yei, all eternity is His. and the past, the present, 
 and the future, is but one eternal now before his all. seeing 
 eye. Doth ho threaten Sodom or Gomorrah, and yet for the 
 sake of righteous Lot the punishment is delayed ? Yet the 
 faithful w^rd of the most high st-^ndeth sure, and his judg- 
 nv nts are fulfilled upon those devoted cities. Hath he threa- 
 tened Jerusalem, that once beloved city with destruction ! — 
 Yet al«h nigh for the s ke of some righteous persons there> 
 or o»her good and wise reasons, the judgment is delayed, his 
 word which never can fail, is established : and under the 
 comm -«nd of Titus Vespashn, th* / has been destroyed ; 
 
 and even the temple> dedicated to his name was levelled to 
 
■n 
 
 the ground, for it also was polluted, and as the word of the Lord 
 had declared " not one stone of it was left standing upon ano- 
 ther"— And every word of the Lord must stand sure and 
 faithful : Whether in mercy he promiseth a blessing, or in 
 his justice he dooms destruction, faithful and true are all his 
 sayings, and one title of his word shall not fail, though all the 
 powers of the universe should league together to oppose it- 
 True that the Lord is merciful, long suffering, slow to an- 
 ger, and easily entreated, andoiten en the repentance of sin- 
 ners, or for the sake of his own elect he may procrastinate 
 his judgments ; yet his words are sure to be fulfilled if not in 
 one generation, then most assuredly in some other. To the 
 children of Israel whom he brought up out of Egypt, he had 
 made the promise that he would bring them into a good land 
 which he swore unto Abraham, that he would give it unto 
 his seed for a possession and an inheritance ; Yet on account 
 of their obstinacy, their hardness of heart and rebellions, the 
 fulfilment of thnt promise was delayed during thht genera- 
 tion : so that of the whole multitude which came through 
 the Red Sea, not one of them entered into the promised land, 
 except Joshua and Caleb. Yet hath his gracious promise 
 been fulfilled in a succeeding generation. Therefore let no 
 man presume to think that any thing which the Lord God 
 hath promised or threatened, shall not be accomplished as if 
 the all-wise God were a weak mortal, who could forget ! 
 i Hoping, that through the great mercy of God, this solemn 
 warning will have the blessed effect of bringing sinners to a 
 due consideration of their awful situation ; and with earnest 
 prayer that it may bring many to repentance, and that thro' 
 grace they may obtain faith and forgiveness, and be saved 
 in that Great Day when the Lord will most certainly accom- 
 plish his threatened judgments upon the earth, but will also 
 faithfully fulfil his gracious promise that he will spare his 
 own elect, even every one whose name is written in the book 
 of life. I earnestly entreat the serious attention of the rea- 
 der, to the solemn matters contained in the following: 
 
 As the love of money, which the apostle terms " the root 
 of all evil," hath spread itself so widely through the hearts 
 of the present generation, it can be no matter of surprise, that 
 this work should be considered, by such sordid minds, as a 
 mere scheme, devised for the purpose of making money. But 
 if such characters, who are not easily moved, by any other 
 impulse than dollars and cents* would take the trouble to cal- 
 culi te the expense of preparing and publishing such a book 
 as this, and then look at the price of the book and the world- 
 ly circumstances of the author, perhaps they would be incli- 
 ned to ascribe it to some other motive. Indeed, were it no* 
 
12 
 
 that justice requires that the expense attending the perfor- 
 mance; must be discharged by the sale ; and the authors cir- 
 cumstances being such, that in justice to his family, he cannot 
 give it away it would be his sincere desire, as it would be 
 his duty, to publish 144,000 copies and hive them distributtd 
 gratis, over the whole earth, so that each of the sealed num- 
 ber might have one. For it is not his object to accumulate 
 money by delivering the word of God to mr.n; and it is his 
 opinion that all those preachers and teachers, of every church 
 who are constantly in the habit of spe king the word of Gorl, 
 for hire, are xtually engaged in that vain and wicked attempt 
 of serving two masters: and our blessed Lord declares that 
 it is impossible that they can serve both faithfully *' Ye can- 
 not se rve God-and Mammon ." 
 
 But some are like Lot, whtn he was called upon to flee out 
 of the cities of Sodom, and far from the devoted place, beg- 
 ged that he might be permitted to dwell in Zoar, alleging 
 that it was but a little city : " let me dwell there, said he, and 
 my soul, shall live." So some who wish to excuse themselves 
 for touching the accursed thing, will say, •' O ! the trifle 
 which I receive for preaching, is so small, that it need not be 
 mentioned, it is but a little sum and not worth noticing." Aye! 
 it is but a little sin, which these holy men would carry into 
 Heaven with them ; but they may be assured that <c straight 
 is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto eternal 
 life." Nay, the gate is so narrow that they never can squeeze 
 through it encumbered with any sin, small or great. Yet I 
 would not be understood to say, that those preachers whose 
 indigent cirsumstances require the aid of the church, should 
 not receive food and raiment ; but therewith let them be con- 
 tented for they will scarcely be entitled to greater compen- 
 sation for their services, than our Lord and his apostles. In- 
 deed some could be mentioned who instead of receiving any 
 compensation at all, they ought rather to be shunned, and 
 suffered to hold their discourses to empty walls. I mean such 
 as preach a doctrine, not only unwarranted ny the holy scrip- 
 tures, but plainly repugnant to all the attributes of God. — 
 How frequently hath the sacred desk resounded with such 
 words as these : ** The sin which Adam has entailed on his 
 posterity is such, that there is now in hell children not a span 
 long I ! ! ' Oh I that such men would reflect and pray in ear- 
 nest to God for the light of his holy spirit, that they might 
 «• rightly divide the word of truth !»' Might they not know 
 that Ch- ist long ago hath cut off that entail, and nailed ori- 
 ginal sin firmly to his cross ? Therefore, it is not for the sin 
 of Adam that men are doomed to death and destruction in 
 this day, but for their own evil and wicked ways. Oh ! ye 
 
13 
 
 blind leaders of the blind, how long will you continue to dis- 
 honor God, and to mislead the souls for whom Christ hath di- 
 ed? Read the 18th chapter of Ezekiel, which contains 32 
 verses, and know that the Lord hath sworn to the reverse of 
 your doctrine; a doctrine by which you would arraign his 
 justice, and charge the God of truth with a wilful perjury. — 
 Verse 2, 3. •• What mean ye, that ye use this proverb con- 
 cerning the land of Israel, saying that the fathers have eaten 
 sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on ec ge ? As I 
 live saith the Lord God, you shall not have occasion anymore 
 to use this proverb in Israel ." Here then the Lord God so- 
 lemnly swears by himself, because he could not swear by a 
 
 greater oath— what? That your doctrine is wrong. Have 
 
 these young children done any sin? no. But the Holy Ghost 
 says all through the chapter that it is" the soul that sznnetA" 
 that shall die. Verse 20th, M The soul that sinneth it shall 
 die *' The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father; nei- 
 ther shall the father the iniquity of thfe son: The righteous- 
 ness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness 
 of the wicked shall be upon him." 
 
 I tell you, as our blessed Lord hath told ycu before, that 
 " Whosoever receive not the king dom of Heaven as a little 
 child, shall in no noise enter t her tin. iy Luke 18.17. Are 
 these innocents, th se little children, to be the objects of the 
 vengeance of your Go-!; of' whom Christ saith that '• of such 
 is the kingdom of Heaven* Surely that saying is true of you ; 
 that although God crtaed man in his own image, yet ye 
 would profanely attempt to create a God in your own im ige, 
 and cruelly as Moloch, would immoUte little children upon 
 his bloody altars. The Lord God has created man in his own 
 bh ssed image, the image of the holy Trinity, with three dis- 
 tinct faculties, or powers of the one sou!, to wit: will, un- 
 derstanding and memory. — And as the whole blessed Trinity 
 is engaged -in the salvation of every soul that is saved, s» the 
 whole trinity of the hum m soul must conspire to work the 
 damnation of eve<y snul that is lost. If the will consent not, 
 the offence is venial, but when the ivi'l s perverted, then the 
 understanding is blinded, and the memory delights to reflect 
 ■only upon those past transactions, and upon those scent- s that 
 are not only shameful in themselves, but are also ruinous in 
 their consequences; and whosoever dieth in th*t state, where 
 •Christ is. he cannot come. But why should we be taught to 
 believe that the great and merciful God of heaven and earth. 
 Would exercise his infinite wisdom through ages, in the cruel 
 employment of creating souls for no other purposes but to 
 £ive thfir mothers pain, and afterwards endure eternal tor- 
 ment themselves? The scripture expressly saith thut the 
 
 B 
 
14 
 
 sons shall not bear the iniquity of the fathers, and those little 
 ones have no iniquity of their own to bear ; for whose iniqui- 
 ty then must they suffer endless misery? The thought might 
 lead to blasphemy 
 
 But *' God willeth not the death, even of a sinner ; but rath- 
 er that he turn from his wickedness and live;" and the proph- 
 et Ezekiel in the 18th chapter above alluded to, places the 
 subject beyond the reach of controversy, that it is not by the 
 will of God that souls are lost, but by their own perverse willy 
 leading them into a wicked course of conduct, they plunge 
 themselves into ruin. He affirms that his ways are equal, 
 but that the ways of men are unequal, and in the 31st verse, 
 he condescends to entreat transgressors, saying* " Cast away 
 from you all your transgressions whereby you have trans- 
 gressed, and make you a new heart and a new sjiirit ; for 
 why will ye die, O house of Israel ? 
 
 But some pervert the scriptures in order as they think, or 
 pretend to think, that they might honor God's free grace : 
 and boastmgly quote the ca^e of Jacob and Esau from the 9th 
 chapter of Romans, for proof that God can condemn children 
 before they are born, and doom spirits to eternal torments 
 who have never transgressed in any way whatsoever. Such 
 a misapplication of the scripture is well calculated to make 
 some doubting or hesitating, weak believers, become infidels; 
 to confirm unbelievers in their infidelity, and make infidels 
 horribly to blaspheme the christian's God- But they do not 
 rightly interpret the holy scriptures, for the arguments us- 
 ed by the Apostle, in the. 9lh chapter oi Romans refer not to 
 individuals who are fore doomed to endless misery, but to 
 God's election of the seed of Abraham, and of the particular 
 limbs and branches of that seed, from which the promised 
 saviour was to come. The Apostle, stating his sorrow for 
 the Jews, recounts the great priveliges which they were fa- 
 voured with, that to them pertaineth the adtrtion, and the 
 glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the 
 service of God and the promises ; the authorities derived 
 from the ancient fathers ; but lastly and above all he saith 
 •' and of whom concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is 
 over all, God blessed forever — Amen." See the 4th and 5th 
 verses. 
 
 The apostle then goes on to point out by argument from 
 scripture and reason, the confidence which the Jews might 
 have in their adoption and the promises. The promises re- 
 late chiefly to the great redemption, through Christ, the 
 promise was first m^de generally to all the children of Eve. 
 saying, The seed of the woman shall bruise the ser/ient's 
 head. Then with Noah the Lord established his covenant. 
 
15 
 
 Then out of all the families descended from Noah, Abraham 
 wascrmsen, and the promise renewed to him, saying " And 
 in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. From 
 Abraham the promise is continued, and renewed in Isaac, 
 next in Jacob, who is called Israel, but the apostle further 
 saith, •• they are not all Israel which are of Israel : neither 
 because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children : 
 But in IsHac shalt thy seed be called. Romans, Ch 9. v. 6 
 
 In reasoning further upon the Lord's adoption of the train 
 or families through which the promised Saviour was to come, 
 he states (in parenthesis) concerning the children of Isaac. 
 " For the children being not yet born, neither having done 
 any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to elec- 
 tion might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, it 
 was said un'o her, [Rebecca] the elder shall serve the young- 
 er. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I 
 hated, v. 11. 12, 13 
 
 But no such meaning can be derived from these texts, as 
 that the individual persons of either of these children were 
 fore-doomed to hell's torments before their birth. Neither 
 does the word *' hated?' as therein applied mean the same 
 thing with cursed, for it is evident from the history of these 
 two personages in the scriptures, that both were blessed ex- 
 ceedingly and highly honored, and all that can be under- 
 stood by it is, that the one was preferred to the other, as 
 the progenitor of the Saviour (according to the flesh.) The 
 text to which the apostle refers is in the 25th chapter of 
 Genesis and 23d verse- When Rebecca enquired of the 
 Lord concerning her situation; "And the Lord said unto 
 her, two, nations are in thy womb, and two manner of peo- 
 ple shall be separated from thy bowels, and the one people 
 shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall 
 serve the younger." 
 
 Most of those prophecies in the old testament allude to the 
 nations that were to descend from certain individuals, and 
 not unto the particular individual himself, and from a misun- 
 derstanding of the true meaning of the scriptures many bick- 
 erings amongst the professors of Christianity, which pride 
 aiid party zeal h >th swelled into the most bitter animosities, 
 dividing the church into numerous sects, who instead of 
 having christian charity for each other, appear to entertain 
 a most deadly hatred, and for no other cause but that each 
 opposes the pride or opinion of the other ; hence thousands 
 remain in unbelief, not being able to see the good effects of 
 religion upon the lives of its professors. \ 
 
 The points of difference which have so divided the profes* 
 
16 
 
 sorscf the christian farth, and created such mortalanimcsit'ies, 
 are geueraljy of much less consequence in themselves than 
 the evil effects to which they give rise. The two great sa- 
 craments ordained in the church of Christ, and which 
 should 1)2 bends of unicn amongst true believers have been 
 made the causes of the greatest dissention. It is allowed en 
 all hands that a sacrament is an oui-vcird and visible sign of 
 an inward and spiritual grace. That it was ordained by- 
 Christ himself as a means in which that grp.ee is to be receiv- 
 ed, and to the faithful a pledge to assure them cf its reception. 
 Yet such is the spuit cf party to which many preachers and 
 teachers have submitted, th.it more contention has been a- 
 bout the manner and form of this outward and visible sign, 
 than regard to the po?session oi the inward and spiritual grace 
 itself: So that the sign seems to be ell with them ; and the 
 thnigsignified nothing. For instance — The sacrament of bap- 
 tism, which should unite all christians in one church, has 
 been made the means of dividing them into several parties; 
 one party is for washing, another for plunging or dipping, an- 
 other lor pouring another for sprinkling with water. Some 
 will be for baptising infants, while others are for confining 
 this sacrament to those only who have already made ac ? 
 knowledgments of their conversion. And each &re so zeal- 
 ous in the pride of their own opinion, that they hesitate not 
 to consign their opponents to destruction. But they should 
 remember the true scripture which is so often in their mouths, 
 •' By grace ye are saved through faith, and that not of your- 
 selves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man 
 should boast.*' 
 
 I do not mean to condemn any of these forms which may 
 be judged the most expedient according to each person's res- 
 pective conception of his duty or most conformable to the 
 primitive practice; nor do I condemn those who believe it 
 proper to dispense with the institution entirely : But the vain 
 contentions which these various opinions give birth to; and 
 the uncharitable tempers which these contentions create, are 
 not only injurious to the souls of the parties themselves, but 
 are also calculated to oppose the spreading of the gospel, and 
 to detain many out of the christian church and communion, 
 and leave them the more exposed to those pollutions that are 
 in the world, and the more liable to fall into those crimes and 
 abominations, for which thing's sake the wrath of God Com- 
 eth upon the children of disobedience. But this is no time 
 for quarrellings and dissentions, the time is at hand when ev- 
 ery one will have a more important business to arrest theirat- 
 ten ion, therefore let every one who names thename of Jesusj 
 depart from all iniquity. 
 
17 
 
 I cannot forbear here to warn those who make so much 
 contention ibout the ether solemn sacrament, The Lords 
 Sufifier. Some contend that the elements [bread and wine} 
 should be taken in the ordinary position of sitting; others will 
 insi>t that because the beloved disciple leaned upon the breast 
 of our Lord, when this sacrament was first instituted, that 
 the communion shouid be received in the posture of leaning 
 on each other, whilst others believe that the more reveren- 
 tial posture of kneeling is the most proper upon so sacred an 
 occasion. None of these forms do I condemn : but let eve- 
 ry one who presumes to approach the Lord's table, examine 
 h'mself, whether he truly repent of his former sins ; and let 
 him firmly resolve, in the strength of the Almighty, to lead a 
 new life for the future, should God spare him to live, let him 
 be well assured that he has a true and unwavering faith in 
 Christ, greatfully and thankfully remembering the great sa- 
 crifice which he made of himself upon the cross for the re- 
 demption, and see that he bears no malice nor hatred in his 
 heart, that if he hath wrcnged any, he takes the resolution to 
 make him amends, and uses the best means in his power to 
 effect it : and that he is in perfect good will and charity with 
 ail mankind. For let men say what they may, it is certainly 
 a dreadful case for any one to insult the Lord at his own table, 
 by presuming to approach the hallowed elements in an unpre- 
 pared state, or after the receiving this sacrament to exhibit 
 a conduct unworthy the character of a faithful communicant, 
 by drunkenness, debauchery, extortion, or any other wilful sin, 
 whereby the church would be scandalized, and those who are 
 thus guilty must bring grievous ills upon themselves. In the 
 days of the apostles, some of the church of Corinth were dis- 
 orderly in this particular, whom the apostle Paul severely 
 admonishes for it in the first Cor. XI. chap, at the 2rth verse, 
 he says, " Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, and 
 «* drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the 
 " body and blood of the Lord. 28th, But let a man examine 
 " himself, .and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that 
 * cup. 29th. For he that r ateth and drinketh unworthily, ea- 
 J< teth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the 
 " Lord's body." O! that men would seriously consider on 
 those things, before it be too late, for the Lord most assuredly 
 will visit for these things, and thr apostle tells the Corinthians, 
 verse 30, that ** For this cause many are weak and sickly a- 
 mong you, and many sleep." And surely there is much reason 
 to believe that in this corrupted age of the world, the number 
 of unworthy communicants is greater than in the days of the 
 apostles, and call for heavier judgments from an insulted God, 
 
 The taking of this blessed sacrament ^asalwavs understood 
 B 2 
 
18 
 
 to be the most solemn act oT the christian's life and was fre* 
 quently made, by law, a necessary qualifi ation previous to 
 the taking an oath upon the gospels in certain cases ; and no 
 crime was considered more henious amongst christians than 
 the crime of perjury or false swearing : Indeed it must be a 
 crime of the very blackest stain, both against God and man, 
 for it not only goes to destroy every bond of confidence in so- 
 ciety, to effect every species of fraud and even murder, to in- 
 sult the courts injustice and treat the laws themselves with 
 contempt; but also insults the majesty cf heaven, by calling 
 upon the God of truth to witness to a lie. Yet this detestable 
 crime is now so general on the earth, that there are but few 
 people of 40 years old, but c^n refer to numerous instances of 
 perjury within their own knowledge : But he who knoweth 
 the secrets of all hearts, knoweth who they are, who can be 
 and are guilty of this most horrible and soul-damning sin, and 
 his terrible judgments are sure to find them out, nor can their 
 consequence or standing in society save them from thepunish- 
 ment that awaits them, nor can the secrecy in which they fan- 
 cy that their crime is concealed, screen them from the pene- 
 trating eye of thejudge of all the earth. Surely, if all liars 
 are to have their portion in the lake that bur?is with f re and 
 brimstone*'' those liars who can seal their own damnation with 
 a Juda's kiss upon the holy gospels, should fear and tremble at 
 the prospect of approaching judgments. But it is no wonder 
 that this crime, which is the reproach of human nature, should 
 be so prevalent on the earth at this time, when it is considered 
 that amongst cur great men, our rulers, governors, legisla- 
 tors, judges, lawyers and magistrates, few can be found who 
 acknowledge the authorities of the holy scriptures in private 
 or who would not smile at the simplicity of those weak and 
 ignorant creatures, who can be so infatuated as to believe in 
 revelation at all : Notwithstanding each of them acknowl- 
 edge the scriptures in public by a solemn oath, which, howe- 
 ver, they appear to consider only as a legal ceremony, to 
 qualify them for their respective functions, whereas it is cer- 
 tainly a solemn pledge of their own souls, for the truth of 
 matters alleged, or the faithful discharge of the duties enga- 
 ged to be performed. Is not every land polluted by the wick- 
 edness of its inhabitants, who seem to be eagerly ripening the 
 w rid for the great harvest of the Lord? In what country 
 will not the words of the prophet Micah apply ? " The heads 
 thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for 
 hire, ami the prophets thereof divine for money ; Yet will 
 •hey lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? 
 Mo evil can come upon us " Micah III. 11. 
 Let every one who reads or hears these words, stop Mr 
 
19 
 
 mouth from uttering vain contradictions and useless criticisms ; 
 there is not much time to spare fur such a trifling exercise, 
 but rather let Uim look with a critical eye into his own past 
 conduct and present t mpers and prop nsities. Let him care- 
 fully examine himseH whether he has comformed himself at 
 least to the general moral law, which is obligatory uj on every 
 rational creature. Whether he has given his affi ctions and 
 de ires to any thing more than to the Lord God, for in every 
 such case he is guilty of idolatry, Whether he has ever pro- 
 faned God's holy name or spoken blasphemy, whether he has 
 ever slighted, hindered, or held in contempt the worship of 
 God. Whether he has wronged his neighbour or fellow man 
 in any respect, either by fraudulent over -reaching him in bu- 
 siness, or by any more direct fraud deprived him of his right, 
 or by envy or malice, or hatred, injured him in his person : 
 or hy lies, slanders or falsehoods of any kind, injured him in 
 his character or disturbed his peace of mind, or ever caused 
 or procured any such to be done by others; let him reflect if 
 he has ever defiled his neighbour's wife, or used any means to 
 seduce he%, or any other woman, from her duty : let him also 
 look with a severely critical eye into the motives of all his ac- 
 tions that he c <n remember, - nd compare them with the pu- 
 rity and spirituality of the moral law. In sh rt, let him ex- 
 amine himself, whether he hath obeyed the admonitions of his 
 conscience, and kept himself from pride, covetousness, drun- 
 kenness, debauchery, fornication, adultery, uncleanness, gam- 
 bling, cheating, arid'the rest of those vices which constantly 
 oppose the moral law, and whether he hath con tantly m de 
 the natural self-love implanted in his nature, the rule and mea- 
 sure of his love to others, agreeably to that divi e precept : 
 Whatsoever ye will that men shall do unto you; do ye even 
 so unto them,^ Such a criticism upon his own life and con- 
 duct might be more useful to him than the foolish honor of ha- 
 ving opposed every good intention of this book. For whether 
 he will believe these words or be ieve them not, the w ( rd of 
 the Lorn is most true. And as St. Paul says to theEphesians, 
 chap. v. verses 5, G and 7, For this youknoiv, that no whore- 
 monger nor unclean person^ nor covetous man who is an idola- 
 tor y Iiath any inheritance in the king dtrr< of Christ and of God, 
 Let no man deceive you with vain words ; for because of these 
 things cometh the warth of God upon the children of disobe- 
 dience . Be ye not therefore fiar takers with them.''* And if 
 any one on hearing or on reading these words should feel any 
 misgivings in his own heart that s me of these are designed 
 for him, let him not " give place to the devilf but bear it and 
 bear it with thankfulness ; it i> Hke the voice of the prophet 
 Nathan, saying unto David, " Thou art the man," It is the 
 
20 
 
 touch of the good physician's hand, which comes to heal the 
 
 wounn which sin hath made, if indeed \ou ivill be healed. 
 
 Then suffer the wou.dto be probed to the very bottom, and ra- 
 ther aid the physician, than petulantly refuse and condemn the 
 means which the Lord God, the good physician, hath appoin- 
 ted for the healing of the nations. O cherish eve y such emc 
 tion of the heart; such reflections may lead to a true repen- 
 tance unto life, which never will need to be repented of; but 
 may be the blessed means of securing your present safety and 
 eternal felicity. 
 
 There is a notion which greatly prevails in the world, and 
 that not only amongst those who despise all scripture, and 
 condemn all revelation, but also amongst the professors of re- 
 ligion, who profess to believe the bible, that all prophecyings 
 have ceased upon earth ; and that there is no more of di- 
 vine revelation communicated to mankind ! This strange er- 
 ror might be thought consistent if it were confined to deists 
 and others, who openly disallow the holy scriptures, but to 
 hear such language from those who call themselves bible 
 christians, must excite surprise and pity. Upon whfct princi- 
 ple or by what authority they can advance such a strange 
 and unaccountable doctrine, it is hard to discover or imagine. 
 Both the old and the new testament are directly opposed to it. 
 The prophet Joel, chap 2. verses 28 and 29, says, " And it 
 shall come to pass afterwards, that I will pour out my spirit 
 upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters shall propli- 
 ecy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men 
 shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the 
 handmaids, in those days will I pour out my spirit. — 32, and 
 it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name 
 of the Lord, shall be delivered." And n the acts, 2d chap. 
 When the holy spirit came in a wonderful manner upon the 
 Apostles, they spoke immediately with different tongues, so 
 that of the multitude of all languages and nations then pres- 
 ent, each man heard them in his own proper tongue. Yet 
 
 some nru>cked them, and said they were full of new wine 
 
 Whereupon Peter arose and addressed them in the boldness 
 of style which his holy office required, quoting the above text 
 from f he prophet Joel, to convince them that the men were 
 not drunk with wine, but filled with the spirit of God. Yet 
 some will say, that day the prophecy of Joel was entirely ful- 
 filled, and from that memorable day there ceased to be any 
 more prophecyings! Strange as it may appear, yet there are 
 some who not only profess to believe the gospel, but who take 
 upon them to be ministers and teachers of religion, who will 
 say, and sharply contend for it too, that all prophecyings 
 have ceased ; or that all the spirit of prophecy has been with-. 
 
i J — Yet Ic £ day, St. Paul wrote 
 
 his Epistle to the Corinth en he exhorts that ch 
 
 and all other ch istians of consequence, that they should ear- 
 nestly covet the best gifts, but rath: t. might proph- 
 i : . — see the 14th chapter of Paul's 1st Epistle to the ( 
 
 s throoghoi] sDver,St John, long after this 
 
 saw visions in the Island of Patmos, and wl m gTeat 
 
 .scies contained in the Revelations. Others again will 
 say that the word prophecy, as used ;.. the new te stai 
 
 not mean any thing like Revelation, or the notifying of 
 
 :• events ; they will have it mean no more than pre: 
 
 : gospel ; notwithstanding that preaching, is also dis- 
 mencioned, as well as teaching, and the gifts of heal- 
 ing, and of working miracles. Sec. Those who, contrary to 
 the apostle's command, will venture to despise prophec 
 
 :eive must do it either from a belief that God cannot, 
 or that he will net impart this gift to man in these days ; the 
 
 :s too absurd to he countenanced] and the sec 
 trary to the whole tenor of the bible. T 
 Elijah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah and the rest of those ?.: 
 prophets, whom they have never seen, were true messengers 
 from God, and wr :e by ii>§piration ; but they will not admit 
 
 oe whom they can have an oppoi I seeing and 
 
 conversing with, hath any such mission from God. How 
 properly to such people will apply that admonition in Acts 
 LI v. 
 " Beware, therefore, lest that come upon you which is 
 spoken cf in the s ; Behold, ye despisers, and 
 
 der, and perish : for I work a work in your days, a work 
 which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it un- 
 to you." 
 Some will believe, but many will remain hardened; but I 
 
 deliver my I keep myself clear from the 
 
 blood of all men ; for the burthen of the Lord is upon me, 
 and I must make a true report ; and happy are the; 
 shall believe it. and - rnestly turning unto the Lcrd 
 
 with their whole heart, shall obtain deliverance in the great 
 day af his v rs it a now. 
 
 I Nimrod Hughes, cf the county of Washington, in V testate 
 of Virginia, was from my infancy, peculiarly warned and cal- 
 led by the gracious admonitions of the Lord, to forsake all the 
 trifling vanities of life, and enter fully into the service of the 
 
 By mar.y awful dreams and waking visiors, as well as 
 ces cf the Lord, I have been shewn that it 
 .'. and my duty, to give myself up entirely to his service ; 
 but stilt I would not obev these rails and admonitions, but 
 
22 
 
 time to time, would put it off until the Lord was pleased to 
 shew me in a more effectual way. that I must obey or perish, 
 lie was pleased to humble me and bring me very low, that I 
 might know his power, and that knowing hi- power and deter- 
 mination to punish for sin, I might warn and persuade my fel- 
 low men, to avoid, by every possible means, the fearful judg- 
 ments which are now at hand. 
 
 On the fourth day of June, 1808, being then 36 years and 99 
 days old, I was condemned to the prison of Abingdon, on the 
 charge of being guilty of a crime wh ch I detested, and of 
 which I was totally innocent. Yet there I was constrained to 
 remain in false imprisonment, f >r the space of ten months 
 and nine days before my innocence could be made to appear, 
 and the depravity of my malicious accuser was made manifest. 
 Yet here the Lord did not forsake me ; but he made the days 
 of my age and the days of my captivity, signs to me of what 
 he purposed to do; and there he revealed to me many things 
 which hereafter shall come to pass ; some of which I may not 
 communicate, but some I must make public at my peril, lest I 
 be made to answer for the blood of thtm that perish, because 
 they are not warned 
 
 Hear then all men ! and be ye assured that this is truly from 
 the Lord. 
 
 As I lay in prison reflecting on the serious calls from the 
 Lord, which I had kng slighted and disobeyed, and consider- 
 ing what might be the meaning of my then present situation, 
 I saw as it were, the root' of my prison opened, and I was im- 
 mediately taken, in the spirit, and carried away into the wil- 
 derness. And 1 saw a deep and dismal dark pit, and the sight 
 of it filled me with horror : for it appeared to widen as- it de- 
 scended, and I was placed upon the brink of it, and the depth 
 of it, was beyond the reach of my sight. Then I looked and 
 an innumerable crowd, the spirits of men and women, of every 
 rank and station in the world, all rushing on from every direc- 
 tion towards this pit, and as they came they tumbled head- 
 long down; then indeed I feared and trembled exceedingly, 
 and it was then given to me to know, that this vision repre- 
 sented the suddenness of the destruction which the Lord 
 bringeth upon the earth for the punishment of the sins of its 
 inhabitants and the ease with which the Lord can effect his 
 awful threatnings; for each seemed to hurry on the destruc- 
 tion of each other, urging, pressing and pushing each other in- 
 to ruin ; not resisting at all, or making the least effort to es- 
 cape And 1 was carried from this place, but the dre^d of 
 the vision filled my mind with awe and fear ; for it was com- 
 manded me that I should publish these unwelcome tilings to 
 the world. And I looked again and I saw three birds in one- 
 
23 
 
 nest, each about tlie size of a dove, and two were white as 
 snow, and one was red as biood, and the three birds arose 
 from the nest, and they were separated, two and one ; the two 
 that were white, fit w together towurds ihe east, and the one 
 that was as red as blood, flew towards the north, and was de- 
 voted to destruction : Then I sought to know the meaning of 
 this vision, and it was then revealed tome, that for the gross 
 wickedness of the world, the Lord had determined to brine a 
 destructive wind over the face of the earth, and a hoi rible 
 tempest, in which one third of mankind shall be destroyed : 
 But those will be saved whom the Lord hath determined to 
 spare, even every one-, as the scripture saith, whose name is 
 written in the book of life. I felt that the task of making 
 such a report to the world was truly a heavy burden, and I 
 feared to undertake it ; and ardently desired to be released 
 from a load which I believed to be too heavy for me to bear : 
 But I looked and I beheld the sun, and in the sun the appear- 
 ance of a man or rather of an angel : and the moment I beheld 
 him my spirit was revived, and I felt the greatest comfort and 
 happiness of soul ; and he shewed me to go easterly, and 
 spoke to me distinctly, saying, " fear not — go on, and accom- 
 plish the work which you have to do." Thus encouraged, I 
 felt a kind of rapture of soul, which I cannot express. Yet 
 when I recollected that my body was in prison, I felt an anxie- 
 ty to return lest it might suffer some injury from those who 
 might have believed that the spirit had finally flown. I was 
 then brought again to the prison, and by a strong whirling mo- 
 tion, my spirit was cast down to the floor, and entered again 
 into my body aid those who were in the prison with me, saw 
 my body in a shining light. 
 
 Let no man say that this vision was the effect of a crazed or 
 disturbed imagination. It is no such dream, not effect of me- 
 lancholy, or any other distemper of the mind or body, but an 
 awful message from the Lord God ; which has been since fur- 
 ther enforced, and more clearly revealed. 
 
 From this time I began to be seviously attentive to these vi- 
 sion?, and frequently prayed to the Lord for further light and 
 confirmation of what was his will concerning me ; and that 
 he would uphold me, and strengthen me to do his will. 
 
 And the Lord was pleased to give me a further sight of his 
 awful judgments, which will positively be executed upon the 
 earth on that tremendous day which has so often been alluded 
 to in the scriptures, and then will be fulfilled all those denun- 
 ciations wherewith Babylon hath been denounced ; for the 
 wicked and abominable of the earth are they who compose 
 the true Babylon, whose dreadful destruction is foretold in the 
 prophets Daniel and Jeremiah; and in the revelation of St. 
 John the divine. 
 
m 
 
 The Lord was pleased to give me a distinct view of ih«u 
 dreadful day with all its horrors. I saw the commencement 
 of that terrific and destructive storm, and marked its ruin 
 and havock. I saw the gathering tempest, and heard its 
 dreadful roarings, which seemed to me to be like the roaring 
 and bursting of ten thousand cannons at once. Then I saw 
 the trees of the forest torn by the violence of the wind, and 
 dashed against e ch other and against every thing that stood 
 before them, and houses and rocks and hiiis torn from their 
 foundations, and shattced into atoms, and blown aboutlike the 
 dust of the earth. And I saw the great hail which fell such 
 as I had never before conceived the least thought of and the 
 noise of it as it was dashed to the earth and blown along the 
 surface of the ground, was like the roaring of thousands of 
 guns continually firing and bursting without intermission. 
 And I ^w thous nds of men and women blown along before 
 the fury of the tempest ; and dashed about with violence 
 amongst torn trees, shattered rocks, and broken buildings, un- 
 til they were destroyed, torn to pieces and mangled amongst 
 the ruins of the earth. And as they were blown past me- 1 
 could hear them exclaim amidst their frightful shrieks and 
 bitter roaring: " O ! now I know that Hughes was right. 
 He declared the truth, but we woud not believe it." And the 
 Lord shewed me further that this fearful tempest should be 
 general all over the earth on the same day. And I saw three 
 men standing together, and a great tre, fell down and struck 
 one, and left two without injuring them in the least. And I 
 was alarmed and felt for the three men, for I thought they 
 should all be certainly crushed to death, and mangled like min- 
 ced meat, by the weight and force of the great tree that fell 
 upon them ; and when I saw that two were safe and unhurt, 
 and that on only was lost, 1 then knew th t this was a type of 
 the great destruction at nand, when the one third of mankind 
 are to be taken from the earth ; And although one unrighteous 
 man or hypocrite, should join himself t9 two righteous per- 
 sons, yet shall the judgments of God discriminate between 
 them ' For the rod of the wicked shall not come into the 
 lot of the righteous, lest the righteous put forth his nan i to do 
 iniquty." And with many other signs and wonderful visions 
 did the Lord confirm me in the certainty of his lulfilling his 
 judgments upon the present generation ; and also that he 
 would uphold me, notwithstanding the great and powerful op- 
 position which 1 must meet with from the multitude of unbe- 
 lievers and scorners who mock at those words as they have 
 always done at every gracious message which the long suffer- 
 ing God hath sent to mankind, in all ages of the world. 
 Moreover the Lord further revealed to me what he purpos- 
 
ed to do among the nations of the earth after this great time 
 of trouble should be past ; and of the great favour and loving 
 kindness which he would confer even upon me, who though 
 poor and in obscurity, yet the Lord careth for me : For after 
 that will this scripture be fulfilled: " Many that are first 
 shall be last and the last first." but I know that many will 
 not relieve even until the last, and woe be to those whom that 
 great convincing prophet Death only can persuade to believe 
 the truth. And many will say of this prophecy, as the Greeks 
 did of tise gospel, " It is foolishness." But " the world by wis- 
 dom knew not God" Wherefore it was judged proper that 
 by what the word calls foolishness the Lord was pleased to 
 save those wno believe. For indeed the wisdom of God ap- 
 peareth to be foolishness to the world ; but all the studied wis- 
 dom of the world, is mere foolishness before the all-wise 
 God. But 4< the secret of the Lord is with those who fear his 
 name." And as the prophet Daniel observes, chap. 12, verse 
 It. M Many shall be fiurifed and made white and tried ; but 
 the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall 
 understand ; but the wise shall understand." And those are 
 the moat truly wise wh >fear God and teeft his commandments, 
 for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom ; and the 
 knowledge of the hoiy is wader standing." *■ If thou be wise, 
 thou shalt be wise for thyself: But if thou scornestt thou a- 
 lone shall bear it.'' 1 Prov. ix. v. 10. 12. 
 
 For how can the man have true wisdom who delighteth in 
 folly, vice and wickedness? For it is indisputably true, that 
 the virtuous and godly man is the most tru.y wise : and 
 the vicious nd wicked man of consequence the greatest fool ; 
 yea, and the more iearned and opulent such a man may be, 
 the more conspicuous will he make his folly : and the more 
 dangerous will be his example. (' 
 
 The great trouble spoken of by Daniel it will readily be ad- ) 
 
 mitted, has not yet come upon the earth, but almost every 
 one who protesseth to believe in the prophecies of the old tes- 
 tament looks for the accomplishment of that prediction :— 
 Therefore all those who have attempted to publish their 
 thoughts upon the subject, have made calculations to shew 
 how near they could b ing the fulfilment of the prophecy to 
 some given period not remote from their own time. — But as 
 error is calculated to make mystery more mystical, they have 
 every one left the subject just as undetermined as they found 
 it. Some indeed have shewn how near they could come to the 
 truth without being able to find it exactly. But they are not 
 to blame on that accouut, " Flesh and blood could not reveal 
 it unto them.'* Yet their labours ought not to he despised, for 
 Chey have endeavoured well to caution mankind of their ap- 
 
 c 
 
26 
 
 proaching danger* and to rouse them up to a serious prepara- 
 tion to meet their God. Sonne have found by calculation of 
 scripture and of the signs of the time that this awful predic- 
 tion will be accomplished Detween the years 1810 and 1820, 
 but in this d;.y the g» xious goodness of God is still more 
 plainly manifested, in that he is pleased to shewthe very year 
 month and day when he shall most surely visit the earth with 
 his '• strange work, his terrible work of judgment." Some 
 have calculated by the uncertain rule of " a time, times and 
 half a time,** as spokeh of by the pr-o^het Daniel, chap. XII 
 verse 7- Admitting a time to be 700 years, then a time, times 
 and half a time will be 1750 years, which reckoning from the 
 time of the destruction of the temple by Vespasian. 70 years 
 after the birth of Christ, will bring the fulfilment to the year 
 1820, but they allow for errors in the chronology which leave 
 them in some doubt if the great day may not come sooner — 
 Respecting this prophecy Daniel himself says, verse 8, 9, — 
 '* And I heard, but! understood not ; then said 1, O my Lord, 
 what shall be the end of these things ? And he said^ go thy 
 way Daniel, for the words are closed u/i and sealed till the 
 time of the end. 
 
 What therefore, the prophet himself understood not, even 
 by divine revelation can hardly be expected to be accurately 
 discovered by human intelligence. 
 
 Another calculation which seems to stand upon surer ground 
 is taken from the 1 1th verse. *• And from the time that the 
 daily sacrifice shall betaken away, and the abomination that 
 maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred 
 and ninety days." Now in the language of the ancient 
 drophecy, a day is frequently given for a year, and in- 
 peed strictly speaking, every revolution of the earth, the 
 moon or any other such body is a year. 
 
 We may therefore take the days of Daniel for years which 
 will be 2190 
 
 And as these days go for years, so also roust the inter- 
 calary days from the commencement of our date be ad- 
 ded, which to the year 1812 — leaving cut one for the 
 year 1800, which to preserve the equation of time was 
 made a common year. 452 
 
 Then add the years to the time of the destruction of the 
 temple when the daily sacrifices were removed which 
 is seventy. 70 
 
 This will bring the prophecy of Daniel precisely to the 
 year of our Lord. 1812 
 
 Further the prophet says in the 12th verse that '• Bles&ed 
 
 is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hnndred 
 
27 
 
 and five and thirty days" That is, forty-five years after this 
 great destruction . which will be in the year of our Lord 1857. 
 But without plaeing any reliance upon thf correctness even of 
 this calculation, the result is nevertheless true — for so it hath 
 been fuily revealed unto me, and upon the truth of the revela- 
 tion and not calculation, I do most firmly rely, venturing both 
 bad/ and soul upon the veracity of the Loid. The great trou- 
 ble and uuparalelled calamity will surely be experienced on 
 that all important dark and dismal day — to wit : June the 4th 
 1812, wlrch is in the old style May, the 24th, of the same 
 year — and surely blessed and happy will they be who survive 
 that day 45 years. For then will that gracious promise of 
 God be fulfilled ; spoken of in the 11th chapter of Isaiah, and 
 the Lord himself will reign over the nations of the earth :— 
 And 4t With righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove 
 with equity for the meek of the earth, and he shall smite the 
 earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his 
 lips bhall he slay the wicked 
 
 '• And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and 
 faithfulness the girdle of his reins 
 
 4i The wolf shall also dwell with the lamb, and the leopard 
 shall lie down with the kid, and the caif and the young lion 
 and the fatling together, and a young child shall lead them. 
 
 " And the cow and tke bear shall feed, and their young 
 ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eatstrawlike 
 an ox. 
 
 " And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, 
 and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cocatrice's 
 den. 
 
 " They shall not hurt, nor destroy in all my hnlv mountain, 
 for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the 
 waters cover the sea.*' 
 
 Then shall there be peace all over the whole earth and the 
 arts of war shall no more be studied amongst men, and the 
 Jaws sh «ll be few, and those who compose them shall be few, 
 and those who administer them shall be few : for the fear of 
 the Lord will be in the hearts of the people, and the knowl- 
 edge of his laws will overspread the earth. 
 
 And the laws shall continue for seven years and then shall 
 they be revised and continue unaltered for other seven years, 
 and so on every seven years the laws shall be revised in every 
 country 
 
 And after the destf~uet ; on, the present style of counting the 
 ye ir-stnll be changed, and the year 1813, will commence on 
 the twelfth day of March, which will then be counted, as the 
 first day, ind will continue so for at least forty -five years. 
 
 And when I considered deeply upon these strange and wort- 
 
 
28 
 
 derful visions, and doubted in my mir.d how these things should 
 be ; the Lord was pleased to give me another 6ign to confirm 
 me in the truth of those matters before revealed tome. I s^w 
 a vision astonishing and strange. The mGon shining brightly 
 Jii the scuth and a large bright star which appeared to dance 
 about in a strange manner, then it moved along towards the 
 east, where it was joined to another star of the same size and 
 brightness, and both moved in company until they erne to 
 the north, where they both displayed themselves in the form 
 of an X. in which position they remained until I cculd a full 
 and distinct view of them ; and then it was strongly impres- 
 sed upon my mind, that this vision referred me to the tenth 
 chapters of the first book of the old testament, and the first 
 book of the new testament, which are marked by the nume* 
 tfal letter, X, ag appeared in the vision. 
 
 And when I was set at liberty I found that the time of my 
 confinement w.s ten months and nine days. whereupoB I was 
 confit med in the sign and referred to the Xth chapters for the 
 months, and the 9th verses for the days, as set for th in table IL 
 
 And on my being liberated from prison after a confinement 
 of ten months and nine days, and when I came home to my 
 own house and family, I earnestly ontreated the Lord.inhum- 
 ble prayer and suppheation, that if this awful prophecy was 
 to be made, known to mankind by me. and if I was right in the 
 application of those scriptures which are made use «f in the 
 tables hereunto annexed, that he would be graciously pleased 
 to give me another view of that wonderful sign of the stars. 
 And agreeably to my earnest request, the Lord was pleased 
 to favour me at my own house, with a repetition of the very 
 same extraordinary vision ; which took place in exactly the 
 same manner as I at first saw it in the prison. Thus was I 
 confirmed in the correctness of the tables, which I had pre- 
 viously prepared, in conformity with the former revelations 
 made to me, when in prison, wherein I was shewn that al- 
 though I was poor and in obscurity, and suffering in a prison, 
 yet that I was highly favoured of the Lord and that my life 
 and sufferings should be made signs and warnings to mankind 
 to guide the rneek and humble into the ways of safety, and to 
 warn the wicked, the scoffer and self-conceited of their dan- 
 ger, that those who shall perish may be left without excuse. 
 
 In table I, there is an arch, en each side of which there are 
 ten letters six of them are the six English vowels, and four of 
 them are consonants corresponding with the figures used in 
 common arithmetic ; the first six of which are vowels in al- 
 phabetical order, and will count 21 The four last are T, S, 
 N, R; which will count together 24 making in the whole 45 — 
 In those letters are several meanings which J may not clearly 
 
29 
 
 explain at this time. But those who are wise will find their 
 meaning, especially all those who will be found worthy to re- 
 main upon earth after the great year one thousand eight hun- 
 dred and Twelve, when the Saviour will be honoured upon 
 earth, and Nimrod will be found to be right- These four 
 letters may also remind the intelligent reader of the fourth 
 day of June in our calendar, when God's judgments are -sure 
 to be executed, and the number of those letters being 24, may 
 also remind hirn of the 24th day of May, old styla, which is 
 the same fatal day of the Lord : And the whole number be- 
 ing 45, may point to that blessed epoch spoken of by Daniel, 
 ch. 12, and v. 12. which will commence 45 years after the 
 time of trouble in the 12th year of the present century, when 
 peace and righteousness shall cover the whole earth. 
 
 As the events of my life are also made signs, to confirm, at 
 least myself in the truth of the revelation made to me, I was 
 instructed by these visions to note in a table the days of the 
 months of the birth of our Lord, and also of myself his very 
 unprofitable but favoured servant. And as our Lord was born 
 on the 14th clay of December old styla. but by the alteration 
 of the style on the 3i of September 1752, when the 3d day- 
 was made the 14th— consequently the anniversary of his birth 
 has since been celebrated on the 25th of December; and as 
 my humble birth hath not been unnoticed in heaven, it being 
 on the 14th day of February, old style, 1772, and sixty -two 
 days after the anniversary of our Lord's, I was directed to 
 the book of Micah the 14th chapter. First because of months 
 10 that I was in prison which I find in the name of the Evan- 
 gelist, and to the 14th chapter for the 14th days of the months 
 of the birth of our blessed Lord and of me his humble and 
 
 unprofitable instrument, Of this chapter I take the first 
 
 verse lor our Lord, because he was born on the first year of 
 our Era ; and the 72d verse, because my own humble birth 
 was in the year 72 of the last century. On the first pillar of 
 the arch, there is inscribed the first verse of the 14th chapter 
 of Mark. This verse speaks of our Lord in the time of his 
 humiliation, and contains 3.3 words, which correspond with 
 th«» 33 years which the blessed Jesus had been upon the earth, 
 and numbers 90. On the second pillar is written the 72d verse 
 of the same ch pter, containing 36 words and numbers 116, 
 which corresponds with the year 72 of the last century, the 
 year ot my birth ; and the 36 words, in like manner, teaches 
 me to remember that as our blessed Saviour was 33 years and 
 99 days of age, when he was unjustly condemned and crucifi- 
 ed ; so also was I 36 years and 99 days old, when I was un- 
 justly condemned to prison— For the servant is not greater 
 than his master ; it is enough that he be equal to Ms master, 
 c 3 
 
so 
 
 And the scripture further wknesseth that persecutions wlil. 
 attend the servants $t Christ. •* Yea, and every one who wilt 
 live Godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution ". 
 
 It may be further observe^ that in this verse, there fire 
 twelve words, whose initial letters are alike : they are Twelve 
 T's or 7's. This further indicates to me, the Twelfth year of 
 this century when the great Trouble spoken of by Daniel, 
 will be upon the earth ; for this is not only applicable to the 
 author, but to mankind at large— for few indeed can be found 
 if any who have not in some instance, either by words or ac- 
 tions, " denied the Lord toko bought them. 1 * And happy will 
 they be whom this warning shall awake to a reflection upon 
 themselves, as the warning voice of the Cock reminded Peter 
 of the words that Jesus said unto him, and blessed wdl be 
 their repentant tears, if, like him, they weep snd move the 
 Compassionate God to pat don their sins and grant them pro- 
 tection in the great time of trouble. 
 
 I know that many people who think themselves wise and 
 teamed, will smile at the simplicity of these tables, or perhaps 
 scoff at them, and deride them and their au'hor. But I must 
 not in order to please them, nor even to gain reputation for 
 myself, omit their publication ; for woe be unto me if I do not 
 publish them, even although all mankind should laugh at them, 
 and persecute their author — But let it be remembered, that 
 " the wisdom of ?nan is foolishness with God " — And that 
 God hath chosen the weak and foolish things of this world, 
 to confound the strong and wise ; and what the world called 
 weakness and foolishness, hath been made unto thes? who be- 
 lieve, the wisdom and pow r er of God unto salvation. But ma- 
 ny will laugh because they would be thoueht to possess supe- 
 rior knowledge, and that every such admonition as this, is ridi- 
 culous; and yet, wh 1st they pretend to sneer at the folly of 
 th> work, their hearts accuse them of thetr own sins, which 
 must ei'her h\> pardoned for the sake of Christ, or fiunished 
 in themselves. As Sol mon says, Prov. XIV. v. 13, ** Even 
 in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the end of that mirth 
 is heaviness." And again "the wise man informs us, chap. 
 XXIV. v. 12, fi Seestthou a ivise\mcm in his own conceit^ there 
 is more hofie of a fool than ofhi?n" But he that is wise will 
 not make haste co condemn what he doth not understand; but 
 rather v he Sscketh knowledge, he will " ask of God^ who 
 giveth liberally and ufibraideth not." 
 
 In this j2c verse, which belongs to all men, the reaHer will 
 remember that there are twelve T's, and they may figure to 
 mind the inhabitants of all countries, for even in our courts of 
 justice, twelve men are called the country hut in the ether 
 yeTse^ which belongs exclusively lo our Redeemer, there is 
 
found but eight T's, which is two thirds of the whole number, 
 and indicate at least to me, that in the great <'estruction ap- 
 proaching two thirds of mankind only wilt be preserved, and 
 one third will be taken away. Those eight T's ; lso remind 
 me of the eighth year of the present centuiy, when I was 
 falsely accused, and unjustly condemned, as the other twelve 
 T's shew me the twelfth year, when the great destruction 
 will certainly come upon the ea:th. 
 
 In this tinle there are many other important matters, which 
 are m> sicriou, to the world, nut are m--.de clear to my mind. 
 L t those who are wise, and with whom the secret of the Lord 
 remaineth, search the scriptures and these tables, for therein 
 is contained much knowledge, and it is hidden from the proud, 
 and those who are wis r in their own conceit ; but the humble 
 and obedient seeker f r true wisdom, may find them. But 
 from many are these mysteries sealed until the time shall be 
 accomplished. In this table, amongst other in portart mavUr, 
 will be found the interpretation of that prophecy, written in 
 the 17th chapter of the Revelations, and 10th verse — *' Jnd 
 there are seven kings ; Jive are fallen, and one is y and the 
 other is not yet come : and when he cometh, he must continue 
 a short s/iace ' 
 
 And this prophecy will be fulfilled in the coming day of ca- 
 lamity, when five great kings shall be called off, and one ther 
 king shall arise, who must continue for a short space, but the 
 tiiucis not distant, when most of the e mysteries shall be fully 
 revealed. In the mean time let every one prepare for the 
 awful events of that tremendous day ot the Lord, when the 
 great and the mighty of the earth cannot purchase exemption 
 from that great trouble. But whosoever hath obtained an in- 
 terest in the blood of the Redeemer, shall be saved, as those 
 were of old in the land of Egypt, whose door-posts and lintels 
 were sprinkled by the blood of the Paschal lamb, when the 
 destroying angel slew the first-born of every other family of 
 Egypt. 
 
 I have stated that I w?s directed to make cut tables of the 
 ten months and nine days th t I was detained in prist:;, and 
 •f the tenth chapter and ninth verse of the first book of the old 
 and the first book 61 the new tesc-;ment ; thest tables are dis* 
 played in table II. upon three pillars. Over tie centre is 
 sketched a figure to remind me of that great king who is, and 
 also is to be, even to the end of time ; the figure on his right 
 iiand denotes a king that shall arise the first after the coming 
 destruction, and continue but a short space ; and the other fig- 
 ure on his left hand, denotes the first king after the great de- 
 struction which has already come upon the earth ; and the 
 difference between the tisae of the commencement of their 
 
32 
 
 kingdoms will be four thousand, four hundred, and fifty -two 
 years. And et them who think they have wisdom, count the 
 number of the latter king, for his number is the number of 
 the days in the month. On the first of these pillars is in- 
 scribed the names of the months of my imprisonment. The 
 middle pillar contains the 9th verse of the 10th chapter of Ge- 
 nesis, and the third piltar the 9th verse of the 10th chapter of 
 Matthew, as shewn to me in the first vision of the stars, and 
 confirmed to me by a repetition of the same strange vision ac- 
 cording to my earnest prayer On the pillar containing the 
 names of the months, there are four words, which commerce 
 with figures, an.: these^^r number twenty-two, or two 2's, 
 which make four, these were shewn to me to confirm the 
 prediction, that \xifaur years from the day when I was unjust- 
 ly condemned to prison, which whs June the 4th, in the year 8, 
 the great trouble would come upon the earth, as foretold in 
 the scriptures, which will be June 4, year 12 
 
 On the middle pillar is inscribed twenty-one words, ten of 
 whi h begin with figures, and count forty-eight, which is 4 and 
 8, that is twelve, confirming the prediction on the twelfth 
 year. And further to establish the chronology which I have 
 used, and which I did not receive from mau, these 21 words 
 contain 11 words that cannot commence with figures, corres- 
 ponding with the 11 days thrown out of the ye*r at the alter- 
 ation of the style ; there are are also 11 words above the line 
 of the darts pointing out the words — June — 8aid — Provide, 
 which eleven words contain the number 14, referring to the 
 14th dav of the tenth month of the year that our Lord was born, 
 that is, December 25th, of our present style the 12th month, 
 and the ten words below the darts, corresponding with the ten 
 months of my persecution in prison, contains the number 34, 
 which points to me that Christ was in the 34th year of his iife 
 when he was persecuted even to death. On the other pillar 
 there is also ten words, exactly according with the ten months 
 on the fivst pillar : rf these ten words there are four which do 
 not begin with figures- reversing the case with the opposite 
 pillar of the months, where four letters do count ; and the 
 other words wh-ch comme&ce with figures, count 44, that is 
 two 4's, or 8 ; which further corroborates the revelation made 
 to, that from the day of my being so condemned, June 4, in 
 the year 8, unto the day of the Lord's visitation, will be ex- 
 actly four years, and the words themselves appear to be a 
 suitable admonition on such occasion — to wit : " Provide nei- 
 ther gold nor silver, nor brass in your purses :" For surely 
 these articles will be no sort of defence against the arm of the 
 Lord, nor of any kind of use to those whom He shall doom to 
 destruction. The six figures added together by the single fig- 
 
33 
 lire, make in the whole 24, which agree with the 24th clay at 
 May, in the old style, which will be June the 4th, in the pre- 
 sent calender. I was also directed by the spirit to take all 
 the letters which compose the arch in table I. which form 
 the key to the figures, which ascertain the numbers and the 
 dates ; also all the initial letters of the months in table II. and 
 all the initial letters of all the words which ate contained in 
 the four texts of scripture to which I had been referred as in 
 the two first tables, which on counting I found to be one hun- 
 dred and twenty ; and when I had arranged them in order, 
 placing all letters of one sort in a line to themselves* as in 
 tab e III I found the T's to be 24 ; and the next greatest Dum- 
 ber* the A's. to be 12; this further confirmed m in the truth 
 of the visions which I had seen ; for the i!4 T's pointed to the 
 true time, the 24th day of May, old style, June 4th, of our pre- 
 sent style, and the 12 A's to the year 12 , when this predic- 
 tion will be accomplished. And each of these lines of letters 
 in this table, has important allusions which cannot at this time 
 be clearly explained, for the time has not yet come to speak 
 clearly of all that is mysteriously revealed. 
 
 Further I sought in my mind, what might be the signs of 
 this approiching calamity. And it was impressed upon my 
 mind, that the signs should be the same as the signs preced- 
 ing the great deluge, when Noah and his family only were 
 preserved out of all the children of men. ^nd that such 
 signs would continue and increase in number until the great 
 day of trouble. For the wickedness of mankind is full as 
 great, and their crimes to the full as enormous as were the 
 crimes and wickedness of the Antedeluvian world, whom God 
 destroyed by the flood For we are told in the 6th chap, of 
 Genesis, that ' When men began to multiply on the face of 
 the earthy and daughters were born unto them, that the sons 
 of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair ; and 
 took them wives of all which they chose " verse 1 and 2. 
 And from this unequal connexion we are told that V there 
 were giants on the earth in those days." So in these days, 
 they who would be called the sons of God and heirs of heave% 
 are wedded to the daughters of mm, and things of the earth, 
 such as money, unlawful pleasures, powers, fame and authori- 
 ty ; and it is no wonder if from such an alliance there should be 
 a brood of the most gigantic crimes on the earth, such as cal- 
 led down the vengeance of God upon the inhabitants of the 
 old workd. Yet think not that they were taken without any 
 warning being given ; no, the Lord also sent his prophets to 
 the sinners of old, and Noah gave them warning from the 
 Lord, not only by his words, but by his actions ; and the same 
 chap. v. 3, " The Lord said, my s/iirit shall not always strive 
 
34 
 
 with man, for that he also isjlesh : Yet his days shall be one 
 hundred aud twenty years,"* And no doubt but the old world 
 had many other warnings, but here was a direct, warning of 
 120 years, which were allowed them of time to' repent and 
 prepare. This warning of 120 years was truly believed by 
 Noah, who was not disobedient in warning his fellow-mortals 
 of their impending fate, although it is probable that many of 
 his hearers thought themselves wiser th m he, and mocked at 
 and derided the prophecy of this righteous man. Now the 
 120 initial letters composing the words to which I have been 
 directed, is at least to myself, a certain sign that their pre- 
 diction is as true, and will be fulfilled as exactly as that word 
 of the Lord was, which Noah received 120 years before the 
 great flood came. Of these 120 letters, those which will ad- 
 mit to be represented by figures, as in the arch of table I. I 
 have so arranged, also the other letters which will not admit 
 of being changed to figures, in two tables, IV and V. 
 
 I find that the 12C letters, when arranged, as in table III. 
 make 21 lines, exactly as the words on the centre pillar of ta- 
 ble II ; and like ihose words also, ten lines of them are repre- 
 sented by figures, and eleven will not admit of being 
 ch »nged. In this table there are 53 letters, which, as the for- 
 mer, refer me to months and days, and which certify, me of 
 the correctness of the dates. But they contain, as was before 
 stated, many things which must now be explained. The 7th 
 month of my confinement was December, formerly the 7th 
 month of the year, and the 1st month of Christ, and here I 
 find for that month 7 C's, denoting the month of Christ. And 
 as a further proof that I have beea called to this work, I find 
 for the ninth month of my confinement, which was February, 
 my birth month, the initial of my name, Hughes, nine times 
 in the table. Nine H's. 
 
 In table V. which is composed of the figures that represent 
 the respective letters in the 120 letters, there are 67. These, 
 as before, refer me to days and times, which, when added as 
 in the other table, give three hundred and sixty-five, the pre- 
 cise number of days in the year, which satisfies me of the true 
 meaning of God's warning given to the world 120 years before 
 the great deluge. The number of each line ot figures are 
 brought out to aid those who may choose to seek for the vari- 
 ous signs which they contain of the approaching calamity and 
 day of wonders of the Lord. 
 
 And for other signs, there shall he seen " the stars of Hea- 
 " ven falling upon the earth, as a fi^ tree casteth her untime- 
 ly figs." Rev. VI. 13. But the stars here spoken of, are tho«e 
 who slvne amongst men, as the great men, the opulent and 
 the worthy, whose sudden deaths are signs and warnings to 
 
35 
 
 the survivors, and such signs shall be frequent until the great 
 day. 8ut say not in y ur hearts, that these were the greatest 
 sinners who are thus taken away for your admonition and so- 
 lemn warning : for it may be that they are taken away from 
 the evil that is to come. " For the time is come that judg- 
 M ment must begin at the house of God : and if it first be- 
 *• g"<ns at such, what shall the er d be of them that obey not 
 " the gospel of God. And if the righteous scarcely be saved 
 ,{ where shall the ungodly and sinner appear ?" 1. Peter 
 IV. 17 1.8. Judgment thus beginning at the hou«*e of God, or 
 amongst the best of the people, shall go through all nations 
 according to th^ words of Jeremiah, chap. XXV. v. 32, 33. — 
 •■ Thus saith the Lord of hosts, behold, evil shall go forth 
 M from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised 
 " up from the coast of the earth. And the slain of the Lord 
 •• shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the 
 " other end ol the ear*h ; they shall n- • t be lamented, neither 
 *' gathered nor buried, they «=hall be dung upon the ground.'' 
 Ani indeed the slain of the Lord will be many in that day, f@r 
 it was distinctly shewn to me, that they would bf one third of 
 mankind. Then will be fulfilled the vision of St. Johr — Rev. 
 IX. 15. " And the four angels were loosed which were pre- 
 M pared for an hour, and a day and a month and a year for to 
 " slay the third part of men." Yet the Lord will nv st assu- 
 redly spare -hose whom he hath determined to save through 
 Christ out of mankind : as the vision of St. John fore-shows, 
 in the VII th chap Rev. where he saw the four angels that 
 stood upon the four corners of the earth, holding the four 
 winds •. f the e irth, and heard them commanded that they 
 should not permit the winds to hurt the earth or the sea, until 
 the servants of God were sealed in their forehead. 
 
 And further 1 was convinced of the certainty of this pre- 
 diction by an extraordinary vision which I saw in the day time 
 at my own house. I saw two shelves of that sort of grass 
 called Timothy, standing up on the floor, before me, and 1 saw 
 another sheaf of Timothy, as it were flung or pitched on the 
 floor beside them, and it was immediately loosed, broken and 
 shattered to the smallest pieces. This vision shewed me, that 
 as two sheaves stood and remained whole, while one was ut- 
 terly destroy d,th -t so in the twelfth year, two thirds of the 
 inhabitants of the e rth should be preserved whole, ut that 
 the other thi d would be shattered and destroyed. And by ma- 
 ny other signs and vision , not herein explained nor mention- 
 ed has the certainty of this pre iction been shewn to me 
 
 And the firm conviction of its fulfilment on the year and day 
 first mentioned, has been so fastened on my mind, that I cannot 
 entertain the slightest shadow of doubt of its strict accomplish- 
 
 
36 
 
 ment. For righteous and true are all the words and ways of 
 the LORD GOD ; his servants, even ah the redeemed of the 
 earth, shall praise his name for the righteousness and truth 
 of all his judgments. 
 
 Whatever the world may think respecting the truth of the 
 words of this warning, yet the righteous, the serious and 
 thoughtful reader, win lay them to heart. Those who rever- 
 ence the scriptures and credit ancient prophecies, will not 
 hastily condemn this book. For who that will reflect on the 
 enormities of the present generation, but must be convinced 
 that the sins of this age, can hardly escape the judgments of 
 G d, " who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity with the 
 least allowance." 
 
 The world, they will readily see, is full of violence and ev- 
 ery 6pecies of wickedness. The great men, and the greatest 
 amongst the teachers of the earth, in general, are open blas- 
 phemers of the Lord God : Even amongst them who speak in 
 his name, and preach to the people, how few of them discharge 
 their duty with fidelity ? How aptly will the words, of Jeremiah 
 apply to them ? Chap. 6. v. 13, 14. <• From the least of them 
 <• to the greatest of them, every one is given to covetousne-ss, 
 " from the prophet to the priest, every one dealeth falsely : 
 «• They have healed the hurt of thedaughter of my people 
 " slightly, saying peace, peace, when there is no pe*ce," 
 But there is a bitter woe pronounced against all such teachers 
 as those, who " pollute the name of the Lord among his peo- 
 ple for handfulls of barley and pieces of bread/' by their false 
 teachings, and " sowing pillows under all armpits." That is, 
 promising ease and safety, when no such thing is to be expect- 
 ed. See Ezek. 13. 28, 19. 
 
 Of these sort of teaching prophets, Jeremiah speaks, chap. 
 14. v. 4. •* Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets proph- 
 ecy lies in my name ; I sent them not, neither have I com- 
 manded them, neither speak unto them : They prophecy unto 
 you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and 
 the deceit of their heart." And in the next verse he assures 
 these prophets who flatter the people with false hopes, and 
 say to them, *' no sword or famine hall be in this land. By 
 sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed " — And 
 a great proportion of modern preachers of the gospel, who call 
 themselves ambassadors of God, were never called of him, 
 nor sent into that work, but assumed the office in the presump- 
 tion of their own hearts, and their labour i s not blessed, but 
 cursed. I speak not of any particular sect or church, for the 
 hypocrites and workers of iniquity are all in places. What 
 the scribes and pharisees were in the days of Jesus Christ's hu- 
 mility, the great men, teachers and clergy are in th s genera- 
 tion. I cannot offer them a fitter reproof, than the words of 
 our Lord himself, in the following chapter. 
 
37 
 St MATTHEW, chap. 23. 
 
 The Scribe 8 and Pharisees' good doctrine, but evil examJ:-;& 
 of life. The destruction of Jerusalem foretold. 
 
 Then spake Jesus unto the multitude, and to his disciples, 
 Say mg the scribes and the pharisees sit in Moses seat : All 
 therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and 
 do ; but do not ye after their works : for they say and do not. 
 For they bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay 
 them on men's shoulders ; but they themselves will not move 
 them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do 
 for to be seen of men; they make broad their phylacteries, 
 and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the up- 
 permost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 
 and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, 
 Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your master, 
 even Christ ; and all ye are brethren. And call no wan your 
 father upon the earth ; for one is your father which is in 
 heaven. Neither be ve called masters ; for one is your mas- 
 ter, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be 
 your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be a- 
 based ; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 
 
 But woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites ! for 
 ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men : tor ye neither 
 go \n yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to 
 go in. Woe unto y u, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites j for 
 ye devour widows' houses ; and for a pretence make long 
 prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation, 
 Woe unto you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites i for ye com- 
 pass sea and land to make one proselyte, and wh* n he is made, 
 ye make him two fold more the child of hell than yourselves. 
 Woe unto you, ye blind guides ! which say, Whosoever shall 
 swe r by the temple, it is nothing ; but whosoever shall swear 
 by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. Ye fools, and blind I 
 for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifi- 
 eth the gold ? And whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is 
 nothing ; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, 
 he is guilty. Ye fools, and blind ! for whether is greater, the 
 gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift ? Whoso, therefore, 
 shall swear by the aftat, sweareth by it, and by all things 
 thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by 
 it, and by him that d welleth therein. And he th t shall swear 
 by heaven, swe reth by the throne of God, and by him that 
 srteth the- eon. Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypo- 
 crites ! for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin , an<J 
 
38 
 
 have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment,mer- 
 cy, and faith ; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave 
 the others undone. Ye blind guides '. which strain at a gnat 
 and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, 
 hypocrites 1 for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of 
 the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 
 Thou blind Pharisee ! cleans- first that which is withia the 
 cup ad platter, that the outside ol them may be clean also. 
 • Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites 1 ft r ye are 
 like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful 
 omward.but are wiihin full of dead men's bones, and of all un- 
 cleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto 
 men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe 
 unto you, s ribes and pharisees. hyj;ocrkes I because ye build 
 the tombs of the prophe-, and garnish the sepulchres of the 
 righteous. A nd say, if we had been in th days of our fathers, 
 we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of 
 the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses u to y urselves, 
 that ye are the < hildren of them which killed the prophets. 
 Fill ye up then the measuiv of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye 
 generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of 
 hell? 
 
 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise 
 men, a wd scribes ; and some of them ye sm«ll kill and cruci- 
 fy, and some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues, and 
 persecute them from city to city : That upon you may come 
 all the r ghteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of 
 Righteous Abel unto th? blood of Zacharias. son of Barachias, 
 •whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. — Verily I 
 say unto you, All the-e th.in.rs shall co«ie upon this generation. 
 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and 
 stonest them which art- sent unto thee, how often would I have 
 gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her 
 chickens under her wings and ye would not! Behold your 
 hou.ee is left unto you desolate For I say unto you, Ye shall 
 not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that com- 
 eth in the name of the Lord. 
 
 Even so, blessed Lord, thy wll be done, and let all thy 
 •saints and people praise thee, and glorify thy holy name. Ga- 
 ther thy people, O Lord, and sustain and uphold them by thy 
 holy spirit. Strengthen the weak in heart, and confirm the 
 hope of the feeble, and the humble, who puttheir trust in thetf. 
 Amen t 
 
TABLE I. 
 
 *• 
 
 f Mark 14, «. 1 
 I 0W* 33. 
 
 } Number 90. 
 
 S 
 
 s 
 s 
 
 Ten Letters in the Arch, 6 Voxvei s 
 and 4 Consonants, Number 45. 
 
 ■£oo/£ tmto me ail ye ends of the Earth 
 
 and be ye saved. 
 
 A Solemn Warning: from God, to 
 
 Kimrod Hughes, 
 
 Aged 36 Tear s, 99 Days, 
 
 t*~ f 
 
 S Jl/ar^ 14 v. 72. ^ 
 S Wort//, 36. s 
 
 J[ Number 116. S 
 
 5 ? 
 
• 
 
 L 
 
f September 
 
 i 4ctober 
 
 • 9ovember 
 
 T December 
 
 i January 
 
 ^ February 
 
 1 March 
 
 S 10 Months -> 
 fe 9 Days in £ 
 c Prison. * 
 
 S Number 22 S 
 
 ft 
 
 Verse 9. J 
 Words 21. J 
 
 Number 48 S 
 
 ek- — 
 
 S Gen C 
 
 \ 
 
 S Mat. C. 10. S 
 S Verse 9. > 
 2 Words 10. > 
 
 S Number 21 
 
TABLE III. 
 
 >^_ 
 G 
 
 R 
 
 X L, 
 
 
 F 
 
 F 
 
 
 E 
 
 E 
 
 
 Y 
 
 Y 
 
 
 U 
 
 U U 
 
 
 D D 
 
 D D 
 
 
 J J 
 
 J 
 
 J 
 
 o o 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 
 I I 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 N N N 
 
 N N N 
 
 WWW 
 
 W WW 
 
 p p p 
 
 p 
 
 P P 
 
 B B B 
 
 B 
 
 B 3 
 
 M M M 
 
 M 
 
 M M 
 
 C C C 
 
 C C 
 
 C C 
 
 H H H H 
 
 H H 
 
 H H H 
 
 s -s s s 
 
 s s 
 
 s s s 
 
 A A A A A A 
 
 A A 
 
 A A A A 
 
 Itttttttttttttttttttttttt 
 
 
•A. 
 
 
 G 
 
 
 LIT 
 
 
 F F 
 
 
 DD DD 
 
 
 J J J J 
 
 
 "WWWWWW 
 
 
 P P P P P P 
 
 
 B B B B B B 
 
 
 M M M M M M 
 
 
 c c c c c c c 
 
 
 HHHHHHHHH 
 
 
 TABLE V. 
 
 
 -A- 
 
 i 
 
 o 
 
 
 22 
 
 4 
 
 66 
 
 12 
 
 5 5 5 
 
 15 
 
 4 4 4 4 
 
 16 
 
 3 3 3 3 
 
 12 
 
 tf 9 9 9 9 9 
 
 54 
 
 888888038 
 
 72 
 
 111111111111 
 
 12* 
 
 777777777777777777777777 
 
 164 
 
 365