professed themselves Christians, answered, p. 231.1. The established religion in France is a mere political puppet, p. 251.-2. The prophecies relative to the duration of the great dominant Apostacy, could not have been accomplished, unless Antichrist had become the avowed supporter of it, p. 252.-3. The prophecies, relative to the great events which are about to take place at the close of the 1260 years, could not have been exactly fulfilled, unless Antichrist, at some period or another of his existence, had actually leagued himself with the Papacy, p. 253.—The wars of the infidel king with the kings of the North and the South are not to take place till the time of the end, and consequently are still future, p. 256.-Such likewise is the case with his invasion of Palestine, and his destruction there, at the period of the restoration of the Jews, p. 267.

CHAP VII.

Of the four first apocalyptic trumpets.

The seven apocalyptic trumpets may be divided into the four, which prepare the way for the revelation of the man of sin; and the three which comprehend the whole history of the apostacy in its dominant state both in the East and in the West, and which are styled woe-trumpets, p. 270.-The silence at the opening of the seventh seal indicates the anxious expectation of the troubles about to be produced by the sounding of the trumpets, p. 271.-By the sounding of the four first trumpets, he, that letted or prevented the revelation of the man of sin, is taken out of the way, p. 273.-At the sounding of the first trumpet, the northern nations, under Alaric, Radagaisus, and Attila, overrun the Roman empire, p. 273.-At the sounding of the second, Genseric king of the Vandals assaults the Western Empire from the South, and hurls it from its base, like a huge blazing mountain, p. 278.-At the sounding of the third, the line of the Western Cesars becomes extinct in the person of Augustulus, p. 280.-At the sounding of the fourth, the Roman Empire, considered as one great whole, experiences an eclipse of its power and splendor, by the downfall of its Western half, p. 282.-Statement of the grounds on which this explanation of the four first trumpets is adopted in preference to that of Bp. Newton, p. 283.

CHAP. VIII.

Of the three last apocalyptic trumpets, or, as they are peculiarly styled, the three woe-trumpets.

The prophecy here divides itself into two distinct lines, treating severally of the Eastern and Western branches of the great Apos tacy, p. 285. The first of the three woe-trumpets describes the com

mencement of the dominance of the two-fold Apostacy, p. 286.The second represents it in the zenith of its power, till the primary and only partial manifestation of Antichrist, p. 286.-The third exhibits its downfall, displaying at the same time the multiplied horrors of the harvest and vintage of the Lord, or the uncontrolled reign of the atheistical king and his subsequent destruction along with the other enemies of God, p. 286.

CHAP. IX.

Concerning the effects of the two first woe-trumpets in the East.

At the sounding of the fifth trumpet, or the first woe-trumpet, in the East, the Apostate star Sergius opens the door of the bottomless pit, and lets out the impostor Mohammed with his Saracenic locusts, p. 287.-At the sounding of the sixth trumpet, or the second woetrumpet, the four Sultanies of the Turkish horsemen are loosed from the river Euphrates; and, in due season, slay the third part of men, or subvert the Constantinopolitan monarchy, p. 291.

A

DISSERTATION, &c.

CHAPTER I.

General Statement of the Subject.

IN the Prophecies of Daniel and St. John, frequent mention is made of a certain period, during which, for wise purposes, unknown to us, the enemies of God should be allowed to persecute and oppress his Church. This period is indifferently described as consisting of three times and a half, 42 months, or 1260 days: for if we reckon a time or a year to contain 360 days, 42 months, or 1260 days, will, in that case, be exactly equal to three such years and a half. In the language of prophecy however, as it is well known, natural years are termed days. Hence 1260 days mean 1260 years: and, by a parity of reckoning, 42 months mean so many months of years; and three years and a half the same number of years of years. Consequently the period, during which the Church is to be oppressed by her enemies, amounts to 1260 natural years.*

*

* That days mean years, may, I think, be proved, so far as matters of this nature are capable of proof, from the writings even of Daniel and St. John themselves.

We may venture to assume, that the same mode of computation, which is used by these writers in one passage, will be used by them in all other passages; at least in all those, which are marked by the common feature of treating, not of the fate of individuals, but of the fortune of communities. Hence, if any of their numerical prophecies be already accomplished, we shall thereby have a clue for ascertaining the proper method of interpreting all the rest. Upon these principles, when we find that Daniel's famous prophecy of the 70 weeks has been proved by the event of our Lord's advent to speak of 70 weeks of years, or 490 years, we may infer that his three years and a half mean years of years, and that his 2300, 1290, and 1335, days, mean the same number of natural years. In a similar manner, finding equally from the event that the ten days persecution of the church of Smyrna mean the ten years persecution carried on by Diocletian, that the five months ravages of the Saracenic locusts mean 150 years, and that the year, the month, the day, and the hour of the Euphratèan horsemen mean 391 years and 15 days: we may thence infer, that St. John's three years and a half are years of years; his 42 months, months of years; and his 1260 days and his three days and a half, the same number of natural years. But we find that the three years and a half, the 42 months, and the 1260 days, are all plainly descriptive of one and

Both Daniel and St. John have given us abundantly sufficient reasons for concluding, that this period of persecution and trouble has no connexion with the persecutions which the Church endured from the pagan Roman Emperors. The first of these prophets, in his

the same period: hence we are circumstantially led to conclude, even a priori, that they all denote the same space of time. If then we adopt the ancient mode of computing by years of 360 days each, we shall find, that by such a mode of computation three years and a half exactly contain 42 months, or 1260 days: hence we are numerically led to conclude, that the three expressions are only different modes of describing one and the same period. The result of the whole is, that prophetic days mean years: and that the three years and a half, the 42 months, and the 1260 days, are alike used to denote 1260 natural years.

I am aware that a year is sometimes used in its literal sense, as in Isaiah vii. 8. xxiii. 17. Jerem. xxv. 11, 12, and even by Daniel himself when predicting the punishment of the individual Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. iv. 25.); yet other instances may be brought, as well as those already adduced, to prove that days, in the language of prophecy, mean years.

"After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years." (Numb. xiv. 34.) "Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it, thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And, when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year." (Ezek. iv. 4, 5, 6.)

-The only writers, that I have met with, who are unwilling to allow the three times and a half to be the same period as the 1260 days, are Mr. Burton and Mr. Galloway. The former asserts, without a shadow of authority from Daniel, that each time comprehends 70 prophetic weeks, or 490 years, merely be cause the famous prophecy relative to the Messiah, includes a period of 70 weeks; (Dan. ix. 24.) and he dates the three times and a half from the year 49, or the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles: consequently they bring him down to the year 1764, when the Jesuits were suppressed. Now, independent of his having no warrant for asserting, that a time comprehends 70 weeks, the event itself has shown him to be mistaken: for, whenever the three times and a half shall expire, the Jews will begin to be restored. (See Dan. xii. 7.) A time, however, as we learn from Daniel himself, is a year. (Dan. iv. 25.) But, a year, according to the old computation, comprehends 360 days, not 70 weeks. Each time, therefore, must comprehend 360 prophetic days. Consequently three such times and a half are exactly equal to 1260 days. Whence we may naturally conclude, that the two expressions mean the same period. In addition to these objections to Mr. Burton's scheme, it may be observed, that Daniel directs us to date the three times and a half from the era when the saints were delivered into the hand of the little horn. (Dan. vii. 25.) The little horn, however, was not to arise until the Roman Empire was divided into ten kingdoms. (Dan. vii. 8.) It will follow, therefore, that the three times and a half cannot be dated from the year 49, which expired long before the Empire was thus divided. (Burton's Essay on the Numbers of Daniel and St. John, p. 247. et infra.) Mr. Galloway maintains, that the three times and a half are merely three natural years and a half. Yet he asserts, that the 1260 days are not natural but prophetic days. The use which he makes of this separation of the two periods from each other, shall be considered hereafter. The Papists maintain the 1260 days to be mere natural days. This they do for obvious reasons.

vision of the four great beasts or empires,* intimates, that the power, into whose hand the saints should be given during the appointed period of 1260 years, should begin to arise in the age in which the last beast, or the Roman Empire, was divided into ten horns or kingdoms. The Roman Empire, however, was not thus divided till after it had become Christian, and till all the persecutions of the pagan Emperors had ceased. Whence it will necessarily follow, that the period of 1260 years cannot include the persecutions of Paganism, and that the power symbolized by the little horn of the Roman beast must be some power at once posterior to and distinct from the line of the pagan Emperors. The second of these prophets, in a similar manner, describes a variety of important events as taking place between his own age and that in which the 1260 years may be supposed to have commenced; and, like Daniel, teaches us, that the date of those 1260 years is to be sought for, not at any era while the Roman Empire was one great monarchy, but after it had been broken into ten kingdoms. Independent indeed of chronological considerations, the very term of 1260 years plainly shews, that that period can have no relation to the tyranny of pagan Rome. Constantine published his famous edict for the encouragement of Christianity, and the abolition of all persecution, in the year 313. The primitive Church, therefore, was only subject to the malice of Paganism during the space of 313 years† whereas it is, more or less, to be subjected to the malice of the little horn during the space of 1260 years.

But, although the pagan Roman Empire, has no connection with the persecution of 1260 years, we are evidently to look for the grand promoter or promoters of it within the limits of the old Roman Empire. The little horn, the ten horns, and the last head of the fourth beast, all arise out of that beast; the Roman Empire, therefore, must necessarily comprehend every one of these powers. So again: since the Roman Empire had embraced Christianity previous to its division into ten kingdoms,

Daniel vii.

†This will of course be understood as only a loose computation. It serves, however, for the present purpose, as well as a more exact one.