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 AN EXPLANATION 
 
 or THE 
 
 VISION OFTHt FOUR BEIISTS 
 
 DAMEL VII. 
 
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 iVN EXPLANATION 4- 
 
 r . S OP THE 
 
 VISION OF THE FOUR BEASTS 
 
 DANIEL VII. 
 
 1 In thejtrst year of Bchhazzar Icing of Babylon Daniel 
 had a dream and visions of his head vpon his bed : then 
 he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. 
 
 2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and 
 behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great 
 sea. 
 
 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one 
 from another. 
 
 In the first verso we are informed that Daniel had 
 a dream, in the first year of Bclshazzar king of 
 Babylon ; and, after writing the substance of the 
 matter, he told it to his companions. By the four 
 winds of the heaven, four difterent systems of 
 religion are represented; and the winds of hea- 
 ven, or the teacher of each of these four systems, 
 acting on the great sea of ignorance and supersti- 
 tion, produced four diiferent systems represented by 
 the four beasts, whose doings and antecedents have 
 exerted a material influence on the happiness or 
 miserj of mankind. 
 
4 The first was like a lion, and had eaglets wings : I 
 beheld till the wings thereof wei^e plucked, and it was 
 lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet 
 ^ as a man, and a inan's heart ivas given to it» 
 
 The first beast was like a lion, and had eagle's wings, 
 and in course of time the wings became plucked, 
 and he was caught or lifted up from the ground, 
 and made to stand up like a man. 
 
 This beast derives his origin from the Eoman 
 empire ; and covers that period of history from the 
 foundation of Eome to the accession of Constantine 
 the Grreat ; and as there are plenty of books in cir- 
 culation giving full information about the doings of 
 the Romans, I shall content myself with merely 
 touching such parts of their history as point di- 
 rectly to the text; leaving to my readers some 
 v/ork to do to supply the deficiency, and do some of 
 the thinking for themselves in order to obtain full 
 satisfjxction, and be well persuaded in their own 
 minds. 
 
 From the foundation of Rome until the year one 
 hundred and seventeen of the christian era, the sym- 
 bol will answer to the conquests and power of the 
 Romans ; the lion, by his superior strength and cour- 
 age, bore down all opposition — the eagle's wings 
 denoting an almost unlimited extent of conquest. 
 During the reign of Trajan, the noble animal put 
 forth one last and crowning effort, before his wings 
 should be plucked from him by the moderate Had- 
 rian. This active prince visited every province of 
 the empire, and saw with his own eyes the actual 
 state of his subjects, with a view to the improve^ 
 
3 
 
 mcnt of thoir condition ; it is said Hadrian marched 
 on foot and barc-hoadcd over the snows of CaUido- 
 nia and the sultry pkiins of Upper Egypt. Jn this 
 large piece of the earth's surface, the emperor found 
 sufficient scope to gratify his curiosity, and his de- 
 sire for improvement; the extensive countries be- 
 yond the Euphrates, the fruits of Trajan's victories, 
 he resigned to their native rulers. If Hadrian 
 could have had the advantage of telegraphs and 
 railroads, he might have acted dilferently, and, in- 
 stead of resigning these countries he might have 
 laid an iron road through to China, and exercised a 
 fatherly care over the celestials. If the Roman 
 em]}eror ever read the Bible, and the ninth and 
 tenth verses of this chapter, he would have read a 
 description of a chariot closely resembling our 
 modern locomotive — a most desirable acquisition 
 to a prince who was continually on the move. But 
 the world was too young, and had to be taught 
 many a bitter lesson by experience, before it could 
 be brought to a knowledge of its true interests. The 
 policy inaugurated by Augustus was fully carried 
 out by Hadrian, and pursued, with advantage to 
 the people, by the two Antonines. 
 
 It does not appear that the Polytheism of the 
 Romans entertained any very serious aversion to 
 ^Christianity, and if I am not misinformed, they 
 allowed the statue of the Saviour a place among 
 their gods ; and they were the most grieved and 
 annoyed because the Christians ignored the numer- 
 ous progeny they had so industriously collected from 
 the Grecian mythology, whose antecedents were 
 
 
bettor adapted to the wants and inclinations of a war- 
 like people. The apparent obscure birth and humble 
 parentage of the Saviour was an insuperable ob- 
 stacle in the way of a proud and ambitious man ; 
 although His life was spent in doing good, in per- 
 forming miracles of the most stupendous nature, 
 and best adapted to the wants of the distressed ; 
 yet His ignominious death, and the feeble impres- 
 sion He made, even among His own people, was 
 sufficient in the eyes of such people to merit their 
 contempt. In the tenth year of the reign of Nero, 
 they however suffered severely from that monster 
 of cruelty, who is accused by the historian of the 
 times of setting fire to his own capital ; and it was 
 to divert the fuiy of his justly indignant subjects,, 
 that he accused the Christians of this great 
 calamity. 
 
 The too frequent allusion to the personal reign 
 of Christ, and the destruction of the world by fire,, 
 might have given some colour to the charge, and 
 in the heat of passion, the Pagan might have be- 
 lieved the Christian guilty of aiding what he most 
 earnestly desired to see accomplished. It is certain 
 that many suffered ^e most severe torments ; some 
 were nailed to crosses ; some were sewn up in the 
 skins of wild beasts and exposed to the fury of 
 dogs; others, smeared over with combustible ma- 
 terials, were used as torches to illuminate the dark- 
 ness of the night. . . . i 
 
 But when the excitement was past, it was gener- 
 ally admitted, that these sufferers had been made 
 the victims of a cruel and cunning tyrant : anxl the 
 
survivors wore entitled to the sympathy of the 
 people. And, during the reigns of most of the 
 succeeding emperors, Christianity made rapid pro- 
 gress; the blood of chose faithful martyrs furnish- 
 ed seed for the Church ; and, by the time of the 
 accession of the emperor Commodus, there was 
 scarcely a Koman citizen but had listened to the 
 story of the cross, had heard of the suffering Savi- 
 our, the atonement for sin, and was offered salva- 
 tion through His merits. 
 
 And, under these favourable circumstances, many 
 in humbler, and some in the higher walks of life, 
 embraced the Truth, and rejoiced in the Living 
 God instead of the heathen deities of wood and 
 stone : but, on the other hand, there were very 
 many who turned a deaf ear to the gospel, and up- 
 on whom the goodness of Grod failed to make any 
 lasting impression, and when Goodness had failed 
 of her object, the next and only alternative was se- 
 verity; when peace and plenty had failed to 
 awaken the gratitude and incite the love of man 
 to its legitimate object, and awaken his attention 
 to his immortal interests, an influence is reluctant- 
 ly brought to bear upon his fears ; he is terrified 
 by the calamities which surround him on every 
 . hand, and constrained to implore the mercy he had 
 spurned when in more favom'able circumstances. 
 From the accession of Commodus, till the accession 
 of Constantino, for a period of one hundred and 
 forty-four years, without much intermission, the 
 the lion, divested of his wings, exerted his strength 
 and exercised his worst instincts in his own de- 
 
6 
 
 HtriK'tion. The licentious soldiery, emboldened by 
 tlio weakness and wickedness of succeeding em- 
 perors, placed on the throne men who oppressed 
 the people by heavy taxes, in order to indulge 
 themselves in luxurious idleness. The decline of 
 discipline and even of courage ex|30scd them to the 
 invasion of hords of ba»*barians which existed on 
 their borders ; who were not slow to avail them- 
 selves of such an excellent opportunity of plunder- 
 ing their wealthy neighbours. Yet, amidst this 
 scene of trouble and confusion, some heroes mako 
 their appearance, such as Alexander Severus, Claud- 
 ius, and Aurelian, who endeavour to stem the torrent 
 of disorder and corruption, which the weakness 
 and wickedness of their predecessors had caused 
 to flow with accelerated velocity. 
 
 A long period of civil war robbed the earth of 
 the husbandman ; and this, in its turn, produced 
 famine, and this again introduced pestilence, and 
 we may believe the historian that during part of 
 the time already mentioned, not less than the moi- 
 ety of the human race were destroyed. 
 
 Yet the true heroes were the followers of Jesus; . 
 these were busy receiving the converts that fear and 
 terror had attracted to the true source of comfort ; 
 and I am induced to believe that the true soldiers 
 of Jesus made rapid advances against Paganism in 
 these troublesome times. 
 
 Order being restored during the reign of Diocle- 
 tian, the Pagans had time to estimate the aggres- 
 sive force of truth, and became fully aroused to 
 their danger as a system. Galerius, one of the 
 
. 7 
 
 associates of Diocletian, who govcrnt3d the Eastern 
 Provinces, was their great champion, and, in con- 
 nection with his associates, ho issued a series of 
 edicts, having for their object the extermination of 
 the christian name. And, during the ten years of 
 persecution which followed, two thousand Chris- 
 tians suffered mart^Tdom at the hand of Paganism ; 
 many meeting-houses were destroyed ; and, as there 
 were no images in those days on which to wreak 
 vengeance, the Scriptures wore burned. Yet this 
 by far the most formidable persecution ever ex- 
 perienced at the hands of Pagan Rome, has been 
 far excelled by Papal Rome ; in the Netherlands 
 alone, more than one hundred thousand of the sub- 
 jects of Charles the Fifth were put to death by the 
 hands of the executioner. - 
 
 The Pagans had seen Christianity in its most 
 favourable circumstances : they now had an op- 
 portunity of viewing it under the most distressing 
 persecutions; and in the firmness and patience of 
 the Christians amidst the flames, to a mind not 
 entirely blinded by bigotry, the superior claims of 
 the latter must have been strikingly apparent. 
 The sober industrious habits of the Christians 
 would place them beyond the reach of want, in 
 .most cases; their cleanly habits would promote 
 their health ; the peace of God which passed under- 
 standing would fill their hearts with gladness, and 
 they gave incontestible evidence that Christianity 
 was a good thing to live by; and the readiness 
 with which they manifested their determination to 
 die rather than deny the faith, proved beyond 
 
. . ;■■• \ ■-' . 8 . ■• - ;. 
 
 quGRtion that Christianity was a good ihm<r to die 
 by. And thus the truth was gradually being im- 
 pressed on the minds of tlie people, preparing them 
 for the great change which occurred shortly after 
 the ten years' persecution, when the lion was made 
 to stand up like a man having a clean heart and a 
 right spirit. 
 
 Constantine, the first emperor of the Eomans 
 that embraced the truth, is the person in whom 
 this important change is effected ; and he was lifted 
 up from the earth — caught up to the third heaven, 
 just as the apostle Paul was, and underwent all the 
 changes, or ascended the various steps, until he 
 reached the summit of Christianity, and the Eo- 
 man purple, with great power to establish Christi- 
 anity ; not only that the followers of Jesus might 
 derive some benefit from the advantages of tem- 
 poral good, but to give them a fair trial, similar to 
 that given to the Jews in the time of Solomon, in 
 order to see if they were able to stand in pros- 
 perity as well as they had endured adversity. It 
 is well known, however, that they were not ; and 
 the reason is simply this, they refused to sur- 
 render themselves to the guidance of their head. 
 The opposition Constantine met with in the field 
 he easily overcame, but the opposition he met with 
 in council was a more serious obstacle. At the 
 Council of Nice the representative of Jesus Christ 
 is seated upon a low stool, attentively watching the 
 proceedings and listening to tne debates of the 
 grave ecclesiastics, whose mistaken zeal would carry 
 them far beyond the bounds of prudence, but for 
 
9 
 
 ■ •'•-■ ' , ■ ■ -' 
 
 the seasonable word of the emj)eror. As it stands, 
 the Nicene Creed has some weak and unguarded 
 places, which have been fiercely assaulted by the 
 enemy, and been the fruitful source of much mis- 
 chief. But I am persuaded that it was not the fault 
 of Constantine or Athanasius. As emperor, he 
 gave them riches and power, he led their armies on 
 to victory, and overcame all their enemies, except 
 the unbelief which lurked in their own hearts. 
 
 6 And behold another btast, a second, like to a bear, and 
 it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in 
 the mouth of it between the teeth of it : and they said 
 thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. 
 
 The religion of the Goths was in harmony with the 
 animal which represents them, both in a local sense 
 and in his proclivities. As late as the end of the 
 eleventh century, a celebrated temple existed at 
 Upsal, enriched by the gold obtained from their 
 piratical expeditions; and ornamented by three 
 principle deities — the god of war, the goddess of 
 generation, and the god of thunder. Every ninth 
 year was marked by a solemn festival ; nine ani- 
 mals of every specia — human beings included — 
 were sacrificed, and their bleeding bodies suspend- 
 ed in the adjacent grove. 
 
 According to tradition, Odin, before being deified, 
 was the chief of a tribe of barbarians who dwelt 
 on the banks of the Lake Ma^otis, till the fall of 
 Mithridates and the arms of Pompey menaced the 
 North with servitude. That Odin yielding with 
 indignant fury to a power he was unable to resist, 
 
 B 
 
conducted his tribe from the frontiers of the Asiatic 
 Sarmatia into Sweden; with the great design of 
 forming, in that inaccessible retreat of freedom, a 
 religion and a people which in some remote age 
 might be subservient to his immortal revenge, when 
 his invincible Goths, armed with martial fanaticism, 
 should issue in numerous swarms from the neigh- 
 bourhood of the Polar circle to chastise the oppres- 
 sors of mankind. 
 
 It is certain, however, that in the reign of the 
 emperor Decius (A.D.250) the Gothic nation, headed 
 by their chief, Cniva, invaded the Eoman Provinces, 
 defeated their army, and put the emperor to flight; 
 took the city of Philippopolis, and one hundred 
 thousand persons are said to have been massacred 
 in that great city. The time occupied in the siege 
 of Philippopolis enabled Decius to collect another 
 army, and encouraged him to attempc to retrieve 
 his own glory, and the lustre of the lioman arms. 
 The retreat of the Goths was intercepted, loaded 
 the spoil of Philippopolis, their number decreased, 
 and the exhausted country no longer affording 
 them susbsistence ; they endeavoured to purchase 
 peace by the surrender of their prisoners and spoil. 
 But Decius, confident of victory and burning for 
 revenge, refused to listen to their offers. The bat- 
 tle was one of grief and rage against despair. The 
 force of the Gotlis was divided into two divisions ; 
 the first was defeated with great slaughter. The 
 second division was covered by a deep morass, 
 and here the fortune of the day turned, the Ro- 
 mans sank into the treacherous soil, while their 
 
' -' ' ' 11 
 
 light and active enemies, accustomed to encounters 
 in the bogs, could here use their long lances with 
 advantage. The Eomans were defeated, and the 
 emperor could never be found. 
 
 The Goths obtaining possession of the Bosphorus, 
 the following year saw them owning a naval force ; 
 leaving the coast of Circassia on the left hand, 
 they first appeared before Pityus, and, after plun- 
 dering that city, they again embarked in their flat- 
 bottomed barges, and made sail for Trebizond, 
 where they obtained a complete victory and rich 
 booty ; the wealth of the adjacent country had been 
 deposited at Trebizond, and the spoils of that city 
 filled a large fleet of ships, which they found in the 
 port, and sieving the roburst youth of the sea-coast, 
 they chained them to the oar, and returned in tri- 
 umph to their new establishments on the Bospho- 
 rus. The following year another expedition was 
 undertaken, with greater powers of men and ships ; 
 avoiding the scene of their former depredation, 
 they followed the western coast of the Euxine, 
 passed the mouths of the Borysthenes, the Niester 
 and the Danube; increasing their fleet in their 
 progress past these large rivers. They approached 
 the narrow outlet through which the Euxine sea 
 pours its waters into th^ Mediterranean, dividing 
 the continents of Europe and Asia. At Chalcedon 
 they met with and overthrew an army more nu- 
 merous than themselves, where a plentiial supply 
 of arms and valuables rewarded their toils. Nico- 
 media, the richest city of Bithynia, fell before their 
 resistless attack; Nice, Prusa, Apauntea, Cius, cities 
 
12 
 
 that had sometimes rivalled Nicomedia in splen- 
 dour, were involved in the same calamity with the 
 whole province of Bithynia. And, after digesting 
 the spoils in idleness, the following season sees 
 them again on board their vessels, and Greece is the 
 scene of their depredations. Athens is sacked and 
 the whole country made to feel the evils of war. 
 After a lapse of about sixteen years (in order, I 
 suppose, to give their victims time to exercise their 
 industry and restore their exhausted means), they 
 again invade the Eoman territory, in the reign of 
 Claudius. The skill and judgment exercised by this 
 able prince, in using the exhausted resources of 
 the empire with such advantage against the Goths, 
 earned him the name of the Gothic Claudius. Dur- 
 ing his short reign and the short reign of his suc- 
 cessor, Aurelian, the Goths and other barbarians 
 met with some humiliating defeats, which enabled 
 the Eomans to bring them to terms of peace, not 
 however without resigning to the Goths the large 
 province of Dacia. 
 
 Sixty years of peace renewed the fighting pro- 
 pensities of the Goths and obliterated the memory 
 of former reverses : strengthened by a numerous 
 body of Sarmatians, they advanced into the Koman 
 territories, plundering in their usual style. Con- 
 stantino met and defeated them in several ob- 
 stinately contested battles, and compelled them to 
 purch ,e an ignominious retreat at the expense of 
 their plunder and prisoners. Not content with that, 
 he carried the war into the heart of the Gothic 
 country, and after inflicting sufficient punishment 
 
13 
 
 to ensure their obebionco for 8ome time to come 
 gave them peace on condition that they should 
 supply his armies with forty thousand soldiers as 
 often as he required them. 
 
 The repeated failures must have led the Gothic 
 warriors to entertain a sincere respect for the Ro- 
 man arms, and induced them to turn their attention 
 in some other direction for the exercise of their 
 arms, and the gratification of their plundering pro- 
 pensities. And about the year 36(), we find the 
 united strength of the Gothic nation under tlio 
 ''ommand ot their aged king, the great Ilei'manric, 
 who displayed the abilities of an Alexander, between- 
 the age of eighty and one hundred and ten. The kin- 
 dred tribes were induced or compelled to acknow- 
 ledge his supremacy ; Athanaric, Fritigern, and 
 Alavivus resigned the royal title, and were known 
 by the more humble appellation of Judges. (These 
 are the three ribs the bear held in his mouth, be- 
 tween his teeth. Ribs are for a defence, they defend 
 the most important member — the heart. So thes^ 
 three persons, by their submission, strengthened 
 the authority of Hermanric, and by their strength 
 and influence the bear was aided in raising himself 
 up on one side ; the side towards the North.) Twelve 
 nations were conquered by the victorious armies of 
 the Goths ; the scattered tribes, from the Danube 
 to the Baltic, acknowledged Hermanric as their 
 king, and he reigned over the greatest part of Ger- 
 many and Scythia (this will explain how he arosa 
 and devoured much flesh). The bear acquired an 
 immense territory ; but his subjects were unletter- 
 
14 
 
 ed barbarians, and incapable of perpetuating his 
 fame; his name is imperfectly known, and the 
 Eomans themselves knew little of the great change 
 taking place in the North. And 1 am under con- 
 siderable obligation to the learned sceptic* for this 
 among the many proofs he lias given of the truth 
 of the English Bible, which, as far as I have been 
 able to discover, needs no alteration, from those 
 whom its truths, as recently explained, have left 
 naked and bare. 
 
 Hermanric, while enjoying the fruits of victory, 
 at a mature age, was awakened fror^ his tori)or by 
 the intelligence that the dominions were invaded 
 by a new and powerful enemy — the Huns. He pre- 
 pared to exert against them the united force of the 
 Gothic state ; but he soon found his judges more 
 inclined to second, than repel the invasion of the 
 Huns. The force exerted by his teeth on these 
 ribs, provoked their enmity ; he survived a short 
 time the strokes of their daggers : but the Goths, 
 overcome by the swift movements and fierce on- 
 slaughts of the Huns, lined the banks of the Da- 
 nube and implored the protection of the Romans. 
 
 The astonishment of the Emperor Yalens must 
 have been intense, when he was informed that his 
 formidable enemies, whose fighting propensities he 
 had a short time before beheld with his own eyes, 
 desired his protection, and begged to be permitted 
 to culti^^ate the waste land of Thrace. But his 
 astonishment must have soon been subdued by an- 
 xiety, and Yallens must have been sorely puzzled 
 
 * Decline and Fall of tho Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon, Esq. 
 
15 
 
 by this strange circumstance. After some delay 
 they were permitted to cross the Danube, and 
 their immense numbers and hostile a^^pearance, 
 when encamped on the opposite side, soon made 
 the Eomans wish them somewhere else. When 
 the brothers Yalens and Yalentinian reached the 
 height of their ambition, and the summit of Eo- 
 man greatness, the power of the former was oppos- 
 ed in the East by Procopius whose affinity to the 
 house of Constantine procured him the dangerous 
 distinction of being an eligible candidate for the 
 purple. A numerous though fickle party engaged 
 to support his claims. The Goths had been taught 
 in peace and war to respect the house of Constan- 
 tine ; they had experienced his ability as a general, 
 and his liberality as a prince, and were easily 
 persuaded to espouse the cause of Procopius. 
 Thirty thousand Goths crossed the Danube and 
 entered the province of Thrace, and the inhabitants 
 suffered acutely from their rough visitors. Be- 
 fore they became aware of the defeat and death of 
 Procopius, they were sm-rounded and captured by 
 the generals of Yalens ; and in the three years' war 
 which ensued, which Yalens superintended in per- 
 son, he had ample opportunity to study the propen- 
 sities of the animal he was introducing into the 
 empire. 
 
 It is somewhat singular that the emperor of 
 the West and brother of Yalens should have man- 
 ifested a singular regard for a couple of huge bears 
 about the same time; Yalentinian carfully inspected 
 their diet and exercises himself, and instead of the 
 
usual method of inflicting pimiHliment on criminals 
 they wero thrown to those huge bears; and the 
 Koman emperor amused his eyes with the grateful 
 spectacle of seeing them tear and devour the bleed- 
 ing limbs of the unfortunate malefactors abandoned 
 to their rage. 
 
 The emperor of the East, not content with so 
 limited an area of cruelty, condescended to lose the 
 whole Gothic nation among his subjects : but the 
 diet and exercises of the Goths, far from being care- 
 fully inspected by Yalens was intrusted to his as- 
 sistants ; the bear was exasperated by the most 
 liumiliating conditions and scanty subsistence. 
 
 The Goths were required to give up their arms 
 and hfvve their children sent into exile ; the first 
 condition was evaded by costly presents, the pliant 
 officers intrusted with the duty were satisfied with 
 offerings of females, cattle and other valuables, 
 which the Goths freely gave in preference to their 
 arms. 
 
 A scanty supply of provisions, of the worst kind, 
 was sufficient to urge any people to desperate coun- 
 cils. Dogs, and such cattle as had died of disease, 
 were sold to them for food, and even for such, an ex- 
 orbitant price was demanded and obtained. If the 
 emperor had profited by the lesson of experience 
 and listened to the voice of prudence and the dic- 
 tates of honour he would have rallied the broken 
 ranks and revived the drooping spirits of the Goths 
 by a timely reinforcement, and checking the vic- 
 torious progress of the Huns, saved the empire from 
 their deprodations,and earned the lasting friendship 
 
17 
 
 of the Goths, and easily confined the wild liords of 
 Scythia in their native plains. Instead of allowing 
 the Goths to enter the empire in a most humiliating 
 condition, irritating them by extortion and hunger, 
 and com^^elling them, as a ranging bear, to plunder 
 and destroy in order to procure the means of sub- 
 sistence. 
 
 It would be tedious and wearisome to detail the 
 devastations committed by the Goths in the Nor- 
 thern Provinces ; conducted by skilful leaders they 
 were successful in war J^nd easily obtained by force 
 what had been withheld from them by obedience. The 
 fortune of war (as it is sometimes called) restored 
 to their parents the children who had been sold for 
 bread; and the indignities they had endured from 
 their brutal masters, exasperated the Goths to re- 
 taliate with interest whenever the opportunity pre- 
 sented itself. The Battle of the Willows, near one of 
 the Six Mouths of the Danube, reduced their numbers 
 but failed to stop their progress ; and the historian 
 who recorded the event, when visiting the spots 
 discovered the plains whitened with their bones. 
 Eeinforced by other tribes of their countrj-men, 
 they encountered the Eoman army, with the em- 
 peror Valens at their head, twelve miles frOm Ad- 
 rianople, and to transcribe the words of the histo- 
 rian, — the Eoman cavalry fled, the infantry w^as 
 surrounded and cut to pieces ; the emperor seekini^ 
 refuge in a cottage — the cottage was tired and re- 
 duced to ashes, and the emperor Valens with his 
 train perished in the flames, 
 c 
 
After Bomo unsuccessful efforts against the stone 
 walls of Adrianoplo, the tide of Gothic innundation 
 rolled towards the East ; and, after plundering the 
 wealthy suburbs of Constantinople and the adjacent 
 country, they slowly returned towards the Western 
 boundary of Thrace, having nothing to fear from 
 the vanquished forces of the East ; they spread 
 themselves over a fertile and cultivated country as 
 far as the confines of Italy, and the Adriatic sea. 
 St. Jerome affirms, perhaps with some exaggera- 
 tion, that nothing was left iu these countries but 
 the earth and sky; he records many massacres, 
 conflagrations, and desecration of churches, com- 
 mitted by the Goths and their barbarous allies. 
 
 On the death of Fritigern, the intrepid and wise 
 general of the Goths, the mutual interest which 
 bound the various tribes together was much weak- 
 ened. On the death of Yalens, the emperor Gra- 
 tian providentially chose for his associate the son 
 of a hero whose rising fame had been the cause of 
 his death. Theodosius the Great governed the 
 East with credit to himself and with advantage to 
 his subjects. Unable to raise an army capable of 
 contending with the victorious Goths, he pursued 
 a cautious and defensive course until the death of 
 Fritigern and the division of the Goths. Some of 
 them entered into the service of the emperor and 
 assisted to destroy their countrymen, and the final 
 capitulation of the Goths is dated foui* years and 
 one month and twenty-five days from the defeat 
 and death of Valens. 
 
 The emperor located his new and doubtful sub- 
 
19 
 
 jects in the provinces of Thrace, Phrygia and Ly- 
 dia, fruitful Lands were ^iveii them to cultivate ; 
 but they retained tlie right of admini«teriug their 
 own laws independent of the Roman magistrate ; 
 the hereditary chiefs of the tribes were still per- 
 mitted to command their followers in peace or war ; 
 but the royal dignity was abolished, and the gene- 
 ral of the Goths was appointed and removed at the 
 pleasure of the emperor. 
 
 An army of forty thousand Goths was maintain- 
 ed for the service of the empire; and these haughty 
 soldiers were distinguished from the Roman sol- 
 diers by their gold collars, liberal pay and extra- 
 ordinary privileges. Their native valour was im- 
 proved by discipline and a more perfect know- 
 ledge of the use of arms. 
 
 And now, having traced this warlike people till 
 they have become Roman subjects, yet being gov- 
 erned by their own laws, and maintaining their 
 independence, and observing the peculiarities and 
 distinctness of their race ; I leave them, to look 
 after the leopard. And those who delight in war 
 and rapine will be gratified to read of the revolt of 
 the Goths on the death of Theodosius ; when, head- 
 ed by the formidable Alaric, they invaded both the 
 Eastern and the Western parts of the empire, and 
 finally besieged Rome, and after some reverses, 
 which the indomitable spirit of Alaric overcame, 
 took the City of the Caesars. 
 
 6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, 
 which had upon the hack of it four loings of a fowl : the 
 
20 
 
 beasi had also four heads ; and dominion was given to 
 it 
 
 Tlio leopard, after careful invcHligation, I am per- 
 suaded is represented by the II mis, a confederation 
 of Tartar triboH, wbicli, for the space of thirteen 
 Inmdred yeara, existed on the contines of China; 
 and by their wai-like habits, made incessant inroads 
 in the Chinese empire. Their armies, consisting 
 iiiostly of cavalry, disconcerted the elaborate tac- 
 tics of the Chinese, by the swiftness of their move- 
 ments, and the accurac}^ of their arrows. The iin- 
 ecriipulous manner in which they sometimes broko 
 their most solemn engagements — answers to the 
 leopard's spots. An incident which occurred in the 
 sixth century will servo to illustrate: — ThoChagan 
 of the Avars (I do not know if he was a lineal de- 
 scendant of Attila, but I am informed that he oc- 
 cupied the same palace and pui*sued the same 
 policy in a less extensive area,) meditated the 
 capture of the city of Sirmium, the ancient bulwark 
 of the lUyricum j^rovince (and to transcribe tlie 
 words of the historian) the plains of the lower 
 Hungary were covered with the Avar horse, and a 
 fleet of large boats was built in the liercynian 
 woods, to descend the Danube, and transport into 
 the Save, the materials of a bridge ; but as the 
 strong garrison of Singidunum which commanded 
 the conflux of the two rivers might have stopped 
 their passage, and baflied his designs, ho dispelled 
 their apprehensions by a solemn oath, that his 
 views were not hostile to the empire, he swore by 
 his SAVord, the s^nnbol of the god of war, that he 
 
21 
 
 (lid not, as the enemy of Rome, construct a brid/:i^o 
 upon the Save. *'It' I violate my oath," pursued 
 the intrepid Eaian, "may 1 myself and the last of 
 my nation perish by the sword ; may the heavens 
 fall upon our heads; may the forest^i and mountains 
 bury us in theii* ruins; and the Save, returning ag- 
 ainst (he laws of nature to his source, overwhelm us 
 in his angry waters. " After this barbarous oath, he 
 calmly enquired what oath was most sacred amongst 
 the Christians, what guilt of perjury it was most 
 dangerous to incur ; the bishop of Singidunum pre- 
 sented the gospel, which the Chagan received with 
 devout reverence. — "I swear," said he, "by the 
 God who has spoken in this Holy Book, that I have 
 neither falsehood on my tongue nor treachery in my 
 heart." As soon as ho rose from his knees he ac- 
 celerated the labour of the bridge, and despatched 
 an envoy to proclaim what he no longer wished to 
 conceal — "Inform the emperor," said the perfidi- 
 ous Baian, " that Sirmium is invested on every side, 
 advise his prudence to withdraw the citizens with 
 their effects, and to resign a city wdiich it is now 
 impossible to relieve or defend. 
 
 The four wings of a fowl upon the back of it, 
 are easily explained; several specia of fowls are 
 migratory. Such were the Huns in their habits — 
 a pastoral people, they tended their herds, moving 
 from place to place, changing their quarters as the 
 variation of climate, and the scarcity of forage af- 
 fected their interests and the health of their cattle ; 
 and the immense plains of Asia were well adapted to 
 the wants of this people. When the Chinese broken 
 
the power, of the Huns, in the first century of tlie 
 ChriKtian era, the nation became divided into /owr 
 heads. The most warlike commenced their jour- 
 ney westward ; and, as they made their appcaranco 
 on the confines of the Persian and Eoman domin- 
 ions, either from choice or necessity, they separate 
 into two divisions; one of them established their 
 dominions in the fruitful plains of Sogdiana, on the 
 Eastern side of the Caspain. Their manners were 
 softened by a long residence in a flourishing pro- 
 vince, perhaps containing seme of the remains of 
 the arts of Greece ; and their complexion underwent 
 a change, and they became distinguished from their 
 countrymen by the additional a])pellation of White 
 Huns. Their valour was exercised by frequent 
 wars with Persia, but they respected in peace the 
 faith of treaties, in war, the dictates of humanity. 
 The second division took a northwesterly course 
 and were exercised by a colder climate and great- 
 er hardship, their native fierceness was increased 
 in the frequent encounters with the still more 
 savage tribes of the North. As late as the thir- 
 teenth century their residence on the banks of the 
 Volga was attested by the name of Great Hungary. 
 Fifty thousand of the poorest of the people re- 
 mained in their native lands and submitted them- 
 Bclves to the clemency of their conquerors. The 
 fourth and last head of the leopard consisted of 
 fifty-eight herds, about two hundred thousand men, 
 retired towards the south, implored the protection 
 of the emperor of China, and were permitted to 
 guard and inhabit the extreme frontiers of the pro- 
 vince of Chansi and the territory of Orlons. • 
 
23 
 
 • After the Iluns of the Volga had driven the 
 Goths into the Eoman empire, (most likely they 
 did it to attract the attention of the religious fac- 
 tions from tearing each other in pieces ; and exert 
 their powers of destruction in a more honourable 
 warfare,) they do not make their appearance in 
 any great or united effort, till the attachment of 
 the various tribes was secured to the renowned At- 
 tila; and it was during the reign of Attila that 
 dominion was given to the leopard. He alone, of 
 all the barbarians, united the savage tribes of Scy- 
 thia and Scandinavia. If (says the historian) a 
 line of separation were drawn between the civilized 
 and the savage climates of the globe — between the 
 inhabitants of cities and those that cultivated the 
 earth, and the hunter and shepherds who dwell in 
 tents — Attila might aspire to the title of supremo 
 and sole monarch of the barbarians. 
 
 The crowd of vulgar kings, the leaders of so many 
 martial tribes, who served under the standard of At- 
 tila, were ranged in the submissive order of guards 
 and domestics round the person of their master; 
 they watched his nod, they trembled at his frown ; 
 and at the first signal of his will, they executed 
 without murmur or hesitation his stern and abso- 
 lute commands. In time of peace the dependent 
 princes, with their national troops attended tho 
 royal camp in regular succession, but when Attila 
 collected his military force, he was able to bring 
 into the field, an army of seven hundred thousand 
 barbarians. 
 
 It is neither necessary to my task, nor agi*ee- 
 
24 
 
 able to my tatite, to trace the progress of this swift 
 iind savage leopard, in his course of devasta- 
 tion through the Eoman empire, until he received 
 a final cheek at the Battle of Chalons. The Goths 
 had attracted the attention and demanded the 
 uttermost vigilance on the part of the Eoman 
 ecclesiastics and instead of warring among them- 
 selves, they were earnestly engaged defending them- 
 selves from the Goths. Until the long reign of Theo- 
 dosius, and subsequent oportunitics had to a great 
 extent enabled them to civilize, and Christianize, 
 these warlike marauders. This having been ac- 
 complished, they have once more time to attend 
 to the wars amongst themselves, and the barbarians 
 becoming involved in the Arian heresy, and their 
 savage instincts aroused in the heat of controversy, 
 many victims were beginning to be oifered on the 
 shrine of the prevailing creeds ; when the innunda- 
 tion of the Huns (as was the case with the Goths) 
 again diverted them from their folly and furnished 
 employment for a considerable space of time. 
 And the scourge of God, as Attila has been rightly 
 termed, admonished them to cease destroying 
 each other, and promoted a precarious truce by 
 ii mutual danger. In lacer years the wword of Mo- 
 hammed performed a similar office ; the fall of 
 •Constantinople extinguished the fierce controversy 
 which had so frequently torn the christian com- 
 munity in that great city; and Mohammedism 
 -cleansed the christian idolators from their idols 
 wherever their victorious arms gave them the 
 opportunity. 
 
25 
 
 • 7 After this I mw ill the nJ(jhtriHions, ami behold a fourth 
 beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and 
 it had great iron teeth : it devoured and break in pieces, 
 and stamped the residue with the feet of it : and it was 
 dive)'sefrom all the beasts that toere before it ; and it 
 had ten horns. 
 
 The fourth beast in described as being dreadful and 
 terrible and strong exceedingly, having great iron 
 teeth, and not content with breaking in pieces and 
 devouring his prey, he stamps the remainder with 
 his feet. This beast, though diverse from the 
 others, is far more destructive; he is stronger than 
 the lion ; he excels the savage lierceness of the 
 bear; he is more destructive than the leopard. Tn 
 this beast are united the savage instincts of the 
 lion, bear and leopard, armed with ten horns. 
 
 Tho ancient and honourable name which has 
 been retained by a ferocious ecclesiastical system, 
 has added strength and dignity to the Roman Ca- 
 tholic Church (as they please to term themselves), 
 without retaining any descendants of the Ca)sars. 
 And although at the time of the rise of the sj^stem, 
 there might have been a few of that degenerate race, 
 he sack of Constantinople by the Turks, and the 
 extinction of the small remnant of Roman power 
 in tne East, have loft the Latin man notliing but the 
 language, and that is foreign to three-fourths of his 
 people. And when all that is useful and instruc- 
 tive has been collected and translated into Anglo- 
 Saxon, the Latin language may be consigned to the 
 tombs of those with whom it originated; since it 
 has answered the one great purpose of identifying 
 
 D 
 
26 
 
 the beast mentioned in Revelation xiii. with the 
 Eoman ecclesiastical system. By referring to the 
 more elaborate description John has given, it will 
 be seen that the fourth beast of Daniel and the beast 
 of Revelation are one and the same animal. 
 
 His body (says the beloved disciple) was like 
 unto a leopard.— That is, the people who formed the 
 body of the system were the wild Scythian tribes, 
 the descendants of those who exhibited the distin- 
 guishing traits of the leopard, under the command of 
 the renowned Attila. The spots of the leopard 
 will answer to the blasphemy of this infamous sys- 
 tem, and will apply to the Huns themselves (a case 
 in point has been already mentioned). 
 
 The body of the Roman Catholic Church consist- 
 ed of Tartars. 
 
 His feet were na the feet of a bear. 
 
 The feet evidently belong to the Gothic nation, 
 and are fully illustrated by the annual depredations 
 of that warlike people, before they became in a 
 measure civilir-ed; and after they became united to 
 the fourth beast, their destr ictive powers were ful- 
 ly developed in the destruction of Christians. The 
 great iron teeth are the various instruments of tor- 
 ture used to tear in pieces the followers of Jesus ; 
 the inquisition has accomplished its inhuman pur- 
 pose, whole multitudes have been torn and dc- 
 vouit^d bv this monster of cruelty, and the bleed- 
 ing remnant have been stamped on, and scattered 
 by his destructive f(iet. 
 
 The ten horns are elsewliere mentioned as ten 
 kings, and alsv" ten crowns. 
 
27 
 
 Since the institution of the ("'oUegc of Cardinals, 
 tiie election of the Pope, and the supreme authority, 
 have been vested in the Pope and his Council at 
 Rome. From thence nidiates a system, ellectual in 
 its discipline and most destructive in its operation, 
 which oven in our days manifests itself in Fenian 
 raids and Red River riots, inflicting a great amount 
 of suffering, and waste of treasure. The horns are the 
 ecclesiasticxil laws, and the kings or crowns are the . 
 cardinals. An objection to this view may be started, 
 because the number of the cardinals does not cor- 
 respond with the horns ; yet, if we go back to the 
 origin of the system, we shall obtain some light on 
 the subject. Ten men were commissioned by the 
 Roman emperor Justinian, to prepare a code of laws 
 which vested a great amount of power in the cler- 
 gy, and established the arbitrary sway of the em- 
 peror. The work being thus divided into ten parts, 
 and when complete each part bearing the name of 
 the lawyer, would then assume the shape of ten 
 divisions, or ten horns. 
 
 The greater part of the long reign of Justinian 
 was spent in the service of this abominable system. 
 While the brave Belisarius, with inadequate forces 
 and superhuman exertions, was subduing the en- 
 emies of the empire, that theological hero was 
 earnestly engaged in driving the church into the 
 wilderness, and by his cruel edicts forcing submis- 
 sion to his pet system. But the full development 
 of the destructive power of this ferocious beast was 
 gradual and progressive, like that of his predeces- 
 sors ; the extinction of the WesterTi empire, by 
 
tlic rej)C{itc(l iiH^aultH of tlie (iollis. and other barba- 
 rians, -was accomplished aboiU two centuries after 
 t!ic death of Justinian. Tlie fall of Constanti- 
 nople cxtinguiohcd the Roman empire in the 
 East, and swept away the mass of idolatry which 
 t;io (ireoks themselves had lonj^; before acknow- 
 ledge«l to be but another name for Pat;anism. It 
 also Btreagthened the system located at Rome, and 
 attracted the eyes of the world to the ancient capi- 
 tal of the Oa)sarfj. And, about the year 1514, the 
 beast had reached the summit of his ambition, and 
 the bleeding remnant of Christians, who had been 
 nearly extirpated by this ravenous beast, narrowly 
 escaped his capacious maw. It was about the time 
 Mahomet pn'ached his first sermon in Mecca, when 
 he became fairly established; and the idolatry or 
 Paganism had been transferred to what has been 
 called Christianity. The system of the (Grecian My- 
 thology was amply represented by the statues of 
 saints, and the number of the latter exceeded that 
 of the former; and, as their relics soon obtained a 
 marketable value, they were multiplied by the in- 
 dustr}^ of the ecclesiastics. The Altar of Victory, 
 with its presiding goddess, was lost in the ruins of 
 ancient Paganism, but she is better represented by 
 the Virgin Mary in modern Paganism ; she is fairly 
 installed as the presiding deity of the Church of 
 Rome — altar and incense all complete. 
 
 From this we may conclude that the fourth beast 
 which Daniel has so truthfully pourtrayed as being 
 dreadful and terrible, was conceived by the emperor 
 Justinian, and the empress Theodora (of stage no- 
 
20 
 
 toricty); and became firmly cstIll^li^;hcd mIjoiiI tlio 
 sixth century; reached the higlicst d('<j;'roc of power 
 a Hhort time before tlio commencement of the lie- 
 formation; will have his teeth and chivvs drawn in 
 lens than ten years. 
 
 8 I considered the liorns, and, behold, there cams up among 
 them another little horn, before whom there were three 
 of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, 
 in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth 
 speaking great things. 
 
 WhileDaniel was considering the horns, another little 
 Iiorn made its appearance, having eyes like the eyes 
 of a man, and a mouth speaking great things; it is 
 furthermore intimated that he made war with the 
 saints, and prevailed against them, until the An- 
 cient of Days came, and judgment was given to the 
 saints, and the time came that the saints should 
 possess the kingdom. 
 
 This little horn is another of the many and vari- 
 ous descriptions of Calvinism, which so often oc- 
 cur in holy writ, and mostly connected with Ro- 
 manism; not because of any resemblance, but ra- 
 ther because of their extreme opposite tendencies. 
 
 The three horns Calvinism has managed to pluck 
 up by the roots«are as follows : — 
 
 First — They strip the Pope of his distinguish- 
 ed honours, and each individual becomes a pope in 
 his own right ; 
 
 Secondly — They hold that all individuals were 
 predestinated to be either saved or lost, not only 
 before the existence of each person, but before the 
 earth was formed ; 
 
30 
 
 Tkirdbj — That each individual, should ho or bIio 
 be 80 fortunate as to be one of the favoured num- 
 ber, was bound, accord inijj to the eternal decree, to 
 be saved, without any concurrence of their own 
 will, or elfort on their part, to Bccure eternal life. 
 
 All of these people who have experienced 
 anything like a gracious time at any period of their 
 lives (and there are many such among the Calvin- 
 ists), consider themselves elected, which places them 
 at once upon an equal footing with the elders, the 
 apostles, (and Jesus Christ Himself,) who had been 
 selected by the discerning eye of the Almighty, to 
 represent His only begotten Son, to the Christian 
 Church; and occasionally to offer themselves, a 
 sacrifice to God, for the sins of the people. And to 
 attain this exalted and honourable position, is be- 
 ing elected ; and hence the exhortations of the 
 Apostles Paul and Peter: — Lay aside every weight 
 and the sin which doth so easily beset you ; and 
 run with patience the race that is set before you, 
 looking unto Jesus : and, — Give all diligence to 
 make your calling and election sure. Therefore, 
 fill the elect, according to the Calvinistic doctrine, 
 all the apostles and elders of Calvinism, must bo 
 spurious, because only one Christian in a genera- 
 tion is required to serve as a scape-goat, to make 
 atonement for sin ; and, as head of the Church, see 
 to the welfare of the whole community; and he is 
 distinguished above his fellows by a stronger love 
 to God, and a more earnest desire to promote His 
 glory ; a stronger love to man, and a more earnest 
 desire to promote his welfare : audit is his chief 
 
31 
 
 glory to bo permitted to bear the sins of the peo- 
 ple, as, " Christ; " — and he can exclaim with Paul, 
 God forbid that I should glory in anything but the 
 cross of Christ. So we see the true elect are dis- 
 tinguished from their fellow-Christians by enjoying 
 more of the pleasure which results from doing 
 good ; and experiencing more pain ; and having to 
 attend to more work than their brethren ; and the 
 true motive and mainspring of their actions is lovo 
 to God and love to man. 
 
 When Martin Luther won the election, and was 
 making rapid progress against Eomanism, Calvin- 
 ism reared its presumptuous head, and made war 
 against the saints ; and it has prevailed against 
 them. The fierce words of this little horn, about 
 absolute decrees and predestination, have convert- 
 ed the Almighty into a tyrant, and himself into 
 His especial favourite ; and, as nothing can be 
 charged against the elect, he is licensed to cheat, 
 to injure, aud even to commit the most abominablo 
 crimes, with impunity. This man of sin considers 
 himself a king and a priest of the Most High, and 
 expects all the good things in the storehouse of 
 heaven, without any reference to his conduct while 
 on earth. These false Christs are the people meant 
 by the Lord Jesus, for there are many, and they 
 may be likened to the Pharisees and hypocrites who 
 neither sought the kingdom of God themselves nor 
 suffered others; they pay strict attention to the 
 forms of Christianity, but do not believe in the sub- 
 stance; they present an exceedingly pious appear- 
 ance; and point the finger of scorn at the faithful 
 
 
32 
 
 witnesH of Jesus, who hu.s courage to confess he has 
 received a sanctified nature. Their unbelief is on a 
 par with their impudence, and presumptuously 
 claimini^ the promises contained in scripture, with- 
 out heeding the conditions ; they have arrived at the 
 highest state of christian perfection, and yet scout 
 at the very idea of living without sin. And, by a 
 cunning piece of legerdemain, the righteousness of 
 Christ is imputed to them, and yet they are permit- 
 ted to lie, cheat, and indulge in all soris of iniquity, 
 without heeding the warnings and threatenings 
 against those who do such things. That without 
 the celestial city are dogs, whoremongers, sorcerers, 
 idolators, murderers, and whosoever loveth and 
 makcth a lie. Tliis man of sin — this liar and sor- 
 cerer — considers himself one of the elect, a Christ; 
 and, while claiming to be perfect in Christ, ho 
 disdains those who believe in a real new birth, a 
 literal regeneration, while in the flesh; and, by 
 sorcery or a sleight-of-hand trick, he imagines him- 
 self a new creature in Christ, and yet an old sinner 
 in the flesh. lie insinuates himself, with cunning 
 craft, into every grade of society ; and while he 
 flatters the vanity, he looks with complacency on 
 every sort of wickedness, so long as it is hidden 
 frjm view; ho ofl'ers election with the greatest 
 honours ever conferred on a man, in one hand; and 
 everlasting damnation in the other. We don't ex- 
 pect you to live without sin (say they) ; we allow 
 our people to do just as they like ; Christ does every- 
 thing for us ; we have nothing to do; we are limbs 
 of His body, bone of His bone. You may come 
 
33 
 
 with UH, and indulge your puHHioiij , and cheat your 
 neighbour. All that we require is a pious exterior, 
 a decent appearance ; and let us have your support. 
 
 I have seen this man of sin, in his roughest garb, 
 and most uncultivated form inturrupting one of 
 God's own children as with loving heart and con- 
 vincing words he was telling a few poor wretches 
 the way to happiness and heaven ; I have heard 
 him, surrounded by worldly pomp, "with eloquent 
 tongue," denouncing as "liars," the saints, who 
 persisted in offering salvation to all, who chose to 
 forsake their sins and walk in newness of life. 
 And it was while listening to the cunninir insinua- 
 tion of this man of sin, that I first experienced the 
 forgivness of my own sins; my Calvinist compan- 
 ion suggested — this world came nigh being alto- 
 gether lost; if thati:)rayer had been granted which 
 the Saviour offered in the garden of Gethsemane, 
 we must have all perished. 
 
 Struck with this view of the matter, but revolv- 
 ing in my mind the fearful agonies endured by 
 Him, I began to look upon as my Saviour; — I 
 exclaimed with some warmth — it was a fearfully 
 bitter cup, not only the physical suffering, but the 
 awful weight of the world's sin, was about to be 
 laid upon Him. 
 
 I immediately experienced the truth of what I as- 
 serted; the sense of guilt and condemnation which 
 had so long rested on jny mind and caused me so 
 much uneasiness, was entirely removed — my faith 
 healed me, and brought the power of divine grace 
 into my soul ; and by this [ was satisfied, that the 
 
 E 
 
31 
 
 clcsiLipi of (lie Alniiglity in ^•ivin<^- His Son to die 
 for the world, was, that tho world nliould bo saved, 
 and it is man's own cursed folly, that has hindered 
 this benevolent desig-n from being carried out. 
 
 1 journeyed on throuii:h the wilderness, and after 
 Bome difficulty with my own rebellious nature, 
 "crossed Jordan." And while enjoying a happy 
 sense of the continual presence, and favour of God: 
 I was uririn<^ to another Calvinist acquaintance, the 
 easy way of faith in Christ ; and tho simiDlicity of 
 tho plan of salvation; and its adaptation to the 
 wants of the whole human family; and was relat- 
 ing the manner of my receiving the evidence of 
 pardon for my sins; wit^^ the divine testimony 
 which had been given me — that God would freely 
 fora-ive all the world for Christ's sake if the world 
 could be prevailed on to accept forgiveness on 
 these terms. 
 
 lie cut me short, by quoting Kphesians i. 4,— 
 According as lie hath chosen us in Ilim before the 
 foundation of the world [he omitted the following] 
 that we should be holy and without blame before 
 Ilim in love. 
 
 After pondering over this portion of holy writ, 
 wliich conflicted with my own experience, my mind 
 was directed to the broad promise of God to faithful 
 Abraham, that he should have children as the stars 
 of heaven and the sand on the sea shore for multi- 
 tude ; then pondering over the toundation of the 
 world, my eyes became gradually fixed on Jesus; 
 and the broad promise, Whosoever believeth on 
 Ilim might not perish, but have everlasting life,- 
 
35 
 
 .soomud to^row /.',iviitor Ihuu over lo my ciirapliired 
 vision, and 1 could scarcely restrain my Joy in duo 
 bounds, wh(Mi T rop<^aUMl, ''T'hriMt is the FOIJN'DA- 
 TIO:^ OF TllF WOULiJ." Tlien, applying tliis 
 to the promise of the faithful Creator to Abrahani, 
 I saw it all. 1 liad taken the stronghold of Calvin- 
 ism, and can use their best guns with deadly effect 
 against themselves. For if Christ be the Founda- 
 tion of the world, the next thing to bo done is to 
 get the world upon it. IS"ot a clique but the whole 
 human race may come and rest secure on this solid 
 Foundation. I exhort every one to consult their 
 true interest; to cease to do evil, and look for a 
 time of refreshing; and your sins shall be blotted 
 out; and grace shall be given you, and 3'ou shall 
 be happy, if you will bo guided by the Almighty, 
 instead of living in rebellion against your very best 
 and most influential Friend. 
 
 That there are zealous and even pious people 
 among the Calvinists, I am not going to deny; es- 
 pecially among those calling themselves Presbyte- 
 rians. But those called the Plymouth Brethren are 
 by far the most vigoroi ' offspring of Calvin. This 
 zealous body of people h. e drained most of the life 
 out of the other Calvinis ,ic sects until there is little 
 left in them but the unclean bird; whoso loquaci- 
 ous and solemn denunciations of Plj-^mouth Broth- 
 ronism, would fill volumes. As I consider this peo- 
 ple, by their looking fur the coming of Christ, and 
 >y their separating themselves from evil, and by the 
 zeal displayed by them in preaching the gospel — 
 to be the best specimen of Calvinism extant, J 
 
would- faithfully warn them of its error3, and, if 
 possible, persuade them to embrace nothing but the 
 truth. Their creed, as I gather it (if creed it may be 
 called), differs somewhat from every other form of 
 Calvinism. Instead of the ceremony of laying on 
 of hands, in imitation of the Apostle Paul, when 
 he communicated the gift of the Holy Ghost to 
 some of the saints (the true Christ communicating 
 a real blessing), — a most prominent feature amongst 
 Presbyterians, — every one is a king and a priest 
 to God the moment he obtains forgiveness of sins, 
 and to use the language of a tall Scotchman, they 
 are all tops and no bottoms. From the grave mis- 
 take made at the commencement, may be at- 
 tributed the errors of a more serious nature ; 
 their antipathy to holiness, and the belief that they 
 ai'e fully and everlastingly saved, and cannot possib- 
 ly mistake the way, or fail of obtaining the highest 
 honours, ever conferred on man by his Creator. 
 
 The young believer soon loses the joyous sense 
 of the forgiveness of sins ; and the grace which 
 strengthens him in the hour of temptation is with- 
 held because of presumptuous sins ; he becomes 
 mounted upon the tall stilts of predestination and 
 absolute decrees, and looks down with pity and con- 
 tempt on the humble saint, who is using all the 
 powers of his renewed nature, to combat the power 
 of Satan ; and the unbelief and presumption of the 
 fierce little horn. And he either becomes a proud 
 Pharisee, or gets so entangled in sin that he has to 
 be given up to a reprobate mind, as, good for noth- 
 ing, having more pleasure in unrighteousness than 
 
37 
 
 in tho strait and narrow way which leads to God. 
 Again tho mistake of holding the forgiveness of 
 sins to be regeneration, or conversion, presupposes 
 the possession, and precludes the possibility of any 
 further progress ; for while they believe they are 
 temples of the Holy Grhost, having been united to 
 Christ, and limbs of His body, bone of His bone ; 
 they are waiting for Christ to come and destroy the 
 world, and take them to glory. 
 
 My Calvinist friend, don't you find it hard to per- 
 suade yourself, that you are a temple of the Holy 
 Ghost, when you never feel the living, moving wa- 
 ter within ? Do you manifest the mind of Christ 
 when you expect to see the world in flames, and 
 yourselves — a mere handful of the human race — 
 exalted to the highest honours? Do you really 
 believe that your assent to the theory of the cruci- 
 fixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, will 
 procure you all these blessings ? I tell you, Nay \ 
 Divest your mind of all presumption, and seek to 
 obtain forgiveness for the dishonour you have cast 
 upon God, and the insults offered to His Christ, and 
 let me lead you away from the glorified elders, with 
 their white robes and gold crowns ; take your place 
 as a justified man. There are but twenty-tour more 
 crowns to bo disposed of, and those who run for 
 these will have to start fairly, and not get over tho 
 wall, like a thief or a robber. Christ says, " I am 
 the door ; no man cometh unto the Father but by 
 me." And those who are hungering and thirsting 
 after righteousness must be filled — must have a re- 
 newed mind, and a new robe to cover their dry 
 
 
' 38 
 
 bones; aiid then, and not till then, tlicy may, if 
 faithful, become temples of the Holy Ghost; and 
 enjoy the uttermost salvation. You have received but 
 the earnest of your inheritance, in the forgiveness 
 of sins; gi'ieve not the Holy Si)irit by building on 
 the foundation " wood, hay and stubble," and daub- 
 ing yourselves with untenipcred mortar. The re- 
 fuge of lies must be swept away, and you must stand 
 be'fore God naked, just as you are ; and wait for your 
 dress. It may be you will have to wait until the 
 last day, when all the dead will have to stand be- 
 fore the God of the universe) when every one will 
 receive a reward according to the deeds done in the 
 body ; or you may, in company with the children 
 God will (according to His word) give me, live to 
 see that great day, and esca])c death altogether. Your 
 reward will be according to your merit, and your 
 merit will be in proportion to your obedience lo God. 
 1 am not anxious to destroy men, but would rather 
 that all men could be saved ; and 1 am giving the 
 most convincing proofs of the existence of God and 
 the infallibility of His word; and I earnestl}^ call 
 upon all who love that word, to help me to scatter 
 tnese Explanations of the Prophecies, wherever 
 that word has been read ; so that as many as possi- 
 ble may be saved, both among the Romanists and 
 Calvinists ; for I know the bodies of these beasts 
 will soon be given to the burning iiames. The fierce 
 words of this little horn — the insults and injury 
 heaped upon the elect, and the saints, and the blood 
 of Serve tus, will be avenged on the obstinate fol- 
 lowers of Calvin. The great whore which has cor- 
 
39 
 
 rupted Iho earth with lier forincation, and isdriiiik 
 with the blood of the saints, and the ])]ood of the 
 martyrs of Jesus, must be stripped of all her power 
 and influence ; and her deluded votaries, educated 
 into the knowledge of the truth; and by degrees 
 be led to see the monster, which has so long oppres- 
 sed and deceived the*n. The obstinate priesthood 
 are consigned to the mes, and the obstinate and 
 incorrigible people to the sword. I do not sa}' this 
 on my own individual authority, but on the author- 
 ity of Him, who called me to be His servant, and as I 
 am instructed by HisIIoly Spirit to explain His word. 
 A glance at the Eleventh of Eevelation will show 
 that God gives His chosen ones an especial power. 
 They could shut heaven so that it rained not on the 
 earth ; and if any one should be wicked and hardy 
 enough to attempt their injury, they held the hand 
 that pointed the lightnings, and could direct at will, 
 but as necessity might demand, these swift agents 
 of destruction. 
 
 The twelve hundred and sixty days, the time tliey 
 were prophesying in sackcloth, may be dated from 
 the year 009, the year in which Mahomet preached 
 his first sermon in Mecca; and the time when the 
 Gothic Tartar association arrived at maturity ; and 
 the worship of images had been ftiirly established. 
 Twelve hundred and sixty years (for years is the 
 meaning), added to six hundred and nine, will make 
 one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine. In the 
 fall of that year, there appeared an advertisement 
 in the Ottawa Citizen^ to the following effect : — 
 
 " The Latin Man, and the Man of Sin. — liomanism 
 
40 
 
 " a7id Calvinism Exposed, and the Book of Rev el a- 
 " Uon Explained. By George Collins.'' 
 
 And the man of sin has been fully revealed by my 
 Explanation of Bevelation, and also by the Explana- 
 tion of the Eleventh of Daniel; and he has again 
 come under our notice in the present little work ; 
 and I added a little of my Christian experience in 
 order to show how the Lord has led me to unravel 
 this master-piece of Satan. 
 
 , I simply say, in conclusion,'if my credentials are 
 good, receive me. I have wronged no man ; I have 
 coveted^no man's silver, or gold; my own hands hav^e 
 supplied my wants, and the wants of the times. 
 I have watched while you have slumbered. I have 
 not withheld my face from shame and spitting, and 
 from those who plucked off the hair ; my back has 
 been given to the smiters, and my most bitter en- 
 emies are those of my own house ; I am an astonish- 
 ment to many. When the Lord sanctified me, and 
 sent me to work in His vineyard, the man who was 
 my fellow-labourer plunged the cold glittering steel 
 into my breast ; and the few sheej) I was permitted 
 to tend, were taken from me, by the unclean spirit 
 of sectarianism. And, after the Lord of Hosts had 
 put His spirit upon me, and called me to the High 
 Priesthood, and gave me the glorious privilege of 
 bearing the sins of the people, by enduring a few 
 light afflictions, I was sent to a person, who had 
 been praying for instruction with regard to his du- 
 ty. I explained to him the nec.^ssity of observing 
 the ordinance of adult baptism, .is a means of teach- 
 tho operations of the living water ; and quoted the 
 
41 
 
 wordn of Duvid, — " Ah the liai't panlcth after the 
 water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." 
 Now, this learned preacher undei'stood no less than 
 ten or twelve languages; and he declared that Da- 
 vid never expected to find God. but that he rejoiced 
 to be thir.sty — which makes the blessing pronounced 
 on those who hunger and thirst after righteousness 
 to consist in being hungry and thirsty. Gentlj^ ob- 
 jecting to these views, I still urged the use of bap- 
 tism as a means of teacliing the saint the voice of 
 his God, when speai^ing by the Holy Spirit; so that 
 he knew when lie spoke, and when he was "filled 
 and satisfied by the living water. The Eeverend 
 Gentleman lost patience, and undertook to prove by 
 the dictionary, that baptism meant nothing of the 
 kind, but was ordained for the remission of sins. 
 This poor man — who considers himself a brother 
 of the Lord — I am sorry to say is under the control 
 of the unclean spirit of sectarianism. But I should 
 weary the reader if I related all the opposition I 
 have met with from those whom I had most reason 
 to look upon as my friends. And it adds little to 
 my comfort to know that the Lord Jesus feels, as 
 keenly as I do myself, the indignities that are 
 lieaped upon the least of His brethren, 
 
 If any one of my fellow soldiei*s has exposed him- 
 self to more dangers ; if any one has accomplished 
 more with equal means, and given such clear views 
 of doctrine and explained the most difficult parts 
 of scripture as well as 1 have, let him show himself, 
 and if (iod himself is willing, let him be king in Zion, 
 f 
 
42 
 
 1 yield liiin my place, and go Ijack to my work- 
 .sliop. 
 
 The tiino has at loii<j:th arrived for the saints Tnot 
 the sectH) the poor despised suints, to have somc- 
 llunii' to sav ill the alTairs of the nations; and God 
 llims'jlf will make known His will to the people 
 through his humble servant; unless a more worthy 
 person should present himself; some one who by 
 his humble origin ami limited capacity can show 
 the wisdom and power of Clod, in using His humb- 
 lest children to accomplished His gi'catest purposes. 
 Sim])ry by obeying the Almighty I have overcome 
 death and can smile at the grim monster. I shall 
 not lie in the grave ; and I know the Lord will give 
 me children who will accompany me; if they are 
 obedient, I can give them everlasting life. And 
 if the world owe me any thing for laying bare its 
 foundations, it owes much more to God, who with 
 consummate wisdom and inexhaustible love, has been 
 so long working for the world's good. If I had not 
 dived into the depth of the great cJcean of God's 
 truth, and saw the bright jewels that like stars lie 
 concealed in its deep waters, I could never have had 
 the least idea of the extent of His goodness ; or the 
 depth of His wisdom. HHe was not independent, 
 Belf-existent,and intinitely happy in himself, I might 
 be induced to believe, that His pleasure was depen- 
 dent on tlie caprice of man; and His interest was 
 connected with man's redemption, yet it is not so, it 
 is His love — God is love. Compassion acting on 
 this great principle of His nature ; moved Him to 
 create a second Adam, who, seeing the effects of the 
 
4B 
 
 disobedience of (he first "was also moved willi {h\A 
 great principle, as he had I'cccived i( fresh from Ciod, 
 to compassionate the condition of the fallen scms of 
 Adam. And was led to exclaim, Lo, I come to 
 do thy will, O God, in the volume of the book it i;< 
 written of me, gave Himself a living and acceptable 
 sacrifice to God, and by this one act, satisfied ciivine 
 justice, dispelled the effects of original sin ; opened 
 the doors of the grave ; and leading the risen saints 
 in triumph through the everlaf.tingdoors,prescnted 
 them to God, as the first-fruits of His love and obe- 
 dience; robbed the grave of its sting; and cheated 
 death of his victory; became the chief comer-stone 
 of the foundation of the world. And to this chief 
 corner-stone, elect, and precious have been succes- 
 sively added, the Apostles and prophets; until the 
 top stone has been laid on with shoutinirs of m-ace 
 grace unto it. And the emphatic command given 
 to the disciples — go ye into all the world and preach 
 the gospel to every creature, he that believeth 
 and is baptized shall be saved ; he that believeth 
 not shall be condemned, — was not given to mock 
 the people, or to favour one more than another: 
 for God is no respector of persons, but whosoever 
 feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted 
 of Him, without any reference to eternal decrees 
 or Calvinistic predestination. One important fact 
 may be learned from the exjdanationof the prophe- 
 cies; that God with an eye to the promise to His friend 
 and faithful servant Abraham, by his infinite wisdom 
 Bketched a plan for the fulfilment of that promise, 
 and the good of all mankind. This plan was com- 
 
imiiiieai^cid to Diuiiel, in an especial niamier, and 
 also to John by the Kevclation ; these prophecies 
 are atte^stcd bv history to be true; and are made to 
 correspond with the doings of nations and empires, 
 so as to sliow that however vain and ])re- 
 8iinipt-iious, and wicked, the world lias iteen, the 
 Alniighty reigns supreme ; and although lie could 
 liave swept away iji a moment, all the wicked from 
 the face of the earth ; lie has in mercy given the 
 world this great lesson of experience, so that a nation 
 might be born in a day, by this plain manifestation 
 of His goodness and wisdom. And as in our days 
 education is advancing with rapid strides; and gen- 
 eral knowledge is every where on the increase ; 
 and man is beginning to think with a mind, made 
 active by exercise, and intelligent by study, this great 
 proof of the divine existence will be sown as seed 
 on good ground, and produce a rich harvest, so that 
 the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad 
 for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom 
 as the ix)se. 
 
 It would be strange indeed if my strict adherence 
 to truth, in delivering judgment on the various sects 
 composing the great city, Bab^don, did not procure 
 me the ill-will of those interested in the continuance 
 of the present state of confusion. Some of the most 
 bigotted of the Calvinists, smarting undci* the keen 
 edge of the sword, have endeavoured to make out, 
 that I am the Man of Sin, whom the Lord is iroinir 
 to consume with the spirit of His mouth and the 
 brightness of His coming. Eleven years spent in 
 tlie city of Ottawa, in a labouriou^s occupation, ha? 
 
45 
 
 hitroduecd mo to some who arc capable of judi;in<^ 
 whether there be any t'oun(hition for tliis vile insin- 
 uation. My writings speiik for themselves; and it 
 is quite immaterial to me what they call moor what 
 construction they put upon my works: but the vile 
 slanders that have been heaped upon a few 
 friends, is another ait'air; and when forbearance is 
 construed into weakness and only serves to provoke 
 contempt, it ceases to be a virtue. And those who 
 persist in doging my footsteps, misconstruing my 
 actions, and especially slandering my fi'lends, will 
 soon find out whether I have exalted myself, or 
 whether God Iliinsolf has exalted me, and whether 
 lie will not sustain me in defending my friends, 
 against those who, without the slightest hesitation, 
 involve them in the same dirt which has blackened 
 my own face. 
 
 UlCIlMONl) JiOAI), 
 
 Ottawa, Auyufit Uf, 1870. 
 
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