(79 7ow*^^*^/^ Mil ""io 764 582 8 E^vavik E. Townse.ti4 THE TIME OF THE END; OR, THE PllEDlCTED MOEE THAN TWO THOUS.^TJ YEARS AGO BY THE PEOPHET DANIEL. THE GOYERJVMENT OF THE UMTED STATES VINDICATED IN SUPPRESSING THE REBELLION. THE "GLORIOUS HOLY MOUNTAIN:" THE TITLE WHICH GOD GAVE TO THE G0\T:RNMENT THAT GUAR- ANTEES CONSTITUTION-\L EIGHTS AND CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. Daniel^ lie. 40--4§. &c. ELMIRA, N. T. PAIRMAN & C-\LDWELL, BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS. 1865. ■^1^ INTRODUCTION. Proijliocy was for many years a trouljle to my mind. Its seem- ing obscurity cast aroimd it a fear and terror, and it appeared as temeritj' to tread upon such hallowed ground. But an anxiety to know' God's Word in its fullness made me take even the study ot the prophets and prophecy into view. And I have now to say that I could never have had so clear a sight of the plan of Re- demption and of the future glory of the church as this study of the proi^hecy has given me. And what I once did not believe, I now most cordially embrace. That is, that Christ comes prior to the millenium to give his saints their inheritance on this earth rather than after that period. And also, that without doubt that day is so near at hand that it is both the duty and blessed privilege of every christian to look constantly for his " appearing." Let no man be deceived. If the following pamphlet be a true construc- tion of Daniel's proj)hecy, then indeed are we upon the verge of time and of the resurrection of the righteous dead. Not because your humble servant has any foreknowledge, but because God has both the ability to foreknow and also to foretell whatsoever comes to pass. And certaiuly both His foreknowing and foretelling would be useless if His servants could not understand his prophets after they had transferred the vision to his people. I am one that now denies the position that the event cannot be known with cer- tainty, before it comes to pass. This false position would cheat us out of heaven itself. For certainly both heaven and hell are subjects of prophecy; and if I am bound to believe in futiure re- wards and punishments at the mouth of the prophets, am I not also boimd to believe in future events of time ? There is probably this point which has not been fully realized concerning prophecy. Tlie Scripture simply gives the outlines of events as a general thing, and that too, oftentimes in highly figurative and symbolical language ; whUe the event itself is brought about by the move- ments and ordinary circumstances of time. But how to reconcile an outline with a full figure, or tlic thing symbolical to the thing itself, has been the trouble. Nevertheless, this one thing is cer- tain, if the student of prophecy will keep the order of tune set forth in all chronological prophecies, there can i)ositively be no mistake in the event. So that, however highly wrought the lan- guage, there can be no mistake in the application of that same language to the events in time which that language was intended to set forth. Now, by a close observation of Scripture language and of the actual computations of time often made, (and always made when necessary to attain the definite object of God), there is an infill lible rule and guide which gives the Sacred Word a l^rccision that is fatal. Earth and heaven may pass away, but not one tittle of the law luitil all is fulfilled. Yet I cannot think that God intended to clothe the Scripture with abstruseness ; not even l)rophecy. The most common mind can attain to the understand- ing of the most abstruse points if they will use due diligence, faith and prayer. And without these instruments which God has or- dained many christians become infidelic as to the predictions which God's "Word contains. And how such persons will be jjrc- parcd for the coming and glory of the Lord, I cannot tell. I fear that Christ ^vill say to them as he did to the two disciples who were going to Emmans, "O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the projjhets have spoken.*' But to the subject of this little l)ook. God foresaw the suffer- ings, the hoi)cs and aspirations of our forefatUprs in settmg up this Government, embracing civil ahd religious liberty \\-ith con- stitutional guarantees; He also foresaw this cruel system of slavery and its wicked amidtion, and its final and total overthrow by the mighty power of the Union. And I verily believe He has men- tioned our lieloved President, Abraham Lincobi, in the beginning of the twelfth chapter of Daniel, — there representing him as a mighty agent styled Michael, the great prince, or as we more com- monly undei-stand it, the President ; '' who standcth for the child- ren of thy people." and therefore, he presides over the inliabitants of what Daniel calls the ''glorious holy mountain," wMcTi if the in- terpretation that follows be true, is these United States of America, Edw'd E. Townsend, ■.•.-'- Sept. 4, 18G5. Faulted Post, Steuben Co., N. Y. THE TIME OF THE END. Daniel, lie. 40—43, &c. 40 V. And at the time of the End shall the king of the Soxith pueh at him ; and the king of the North (hall come against him like a vrhirlwind, with chariots and with horsemen, and with many ships ; and he shall enter into the countries and shall overflow and pass over. 41 V. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthroT^Ti ; bnt there shall escape out of his hand even Edom and Moab, and the chief of thechildien of Amnion. 43 V. He shall stretch forth hie hand a^so upon the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 V. But he shall have power over the treasuries of gold and of silver, and over the precious things of Egypt ; and the Lybians and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 44 v. But tidings out of the East and out of the North shall trouble him . therefore, he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. 45 V. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palaces between the seas in the glorious holy mountain ; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. 12c. 1st V. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people ; and there shail be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a' nation even to that same time ; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 2d. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3d. And they that be wise, shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and forever. 4th. But thou O Daniel, shut up the Words, and seal the book even to the time of the End ; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. At tlie time of the End sliall tlie King of the South push at him, and the King of the North shall come against him like a whii'l- wind -with chariots and with horsemen, and many ships, and he shall enter into the coimtries and shall overflow and pass over. This is a full and comj)lete history of the Slaveholder's Rebel- lion, and of the va§t armies and aiTnaments and navies wliich the King, or Government of the United States, whirled against the King of the South, or confederacy of the Southern or Shive States. This description given of God to Daniel over 2400 years ago> fully comprehended tUe origin of the war and the attacking power. Therefore he begins, even as we all know the war began, with an attack made by the King, or Government of the South, against the King, or Government of the United States, or North. It should be commonly known that the eleventh chapter of Daniel is a literal history of the world from the Persian Empire down to the end of time ; therefore, the man who understands common his- tory needs but little assistance in making the application. In the former part of this chapter the language bears so literal a construc- tion to the times and things they intended to rejiresent that Por- phery, an ancient infidel, insisted that Daniel Avrote them after the wars and occurrences had taken place. But we know that Daniel did write the language of which we are now commenting long be- fore the event, so that if we get the true apj^lication we must, in- deed, give God the praise. And since this jjart of the chapter be- gins with saying, " at the time of the End," why, certainly we must believe that it is the closing period of the whole histoiy . It would be very bad logic and theory also, to say that this language does not mean that the things to occur in the concluding verses, or part of the whole history, do not mean what it says ; that it is the period which shall embrace the final war and troubles of this world. But if we follow along to the next chapter we shall see that even a resurrection of the dead takes place, immediately afterr and as it were, in connection with these very events, and a variety of dates and sayings which lead to the same end and make the matter very plain. That is, that this saying, " the time of the End," means when this war between the South and the North shall be completely closed and settled, then the end of time is fully come. And since God himself has said that the period em- bracing this war is "the time of the End," therefore, I shall not labor very hard to prove the matter to any one. They must be- lieve or disbelieve, as they themselves choose in the matter. But it shall be my province to identify these two kings. And as they have already been brought to your view in their exact relations in the war through which we have just passed, I would ask, who but the Almighty and All-wise God could foresee at so remote a period this great struggle, and give it its- appropriate place in chronology, and foretell the movements of the United States Government and their termination in so comprehensive a space, with all the para- phernalia of war ? " Chariots," or long winding trains of cannon and baggage, and material of war ; " Horsemen," or vast bodies of cavalry with gaudy trappings and glittering swords, sweeping over Southern plains and rolling back the foe ; " Many Ships," or fleets that whitened the ocean with their sails, and drew aston- ishment from all the nations of the earth at their power and invin- cibility, totally blockading a coast of over two thousand miles in length, and finally rendering intercourse to any extent impractica- ble, and " overflow and pass over" with armies that, truly as de- scribed, swept away every vestige of opposition, whether human or in nature, and restored the Union to its more than original grandeur. But in this description, as all can see, the ijrojjhet has carried us through the rebelliou, and has given us the name of each contend- ing party ; yet with a strange but wise and foreseeing mind he has given us only a description of the power and success of the North, leaving a large margin for a full and complete description and characterizing of the King of the South. And, of course, we who are cognizant of the state of the case can see the necessity of this. For, among all the nations of the eai-th where should we see two diffierent antagonistic powers occupying one and the same country that could be properly denominated kings, or govern- ments of the North and South. But surely, nowhere could you find such a King, or government of the South, except in the South- em Confederacy ; and, therefore, it was necessaiy to give an eaten- sive view of his doings and deeds, of his moral and political char- acter, which the jirophet has done true to the letter. This power which arose at a moment's notice on his projjhetic vision, was pre- viously nowhere to be seen on the political horizon. But sud- denly it lifted up its head and assumed the character of a govern- ment, and "jiushed," or made a strike at, the remaining or trye government of the Union, which they of the South and all the world beside, styled the North. But this new power which so suddenly arose to view, was one of peculiar character. It resem- bled, strange to say, Egypt and her bondage which she exercised over Israel; also,''the resemblance related to the jjroducts and fab- rics of the same countn', and tbrougli tliis rGsemblance nud nature tliis King of the South exercised power or influence over the com- mercial and financial affairs of the world, &c. Now, let us begin with DanieFs identification, and see if he was at all mistaken in the nature or character, or deeds of this King, or Southern Confederacy, whose doom he foresaw as well as his rise and character. 41st V, Consider how correctly Daniel begins the identification .by saying, "He shall enter also into (or possess) the glorious land, ; and many countries (or states) shall be overthrown : but there shall escajje out of his hand even Edom and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.'' We discover by following the connection down to the 41st verse that it is the King of the South, or the Southern Confederacy, that has entered into the glorious land ; for the description is a complete one, and the connection holds good throughout, therefore, it is the same king in the 41st verse that in the 44th verse hears tidings out of the East and North, and cer- tainly, if he is not king of the North or East, he is of the Southern Confederacy, or the attacking power that enters into or occui^ies the " glorious land." And the prox)het does not stop until he tells ^ us the efiect this enteriDg, or occupancy, has upon the "glorious land.'' He says that "many countries shall be overthrown;" that is, many of tlie States composing that " glorious land shall be over- thrown." This was surely the case with the Rebellion. Many of the States wei-e overtluown, their constitutions changed from the Union to the Confederacy of the South. Still he adds, 41st v., but there shall escape out of his hand even "Edom and Moab, and the chief of ihe children of Ammon." As the original countries of Edom, Moab, and Ammon, are but deserts and wastes in this re- mote age of the world, this, therefore, can only be a figure between the modern and ancient state of things. Edom, and ]\Ioab, and Ammon, were truly of the kindred of the Israelites, but tlieir hearts were ever against the true interests of those whom' God called his children. Is it difficult then to suppose, if there is a part of this ' .glorious land that may in the prophet's view be styled Egypt, or the land of bondage, that there may not also be some part like Edom, and Moal) and Ammon, half-hearted, if not mortal enemies of the King, or government of the United States. And indeed, what the all-wise C4od foresaw, we ourselves have seen that a part 9 of tlie States of tins Union, not even commonly iucludedin tlie so- called Slave States, were inclined towards the South. And in tliis sense tliey stood asEdom, and Moab, and tlie chief of the children of Annnon. Or, as the principal men or leaders of the Ammonites stood towards Israel, so many prominent men of the North stood towards this Government, and sought to throw the weight and power of some of the States into the hands of treason. But, not- withstanding the conspiracies and secret cabals, and the mobs and burnings they instituted, yet these States escaped out of the hands of the South by the superintending care of God and the power and sagacity of the government of the North. All true Union men and lovers of their country have felt the force of these things, and can Tcrily say, this is the truth. But what shall m'C say of God, who foresaw it many hundred years ago ? 42d V. Now, since the jirophet has toretold us what political agitation should take place among the States of the " glorious land," and what an overthrow many of them should have, and what jjarticular part should escajje out of the hands of the South- ern Confederacy, or, as he calls him, King of tlie South, lie now (42 V.) ijroceeds to tell us what jjart of the glorious land should not escape out of his hand; therefore, he says, "He shall stretch forth liis hand upon the coimtries, (or States of the glorious land) and the land of Egji^t (or the land of l^ondage, or Slave States,) shall not escape. This I need not comment upon. It is too famil- iar to the world. "What amazing identifications we have now had at the mouth of the projDhet, and ho\v strange that they should come leaping down on the tide of. time through 2,400 years, and alight upon the head of this so-called Southern Confederacy in these United States of America. ., . . , 43d V. But the prophet has not done; He must fasten the mat- ter with an irrevocable certainty, so that no mistake may be made as to this new and corrupt government. " But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of sil- ver, and over the i)recious things of Egypt, and the Lybians and Ethiojiians shall be at his stejis." Or, as the prophet would tell us: This King of the South should have great power or influence over the financial affairs of the country, (over the treasures, &c.,) and also over the "jirecious" things, or products and fabrics which resembled the precious things, or products and fa1)rics of Egypt ; 10 adding at the same time, " aud the Lybians and the Ethiopians shall Ije at liis steps." Inferrmg that the Lj'bians, or slaves from those countries who were at his steps were the motive power, or laboring power who saoidd produce the " precious tilings" or pro- duets of Egypt, or of the South, which resembles Egypt in its m- stitutions and products; and said precious things, or products, or fal)rics, should have a great influence upon trade, commerce and traffic, most probably; and therefore, this King of the South, or Southern Confetleracy, should have a great power over the " trea- sures of gold aud of silver," or the finances of the glorious land. And this should be a great consideration of this King of the South. "Wliich thing, as you all know, was one of the great troubles the go^'ernment of the United States had to contend with. It was this financial disturbance that gave the South great advan- tage In the origin of the war ; and it was caused largely by the influence the South had in the cotton trade. So the prophet com- pares the precious things of Egypt, or the fine linen fabrics of Egypt, which were a renown of that country, to the cotton of the South. Styling them the "i^recious things ot Egyjjt," looking upon them as the products of a cruel system of bondage, as de- rived from the labor and oppression of the Lybians and Ethiopi- ans who were at his steps; or, as he would tell us, they were the slaves of this Southern Confederacy, through whose labor and pro- ducts he should attain so great an influence over the finances, and commerce, and trade of the country and world. We all have heard the boasting expressions of the South, that Cotton was King, and the Seer has not forbidden that it should be a source of great financial power, Init he has stigmatized it as arising out of a sys- tem of oppression exercised upon the poor African, or Lybian and Ethiopian, which is the same. Let us ask the question direct. Does the prophet mean this language to apply to the Southern Confederacy or to some other power ? If he means this language to represent the South, then of course, there is a fitness in all that he says ; but if not, where is there any other power close down upon the verge of time who makes war upon a certain king or government of the North, who in his turn comes against said government of the South like a whirlwind with chariots, and horsemen, and many ships, and over- flows or sweeps over with his armies the countries or states of a 11 certain glorious land occupied, or entered into by a certain king of the South, who has great power or influence over the treasures of gold and silver, or the finances, and over the precious things, or products and fabrics of some country resembling Egypt, when she was in her power and glory, (and not " a base kingdom") made great by a system of oppression, or 1)y having slaves at her steps as did Pharaoh. 'Tis a vain research. History does not afford any record of a great and glorious land wherein two such . powers have contended, the southern pushing against the northern, and overthrowing many countries, or states of that land, some escaping, — which same power has attained great influence by a principle of slavery, and those slaves actually being Lybians and Ethiopians, or veritable inhabitants of Africa, and therefore, dragged from their own country by violence, — who also, as thq connection infers, were a producing power of some precious things or staple products, bearing an analogy to the stajile products aris- ing fi-om Egyptian bondage, over which products said king, or government of the South, shall have a pow^erfiil influence, as also he shall have over the finances of said glorious land : either of which powers, as may be truly inferred, being situated in said glo- rious land and holy mountain. But the former expressly, as the sequel shows for a purpose, shall "jjlant the tabernacles of his pal- ace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain, (or govern- ment guaranteeing constitutional rights and ci\al and religious liberty,) but he shall come to his end and none shall helj) him." The rise in value of gold and silver and the enormous exchange required between our own and foreign countries, the great con- vulsion in the financial world, everywhere seen and felt since the breaking out of the Rebellion, makes this ex^jression of Daniel a most extraordinary and astonishing prediction, and certainly pins the accoimt upon the back of the Southern Confederacy. Other- wise, we nmsr look for another South attacking another North, each having exactly like characteristics and situation, which is not supposable. 44th V. But there are still other conditions which must move this King of the South, other characteristics which designate him. '■ But tidings out of the East and out of the North shall trouble him ; therefore, he shall go forth with great fui^ to destroy and utterly to make away many. Let the .voice of God and reason 13 speak To say ''The North and the South," has been but a com- mon ]j3^--\vord in the United States of America to designate the territory devoted to freedom and the territory devoted to slavery and even a line of compromise was drawn by the wisdom of states- men, that liberty might not infringe upon slavery and that slavery might not infringe upon liberty. Yet there seemed to be but a union of government, while there was a disunion of principle ; and, as might have been expected, increasing discord and disunion arose out of differences of sentiment so irreconcilable. All this the prophet saw down through the vista of time. He also saw that although an outbroken war had arisen between the two sec- tions of a glorious liand, — a land glorious as we shall hereafter see in her constitutional guarantees as well as in climate and fertil- ity, — yet each j^art should have great influence, and seek to exert his power in tlie territory and politics of the other so that he might thereby overthrow his adversarj'. But the prophet sees with cer- tainty that the South relies greatly upon the relations, principles and schemes he has maintained in the North, for he says, "tidings out of the North shall trouble him." Tliereforc, we see the actual state of things corresjwnds with the exjDcctations he entertains. Political parties and cabals instituted for the purpose of influenc- ing the government of the free States, aflbrded no little anxiety to the friends of fi-ee principles, and a deep sympathy was exhibited between northern and southern disunionists, which gave hope that the South might attain her object. But as all know, the final ex pression of the northern States in favor of sustaining the Govern- ment and putting down the Reliellion by a vigorous prosecution of the war, gave the South a clear view of their fate. At the same time, or previous, the confederates had plans of recognition laid in the "East," as the prophet expresses it, or as we term it in Eu- rope. These schemes were 1)ased upon their cotton influence lai-gely, hoping at the same time that despots, and all who were opposed to democratic institutions, would seize upon so fiivorable an opportunity to dismember the republic that gave such freedom to the popular will, htill, in all these purposes the confederates were doomed to disappointment. No recognition" came from the East, no tidings to relieve his burning anxiety from the North. His friends in the free States held their- opinions with many qualms of conscience, lest by some means or influence they might 13 overthrow the temple of Liberty which God and their fathers had erected, whose lofty spires glittered on the darkness of receding centuries of wrong. Thus the all-wise and foreseeing Maker long ago considered the principles and even the sentiments of this kiag, and also, the deep and damnable exi3ressions of his grief For he says of him, "therefore, he shall go forth with great finy to destroy and utterly to make away many." Who that ever turned his ear southward during this Rebellion could not hear the groans of tortm-ed, hanged, martyred Union men, whether of the northern or southern birth?- Then, when prisoners were ex- changed from time to time, starved, haggard, emaciated, the story of hatred, destruction, murder, was written on those pallid coim- tenances. And at last it was revealed that these suflferings were } but the effect of a premeditated system of starvation and death. And the state trials that have and are taking place do not hide the features of this revolting picture, which God's spirit drew in the perspective of twenty-four centuries. While the loss of the life of the Chief Magistrate of this nation at the hand of a bloody assassin, entertaining all the putrid sentiments of that rot- ten system of slavery, if not indeed a genuine tool of the Confed- eracy, together with the plot to take the lives of all the chief offi- cers of state at one simultaneous stroke, renders this prediction most wonderful — " therefore, he shall go forth with great fiu'y to destroy and utterlyto make away many." 45th v. Again, we come to a new identification arising out of the peculiar geographical position of each of the parties, as also of the particular character of the government of the North, or of the power that brings the King of the South to his end : this be- ing styled the " Glorious holy ]\[ountain," in which the " the King of the South shall plant the tabernacles of his palace, between the seas, yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him." This mountam or government, called glorious and holy, evidently is not of the same character as its opponent which it overcomes ; never- theless, each of them are situated between the seas, and whatever the opposing power is, that is situated in the glorious holy moun- tain: it is the king of the government of the South. The question may here arise, whether " t)ie glorious land" men- tioned in the 41st verse is the same as "the glorious holy moun- tain" here spoken o£ It would seem that they are. For the king of the South certainly enters into the glorious land and possesses it at the time he is pushing against the king of the North ; and in this lust connection, he plants the tabernacles of his palace (or the seat of his government) in the glorious holy mountain, or govern- ment. And there is nothing inconsistent in supposing that a great and liberal government shall or may exist within a glorious or ex- tensive and fertile land, if only the connection will admit of such a construction. And this histoiT does not debar the conclusion. Nevertheless, there may arise questions as to what constitutes a " glorious holy mountain," or government, although there would be no hesitation as to what constitutes a " glorious land." And indeed, it is sad to contemplate that in the historj' of the world there have been few governments based upon such principles as would warrant the application of such a title to theii- polity or constitution. Should we search from the day that Moses issued the laws of God to the wandering tribes of Israel, we shall find few or none at all answering to so sacred a title. Our own beloved government will answer as well to this prefix as any other, except it might be to that of England; but to her this language and his- tory of Daniel can have no application, although she is in the or- der of time, but not of events. While these United States of America answer either to time, title, location, history, circumstan- ces, or any other particular mentioned in the prophecy, which, therefore, amounts to all that is requisite in any prophecy. But look a little further at the characteristics which are nece»- sary to the filling out of the expression, or title, " glorious holy mountain." Certainly it cannot be a freedom fi-om sin and evil, from war and suife or intestine revolt, and blood-shedding and murder, or oppression and covetuousness, for we have seen by pro- per deduction that all these have existed in the character of the attacking king; and the prophecy insists that he shall come to his end and none shall help him. So that when we are looking for a " glorious holy mountain," we need not necessarily look for a land or government free from sin and the accompanying consequences of such a fallen stare. But as we are told, so we must look for a government that, having arisen among or at the end of all the na- tions and governments of the earth, shall have great civil and re- ligious privileges guaranteed to at least a part, and according to the tenor of this prophecy, in the end to all of its inhabitants, (if 15 we can infer that the overthrow of a certain slaveholding power in its midst is proof to that effect,) showing verily, that there are two opposites in this "glorious land." While one calls for the title "glorious holy mountain," the other is a time-serving, oppres- fivc, ambitious power, seeking the influence arising out of the power lie may gain over the treasixres of gold and silver, and over the precious things of Egypt as produced by the Lybian and Ethi- opian at his steps. Or, as we must necessarily conclude, the con- test that arises between these parties grows out of their very char- acter. One having the characteristics which entitle him to be styled "glorious and holy," which undoubtedly arises out of his constitutional guarantees of civil and religious liberty, and is therefore .=